Maybe I Should Leave the House

I'm sitting here trying to remember the last time I left the house. I believe it was last Wednesday when I made a trip to the Post Office and the local organic food store, Grounded, in Jasper IN. Had to pick up yet more flour: rye, spelt and all purpose. Don't know what spelt is? I don't either, but I like the name and see lots of recipes for it in various bread forums. I'm sure I'll find something to throw it into.

Why have I been holed up in the house? Well any of you in the mid-west this January know exactly why. It's just stupid cold out there. I personally don't like the temp to drop below 65. So I can assure you, I definitely do not appreciate 65 below. And that's just barely an exaggeration.

But in an attempt to stay warm, occupied and as sane as I am capable of being, I spent the weekend with the oven running overtime. It cranked out scones that had been mixed up and frozen a few weeks ago. A great recipe find by my big sis, Marybeth Miller. And yes, she only has 2 names. Dad says they were too poor when she was born to afford a middle name.

There was also a San Francisco type sourdough bread which took 2 days from start to finish, and despite numerous attempts on my part to screw it up by fermenting too long or proofing too short or baking at the wrong temperature, came out quite lovely and tasty. I'll share that story another day.

And no surprise to any of you who know me well, there was something chocolate. There's almost always something chocolate. And amazingly enough, the something chocolate also allowed me to use up a cup of the sourdough starter that is slowly taking over my house.

"I don't have sourdough starter." you say. Well, if anyone is in need of or desires sourdough starter and would like to make the scenic trip to the house in the holler at the end of the gravel road in Birdseye IN, then bring an empty jar and come on down. I can hook you up.

You can also look into purchasing a starter from places like King Arthur Flour or Sourdough Home. You can find these links under My Happy Places.

Back to that something chocolate. A sourdough chocolate cake with espresso icing and chocolate drizzle. Chocolate drizzle....just rolls off your tongue, doesn't it?

sigh

The Cast of Characters + That cup of sourdough starter that crept off to some seedy location to reproduce yet more wild yeasties

I didn't stray much from the recipe I found at http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/sourdough-chocolate-cake-recipe It gives you the option for buttermilk or plain yogurt. I used honey yogurt and it worked fine. It wasn't any kind of culinary epiphany that led to that. For some reason there was a run on yogurt at the grocery. Just scads of people milling around and in order to avert an ugly public scene, I quickly grabbed what I thought was plain greek yogurt. I think I would reduce the amount of espresso powder in the icing next time. And if you're not a fan of coffee, you probably want to skip that part of the recipe altogether.

I can attest it is an excellent choice for breakfast cake, which I believe should be designated an official breakfast food. It works nicely for lunch, too. And at midnight when you're sitting up listening to the wind blow 50 mph outside your door. And for that matter, after a tough round of blogging.

Bake on!

If you're reading this it most likely means one of two things. Either you are a family member or friend that I have nagged, whined or bullied into following this exercise in narcissism or you share my sometimes unhealthy obsession with baking. Either way, welcome! 

My first memories of baking are being in the kitchen with Granny Mac and the brown crock she used to stir up countless batches of bread, cookies, cakes and whatever else I might be able to whine her into. (You might notice a theme with this nagging and whining thing. I was very accomplished at this as a child. A byproduct of  being the baby of the family.) 

Those of you who know me, know that I don't normally collect or hang on to things. But that brown crock is a different story. It holds a place of prominence in my kitchen and my heart. I still use it in almost all my baking ventures. That brown crock isn't just a bowl to hold dough and batter. It's learning what bread dough should "feel" like. It's Granny telling my sister, Marybeth, and me that we'd get worms from eating raw cookie dough. It's late night brownies and cookies, music and boys with high school girlfriends. It's my children's birthdays. It's family, friends and memories.

I bake for lots of reasons. I get bored, I bake. I get lonely, I bake. I get stressed, I bake. I get mad, I bake. Sometimes I even bake to feed people. Whatever the reason, I always feel better when I bake. 

I invite you to join me in my baking adventures, good and bad, and hopefully make some memories of your own along the way. 

Lori