Julie & Artisan Bread - Week 1 - Baguette

Since I had the day off yesterday, I made the boule dough (Artisan free-form loaf) in the afternoon, so that I could bake my bread in the evening when my husband got off work. I mixed it up in one of my plastic cambros with a wooden spoon and let it sit for 2 hours to let it rise.

Once it had filled the container I made sure that the lid was on (not air-tight) and stuck it in the refrigerator it for 3 hours so that it's easier to work with. With enough dough now to make 4 loafs that will last up to 2 weeks, I won't have to make another batch for a few days.

The next step was to form a loaf for a Baguette by taking a grapefruit sized piece of dough from the cambro and forming it into a 2" thick log.

Since a traditional baguette doesn't have flour on top I had to brush on come water before making slits with my bread knife.

Then I slid it off on a hot pizza stone in the oven and 25 minutes later we had fresh baked bread.

I have to say, this loaf by far this was the best bread I have EVER made. The bread was light and fluffy and had a great taste even before I added any butter or cheese on top. I can't wait to get started on my next loaf!

Julie & Artisan Bread?

I have always wanted to learn how to make really good bread from scratch. Whenever I want fresh bread I have always to run to the store... but wouldn't it be great to just whip up a pizza crust or dinner rolls to complete a meal from the comfort of your own home?

In the early married years, and I was not working, this kind of dream might have actually been possible... had it not been for my extremely awful bread making abilities! Now that I'm working part time I definitely have a lot less time to devote to perfecting this skill, and it is becoming less and less of a possibility.

Until I found Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day which is the perfect method for making bread when you only have a little bit of time to devote to bread making. Rather then the traditional way; which requires a lot of time proofing, kneading, covering and rising, punching down and letting double; you start with a wetter dough that will rise on it's own, and store several loaves worth in the fridge at a time. You CAN have bread whenever you want it.

I can't wait to start making bread! I can start up our Wednesday night bread and cheese night again, except instead of store bought breads I'm going to make it from home! Inspired by the Julie & Julia movie & blog, I am going to work through this cook book and make a new recipe for every Wednesday night. I'll be posting about our findings about each recipe.

One of our favorite Lost Characters Jorge Garcia (Hurley) has also gotten into the art of bread making.

Junior High Retreat 2010 - Day 3

On the last day in the morning we talked about God's perfect solution; we could not live perfectly according to God's standard, so Christ had to come to live it for us and pay our penalty for sin by death on a Cross. For those that believe in Him, His righteousness will be counted on their behalf, and will receive a new glorified body in heaven.

Later in the afternoon we had free time for the obstacle course...

and canoeing or paddle boating....
 

Then it was time to pack up and go home.

Junior High Retreat 2010 - Day 2

The next day after breakfast we went to the high ropes course were they had a rock climbing wall...

The Power Pole...

and the Quad...

After getting all hot an sweaty on the ropes courses, we got to cool down in the lake!

The boys played football...

some of the girls played in the sand...

we went on the water slide...

and blobbed each other....

During our lesson and discussion time that day, we talked about how the destination for unrepentant sinners is Hell. We looked at passages in the Bible that showed what Hell is like. We talked about how there is a great separation between Heaven and Hell; once you're there, you're there. Nothing you or anyone else can do can provide relief. Not being from a Christian family, or doing good works or even going to a good church will save anyone. (Luke 16:19-31) Only trusting in Christ's righteousness, His taking the punishment (God's wrath) for sin on the cross and dying in our place and believing that God raised Him from the dead will save you.


That evening before we played capture the flag, we played a game so we could get to know everyone's name better. Everyone had a lot of fun... and were exhausted when the day was over.

Junior High Camp 2010 - Day 1

This past weekend we went to Junior High Camp at Timberlake Ranch Camp with our Junior High youth group at church. My husband and I were 2 of 9 leaders that went with the 27 kids present on the trip. There were 2 girls cabins and 2 boys cabins inside a big fort.

The fort and surrounding area served as the perfect location for football in the mornings and capture the flag late into the evening; something that the kids looked forward to doing when the sun had gone down. Some wear black from head to toe, to sneak around members of the opposing team.

We had a lesson each day and time for small groups afterward to discuss the lesson and answer any questions the kids might have had. The main focus of the trip was living in light of Eternity. 

The first night we talked about our problem... that someday we will die, and we don't know when that will be. God has numbered our days and we should count each day as if it were our last, so that we might be living wisely. (Psalm 90:12) "Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom."

Junior High Retreat 2010 T-Shirt Design

Sara and I helped design the t-shirts this year using an illustration that metaphorically represented Psalm 90:12.  "Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom."

Here's a picture of the front of the t-shirt.

The back features a tree with numbers (representing numbering your days) in the branches and in the middle of the tree is a heart of wisdom.

Here is a picture of some of the boys wearing their camp t-shirts.