Wednesday, June 23, 2010

kneadless post & run

    
According to the gospel of "Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day" one needn't knead bread to have fabby, freshly-baked bread suffusing one's house with amazing smells, one's mouth with happy flavor and texture, and one's wallet with extra $$.

We'll see.

 My old friend, yeast (the "a"s and the alphas of undergrad). Looking like so many lemmings crowding the cliff's edge, then plunging into the sea (of flour). They are such tiny little tubes! Looking very bacterial, I must say....

Kneadless domestic scene.
Bought fancy bread flour, just for the heck of it.

Blended all 7.5 cups of flour (!) et al., including the wheat gluten I showed you earlier. Hoping that the fact that one of the two yeast packets expired 3 years ago doesn't hamper the results. (gulp)

Guess we'll find out!

Buying fresh yeast today, in BULK, thank you very much.

So, then you add warm water, stir so there's no dry patches, cover it "loosely," and let it sit for 2 hours.


Apparently, if there's no crack for impending gases to escape, bad things can happen.

I figured I'd make the crack using the last of the 2007 packet of yeast--its last act of service; it will be replaced today and summarily chucked.

So, I'll keep you posted. Now I venture forth to buy bulk yeast, seeds to sprinkle atop the (future) loaf, and try and cajole myself into a run at the gym.


Speaking of motivation re: running, something to ponder (get out your hip waders, it's gonna get deep):

The best reason I've found for running, the most profound motivation I've found so far is: Because I can. Or maybe "While I can."


On the numerous occasions I've been injured mid-running-mode I'm SO BUMMED I cannot run. SO bummed. I miss how much it refreshes me. Flushes all my stress. Calms me down, and clears my brain. And it's usually the most alive I feel all day.

And then I think "when I'm healthy and can run, I'll totally devote myself. I'll really appreciate it."


I'm not saying it always works. Or that I'm in any way a regular runner (tho' maybe starting back up?). Or that I even think about it every time.

But I do try to remember the joy of simply moving and being healthy, and how lucky I am to experience that. While I can. Since it's really just a matter of time until I am incorporated back into the carbon cycle. And then running is no longer an option.


biobabbler

2 comments:

  1. Good on ya!

    Mind you, I had to give up making bread because I ate so much of it. All that warm, aromatic breadiness, slathered with butter ...

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  2. =) Thanks, Snail. Yeah, I hear ya re: shoving piles of bread in my mouth. That's actually one reason the authors came out with the "healthy" version of the book, the only one I'd let myself buy. We'll SEE if the addition of whole grains and seeds and stuff helps me NOT balloon.

    It is a risk, and I'll have to see how it goes.

    mm...butter....

    =)

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