Saturday, November 05, 2011

Frost, Fog, & French Bread

Frostbite on Polyantha "The Fairy"

A few mornings ago we had a hard frost.
Threw some clothes on and quick grabbed my camera.
THIS is my favorite of all the ones I took....
You can actually see the bits of frostbite on the rose.



"Jens Munk" frozen leaves

My Rugosa rose bush is magnificent.
It is only supposed to get 4-5 feet tall, but it has far surpassed that.
The first thing to bloom in the gardens, and there are still roses on it come the first frost.
 

 Frosty "Knockout"

Who doesn't love a hardy "Knockout" rose?
They take a beating and still bloom all.summer.long.

Seems like just yesterday I was ooing and aahing over the first blossoms of spring:(


Shaping french bread

I have a new sourdough starter, Ischia, from a food swap I was involved in a few weeks ago.
I have been messing around with several new recipes and have been experimenting with some authentic french sourdoughs.
One nice thing about authentic french bread is there are only 4 ingredients...
flour, yeast (or sourdough starter), salt, and water.
The other nice thing about french bread....
it tastes good!

Nothing fancy, just good bread.



Final step before rising

Using sourdough starter is a bit tricky, as the rise time all depends on the strength of your starter as well as the temperature of the house.

After rising

Nearly ready to pop into the oven....


Straight from the oven

I have to invest in a bread slasher, for sure.
Here I used a sharp knife, but obviously did not go down far enough into the dough.



Nothin' says lovin' like something from the oven....

This was really tasty, but needs some improvement.
Thankfully, flour is cheap, cheap, cheap!


I don't have a recipe for you, but there are hundreds of variations on the net.
Pick one...
Try it...
I think you'll like it!


In Christ alone,
Cindy



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12 comments:

dr momi said...

Absolutely beautiful pictures!

savvycityfarmer said...

I tried reaching thru the screen for a piece, but to no avail ...

send me your favorite recipe.

I adore the pans with air holes.
I bake my scones on cookie sheets with holes...

AMAZING ... kinda like your roses

Anonymous said...

I can almost taste it! French bread and a hot bowl of stew on a cold day...now that's tasty.

Carmen S. said...

BEAUTIFUL frosted flowers and your bread looks Devine!!!

Donna said...

The frosty photos are exquisite. Oh, I could just hug you for those! Look at the tiny little slivers of frost hanging on! And a textured layer too. Love, love, love it!

And the bread! Got any left for me to have a bite?

Kim said...

Beautiful pictures~I love how delicate the frost looks. And now that I've licked my computer screen a few times, it's time to find a french bread baking pan and get busy! :)

Lady Farmer said...

Cindy~
I *love* your photos of the frosty flowers! They just get me all excited for the season ~ I love the clear, crisp days of Autumn. Seems to really wake me up out of the Summer time stuper! :~P
My sourdough adventures have finally come to fuition! I have a starter that works and have been happily making a nice soft sourdough loaf! I like adding chopped cloves of garlic to it ~ Yumm! Thank you for all of your encouragement and how-to's that you sent me!
I also wanted to let you know that I am having a seed swap over at my place. If you have any seeds you would like to give/exchange, come on over and check it out!
Blessings!
Seed Swap at:
www(dot)ladyfarmersseedswap(dot)blogspot(dot)com

Susan said...

I like the Jens Munk leaves, they look like they have been sprinkled with sugar. Your bread looks wonderful! I killed my sour dough starter now I will have to get a new one from someone. Blessings Cyn Blessings!

goatldi said...

lovely photos -yummy bread! can't wait to get moved in so I can bake once more!

~Kristin~ said...

Lovely photos and yummy bread!
We love homemade French Bread and I make ours free form on a baking stone.
Makes delicious little slices of cheesy pizza bread, hot buttered toast, croutons and french toast casserole!
Love your blog!
And was heartsick to read about your sweet little grand baby.
Love, Kristin

loves2spin said...

Lovely photos! I use a serrated bread knife to do my slashing. Works great! Cut down at an angel and don't be shy.

Camille said...

G.O.R.G.E.O.U.S. photos of that frost on your lovely flowers! Isn't God's Creation amazing?? And that BREAD!! I can just imagine the yummy smells at your house! Does your farmer husband know how fortunate he is?? :)

Blessings,
Camille