Remember my little red Dutch oven mentioned last week? I got it to bake bread in. I've been using a much larger one, but this kind of bread is best when very fresh, so I cut the recipe in half, which is why I needed the smaller pot. Here's my resulting loaf.
I've put the recipe in my tip (see below). Here's what the bread looks like sliced. We had it with some special olive oil.
The Doll's Storybook had some excitement this week. First of all, I was notified that St. Jude will be getting another check with royalties. Not a big one, but as they say there, "Every little bit helps." Then I stopped by Fancywork Yarn Shop to visit the "girls." Here's the display.
They are selling the books with the free patterns, so someone can make one of the patterns for a child's doll and gift it with the book as a special present.
Then DH located this lovely letter from a girl in Germany who uses the blog to help her learn English. It had fallen into some papers and was never opened. I've mailed her a copy of the new book and an apology for not responding. It must have come last year. ("DH" usually means "Darling Husband," but in this case, it means something else.) I was very excited to read this letter. I often hear from parents and grandparents that their children love the stories, but this is firsthand, so it means a lot more.
For a little humor, I came across this on Facebook:
I had to take some time this week to visit the ophthalmologist a bit early, as I've been unhappy with my glasses. I even took out the left lens in my computer glasses, because I can see distance well with my right eye uncorrected. I now have a prescription that corrects my left eye for close up, but slightly under corrected, and the other eye for distance but also slightly under corrected. This is working better.
Another exciting bit of news was that Daphne was selected to be on the honor roll for the quarter. It isn't just grades. They have to be nominated by a teacher and must be a good citizen.
Also, my friend Ellen's grandson, Colby Stevenson, is in the Olympics. We'll be watching and wishing him luck.
If you have a few minutes and are willing, please go to Amazon and B&N and search for "Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook by Peggy Stuart" in Children's. Every click on the page for the book makes it more likely they will keep a good supply in their warehouse and stores. If you are outside the US, you may have a separate website for these retailers. If you have a copy of our first book, Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook, it would help if you left an honest review on the websites, especially if you bought from them.
Where's my blog: If you want to follow my blog, go here and sign up to follow.
What's on my needles: Still the Rose City Yarn Crawl Mystery Knit Along shawl, now almost finished.
What's on my loom: Still the trailer rugs. I will have to get back to them soon, so we can use them in the trailer this spring.
What's on my sewing machine: Still the T-shirt quilt; not much progress.
What's in my hoop: No progress this week on the whole-cloth quilt.
What's in The Doll's Storybook: In "A Story About a Story," Veronika reads us the little book about her birthday from the new copy I just had printed. It arrived this week.
What's in The Doll's Storybook: In "A Story About a Story," Veronika reads us the little book about her birthday from the new copy I just had printed. It arrived this week.
What's on my iPad/iPhone: Still listening to Unthinkable by Jamie Raskin on the Audible app.
What's in my wine glass: I think this is getting to be a habit. Red Blend Portugal by Casa Santos Lima.
What's my tip of the week:
Dutch Oven Bread Recipe
Ingredients
• 1 1/4 cups (1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons)
• lukewarm water, between 90˚-110˚F (30˚-40˚C)
• 1 teaspoon (1/2 teaspoon) active dry yeast
• 3 cups (1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour, lightly packed and leveled off, plus more for dusting
• 1 teaspoon (1/2 teaspoon) kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon (1/2 teaspoon) olive oil
Directions
Method 1: put all ingredients except oil into bread machine pan and process on dough cycle. When done, remove from bread machine pan. Place in bowl. Continue as below.*
Method 2:
Stir the yeast into the water and allow the yeast to bloom until foamy.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour and salt by hand. Once incorporated, create a small well in the middle and pour in the water and yeast mixture.
Mix by hand, wetting your working hand before mixing so the dough doesn’t stick to your fingers. The water and flour should come together and a form rough dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour in small increments, about 1 tablespoon at a time. If the dough is too dry, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.*
*Continue with both methods:
Cover and let rise until doubled in size (about 1 ½-2 hours).
Uncover the dough and give it a few pokes with your finger. If the dough has risen properly, it should indent under the pressure of your finger and slowly deflate.
Using your hand or a rubber spatula, start from the rim of the bowl to work the dough loose from the sides and fold it up and towards the center of the bowl. Turn the bowl 90 degrees, and repeat until all the dough has been pulled from the sides and folded towards the center.
