Staff of LIfe

I find making bread to be very grounding. The meditative nature of kneading it and feeling it change under my hands is soothing and calming, and the sense of satisfaction when I pull a beautiful loaf from the oven is immense. I especially love working with sourdough. It's kind of magical. 

Years ago, I made my own starter. With nothing more than flour and water, I was able to create the basis for magnificent loaves. It was very forgiving, and though a lengthy process, it filled the house with that delicious aroma, and gave me decent loaves of bread for less that $1 each.

That original starter got neglected and eventually died, but I recently obtained another one from Johanna at Green Gourmet Giraffe, and it has reignited my passion for sourdough.

It isn't a spur-of-the-moment thing, though. I grabbed my start from the fridge late last night, and set up a sponge - all the starter from my jar, mixed with 2 cups of cooled boiled water and 2 cups of plain flour. I used cooled boiled water because it ensures the chlorine has dissipated and the starter won't be killed off. I cover it with a clean tea towel, and leave it overnight. In the morning, it has increased in bulk and is ready to be turned into magnificent bread.

I gathered together the rest of my ingredients - salt, honey, rice bran oil, and flour. Today I decided to make caraway rye bread, so I got some dark rye flour, the seeds and some spelt flour.

Into my big stoneware bowl, I placed 4 cups of the sponge, making sure to leave some in the jug to put aside for the next loaves. I added to that 1 tablespoon of salt, 2 tablespoons of honey and 4 tablespoons of rice bran oil. Any oil can be used, and I often use olive oil for a bit more depth of flavour in a plain loaf. And that's where the careful measuring ends. The rest is done by feel. 

After combining the above, I added a handful of seeds, and about a cup each of wholemeal spelt flour and dark rye flour. I added in white baker's flour until it became too stiff to mix, and turned it out onto a well-floured bench. Then came my favourite part of the process - the kneading! It starts out as a fairly gluggy, sticky mess, but by dint of adding in extra flour and gently kneading, it becomes a pliable, soft dough. Once I get to that stage, I start the timer, and knead it for 10 minutes. In that time, it becomes quite elastic, and springs back when you stick your finger into it. Then it goes back into the big bowl to rise. I spray it with oil, to stop it from drying out, and cover it with a clean tea towel.

I left it rise for approximately 6 hours. It's a friendly thing, that is happy to be left on its own for some time! After punching it down, I shaped it. I usually do 2 loaves - either baguettes or rectangular loaves. Today I made one loaf and 5 knot rolls.

Once again, I covered it with a clean tea towel, and left it. This time for an hour, before placing it in a cold oven, set to about 180 degrees Celsius  and let it cook until it sounded hollow when tapped. The loaf cracked on the top, and it turns out I used cumin seeds rather than caraway seeds, but it tastes good!

An oldie but a goodie

I have had a crazy busy weekend, with no time for any sewing or knitting or anything! Yesterday I left the house at 8am, and didn't return until 9pm, too tired to do more than stare at the TV. Today has been similarly manic.

So, I thought I would show off one of my favourite creations from the archive.

When I was at uni, I made myself a simple black skirt with an elastic waist, and hand-stitched rings of braid and ribbon around the bottom of it. I adored this skirt, which was black enough to suit my arts student self, but also had cheerful splashes of colour and a bit of interest. I wore it with black tights and Doc Marten's, and a black cardigan.

Fast forward almost 20 years *gulp*, and I found myself making a similar skirt for my 4 year old daughter. Not black, as she wouldn't wear black! Not pink, in an effort to de-bubblegum her wardrobe. I found a pale blue chambray that was sturdy enough to carry the braid, but girly enough to suit my pinker-than-pink daughter.

I made a simple loop of the chambray, about 8cm longer than I wanted it. At the top, I sewed a deep hem, about 4cm deep, with 3cm left open. I stay-stitched along the top edge, and halfway down the hem, again, leaving an opening. I ran two lengths of elastic through the two channels, and tied them off. I hemmed the bottom with a 1cm hem. Then I stitched strips of varying braids and ribbons around the bottom of the skirt.

It quickly became a favourite item, and when it became too short to be decent, I had to make another. I chose all red braids this time, and added some fringing for a bit of fun.

Listening to: Mazzy Star

All that's Leftie

Friday mornings, of late, have meant getting together with friends for some crafting and chatter over cups of tea and baked goodies. Just the thing on a cold a blowy day like today. I grabbed some of my Lemon Sugar Cookies from Tuesday's baking, and took myself and my knitting off to my friend's house.

I had finished knitting my Leftie shawl, and had only the ends to fasten off. It was such a fun knit, I was kind of sad to get to the end of it, and fastening in the ends is my least favourite part of any knitting project. Still, with a cup of tea, some fresh-out-of-the-oven brownie and good company, I managed to get them all done!

The picture shows my Leftie as a WIP, as I haven't yet been able to photograph it in its finished glory. Knitted in purple Wollmeise, this is a light, soft and snuggly scarf, and I surely appreciated its warmth at school pick up!

Listening to: chatter 
Drinking: tea

What I made today.

After a morning of housework, I decided to treat myself to an afternoon with my sewing machine, working on my latest project, some chair covers for our dining chairs. 

For some reason, we chose chairs with upholstery. Bone coloured microsuede upholstery no less. Rookie mistake! 

All in all they aren't wearing too badly, thanks to some previous slip covers I made. But these slip covers aren't faring too well, so it was time for some new ones.

I bought the end of a bolt of heavy cotton with a geometric block print, and set about working out how I would go about making the covers. It was only about 1.5m of fabric, so I didn't have an awful lot to play with. I ended up with enough fabric for 4 covers. 

I measured the seat of a chair, and drew the trapezoidal shape of it onto a sheet of newspaper (thank goodness we still have a broadsheet newspaper!), adding an extra 5cm around the front and sides, and notching the front corners. I overlocked the notched edges together, forming a corner, then overlocked the edges. Then I cut out a rectangle, that would fit between the uprights of the back and hang down behind. I overlocked and hemmed that, and sewed it to the back edge of the other piece. 

Then I cut 2 pieces of thick elastic and sewed them, so the formed a loop at the front corners. On the back corners and flap, I sewed some 15cm long pieces of matching wide tape, which I had hemmed at one end. I should have taken some photos as I went.

The finished product is a bit of a snug fit, and if I had more fabric, I would have made the sides longer, but I think they will serve the purpose. You can see the elastic loops at the front.

And the ties at the back.

They are easy to take on and off, and hopefully will keep the chairs looking spiffy for a little while to come.

I couldn't find any more fabric in the same colour, so I purchased some in the same print but a different colour for the other 4 chairs.

But that's a project for another day.

Listening to: P!nk, Bon Iver, Gotye

Drinking: Tea