I love blue

especially in this yarn. It is dyed as a transitional yarn, changing from darker to lighter.

It is hard

to get off the couch, when it looks like this outside.

As a Christmas treat I have been relaxing on the couch and reading the host by Stephenie Meyer. It was not an easy read in the beginning, because the topic is a bit alien (sorry!) weird, but now I can’t put it down.

( Which reminds me of the time when we moved to the US and being told by officials we were legal aliens, a term which really startled me.  I had always thought an alien came from another planet, not another country. )

My husband made me an amazing gift. He had close-up pictures of my yarns printed, framed  and decorated the dining room with them.  They look so pretty! He jokingly said that this year I got something I had made myself. It is so nice to see these pictures printed!

Oh, if you are snowed in like we are, why don’t you make Bialys? They are absolutely delicious. I made the ones from the 5 Minute Bread book, but this recipe looks great as well.

Winter Wonderland

Merry Christmas! I hope, you have the fridge full of food and a nice, warm place to stay!

More Gifts For Teachers

Phew, it is done! School is over and at this point I am fairly certain I have paid for all the group gifts, luncheons, Secret Santas and Christmas Hampers. But it is quite likely I will wake up around midnight and remember something I forgot to pay or do.

This year the kids and I made Gingerbread Christmas Trees as gifts for the teachers. I love how they turned out. For the trees we used star shaped cookie cutters in different sizes ( 5 or 6) and then the kids glued them all together with icing. So cute!

Need a Distraction?

If you – like me – need to forget your To-Do-List for a while, then this computer game is a wonderful distraction. I read about it in our local newspaper and had to try it out right away. In World of Goo you have to build bridges and towers out of moving, wobbly droplets. It is not only a brain teaser, but I love how the game looks and sounds. The first level comes as a free download. Have fun!

Rumpelstiltskin

I did it! I made gold out of straw silk!

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day – A Review

I have had this book for several weeks now and have made many recipes in it. Instant hits were the Granola and the Pecan Caramel Rolls.

The idea behind this book is that you make a larger batch of dough with a high water content and no kneading, keep it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks and bake portions of it with very little work involved.

I started out with a basic white dough ( Boule) and liked the results. First of all the bread looks very pretty. It has a thin, crunchy crust. It tastes good. I found the loaf size a bit small for the five of us.

When I tried a Peasant Loaf with added rye flour I found the taste less pleasing. It tasted “wet” and lacked the sourdough flavour that I was expecting.

This is when I started experimenting. I compared the recipe to other breads I have baked and right away “Seelen” came to mind. It is a German recipe that also has a high water content and rises in the fridge over night.  But the big differences are that “Seelen” use very little yeast and the traditional amount of kneading.

The recipes in the book use a high amount of yeast (1 1/2 Tbsp for 6 1/2 cups flour). I theorized that if there is so much yeast in the dough, the sourdough cultures cannot develop, because they compete for the same nutrients. I also figured that an initial kneading of the dough might help the flour to absorb the water better resulting in a less wet taste.

I have tested this theory and  I am extremely pleased with the results. Now I start every fresh batch in my stand mixer, adding only 1 1/2 tsp of yeast. I knead the dough for 3 minutes on 1 and another 3 minutes on 2. After that I proceed as written in the recipe. The breads taste amazing and have a lovely crumb with many small holes. The best thing for me is, that my kids love these breads, even with a bit of rye flour added. I had a dinner party with a buffet the other night and had 2 Peasant Loaves there. People kept coming back for another piece. They loved it.

I now have 2 batches constantly in the fridge: one recipe that is great for breakfast and one a bit heartier for lunch or dinner. I now know, that I can have a great tasting fresh loaf of bread within 2 hours whenever I want and very little work involved.

The other night I realized I had no bread for breakfast, just as I was about to go to bed. So I pulled out my bread maker added a portion of the Sandwich Bread dough and delayed the machine for 1 1/2 hour. I figured that would be enough time for the dough to get to room temperature. The bread turned out just great and tasted much better than a regular bread made in the bread maker.

What I also love about this book is the incredible variety of recipes. They come from all over the world: France, Italy, theMiddle East, Sweden, India and more.

You can buy the book here

And the authors also have a blog

If you love baking you should definitely give this book a try!

Good Hausfrau, Bad Hausfrau

When I was a child I remember a fierce competition going on at this time of the year between my Grandma and her daughters. The subject: Christmas cookies. The question: “How many kinds have you made?” The answer was often a double digit number which I find very impressive.

So far I have made 6 kinds and Stollen. In the picture above is a cookie I am especially pleased with. It is called “Springerle” and is at this moment so rock hard you could break a tooth eating it, if you are not careful. You need two special things to make these cookies and this is the first time, that I had them when I needed them. You need a wooden mold, called “Model” and an unusual rising agent called “Hirschhornsalz”. The other ingredients are simple: egg whites, sugar, lemon zest and flour.

Hmm, I hope they soften until Christmas!