The ability to make a delicious and beautiful loaf of bread from scratch is a skill that I have admired for years. Learning to bake a good loaf of bread requires practice. Taking simple ingredients like flour, water, yeast and salt and turning them into a quality loaf of bread, is not a simple skill to master. This past year was the perfect opportunity to test out recipes. With the entire family living and eating at home, we were able to bake loaves of bread that the entire family would enjoy. After watching videos of bread making enthusiasts, practicing in our kitchen and then adjusting the recipes to meet our own tastes, we have learned how create a high quality product at home in our own kitchen. For sourdough, it’s all about the cultured starter. We began cultivating a sourdough starter over a year ago. We continue to feed it regularly, so that we are able to bake our favorite Shookhill sourdough bread at any time. A strong sourdough culture is the key to making delicious tasting sourdough bread. We have happily shared the starter and many loaves of bread with friends and family. In addition to sourdough, we have made whole grain bread, baguettes, dinner rolls, pizza dough, calzones, cinnamon raisin bread and focaccia. This has certainly been a uplifting baking journey in the midst a challenging year. I now understand better, why we say, “bread is the staff of life.” Bread, in moderation, can be a delicious part of a healthy diet. Whether it’s a quick bread, yeasted dough or dinner rolls, the smell of bread baking is always a welcome aroma to come home to.
Cooking
Lemon Bars…
Ever since I can remember, I have loved lemon bars. My mother used to make them as a special treat when we were growing up. They were a dessert that she made for my sister, who we lovingly called, a “lemonhead.” Lemonheads are people that love everything lemon. Although I was not necessarily one of those people growing up, I have increasingly grown to appreciate the versatile citrus and incorporate it into my home and cooking whenever possible. Using a microplane, we regularly add lemon zest to recipes to bring extra brightness to a dish. A few years ago, I was on a mission to create a lemon bar that could be easily transported. I love the flavor of my mother’s recipe, her bars are absolutely delicious, but they were too fragile for my needs. I wanted a lemon dessert that I could make and take to my sister’s house, serve at parties, wrap as gifts and hold up at tailgating events. I am not a professional baker and I don’t have access to a commercial kitchen. In order to create the perfect bar, I did what any other home cook would do. I relied on my family and friends to become my test subjects. Let me be clear, by the time I modified my recipe into one that I liked, my family and friends needed a break from my baking! If you are looking for a delicious lemon dessert recipe to try, I highly recommend this one! After many minor modifications, we think it’s perfection!