My new bread bowl arrived today! I decided to give bread baking another try. I used to make lots of our bread but never really looked into what it takes to make really good bread. Then I bought a bread machine, used it quite a bit for a while. But started to notice that I didn't really like the bread it made. It was okay but not really good. It has been sitting on my kitchen counter for quite awhile gathering dust.
Then thanks to Nancy I found Farmgirl Fare's blog. This is an awesome blog! There are wonderful pictures almost on a daily basis of the food she cooks as well as life around the farm. She has some great tips on baking bread too. One of her tips is to find a wooden bowl for making bread in. Each time I use this bowl to make bread, the bread will get better tasting. The yeast will "live" in the bowl and add flavor. It made a lot of sense to me so I found one! Here it is again:
Isn't it beautiful?Another thing she also recommended is this book:
Great book! I've already started my first levain(pronounced, luh-vahn). It's the French word meaning "leaven" and referes to a sourdough culture by wild yeasts. I'll post more as the process continues.
OH! One more thing. This is the stamp on the bottom of the bowl. It came from Holland Bowl Mill in Holland, Michigan. Which is kind of a coincidence. I'm Dutch, my mother grew up there. And, it's practically in my friends Stephen's back yard!
Lovely bowl......Labels: Bread
Finally, your blog is letting me post! I've tried before with little luck. But ANYway, I have a whole grain and seed recipe that's all I make anymore because everyone who tries it loves it and it's the only "whole" bread my husband enjoys. The original recipe is formulated for a bread machine, but I got the recipe book (from the Canadian Flax Seed Council, or something like that) long after my bread machine died, so I multiply it by four and use my Bosch, hands, and oven. If you would like to give your bread machine one more chance, I'd be happy to send you the recipe!
Michelle, I'd love your recipe! I've given my bread machine away to my daughter but I can make it the old fashioned way! I'm on day 2 (out of 3) in making my sourdough starter so by Monday or Tuesday I will be able to make my first bread in my new bread bowl.
...if anyone needs someone to TASTE their bread, before offering it to their families, I VOLUNTEER!! We wouldn't want your family to taste it if it's not excellent would we??? I figure, after all the kindness everyone has shown me, it's the least I can do!
;-)