Loafing

Day 332: I decided to loaf today, and before you accuse me of being lazy, let me assure you that quite the opposite was true. I've gotten a bit spoiled with the Dutch-oven sourdough which takes all of five minutes to put together for the first rise and only requires stirring with a spoon to make the dough. Yes, you have to punch it down and shape it, but neither of those tasks takes more than a few minutes and very little expenditure of energy. No, I wanted to knead. There is something eminently gratifying about feeling bread dough become more elastic under your hands, and my cinnamon-swirl loaf requires a full ten minutes or even twelve before it has that magical texture. Plus, the recipe is for two loaves and takes almost eight cups of flour. That's a pretty hefty mass to manipulate on the bread board, and yes, it's good exercise for arm and back muscles. I definitely "kneaded" that!