Bread is life

Haven’t posted food here in ages, have I?

This is the ol’ classic New York Times no-knead bread, except I kneaded a bit. So, last night dissolved ¾ tsp yeast in 1½ cups water, mixed with 3 cups flour and 2½ tsp salt, and left on the counter overnight. Around lunchtime I gave it a quick knead, let it rest 10 or so minutes (maybe longer, I wasn’t paying attention), shaped and put in the claybaker to rise, covered with a tea towel. The last few times I made claybaker bread I forgot and overproofed it, so this time I paid attention! When it looked nicely risen, I removed the towel, covered the claybaker, and put it in the fridge for 3 hours. Then, I slashed the top, put the cover back on, and into the cold oven. Turned heat to 450°F, timer to 70 minutes. 

Looks so good but I am resisting temptation and letting it cool before I try a slice!

Year-end round-up

Just a December catch-up since I haven't been posting much:

Finally finished the dreaded stripey linen sweater! Decades-old yarn that was thrifted, decoloured, dyed, tangled, unravelled, knit, frogged, reknit:

Striped linen sweater done at last!

And of course xmas pyjamas (only got the kid's done, mine are still on the machine):

Pattern matching too ditsy to notice 

And currently working on a sweater I fell in love with about a year ago, and got the yarn for last spring:

Starting the Montmartre sweater 

Plus the usual xmas baking:

Pecan coffee cake 

Happy new year, let's hope it's a good one