I began my day on Tuesday with the motive to make some dang good bread and a delicious strawberry cake with lemon icing. I started with the bread, scouring
The Bread Baker's Apprentice cookbook Tyler gave me for my birthday. No such luck! Almost all of the cooking equations required more than 24 hours or some form of a starter, which I had not previously prepared, and so I could not use either. I resorted to my Vegetarian cookbook that amazingly possesses some good bread recipes that have served me before. I found one for sun-dried tomato and basil bread. I didn't have
sun-dried tomatoes, but I decided it would just be basil bread and I began. It rose well and didn't require but about 2 hours total for mixing, rising, and cooking. However, my oven presented a new problem. It has consistently overcooked items on the bottom while not completely cooking them through and through. This bread baking experience was no different. The bottom and top started getting brown, then dark brown, while the timer had only elapsed 20 of the 25-30 minutes allotted. So I pulled it out, let it cool, and sliced it....gooey inside!!! NO! I had to cut it and cook it some more, hoping and praying the bottom pieces wouldn't turn black and hard. They didn't, but I ended up more frustrated than anything and discouraged that my bread would taste like cardboard. But it soared in flavor and was a hit at my dinner engagement with
Faith and her roomie Laura. Ethan even commented on how amazing it tasted, though he was skeptical of the basil leaves originally.
After baking the bread, I started on the strawberry cake, a recipe I yanked out of a Cooking Light Magazine, where strawberries were the star ingredients of the spring recipes. My oven performed much more professionally this time and didn't let me down. However, I found the strawberry flavor did not emanate throughout the cake. It tasted good and complimented the lemony icing very well, but didn't really taste like strawberries. I threw the recipe out, discontented with the dissolution of my expectations. So I'm on the search for another strawberry cake. Maybe this time I will make it and then fill it with strawberry jam or something similar - to ensure that yummy taste!! However, though I was let down by the cake, the mixing process was beautiful and I enjoyed watching the colors mix and swirl! I enjoyed the bread, cake, and salad Faith made for us and more importantly the night of community with some good friends!
sun-dried tomatoes, but I decided it would just be basil bread and I began. It rose well and didn't require but about 2 hours total for mixing, rising, and cooking. However, my oven presented a new problem. It has consistently overcooked items on the bottom while not completely cooking them through and through. This bread baking experience was no different. The bottom and top started getting brown, then dark brown, while the timer had only elapsed 20 of the 25-30 minutes allotted. So I pulled it out, let it cool, and sliced it....gooey inside!!! NO! I had to cut it and cook it some more, hoping and praying the bottom pieces wouldn't turn black and hard. They didn't, but I ended up more frustrated than anything and discouraged that my bread would taste like cardboard. But it soared in flavor and was a hit at my dinner engagement with Faith and her roomie Laura. Ethan even commented on how amazing it tasted, though he was skeptical of the basil leaves originally.
After baking the bread, I started on the strawberry cake, a recipe I yanked out of a Cooking Light Magazine, where strawberries were the star ingredients of the spring recipes. My oven performed much more professionally this time and didn't let me down. However, I found the strawberry flavor did not emanate throughout the cake. It tasted good and complimented the lemony icing very well, but didn't really taste like strawberries. I threw the recipe out, discontented with the dissolution of my expectations. So I'm on the search for another strawberry cake. Maybe this time I will make it and then fill it with strawberry jam or something similar - to ensure that yummy taste!! However, though I was let down by the cake, the mixing process was beautiful and I enjoyed watching the colors mix and swirl! I enjoyed the bread, cake, and salad Faith made for us and more importantly the night of community with some good friends!
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