Birdseed Bread

It snowed for the first time this year today... a big, wet, heavy snow that turned to water as soon as it hit the pavement but gave the whole day a very cozy, wonderland sort of feel.  I also instinctively began running through the contents of my pantry in my head as I drove home, for even though I knew the snow wouldn't last through the night, I felt the need to make certain there were provisions at hand, just in case.

Baking bread is one of my favorite kitchen activities, and it is truly a delight on a snowy day such as this one.  I love breaking a sweat while kneading the dough, the aroma it releases as it heats up in the oven, and cutting the first warm slice and slathering it with butter and jam. 

As far as bread machines are concerned... I say do whatever it takes to make it possible and enjoyable for you and your family, and the machines certainly do take care of a lot of the time and work.  However, kneading bread by hand is fun, and can actually be part of your exercise regimen (think exercise bands).  In addition, it gives you the opportunity to really be certain that the texture of the dough is where you want it to be.  This is helpful when you're experimenting with a different grain or an unfamiliar recipe.

I can call this recipe my own, even though it began its life as "cracked wheat bread" from a great cookbook called "Beard on Bread" by James Beard.  But as I've experimented, I've tweaked the recipe and added so many notes in the margins of the page that it is truly a whole new product.  I call it Birdseed Bread, because it is chock full of sunflower seeds, millet, and other crunchy goodies that your neighborhood chickadee would love.  It is more nutritious than any bread you'll find in the grocery store, and its superior flavor and texture has awarded me praise at family gatherings.  It is extremely versatile, working well with sweet jams or savory egg sandwiches. 

Gelfling's Birdseed Bread

1/2 c cracked wheat, oat bran, or other whole grain hot cereal (I like a 7-Grain Cereal blend from Bob's Red Mill)
1 1/2 c boiling water
1 package active dry yeast
1/3 c warm (100*) water
1/4 c softened butter
1 1/2 tbsp salt
2 tbsp molasses
4 tbsp honey
1 c. milk
2 1/2 c whole wheat flour
2 1/2 c unbleached white flour
1/2 c nuts, seeds, and various grains (I typically use sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, hemp seeds, flax seeds, wheat germ, quinoa, millet, and bee pollen).

Cook the whole grain cereal in the boiling water until the water is absorbed, stirring to prevent sticking.  In the meantime, dissolve the yeast in the warm water in a large mixing bowl and let proof.  When the cereal is cooked, add the butter, salt, molasses, honey, and milk, stirring to combine, and let cool to lukewarm. 

Add the cereal mixture to the yeast.  Begin stirring in the flour one cup at a time, starting with the whole wheat flour. 

When the dough becomes too stiff, work it by hand.  Knead it until it is smooth and elastic, adding a bit more unbleached flour as needed.

(Yes, I'm sitting on the floor in my pajamas here.)

You want the dough to be tacky, but not sticky.  It should hold together in a ball nicely and just cling to your hands ever so slightly.

Shape the dough into a ball and put it in a buttered bowl, turning it to coat with butter. 

Cover with a towel and place in a warm, draft-free spot to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1.5 hours. 
Punch it down, shape it into loaves, place in well buttered loaf pans (or on a butter baking sheet), cover and let rise again until doubled. 

Bake at 350* for about 30-35 minutes, or until the loaves are nicely browned and sound hollow when tapped on the top and bottom with the knuckles.  Let cool on racks and enjoy!

Masks

I recently rediscovered a fun craft from my childhood: masking plaster masks.  With performance costumes and Christmas gifts in mind, I bought a roll of plaster fabric and spent a messy evening with my darling making masks.  I haven't yet decided how I want to paint this first mask... but I'm thinking that a blue-ish grey base with blue shading and perhaps some glitter might be neat...

There are a few tricks to making a good sturdy, organic-looking plaster mask of a human or humanoid face. 

First of all, wrap your hair in plastic wrap and coat all exposed skin and hair with Vasline.  Then begin the mask by making an "X" with 6 thin strips of the fabric over the "third eye" part of your forehead, across the bridge of the nose, and onto the cheekbones.  This gives the mask strength and will keep it from caving in as you peel it off of your Vaseline-covered face.  Then proceed to building the edges, and finally filling in the space in between with overlapping strips.  Smooth the wet fabric out as you go to create a uniform texture.

The second is to remove the mask from your face after you've established a solid base, but before you begin adding on shapes, such as the beak-like nose of my mask.  It will be easier for you to shape the features of your mask after it is off of your face.  You can place the mask on your face to see how it looks on you periodically as you build.

The third is to imagine the features of the face you want to create in terms of shapes.  For instance, when building the large cheekbones of my mask, I overlapped different sized triangles of the fabric the build the contour of the cheek as opposed to strips or rectangles.   For the nose, I bunched up small pieces of the fabric into cones of progressively smaller size, alternating with thin overlapping strips to build strength.  

The last is to try to follow the natural contours of your own face as much as possible when designing the edges.  You want the mask to seemingly fade into the rest of your face, neck, or hairline.  Blunt or creative edges can be a cool effect for a mask, but they don't go over very well when you're trying to create a human or humanoid face. 

I highly recommend trying out this simple and fun form of sculpture... even if you have no place to wear the mask, they look super creepy and neat hanging on walls and resting on mantels!