I must be getting back to normal; it’s taken almost two weeks following our marathon trip of approaching 5,000 miles over 45 days. First, yesterday, I made the first ‘full English’ breakfast since our return; today I’m baking bread for the first time (couldn’t bear any more from the shop, even ‘good’ bakeries) and I’m making ‘leftovers’ soup – from the carcass of a roast chicken with some mushrooms. That’s what I call ‘back to normal’.
Just out of the oven
It was only laziness that delayed breadmaking till now and I’m sure I’d offend that tv celebrity baker, Holiday Inn or something. I’ve long settled on my own recipe and let a breadmaker do the hard work, do the second rising in the warming oven, so all I do is a very brief knead, divide into two tins and, after doubled in size, put the two loaves in the oven to bake. If I lived in Germany I’d probably be even lazier – I’d buy my bread from the bakery. I prefer the firmer consistency to the airy ‘foam’ we get here.
My recipe, two tin loaves from: 500g wholemeal strong flour; 170g of wholemeal spelt flour, 430ml water; 10g butter; 2.1/2 teaspoons salt; 2.1/2 teaspoons sugar; packet of dried yeast. Sometimes I add sunflower or pumpkin seeds. Today I just brushed the tops with milk and scattered poppy seeds on.
Dinner tonight will be as lazy: beef stew made some time ago, from the freezer, with dumplings. I know, it’s not yet winter but I love stew and dumplings and it’s quite chilly today.
Although I kept a daily journal of the trip on Facebook (Dusty2Romania) I do intend to do at least one post here, about in particular the campsites on which we stayed, from the horrors of Budapest to the excellence of some in Austria and Holland. Soon.
Grumpytyke 
October 26, 2017 at 2:09 pm
We like to bake, especially bread. That amazing feeling when you cut a slice of freshly baked bread and eat it with jam and butter) M~ Yummy
October 26, 2017 at 2:32 pm
Absolutely. And the aroma which pervades the house – like no other! Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
September 19, 2017 at 8:00 am
Oh, back to normal is all I want!!!! I can’t start my week “normally”, was tired, then weather and now Janis is in Riga 200km away and won’t be home tonight. And that isn’t normal for us :). Girl’s can’t sleep if daddy isn’t home. That means AMAZING daddy! Mine was alcoholic I was happy when he wasn’t at home…
September 19, 2017 at 8:23 am
I guess it was good Janis was not away during the bad weather. I’m so sorry to hear about your dad. My dad, a sailor, was almost never there (WW2) then mum was a war widow so was both mum and dad to me and my two younger brothers. She did a great job.
September 19, 2017 at 8:30 am
Don’t be! I guess that made me stronger 🙂 and I never had a problem knowing what I want! Or should I say what I don’t want? Alcoholic dad for my kids! And I have what I want – lovely dad!
September 19, 2017 at 10:07 am
😀😀😀
September 18, 2017 at 7:10 pm
Baking bread!!! :)) First of all, I am hungry, second of all, I will play Laid Back, Baker Man, and think about your mouth watering glorious bread.
PS: I know how to bake as I prefer the brown bread (rye flour and bran) with seeds to the “painted” one from the shop, but I am lazy and on a diet 😦
September 19, 2017 at 7:09 am
Not to complicate things I didn’t mention that I sometimes substitute rye flour for the spelt as I like the ‘sour’ taste (as I like borș!), and always buy some rye bread when in Germany. When I first came to Romania I loved the ‘black’ bread, which most Romanians detested as much as the Russian language (because of course both had been forced upon them) but I haven’t seen it for some time. Diet – what’s that? I was amazed to find after my recent trip with about a month in Romania my weight on return was the same as when I left (and I don’t bike or roller skate 😂!).
September 19, 2017 at 1:22 pm
🙂 Indeed the rye bread is a little sour, and in combination with the bran, worse. Did I mention I add also bran to the pancake batter? Anyway, cooking is not my thing, I can only manage some dishes. You are right, the black bread has become the same with the white one, the color is different. That’s why I call it painted bread.
Diet – what’s that? I am always on a diet and always prepared to obsess on keeping a diet. But rest assured, I do not have time now, maybe later? (😂) You are lucky.
Biking and roller-skating are keeping me in shape, for more I have to starve a little. Bit 🙂