Yes, it’s that time of year again. The United Way fund raising campaign is in full swing where I work. Last year, one of the events that had good participation, was an auction. I baked and donated three loaves of bread. I received ‘the call’ earlier this week, from one of the auction coordinators, asking if I’d repeat my bread baking performance again this year.
So, starting this evening (since the auction is next Tuesday, only four days away), I’ll be baking bread almost non stop over the weekend. A couple of these loaves I’ll make extras for my dad and husband (otherwise, I’ll get the usual grief).
First up, the basic melt-in-your-mouth white bread recipe I make for my dad, based on King Arthur Flour‘s ‘guaranteed’ White Sandwich Bread recipe. When I take it out of the over to cool on a rack, I take a stick of butter and rub/melt it to soften the crust. I might be able to get two of these made tonight, one batch of dough in the bread machine and another in the KitchenAid stand mixer.
Saturday morning, I’ll take out from the fridge my crock of sourdough starter (also originating from King Arthur) and feed it. After a couple of hours, I’ll be able to use the fed starter to make a couple of specialty bread recipes: Rustic Sourdough and Rosemary Sourdough (that reminds me … need to pick up organic rosemary at Dillons tonight).
Since Sourdough takes longer than ‘normal’ breads, I’ll concurrently make up a batch of Honey Wheat Black Bread, which is fun to make (lots of honey in this recipe) because I get to braid the dough.
The final installment will be baked on Sunday. My all-time favorite bread recipe and (so far) fool proof: Honey Wheat Toasting Oat (with Craisins). This bread makes fantastic toast.
Perhaps I should make it an even half dozen loaves and bake one more on Sunday? I could round out the suite of breads with my old standby honey wheat bread recipe, which we lovingly refer to as my ‘trashy’ wheat bread because it’s not 100% whole wheat (so it’s not like a brick or crumbly and dry) and it’s delicious.
So if you’re a fellow co-worker and you love home-made bread from great ingredients, be sure to stop by the auction on Tuesday and place your bid.
Photos of some of my braided bread:
Once or twice a month, my employer allows employees to wear jeans on a Friday, with the caveat (or a strongly made recommendation) that a minimum donation of $5 is made to a local charity, selected by committee and announced a few days in advance. A couple of weeks ago, we supported the America Red Cross in response to the Joplin tornado disaster.
