Garden update: 4 April

Asparagus - 9 spears growing out in the front garden
Kale - a few more shoots this morning
Spinach - coming up, in the pots
Radishes - multiplying like crazy
Dandelions - oh yes, they're back and spreading fast.

No signs of life yet: carrots, fennel, onions and leeks

Previous updates: April 2, March 24

Garden update 2 April

With the damp and rain we've been having these past few days the garden is looking lush and a tiny bit waterlogged. The radishes have grown a few millimeters taller, a few shoots of kale are visible and several asparagus stalks have popped out. All very promising.

Updates: March 24

Rustic sunflower seed loaf

Several days ago I thought it was pretty apt, in view of the arrival of spring (and ergo the foretaste of summer) to make a rustic bread that celebrates that most optimistic of flowers: the sunflower. I wanted to use sunflower seeds, scattered prodigally on top of the loaf and embedded into the crumb. Quite fortuitously I found a largish packet of sunflower kernels for a few bucks at the store.

The recipe I eventually worked with is based on King Arthur Flour's simple rustic loaf  but subbing bread flour for some of the AP. Here's my version

Sponge

1 1/2 cups cool water (I used bottled water)
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup rye flour

Dough

2 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups bread flour
1  cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup mixed sunflower kernels and poppy seeds

First, I made the sponge around midnight just before bake day. I mixed the sponge ingredients and let it rest a bit more than instructed. In fact I left it alone for nearly 16 hours. No harm done. (Note to self: Use a large bowl for the sponge next time, saves on cleaning).

The next day, I made the dough by stirring down the sponge, and adding the salt and flour.  I turned the mixture out and kneaded it until the dough was smooth and elastic. I kneaded in my seeds and placed the dough in a greased bowl, turning to coat its surface with oil. After this I left it alone inside the warm oven for about 2 hours while I went for a run.

After the dough had doubled I turned the dough out onto a lightly greased baking tray and studded the surface with some of the seeds. Covered and let rise for about 1 hour. About 15 minutes towards the end of the rising time, I preheated the oven to 450°F.

I stuck the bread in the oven (I skipped the slashing-the-surface part) and quickly spritzed some water around to create steam. After 30 minutes in the oven I checked the loaf and it didn't seem to be quite ready so I reduced the temperature to 400 and baked the heck out of it for 15 minutes more.

The loaf was delicious and substantial, though not as heavy as my first rye bread. I plan to tweak my technique next time as the sunflower seeds that I used for decoration just fell off. I might try to spritz the surfaces of the laf with water first, followed by an eggwhite glaze and the seeds.