The Fear of Yeast Breads

So as I mentioned in my last post, I actually made a yeast bread! I have had this perpetual fear of working with yeast for some reason. Maybe it's because I have read and heard so many other stories of breads falling flat, or for whatever reason yeast not doing it's job. However having spent the Easter long weekend with Matt's family, and bringing this fear up to his mom, the maker and baker of delicious potato rolls, she assured me that yeast is really not so scary. Her key, she said, was instead of heating the water or milk before dissolving the yeast to just let it sit at room temperature. That way the yeast would dissolve into the liquid rather than cook in it. And so that is what I did as I was making the recipe for cinnamon bun bread I found on Framed.
Her recipe calls for making the dough, plopping it into a square pan, swirling in the cinnamon, brown sugar crumble and popping it in the oven before letting it cool and drizzling icing all over it! I will tell you right now, this recipe is perfection. While I was worried that the bread might be too too sweet, it turned out it wasn't. Sweet and spongy, Matt and I ate it with coffee at breakfast and in the evening for dessert after dinner.
As someone who once ate cinnamon buns from Second Cup every weekday morning before work, I can tell you this recipe is really a nice alternative to a) spending the bucks to buy one and b) spending the time to make individual rolls. And if you are like me, and are scared to work with yeast, let this recipe be your first foray into the world of yeast breads, because it really is such a easy recipe (with absolutely no kneading required)! So make it. It's yummy.

Intimacy

I know, I know, it has been a long while. I can assure you that my lack of writing was not out of laziness. Nor was I not making or eating delicious and yummy food stuffs. School life sometimes takes over my fun life is all.
Now I only have one exam left to study for, and so today I had myself a nice day of rest. I made myself some vegan pancakes, adapted from Dreena Burton's Vive Le Vegan and sat down to some episodes of Lost on dvd. And then, out of no where, it hit me! I wanted to make my first attempt at baking a yeast bread. Right now I have a pan of cinnamon bun bread slowly rising in the oven, with sweet smells of brown sugar and cinnamon wafting through the kitchen. But that dear reader(s), will be for a future blog. Today instead I write of the delicious meal Matt and I shared last week.
I was walking home from downtown when I saw a man come out of Leslieville Cheese Market on Queen St. W. In his had was a beautiful, rustic looking baguette. I immediately walked into the shop and picked up a demi-baguette (since Matt and I often have a hard time eating the whole in one go). When I got home, out came the cheeses, pickles, mustards, pesto, extra-virgin olive oil and deli meat (for Matt). I rustled up a salad of baby greens, chickpeas, shallots and sun-dried tomatoes, with a dressing of extra-virgin olive oil, lemon juice and chili pepper flakes as well. When Matt got home, we sat down and cut thick slices of baguette and topped them off with our favourite accompaniments. It's meals such as this that I relish the most. It is so much more of an intimate experience when one uses their hands to assemble meals. Each bite just tastes that much better. The sight, touch, smell and taste is in full force with each bite.
Sometimes I feel like knives and forks distance us from the full eating experience. Having grown up in a Bengali household, I'd always been raised to use my hands to eat. While I didn't realize it as a child, I've recently come to notice how much more I am able to appreciate each bite. I highly recommend it. While it may seem "uncivilized" to some, why not at least start by eating more hand held items like tacos, curry with naan, or falafel pitas just to ease yourself in?

Here's to more intimate eating experiences!