Once finished, cover and let the dough rise again for another 1 ½-2 hours.
Once the dough has doubled in size again, gently transfer it from the bowl to a lightly floured surface.
Sprinkle a bit of flour on top of the dough. Using your hands, begin to shape it into a loaf. Fold the dough under itself several times to form a ball, then pinch together the seams of dough underneath.
Place the dough seam-side down in a clean bowl that has been lightly coated with olive oil and dusted with flour.
Cover and let rise for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, place a 4-quart Dutch oven (or heavy cooking pot with oven-safe lid) inside the oven. Preheat the oven to 450˚F (230˚C) with the pot inside for 45 minutes-1 hour.
Carefully remove the pot from the oven and place it on a trivet or heat-safe surface. (Be careful! It will be VERY HOT.)
Turn the proofed dough over onto a lightly floured surface and carefully place it inside the pot.
Cover with the lid and return the pot to the oven.
Bake for 30 minutes, then remove the lid and bake another 15 minutes.
Remove bread from pot, cover with a clean towel, and let cool for 10 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!
• lukewarm water, between 90˚-110˚F (30˚-40˚C)
• 1 teaspoon (1/2 teaspoon) active dry yeast
• 3 cups (1 1/2 cups) all-purpose flour, lightly packed and leveled off, plus more for dusting
• 1 teaspoon (1/2 teaspoon) kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon (1/2 teaspoon) olive oil
Directions
Method 1: put all ingredients except oil into bread machine pan and process on dough cycle. When done, remove from bread machine pan. Place in bowl. Continue as below.*
Method 2:
Stir the yeast into the water and allow the yeast to bloom until foamy.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour and salt by hand. Once incorporated, create a small well in the middle and pour in the water and yeast mixture.
Mix by hand, wetting your working hand before mixing so the dough doesn’t stick to your fingers. The water and flour should come together and a form rough dough that pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If the dough is too sticky, add more flour in small increments, about 1 tablespoon at a time. If the dough is too dry, add more water, 1 tablespoon at a time.*
*Continue with both methods:
Cover and let rise until doubled in size (about 1 ½-2 hours).
Uncover the dough and give it a few pokes with your finger. If the dough has risen properly, it should indent under the pressure of your finger and slowly deflate.
Using your hand or a rubber spatula, start from the rim of the bowl to work the dough loose from the sides and fold it up and towards the center of the bowl. Turn the bowl 90 degrees, and repeat until all the dough has been pulled from the sides and folded towards the center.
Once finished, cover and let the dough rise again for another 1 ½-2 hours.
Once the dough has doubled in size again, gently transfer it from the bowl to a lightly floured surface.
Sprinkle a bit of flour on top of the dough. Using your hands, begin to shape it into a loaf. Fold the dough under itself several times to form a ball, then pinch together the seams of dough underneath.
Place the dough seam-side down in a clean bowl that has been lightly coated with olive oil and dusted with flour.
Cover and let rise for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, place a 4-quart Dutch oven (or heavy cooking pot with oven-safe lid) inside the oven. Preheat the oven to 450˚F (230˚C) with the pot inside for 45 minutes-1 hour.
Carefully remove the pot from the oven and place it on a trivet or heat-safe surface. (Be careful! It will be VERY HOT.)
Turn the proofed dough over onto a lightly floured surface and carefully place it inside the pot.
Cover with the lid and return the pot to the oven.
Bake for 30 minutes, then remove the lid and bake another 15 minutes.
Remove bread from pot, cover with a clean towel, and let cool for 10 minutes before slicing. Enjoy!
Where are my books: The stories in each book first appeared in the blog and they are reproduced with few changes. Emil: Stories from The Doll's Storybook is now available for preorder from booksellers world wide. The link for Book Baby is here. The three stories are Best Buds, Getting What You Want, and The Boys Cook Dinner.
Mariah: Stories from The Doll's Storybook is also available. The three stories in the first book are Being Little, Besties, and Distraction.
If you don't get free shipping from Amazon or B&N, buy from the BookBabyBookshop, because 50% of the price goes to St. Jude. Other booksellers pay much less.
Note: This blog post was produced on the iPad and the MacBook, using the iPhone for some photos and some photo processing. No other computer was used in any stage of composition or posting, and no Windows were opened, waited for, cleaned or broken. No animals or dolls were harmed during the production of this blog post.
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