Baked

Hope you all had a nice weekend. We had a vicious hail storm, here in Vancouver. Crazy. Does May hail bring nothing but sunshine for June?

I'm really into making bread these days. There's something very calming about kneading dough. It's a bit of a workout for my teeny forearms too!

Cracked Wheat and Hazlenut bread - makes 2 round loaves

1/2 cup cracked wheat
1/4 cup boiling water
2 packets active dry yeast
2 cups warm water
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 teaspoons salt
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup chopped hazelnuts

Egg glaze:
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon water

Pour boiling water over cracked wheat, in a small bowl, and let stand for a few minutes. Drain and press out excess water. Place warm water and honey in another bowl and sprinkle yeast on top. Let stand until mixture starts to foam, about 5 minutes.

In the bowl of an electric mixer, place the butter, salt, 2 cups of white flour and the yeast mixture. Beat until it's the consistency of cake batter, about 2 minutes. Gradually mix in the remaining flours, 1/2 cup at a time, and 1/4 cup of the soaked cracked wheat. Using a dough hook, mix for about 8 minutes, or knead dough by hand (which I did). Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, turn to coat ball, cover with a damp cloth and let rise until doubled in bulk, about 45 minutes.

Punch down dough and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Sprinkle 1/2 cup of the hazelnuts, and gently knead into dough. Divide dough into two even pieces. Form into, approximately, two 8 inch discs, about 1 inch thick. Place on lightly greased baking sheets, and cover with greased plastic wrap. Let rise for another 45 minutes. Brush tops of loaves with the egg glaze, then sprinkle with remaining hazelnuts and cracked wheat. Bake in a 375f oven for about 30 minutes on the centre rack. Allow to cool on wire racks.

This is a really great tasting bread, and good for you too. If you try out this recipe, I'd love to know.

Back soon!
janis

Sunday Observations

Happy Mother's Day to all you moms out there! Hope you had a great day.

While out to pick up some supplies for my project today, I noticed that this fantastic old neon sign was back in action. Do any of you Vancouverites know what's happening with the Only Seafoods Cafe?

I found a pink Chinese tea tin, and discovered it was a perfect holder for chalk and a chalk brush.

 

I love green chalkboard paint. Won't be able to write on the door until tomorrow, as it's still a bit damp...and I have to meet mom for dinner ;)

Well that winds up my weekend. What did you all get up to?

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janis

Rosy Friday

I hope you all had a good week. It's very rainy, here in Vancouver, so I thought I'd wind up the week with some sunny roses. I'm feeling hopeful.

Have a great weekend! Back soon.
janis

A Good Mix

I shoot a lot of homes, but my favourites are always the ones where the homeowners are not afraid to display the things they love, and that mean something to them.  Sami Wall's home is just that. I met Sami at a sewing class and, while chatting over our sewing machines, I learned that she's an interior designer. Here's a little peek inside her townhouse she shares with her husband and adorable dog (and a baby on the way!).

What do you think of Sami's place? I love the way she arranges things, and how they've mixed vintage with new along with family treasures. Let me know what you think!

Have a lovely day. Back soon.
janis

Baked

Happy Monday. It's been an interesting last few days, hasn't it? Hope you all had a good, and very royal, weekend.

I tried making brioche for the first time. I'm pretty pleased with the taste and texture, but the shapes are a bit off. I think I put too much dough into each tin, so they're pretty massive for the tin size. Oh well, I'll know for next time!
By the way, these do take a lot of time to make, but most of that time the dough is just sitting in the fridge. Definitely worth the effort!

Brioche - makes about 12 plus a few mini loaves.
(the size of the brioche tin I used measures 3" across the top and 1.5" bottom. mini loaf tin measures 4.5"x2.5"x1.25")

1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
5 cups of all purpose flour
1 cup of hot water (about 125f)
6 eggs
1 cup unsalted butter, softened and cut into pieces

For glaze:
2 egg yolks
1 teaspoon water

In bowl of a heavy mixer with paddle attachment, mix yeast, sugar, salt and 1 cup of the flour. Add the hot water and beat at medium speed until smooth, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to medium-low and add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in 2 cups more of the remaining flour. Add butter, a few pieces at a time, beating until completely incorporated. Gradually add remaining flour to make a very sticky, soft dough. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm spot until doubled in bulk, about 3 hours.  Gently deflate dough then cover and refrigerate over night.

Turn out dough onto a lightly floured surface. Use a little flour to keep hands floured, but no more than a 1/4 cup extra, and gently knead dough into a ball. Break up dough into 4 pieces then roll into 12 inch logs. Cut 3 logs into equal pieces and place into brioche tins. Cut an X on top of each. With the remaining dough, cut into small pieces and roll into smaller balls and press gently into each X. I had extra dough, so I made a few mini loaves as well (not shown).

Stir egg yolks with the teaspoon of water, and brush over tops of brioche. Cover lightly and let rise in a warm spot for about 45 minutes, or until doubled in bulk.

Bake in centre of 400f/200c oven for about 18-20 minutes, or until golden. Let cool a little in tins, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely....if you want to wait that long.

By the way, apparently these are perfect for freezing. Just wrap each one separately, then place in an airtight container. Should last for up to 60 days.

Have a great day everyone! Back soon.
janis

Sunday Observations

In my early morning travels, it was a symphony of pink. The blousiest blossoms are out in full force.

 

I also did a little shopping at Olive and Joy. Julie is a talented woman!

That's what I observed in my world. Oh and I also received many last ditch desperate calls from all three major parties, here in Canada. Speaking of 3 major parties, don't forget to vote!

All About Bathrooms

I was shooting a very lovely modern home yesterday, and we got to talking about bathrooms. I see all kinds, so I thought I'd share a bit of a variety with you. 

This bathroom was designed by Rebecca Lapres. The log table is by designer John Ross.

 

 Bathroom designed by View Point Construction.

 

This bathroom was designed by Nancy Riesco and Clinton Cuddington.

Do you have a favourite? I've love to know! I'm leaning towards the first one of this batch.

If you're watching the big wedding, try to catch a nap first. I'd take a nap now, but the Canucks are playing Nashville in the Stanley Cup Playoffs....cannot miss this game! I think I'm going to be very tired tomorrow.

Back soon!
janis