The project is STILL happening....just a little slower than expected!

For those of you who have decided to read the blog...I swear, I AM still doing this project....I am waiting for my Pizza Peel to come in (a wooden paddle to insert/remove breads from the oven). It should be in today! I can't really make a lot of the traditional artisan breads without this important device. I also have a couple of posts in process awaiting pictures ... I made a Blueberry Lemon Curd Wreath pastry and a delicious Raspberry Almond Creme Pastry....YUMMY! Hopefully I can get these two postings wrapped up tomorrow and you can see how they turned out!!

Stay posted! The Boule dough for the baguette try #1 is getting made today....and hopefully baked tomorrow!

The First loaves - Challah

While I mentioned the inspiration of this project was the movie "Julie and Julia"; the ACTUAL inspiration of deciding on bread was my friends' Kevin and Anat's wedding this past Sunday. It was the first Jewish wedding I have ever been to. It was amazing. The tradition of why certain ceremonies are done during the wedding made each part of the ceremony and reception one of the most memorable and meaningful weddings I have EVER been to. One part of the ceremony spoke about the traditional Challah and provided a blessing to the Challah and wine, and then sent a piece of this wonderful bread to each table for the guests to enjoy. It was so delicious...and I knew when I tasted that sweet, egg rich bread what my endeavor was going to be.

So, last night I made up the Challah dough and left it to age a bit in the refrigerator. I am using "Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day" cookbook for this recipe. The bread is sitting in the kitchen now...it has been braided and is awaiting the final step of putting an egg wash on it and then into the oven. I have read that the traditional toppings on this bread are sesame seeds and poppy seeds. I've decided to make one with Sesame seeds, and the second loaf (which is for Anat and Kevin) will be left plain per their request. Kevin and Anat will be my critics and will hopefully offer constructive feedback as to how close this bread is to what they know as good traditional Challah!
And I have finished putting the egg wash on, after the bread rose for 1 hour and 20 minutes:

The final product looks pretty tasty to me! Can't wait to taste this tonight with Tony's family!

The project inspired by Julie and Julia

I went and saw Julie and Julia last week. OK, I like 5 gazillion other people have been inspired to really get back into my love of cooking. I didn't, however, want to go and buy the Julia Child cookbook...it was already being propelled to the top of the Best Seller list. So I sat back and thought about what do I really LOVE to cook...and LOVE to eat. What can I really take and perfect and expand upon? My first thought was desserts...mmm...but wait. I just had a child 7 weeks ago, and I am trying to lose the baby weight and get into shape. Baking desserts MIGHT not be the best way to spend my last month of maternity leave if my goal is to fit back into those suits. Then it occurred to me...Bread. I LOVE BREAD. In fact, in college my roommate nicknamed me LOAF because of my obsession of eating bread (this nickname came about one evening after begging a closing Jimmy Johns to just sell me one of their loaves of bread they make their sandwiches on....). So, there you have it. I am baking bread during my last month off. Foccacia, Italian, Wheat, White, Brioche...and the one I REALLY want to master: The French Baguette. Who has been to Paris and come back to the US and actually found a Parisian style baguette...that nice crusty outside, soft delectable inside. There is nothing like it. I have not found ANY store yet that can make this treasure. Marsh, Kroger, Panera, local bakeries. Does anyone really know how to make a French Baguette in the US? Perhaps, but not in the greater Indianapolis area that I have found. Then again, I guess when I was in France, I didn't really find anyone who had mastered good BBQ. (And my friend Stacey can vouch for this, as she can't even find BBQ sauce on the shelves in France!)

So there you have it. My quest for September. Bake Bread. Lots of it. Eat Bread. Maybe not as much of it as I bake as I do plan to share the loaves with others. :) My mantra I shall chant each morning that I wake: I will bake a loaf of bread today, and it will be gone by tomorrow!