On raining days, I like to bake. On this particular day, the rain had started before breakfast and inspired me to make a Dark Rye Bread with Potato and Green Bean Soup. Buffy, my oven, has a lovey feature that helps proof the break.
We had gotten locally grown red potatoes, yellow onions, and green beans. I had made stock earlier, so I just needed to pull some out of the freezer. I love my Le Creuset red Dutch oven for this type of dish. It retains heat and moisture really well.
Homemade bread takes time, so I kneaded it up as soon as I had finished breakfast. Over the years I have found having quality tools makes tasks work so much better. Be it in the kitchen or home improvement project, the right tool can make a huge difference in the quality of the job and time it takes. I use a Readi, my professional KitchenAid Mixmaster to create doughy dishes and shred vegetables.
With Readi, she likes all the wet ingredients first. Then you can stagger in the dry ones. If you give her a few extra minutes with a yeast dough, it can really pay off.
Fifteen minutes later, the dough can be left for first rise. I put my dough in a metal bowl that’s been oiled and cover it with a linen. After the first rise, I split the dough between two Padero bread pans. These are the only ones I don’t need to use a parchment paper with. These bread pans have little bumps so it doesn’t stick to the bottom. The other perk? They are easy to clean!
Back into the oven for round two. Once the timer has gone off, I remove the cloth and turn the oven on. I don’t take the loaves out. It could shock them and affect the rise.
Switching back to the soup, I have an herb garden and I harvested a lovely selection for the soup.
I find soup tastes better after the second heat through. So, I will make the soup well before the meal I’m making it for, so I can ignore it until it’s time to reheat and serve.
What do you do on rainy days?
Comments