Stir Crazy in These Crazy Times

Maybe it's time to start blogging again. This quarantine is no joke. I already had my mental break down but have decided I need to figure this out.

What's helping:

*Focusing small: Are my kids and grandkids ok? Are we ok? I can't take on anything else.

*Making a to-do list: it gives me a lot of options, and reassures me that I have distractions and productive things to do.

*Walking: duh, I love to take walks anyway.

* Doing a daily happy post to social media: #mydailyhappypost

*Baking challenges: today's was Paul Hollywood's baguette.

What's working for you?

So, Cameron posted yesterday his freaking perfect baguette he made using The Great British Baking Show's judge's recipe, aka, the very handsome, yet super intimidating Paul Hollywood. (Is that his real name? A little too perfect if you ask me.)

Cam's bread was definitely worthy of the very selective handshake from Paul when he is very (and very rarely) impressed.

First, the recipe calls for "scant" 4 cups of flour and twice calls for a non specific amount of water! Great, Paul, there goes my anxiety again! Luckily my son was able to talk me through it. When it comes to cooking, and especially baking, I like specific amounts. I'm not a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants girl.

So I mixed some of the scant flour and the yeast and a random amount of water together last night and let it do it's thing

Today I decided I needed the good mojo of my Great Grandma's stoneware bread making bowl to finish the process.

I left it to prove for one hour, but didn't check on it. Oops.

My over-proved loaf baked fine and tasted delicious though it's more of a blobette than a baguette. Paul would give me a disapproving look and sadly walk away. No handshake even if that were still a thing LOL.