un jour parfait.

this is the "lamb-iest" march 31st i can remember. it was over 70 degrees and beautifully sunny all day long. i began my summer-sprouting project [freckles, for non-german speakers!] by basking with a book on a blanket in the grass by a great big tree. we made it through the entire month of march without snow! it'll probably show up tomorrow, as a special trick for april fool's day!

i also made my most successful-looking batch of french bread to date! it was the same actual batch as last night's bread, but spent an extra night in the fridge. i made a baguette and an epi! we've been eating fresh bread each night for dinner, along with grilled chicken or salmon and a huge beautiful salad served in my mom's lovely new salad bowl! such perfect summery weather and food.

  

to make the epi, you form a baguette and let it rise for the allotted time [about 1.5 hours]. then, just before placing the loaves in the oven, you snip the dough with scissors every two inches or so at a 45 degree angle... then adjust the pieces to the right or left, accordingly. and...

 

voila! out comes a beautiful golden brown "wheat stalk."

post-dinner taste update: i tried baking with foil over the loaves for the last several minutes this time.

pros: beautiful golden-brown, not quite so dark as other batches // cons: denser middle, not as fluffy, lacked spectacular taste.

  ciabatta bread is to bake tomorrow!