Tuesday, December 3, 2013

TWD/BWJ: Challah


"Oh no, it's burned," I thought. 
And then I cracked it open. 
And slathered it with butter. 
And swooned. 
Good grief, this bread is amazing! 

Do you see it? I now own a wooden spoon!

I would like to suggest to my future self to either 1) make half a recipe and bake it in the CENTER of the oven, or 2) Put one of the loaves on a pan small enough to fit in the small oven and bake both in the CENTER of different ovens. The important word here is ... do I need to say it again?

Oh my goodness, handling that luscious dough
was heavenly. 

Unfortunately, we have yet to acquire the super-oven of my dreams. Forced to make do with the "vintage" version, one must make some adjustments. For this recipe, there is no way to bake both loaves at the same time. The available rack levels just don't work. The bottom of the loaf burns on the lower rack, and the top burns on the upper rack. It's possible that an airbake sheet under the lower one and a piece of foil (added BEFORE the loaf gets too dark) on the upper will work. Maybe I'll try that next week. Because I certainly will be making this again soon. :-)

It was also turkey pot pie-making day.
Had to do something with those
legs I discovered hiding in the fridge.
Serious comfort food

The other Tuesdays With Dorie bakers have Challah blog links here

And now for a shoe, and a story. I passed this shoe several times but couldn't stop for the picture. It was always after chemo and the patient needed to get home. The shoe was an athletic shoe and it was in the street in front of the Atlanta Athletic Club! It stayed there for weeks. So finally one day I drove out there just to get the picture and couldn't believe it was gone. I walked up and down the road looking, but nothing. (Backstory - this is one of the fanciest clubs in the Atlanta area. The PGA Championships were held there last year.) Had parked in a gravel area across from the club while looking for the shoe, finally gave up, circled to get out, and what did I see? A shoe! Not the one I was looking for, but maybe even more interesting. I mean, Sponge Bob?!? Taught me to open my eyes and be willing to find something other than what I'm seeking. Love a good surprise.