It's been awhile since my last blog (late spring this year) so I promised Floyd - during his fund raising campaign - that I'd be back with another blog soon.

I haven't been "bloggingly" active as I wanted to owing to work mandates, although I stay tuned regularly and admire the works of the active and not-so-active bloggers.  There has been so much to admire here on TFL - the bakers, the baked goods, the insights, the "rhapsodies in blue", not to mention the tips and suggestions from members who are generous with their time and effort so that others may learn.  I have also hesitated a few times about posting a blog because compared to the talent pool of fresh loafers, my baking skills are nothing to write home about.  I must say though that the slow and sometimes painful journey into bread making has had its rewards. Since I started my love affair with dough I've only gone as far as making rolls, breakfast buns and sweet breads.  My sacred promise:  I'll start my second journey into sourdough next year.

Speaking of buns, this is an abbreviated version of my blog at www.sotsil.wordpress.com.  When it comes to recipes, I know of only two kinds:  keepers and poopers.  This King Arthur Flour recipe is a keeper.  It's the second time I've made it, and each time I've varied the shape.  KAF says to form burger buns, but I was in a playful mood and twisted them instead.  That was the first time.  The second time, I got more ambitious.

Here's what I ended up with:

Of course like a dunderhead, I stared and stared, toying with the idea of pouring cement over it to hang as an "objet d'art" in my kitchen.  The wonderful thing about this KAF recipe is that the dough is pliable.  At first I thought I might have to use scotch tape to hold the braids in place, but no - the dough cooperated and followed my nervous fingers without any resistance.  Charming.  As I prepped it for the oven, I felt a strange bond forming, like that of a school-girl crush.

Thank you, KAF, for a winning recipe.

You need not go to my blog to get the recipe because I'll post it right here.  But I did mention Shiao-Ping's valuable insight about coloring.  In one of her posts, she said something about beet coloring that doesn't take kindly to oxidation.  I mentioned it because two fun activities that I indulge in when I'm not banging away on my keyboard are shaping and coloring bread!