It's Been Awhile

It has been a good long while since I have posted on this blog. Time really got away from me. Last winter I cooked a LOT in my wood stove through the winter. Then Spring came with sooooo much rain that it was impossible to cook outside over wood, which I had planned to do and then blog it on here, along with a few scrumptious pics.

Then we went straight to the EXTREME heat of Summer and it was too hot and dry to light a fire of any kind. Fall was dry and windy, making fires dangerous. Plus, I had broken my leg in the early Summer and getting around was kind of hard.

Then Winter came again ..... ohhhh, did Winter ever come!! We had so much snow, and it seemed the cold would last forever ..... and at one point, we had the coldest temps we have ever had here in my lifetime. To keep warm, along with my regular firewood, I had to add in some wood that burned hot, but wasn't good for cooking on. I tried a time or two and burnt my dinner to a black crisp!  No, I'm not going to show you pics of that, ha, ha.

Now we are back to Spring again. And this time it is the driest Spring I think I have ever seen, at least in a long time. The rains keep getting close to me, sometimes dancing all around me, but some how they keep missing me. I am having charcoal withdrawals, here. I am dying to BBQ something. Even got some new, delicious looking BBQ Sauces the other day to try. But we are under a very strict burn ban already, and have been for weeks. Wildfires seem to be raging all around and the smell of smoke in the air is almost constant. The winds are so high that quite a few trees are toppled down all over the area, and there is usually a thick haze in the air from the smoke. People all over are coughing and sneezing all day. And at night, there is a glowing orange haze over the moon from all the day's wildfire smoke. It's kind of pretty in a sad sort of way.

I don't want a gulley washer or a monsoon, and I don't want any hail, tornadoes or damaging lightening, but I DO want a good, long, soaking rain to moisten everything up so me and my smoker can have an all-day date! And when I do, I will tell you all about it on here. 

White Bread

1 large egg
1/2 cup milk, scalded
Whisk egg thoroughly. Add milk and whisk until well blended. SET ASIDE.
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2 T. of above egg mixture                               
3 T. very warm water
1 tsp vegetable oil
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tsp. granulated sugar
1 cup white flour 
1/2 tsp rapid rise yeast
melted butter
a little more vegetable oil

Into a sturdy mixing bowl place the egg mixture, warm water, oil, salt, and sugar. Whisk until well blended; set aside.

In another bowl, stir together approximately 2/3 of the flour and the yeast. Keep the rest of the flour handy.
Add a sprinkle of the flour/yeast mixture to the liquid mixture; whisk until smooth.
Add a little more of the flour/yeast mixture to the liquid and whisk until smooth. (This raises the gluten for a better textured bread).
Add the remaining flour/yeast mixture and mix in well.

                                                   
Since this is such a small loaf of bread, I just knead it right in the sturdy bowl. Begin kneading the bread, adding in more of the remaining flour, a little at a time. Add the flour in small amounts as you knead, until the dough is no longer sticky. (It may take all of the remaining flour, it may not take quite all of it, and it might take just a little more. It all depends on the moisture content of the flour) Continue to knead the dough for a few more minutes, until it is smooth and elastic.

Take the dough ball out of the bowl a moment while you add a few drops of vegetable oil to the bottom of the bowl. Slightly flatten out the ball of dough, place it in the bottom of the bowl, and move it around a little to spread the oil out in the bottom of the bowl. Turn the dough ball over so that the oily side is up. Cover with a towel, set in a warm place free of all drafts and let rise for about 45 to 50 minutes, until doubled or so in bulk.

While it is rising, coat the bottom and sides of a 3-cup Lewis & Clark Dutch oven with vegetable oil.  After the dough has finished rising, punch it down. Place it in the Dutch oven and set in a warm place to rise until again doubled in bulk. It will not take quite as long this time, about 30 to 40 minutes. DO NOT put the lid on the Dutch oven.

Once the dough has completed rising, carefully place the Dutch oven inside your wood stove. Take care not to touch or jostle the dough or it will fall. Do not let the coals or fire touch the Dutch oven or the dough.

Let bake until golden brown and the bread has a "hollow" sound when tapped with your fingernail. Turn pot around occasionally while cooking.  Cooking time will greatly vary, depending upon the temperature of the fire, but will generally take between 20 and 25 minutes to bake.

When done, rub the end of a stick of butter around over the top of the loaf. Serve hot with more butter!