I love looking up at white birds in a blue sky

I guess there is an advantage to being so tired that you go to bed at 8:30...it's not nearly as difficult to arise at 4:30.

I've got a few prayer requests, if you wouldn't mind sharing the burden ( with me )

And for the commenty people ( of the week )

And now I shall leave you to the rest of your morning sleep. Enjoy it while you can! *evil laugh*

Bread dough as art and a living thing.

Pain de Campagne
Country-Style French Bread

Day 6
The dough

3 cups organic, unbleached white (or all-purpose) flour
1 1/2 cups (12 ounces; about the size of a large orange) levain from the previous step
1 1/4 cups very warm water
2 1/2 generous teaspoons salt

They have you do the whole fountain thing on the counter again, but as many times as I've made this bread, it always is too messy at this stage, so I cheat and use our Kitchen-Aid.

To mix the dough, make a fountain with the flour, add all of the levain, in little pieces, and the the water, a little at a time.
As the water is added, dissolve the levain in it and gradually pull in some of the flour to make a sticky paste. As the flour is added, the paste will become more and more elastic and should be stretched and pulled vigorously with the fingers of one hand. When all but about 1 cup of the flour has been incorporated, the dough will be moist and sticky. Clean your hands with the back of a knife blade or a plastic dough scraper and work those little bits into the dough.
Sprinkle the salt onto the wet dough and incorporate it by kneading it in, together with the remaining flour. Knead the dough for 5 more minutes until it is firm and springs back when touched.
Or:
Pour the warm water into the bowl with the levain, and dissolve it by working it with your fingers. Put flour in a mixing bowl, and add the dissolved levain, and begin mixing. After it has become a paste, sprinkle in the salt, and work in. Knead according to your mixer's instructions, or, knead by hand five minutes.

Let the dough rise, covered with a damp cloth, for between 8 and 10 hours. The dough will become noticeably inflated and will have risen to nearly double its original size.

Prayer update

Heidi went to the ER last night because the pain was so intense. And she's a tough thing about pain. Her appt. is in about an hour.

Haha!

My mom just joined LJ!

Will you all welcome friarslady!!

Ok, Leann, you're next!

Bread dough as art and a living thing.

Pain de Campagne
Country-Style French Bread

Day 6
The loaf and baking

The dough is now ready to be shaped and given a final rising. The most foolproof way to determine if the loaf is sufficiently risen and ready to bake is to set aside, when you make up the loaf, a small piece of dough that is about the size of a walnut. Round it up tightly and put it in a Mason jar filled with room-temperature water. Make sure that the ball of dough does not stick to the side of the jar and that you have set the jar right next to the loaf so the temperature is the same. When this test piece of dough rises to the top of the water, the loaf is ready to bake.
Shape the dough into a rounded loaf [Holly's note: I've made it mostly in a French bread shape...this time 'round though, I made it in regular loaf pans...makes it easier to make toast. :)] by flattening it and then folding the edges over 4 or 5 times into the center, each time sealing it with the heel of the hand. Place the loaf in a banneton, a basket lined with a dish towel and dusted lightly with flour, and set it to rise in a warm place for between 8 and 10 hours. The times given for the rising periods for the dough and then the loaf may seem a bit vague but they are best left up to the baker's judgment because it is hard to predict the activity of any one person's refreshments. The overall proofing time should be around 16 hours. If you shape the dough after it has been allowed to rise for 6 hours, the loaf will probably need another 10 hours in the final proof. You may apportion the rising times evenly, taking 8 for each, or 10 hours for the dough and 6 for the loaf.
The final rising will take forever if the dough temperature is too low and the consistency too moist. If the dough is below 75 F, allow the loaf to rise in a very warm place, perhaps in the oven with only the pilot light on (remember to remove the loaf before preheating the oven.).
To bake the loaf, place a baking stone in your oven [Holly's note again: We don't have a baking stone, so don't let this step thwart your plans for making the bread] and preheat it to 450 F. When it is ready, gently empty the loaf onto a rimless cookie sheet that has been sprinkled with a little flour or cornmeal. With a sharp razor blade, slash the top of the loaf in a tick-tack-toe pattern. Slide the loaf onto the baking stone. If your oven bakes very hot, you may want to turn the heat down to 400 F or 425 F after the loaf has gone in.
Bake the bread for 1 hour or until the loaf is golden brown and sounds hollow when thumped on the bottom. To give it a thicker crust, leave the loaf in the oven with the door open and the gas off for 5 minutes more.
Cool the loaf on a wire rack.

Enjoy!

Heidi...

She only got a temporary cap to make sure that the abscess drains and heals completely...she had gangrene in there. :P Please keep her in your prayers. The deadening'll wear off soon.

why

why is it that I don't find it strange to find a white hair (in my head, my little literal readers), but find it extremely odd to find a jet black hair?

why is it that sometimes I can really smell my Meadow Mist Yankee candle tea lights that are on my dresser, and sometimes can't smell them at all?

I was looking today at some photos of me when I was a little chubby bundle of cuteness, and in an album given me by my Grandma Betty, I found a poem that my grandpa wrote for me for my seventh birthday (eep...twenty years ago!). It's in his handwriting too, which makes it even more sweet and precious (he died three years ago):

There is a little girl of a very special kind
As sweet a little girl as you'll probably ever find
She loves to have a lot of fun with book, and pen and toy
Yes that special little girl is named Holly Joy
When she comes down to see us we want her to know
She is very special and we really love her so
She is busy in the morning and busy the whole day through
And she really keeps agoing as there's so much to do
So always keep on smiling and read much from God's Word
And you'll always be happy as you lean upon the Lord.

--Clarence Tucker
July, 1985

( and...a couple more Hailie pics... )

I'm not sure what it's for, but....who cares!

Wow, that's a lot of happy, little pictures!

( See what I mean? )