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Saturday 15 February 2014

Sir Nigel Gresley arrives...and more on the Breadmaker

Sir Nigel Gresley was responsible for designing the A4s which are at Shildon's Locomotion Museum this week so it is fitting that one of the last six is named after him.
It must have chuffed its way up from the North York Moors Railway and is getting a good cleaning in preparation for the opening of the Great Gathering today.
The Dominion of Canada was getting a buffering and its big brass bell has been remounted on top.
The others are patiently waiting their turn.
The bread maker has turned into a great success. We have not bought bread since and have eaten every crumb we have made. It was set on timer last night and the smell of baking bread is rising through the house this morning. Making the bread ahead of need is one of the matters to consider. I fancied the rustic french recipe and it takes six hours! If you lived on the south coast a ferry ride to Calais could be more economic and timely. Hence the use of the timer. Getting the crust right has been the other main consideration. A quick blast in a hot oven ensures that the crust remains "crusty". There is a liability for it to soften as the loaf cools.
This means that it is best removed from the breadmaker as soon as the machine beeps.
But it tastes great, keeps well and toasts beautifully and I know just what is in it.
There is only one bread pan so all loaves come out the same size except that they vary in height.
So this is the rustic french "Pain de Campagne" even though it doesn't look it and it shouldn't be cut open yet to taste so it will be ready for lunch. If you want fancy shapes you have to remove the dough and cook it in the oven. I browned the crust to help it keep better.
The house smells woncerful. I shall make coffee next!
Billy is being taught to walk. Not working well yet but we shall persist.
The lead can be fixed to a washing line and then he can play in the yard in the summer when we are out there too. We have time.
He does seem particularly attracted to the gap under the gates so they will be blocked off soon, probably when the weather gets better. I presume it will. Water has come into our house again during the recent rains but we are able to get it fixed and will start soon. So much worse for so many poor folks. I weep for them.

Cheers Gillian

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

He looks so smart!!

carol said...

Oh gosh! I can smell the bread from here! I wouldn't dare have a brad-maker because there's only me to eat it and I really shouldn't but it does sound so lovely. I enjoyed the remark about the French loaf and the trip to Calais!

Thanks for the comment on my blog. I had considered seeing the 'Wolf of Wall Street' with Sandy but heard it has many graphic sex scenes and thought he might not want to watch them sitting next to his gran. I would rather like to see it (for other reasons naturally.)

love those cupcakes said...

Your bread looks delish. You really can't beat a still warm slice of a home baked loaf. I've made a couple of 'rustic' loaves recently, one of which involved leaving the dough for at least 12 hours. It produced a sort of sourdough texture which was declared by someone here as 'chewy'.