I have to admit that I am a bread snob. My obsession with bread lead to a nasty baking habit. For almost 6 months I didn’t buy any type of bread, just a lot of flour and yeast. Thankfully I’ve overcome the desire to bake all my bread myself.
After hundreds of loaves I think I’ve finally overcome my main bread making flaw. My bread almost always breaks at the seams. The key seems to be the second rise. I’m usually too impatient to wait for it — I let the dough double in size, punch it down, shape it, let it rise briefely and bake.
One of Sarah’s goals for the holiday weekend was to solve my sorry wardrobe/laundry situation through the addition of more casual pants (jeans, chinos, etc). A trip to the mall mid bread making required punching the dough down then leaving it to rise again.
After a successful visit to the Gap the dough had once again doubled in size. I removed it from the work bowl and shaped it into 16 dinner rolls. I let it rise while the oven warmed up. At the end of the baking, perfect honey-wheat dinner rolls. Yum.
I could just eat fresh bread for dinner, but I don’t think Sarah would tolerate it. We made potato soup it’s a very easy recipe (see below)
Easy Potato Soup
1 medium onion
1 tsp chopped chives
1/4 cup butter
2lbs frozen hash browns (cube style, thawed)
2 cups half and half
2 cups skim milk
2 cans reduced fat cream of chicken soup
Salt and peper to taste
Garnish:
Shredded cheese
Chopped chives
Sweat the onions and chives in the butter in a dutch oven until translucent. Add 1/2 of the hash browns and brown slightly. Add remaining hash browns, dairy, and soup. Bring to a simmer for 15 minutes stirring regularly. Serve with shredded cheese, additional chives, and bread.