We managed to put up the IKEA shelf we'd been meaning to put up since January and the whiteboard we'd meaning to put up since last year October. ... A small excuse is that we didn't have a drill until May =P Now we've made it and it is nearly straight. For that being the first things we ever hung ourselves that's pretty good, isn't it?
And, well, in fact it must be pretty straight, since the teapot on the shelf is not practising for winter skiing, but is staying in its place :)
Yes, the shelf is now the tea shelf and we were both quite amazed about it until our other housemates came back and told us it was exactly in the walking line and the corner of the shelf really dangerous ;)
So, I guess we'll hang something in neon colours on the edge, but it is not THAT dangerous.
And to keep you up to date in case one of you has started a sourdough here comes the recipe for the first mixed yeast & sourdough bread I made!
Swabian Farmers' Bread
Swabian farmers' bread with sourdough and yeast.
Total time: 18 hours + sourdough
Yield: 1 bread
Ingredients
- 160 g rye flour
- 200 g water
- 40 g sourdough
- 160 g wheat flour
- 140 g rye flour
- 80 - 160 g water, lukewarm
- 1 tsp dried yeast (or 8 g fresh)
- ½ tsp honey
- 10 g salt
- bread spice (fennel seeds, coriander seeds, caraway seeds, anise seeds)
- flour
Instructions
- Mix together the first three ingredients (rye flour, water and sourdough). Take the sourdough from your sourdough starter ready for use. Don't forget to feed the remaining starter. Let this sit, covered, in a warm place overnight or for about 8 hours.
- Grind up bread spice and mix with flour and salt. Add to the dough. Dissolve yeast and honey in a part oft the water. Add to the dough and start kneading. Add water as needed.
- It is considerably easier to knead this with a kneading machine, since rye dough tends to be very sticky.
- Knead until the dough comes together. Cover and let rest in a warm (!) place for half an hour. Don't hesitate to use a cherry stone pillow or some other gently warming device.
- Knead again and form into a dough ball (on a wet surface with wet hands, form into a ball by folding in the sides and rotating the ball of dough until the bottom side of the dough is smooth). Take a bowl and line with a dish towel. With a fine sieve dust the towel in the bowl generously with flour. Place the ball of dough in this bowl, the dough end facing up. With something pointed, such as knitting needles, poke the dough a couple of times. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to as high as it goes. Place an oven-save dish filled with water in the oven so that steam can develop.
- Generously dust a baking sheet with flour. You can also use a non-stick baking. In one swift movement turn out the bread on the sheet. Poke the bread again a couple of times. With a sharp knife slice the bread in a grid pattern. The cuts should be about 1 inch/ 1 ½ cm deep. Wet your hands and wet the bread. dust it with more flour.
- Place the bread in the oven. Bake, turning down the oven over time:
- for 15 minutes at 260 °C (or as high as your oven goes) - this develops the crust
- for 20 minutes at 220 °C and
- for 15 minutes at 190 °C.
- Remove from the oven and check for doneness by knocking on the bottom of the bread. If it sounds hollow the bread is done.
- Let cool on a rack or freeze immediately.
- Store, wrapped in a dish towel, in a paper bag at room temperature. OR
- Freeze in a freezer bag, then defrost overnight at room temperature (within the bag) and, if you wish, reheat and crisp up briefly in the oven.
