New here, from Oxford
Hi all. This is my second post, so thought I should introduce myself :-)
I started baking from scratch just about a year ago - inspired by The Great British Bake Off! - cakes first, then biscuits/cookies and then, within two or three months, bread. My first - and most regular - the Rye Loaf by Nigel Slater and not much else. Slowly perfecting that one, with a few disastrous fails along the way. Bricks, but not inedible!
I discovered this FANTASTIC site googling for information on just about anything, and always come back to it. And so today, New Year's Eve 2015, I signed up!!
Thanks so much for the Lessons. I know they will make me a better baker.
Baking, more than anything else, centres / soothes / grounds / calms me. Soooo therapeutic. I wish I could do it full-time. Unfortunately, I have a mortgage and an expensive wardrobe habit to maintain...
Penny
I know, such habits can limit choices.
But I think you have chosen wisely regarding the bread habit.
I was having a discussion with someone recently, whereby the point was made that bread making could be a 'calm urgency' (or words to that effect).
There is the urgency to persue, but calm and patience required for result. An odd mix, if you ask me.
Anyway, I think I get where you're coming from.
Welcome again,
dobie
"Calm urgency" has a very Zen-like quality, and is spot on!
Keep baking, its great therapy... Just keep the flour out of the wardrobe!
Or just think of the kitchen toys you could get if you adopted the capsule wardrobe approach... :-)
Happy new year,
-Gordon
I had no idea what a 'capsule wardrobe' was until I checked it out and discovered that I've had one for most of my life, except that, like most men, I just call it 'my clothes'. Then I realised that I have a capsule flour chest, too: a small selection of flours which I mix and match as the whim takes me.
Welcome to TFL Penny.
Ha ha! And I can never understand how(most) men get by with one, maybe two, pair of shoes! ... As for capsule flours : a year ago I probably had 1/3 pack of flour only, and likely two years out of date. Ditto one bag of sugar. Now I have two shelves each dedicated to various sorts. «sigh»
My Christmas List this year consisted of mostly cookbooks and gadgets. I got three books (and have just bought myself another on Amazon) and a proper knife sharpener. ME - who owned a load of old tat and never used it anyway - have caught the "proper cooking INC. baking very late in life!! Oh dear ... :-)
With all the rubbish going on in my life at the moment, baking is the only thing that keeps me sane!
We love the British Baking Show! The last season hasn't run over here in the US yet, we're waiting patiently. Welcome! This is a great site with great people and great advice.
Thank you!! Absolutely addicted (now) to GBBO!!