Friday, February 29, 2008

I'm a Daring Baker!




Daring Bakers are an online group that agree to bake one item a month following the exact same recipe with no changes. It's a fantastic way to bring new zest into your baking life and your human life. Any worries I had on my first challenge, Julia Child's French Bread, recipe here- http://breadchick.com/?p=336 -dissolved when I read the encouraging comments given to others & felt the commaraderie. Alright!

I've worked with yeast breads and double risings before so I began my recipe feeling a bit confident but not cocky. The 15 page recipe gave me pause until I read it & started organizing my ingredients and equipment. The estimated time for the bread was 7-9 hours. I set aside one of my days off work for the baking. I live in Southern California so my house was pretty cool inside. I ended up puuting the dough in the laundry room with the dryer running for its risings. My antique KA was not up to the challenge, so I did the kneading by hand. The only problem I had was that my sharp knives weren't sharp enough to properly mark the dough before baking. Next time I'll try the razor blades mentioned in the recipe. The bread was amazing & all gone in a poof! I'll definitely make this again...I don't think I can wait long, drool, drool. Many thanks to the Daring Bakers founders, Lisa & Ivonne & to this month's hosts, Mary & Sara for a wonderful experience!

Kendall

(c) Flourbuttereggs 2008 All Rights Reserved.

9 comments:

L Vanel said...

But wasn't that first Daring Baker challenge something spiritual. Your bread looks quite good, the color, the crust and all.

Mary said...

Your bread looks super delicious! Well done! Welcome to the Daring Bakers!

breadchick said...

That bread looks perfect. Great job on your first challenge

Thanks for baking with Sara and I

Joy said...

Well done on your first challenge. I found it difficult to make the slits too - I'll be using a stanley knife next time!

Unknown said...

Glad to hear you enjoyed your first challenge, and I'm interested to see what you learn in future journeys through this recipe. Welcome to the Daring Bakers!

Jessica said...

Congrats on your first challenge. I also had difficulty with the slashing.

Tracy said...

Great job! I used a plain old (well, new) razor blade for the slashes and didn't have any trouble at all.

I've gotten hooked on fresh bread in the house, too, but I'm planning on trying an easier recipe!

Angel said...

Your bread looks awesome! I love how perfectly shaped they are. Great Job!!

Bev and Ollie "O" said...

Welcome to the DB! Great Bread, can't wait to see the next challange!