Sunday, September 8, 2013

Burlap Pumpkins and Twisted Bread

One year ago 
I was cutting bolts of burlap
into table runners
for our daughter's wedding!
It's so hard to believe that a whole year
has passed.

Somewhere on Pinterest I saw
fabric pumpkins and thought
I might try to make some 
with all that left over burlap.

Stems are cut from an apple tree branch and grape vine
curls and twine was used for decoration.


It was fun making a mess on my
kitchen table, attempting my hand
at a craft - something I haven't done for so long!

Meanwhile, the bread dough was rising
Giving me a couple of hours to play.

This all sounds ideal but truth be told,
the rest of the housework was being left undone
and I was feeling a tad guilty for just 
having a "play day"....

Anyway, here is the recipe for my
latest favourite bread.
This bread uses no oil and has a 
nice rustic texture for slicing.


Twisted Bread
3 Cups warm water
1 Tbsp. yeast
1 tsp. salt
¼ Cup sugar
6-7 cups all-purpose flour


Combine water, yeast, sugar, and salt in a large warm bowl or in your stand mixer bowl. Leave for five minutes to make sure yeast is working. Stir in first three cups of flour. Add the next cups of flour a little at a time as needed, stirring until dough becomes too stiff and pulls away from sides of bowl. Transfer dough to a floured surface and begin kneading, adding more flour if still too sticky. Knead till dough is smooth and elastic. Form into a ball and place into a greased bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled (I cover it with plastic wrap and a warm kitchen towel and place it into my oven on "proof"). This usually takes about an hour.

In the meantime, get out your craft project and make a mess - smile!

Uncover bowl, sprinkle in a little more flour and knead again before dividing in half. With floured hands, shape dough into loaves, twisting the loaves several times and placing them into two greased loaf pans.  Cover and let them rise again until double in bulk.

Continue with your project while the bread rises again!

Bake for 25 minutes in a preheated 350-degree oven.



That was fun!

Now I have a little burlap pumpkin display
for my front hall sewing machine
table.....
and fresh bread for supper.






Till next time ........... don't forget to play sometimes!





7 comments:

  1. Nice memories, too, while you were bunching and twisting and tying! Even if the house wasn't cleaned as usual it smelled divine with that bread baking!

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  2. That's a cute post...Exactly a year ago the two of us were preparing for weddings, and just yesterday I was playing the wedding music again...feeling awed about the special occasion and the bride will be expecting a newborn in Feb. 2014.
    The bread looks yummy and who would think about the twist.

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  3. Playing is very important so I'm glad that you had the chance. Besides, anyone baking bread is doing God's work. (Had to pin it. Hope to try it on the next chilly day, which will be a few out.)

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  4. I love those pumpkins! A sweet idea. We were at a wedding yesterday and they had burlap table runners too.

    Your bread looks yummy! It sounds like my bread recipe - only I do have a little oil in mine. I made it last week - the first time over the summer. It was a little too humid for baking this summer - that's my excuse and I'm sticking to it :)!

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  5. I love your fall pumpkins and the twisted bread looked tasty. Comfort foods and festivities are good things about this time of year.

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  6. That was fun! Love your twisty bread...and your burlap pumpkins. It's fall...me thinks!

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  7. I love your display...and your sewing machine table. A good memory of your daughters wedding and a reminder to have fun! Love anything Autumn.

    ReplyDelete

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