Year In Pictures:Week 6

35:365 Party Time

On Friday I neglected to take a photo of anything other than the party.

36:365 Donuts

I'm really going to miss the donuts at the market.

37:365 Garden

I finally pulled out the herbs from my front garden. I am not looking forward to buying basil until May.

38:365 This American Life Junkie

One of my favorite programs on NPR is This American Life. On Monday I went to see Sarah Vowell, one of my favorite authors and a This American Life contributor speak. A few weeks ago I went to hear David Sedaris, also one of my favorite authors and a This American Life Contributor speak. It's a good time in Des Moines to be a radio nerd.

39:365 Vote

I may not be happy with the results of the election, but I am happy that I don't have to watch political ads for a year.

40:365 Feed the Barm

I keep a sourdough starter in the refrigerator. I don't make sourdoughs very often, so when I do I need to refresh the barm so that is fresh and ready to go. It looks very gross when I pull it out of the fridge.

41:365 Drugs

On Thursday I finally went to the doctor for my neck. Coincidently, on Thursday night I discovered that muscle relaxers make me a zombie.

Poilane-Style Miche: Bread of the Week 36

This week I made a Poilane-Style Miche. It's a large whole wheat sourdough. I'm not exaggeration by saying large. The final dough used two pounds of flour. It was so big it needed to be mixed by hand. I got out my frustrations while kneading the bread. I let it rise for eight hours, so most of my day was spent waiting to bake the bread. I was excited because the bread even looked good before it was baked.

It looked even better when it came out of the oven. Once it cooled tried a slice. It was the best sourdough I've ever had. I'll be making it a lot because I want dip slices of this bread in my soup all winter.

In this picture you can see a wine cork used for scale. This truly was a dramatic loaf. It took up most of my baking stone while in the oven.