Getting busier....

Well life just keeps coming in at a fast pace and life is to be lived! I have a few pictures to post of what I've been keeping busy with...see for yourself.

That was my birthday cake last October (see how often I download pictures!). Then there's this next picture....

No I didn't make the snow but that was what I saw on my way into work (I walk of course) and we had a load of snow - the first big proper snow since I've lived here. Just had to share that one with you. The other weekend I then made this...

This is my poppy seed bread - used a different recipe for the dough (basically the sweet dough from Dough by Richard Bertinet) but also used some of my new starter. I began a starter in March while I was off for a few days from work. I faithfully fed it and kept it warm and it rewarded me by leavening the bread. It was really quite tasty - the flavour imparted from the starter is like nothing else I swear!

Then there were these two pictures...

These two fine loaves are ones I made one - I just made in a regular loaf pan as I would usually do and the other I made in my artisan bread basket I got that's made out of wooden cane. I usually don't go for the foo-foo stuff but oh how the bread now looks like it came from a proper bakery! I have another basket that's oblong too, which I have used but didn't get a photo of unfortunately. I'm rather proud of the loaves!

The starter is still hanging and gets better each week when it comes out at the weekend. I feed it once or twice (depending on if I'm baking a lot or not) and back in the fridge it goes for the week without feeding. So far it's kept for about 8 weeks now. It seems to just get better and adds a depth of flavour to the dough. Tomorrow I'm making pizza....this has been the best thing for us. It's exactly now like any kind of dough you'd get in a restaurant and so pliable that it will be very difficult to live without a starter ever again. Wished I had begun it sooner...but hey better late than never.

Next post is about some vintage cookbooks....oh the things I find. I tell you...