photo challenge week 4 – dinner

Oh pinterest. I love you. My sister had pinned these amazing looking baguettes and made them a few days ago. She pretty much makes all her own bread products, everything that her family eats. Even for sandwiches. (I know – she’s crazy – you have no idea.) And they are all delicious and healthy. I love every single one.

For example…..Yesterday was my first day back at work and she watches my kids on Wednesdays during the school year. Picture this…..4 kids four and under. 1 tired pregnant mom/aunt. 7 hours. 2 meals. I arrive after work to pick mine up and she has a delicious snack waiting for me. HOMEMADE soft pretzels stuffed with turkey and cheese. WHAT?!? She’s like super woman. And homemade pretzels have a lot of steps….more than just mixing, kneading and rising….there’s also shaping, boiling and dipping! They were A.MA.ZING. (and she did all this without ever turing on cartoons…..seriously – who is she?)

Anyway…..back to the magical baguettes from pinterest…. When she made this one, after just one bite….my brother-in-law looked at her and said with relief, “Ah. This is the bread that I always wished you made.” haha. Obviously I knew I had to try it.

So, when I got back home with my kiddos I broke out the five simple ingredients and got to work. Nothing like fresh baked bread for dinner on your sad first day back to work after a lovely but too short summer.

It really was just as fast as they said. It took me only 30 minutes to make the whole meal. (take that Rachel Ray!)

What you do:

Quick & Crusty French Baguettes

2 cups very warm water
1 packet yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
3-4 cups flour

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk together the warm water, yeast, and sugar. Set the bowl on top of your preheating oven for ten minutes. Stir in the salt and add the flour a half-cup at a time, until the dough becomes soft but not sticky. Knead the dough until elastic. About 10 minutes.

Cut the dough into four even pieces. Roll each of them into four long, thin ropes. Twist together two of the ropes to form one loaf. Twist the other two ropes together to form a second loaf. Transfer both onto a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.

You can now bake the loaf right away (if you’re in a hurry) or allow it to rise for an additional 15-30 minutes on top of your warm oven.

Now for the SECRET: Fill a large bowl with 3-4 cups of ice. Open your hot oven and place the baking sheet with the baguettes inside, then toss the ice cubes on the bottom of the oven and quickly shut the door. Do NOT open your oven for 15 minutes. Bake until golden brown, about 15-18 minutes.

That’s it. Really. So easy. (And so good.) And the kids love helping knead.

I grabbed a yummy chicken piccata pasta dish from the freezer that I had made earlier. (I LOVE FREEZER MEALS!) Sliced up some tomatoes from the garden. Done and done.

I put a dish of olive oil and balsamic vinegar out (in my spanking new orange fiestaware bowl that my friend gave me yesterday for my birthday – thanks Stephanie!) and we happily devoured our comfort food. Is there anything better than bread and oil? Sadly Kevin had to enjoy his much later since he didn’t get home from work until almost 9:00. Boo to nurses and their inconvenient hours.

So, for this weeks photo challenge…I can’t think of anything better to include than these baguettes. 🙂

You must try them!