Monday 17 February 2014

Coffee, cream and ........ bread!


I have been resolutely sticking with my WIPs during the Ravellenics to try and reduce the number of projects I have on the go at any one time. Although it is nice to have some choice, I have found it gets rather overwhelming for me if I have too many things underway. So over the weekend, I worked on a little baby gift set that Mr JK asked me to knit for someone he knows through work. The baby is due at the beginning of March and as the parents -to-be don't know if it's a boy or a girl, I decided to use some coffee and cream coloured baby cashmerino from my stash to knit another Puerperium cardigan and matching hat. I found some wooden teddy bear buttons on a recent trip to John Lewis, and I think the whole ensemble is really cute!

 
Coffee and Cream baby set 007

Coffee and Cream baby set 004 
 
Coffee and Cream baby set 009

Coffee and Cream baby set 003

Coffee and Cream baby set 006


No sooner had I laid the handknits out to take some photos, than dear Flo arrived on the scene to 'help'! She complained that it was rather small for a cat blankie, but told me she would do her best!!
 
 
Coffee and Cream baby set 005


Over the weekend we had a go at baking some 'no-knead' Artisan bread, after having read about it over on Lucy's blog at Attic24. All you do is bung all the ingredients into a bowl, mix them up, cover with clingfilm and leave somewhere warm for 12-20 hours. I put ours in the airing cupboard overnight.
 
 
making artisan bread (2)

making artisan bread (3)

making artisan bread (1)


About half an hour before you are ready to bake the bread, you need to shape it. It really is VERY STICKY indeed and you need a lot of flour to combat this! I eventually put the dough into a floured bowl and left it for 30 minutes while the oven heated up with a casserole dish inside.
 
 
artisan bread take 1 (2)

artisan bread take 1 (4)

artisan bread take 1 (5)


Then you tip the dough into the hot casserole dish (I followed Lucy's tip of putting a strip of baking parchment in the base so that the loaf could be lifted out easily after baking), put the lid on and bake in the oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, remove the lid and bake for a further 15 minutes to bake the crust a lovely golden colour. Remove and allow to cool for as long as you can resist that freshly baked bread teasing and tempting you. Then slice and butter liberally before enjoying. Mmmmmm! xxx
 
 
artisan bread take 1 (6)

artisan bread take 1 (9)

artisan bread take 1 (1)

5 comments:

busybusybeejay said...

I love that outfit and the colour choice is so good for either a boy or a girl(and so neat too).

Celia said...

Great job on that outfit. I know it can be difficult to try to make something non-gender specific.

Helsie said...

That is such a lovely outfit,I'm sure the new owner will be thrilled. I've got to have a go at that bread, it looks great.

Anonymous said...

ha! i lost track of everything i wanted to say once i saw flo sitting on the sweater!! oh flo... such the helper.
but the sweater is indeed gorgeous and the buttons are the perfect touch!
-melissa

Lynne said...

The wee cardigan is gorgeous! Maybe Flo just wanted to help to block it... ;)