The Disappearing Act

I had an unanticipated disappearing act last week from the blog, not my body.  Monday and Tuesday were typical days, but Wednesday started a whirlwind of doctor's appointments for me and various other family members that lasted the rest of the week and actually is not over yet.  No worries, nothing serious is going on.  My 2 yo niece had and ear infection which was the worst diagnosis anyone got.  I am waiting for a call back from the ortho regarding a steroid injection in my left hip.  We are hoping that will delay surgery at least until the first of the year if not indefinitely!  

So, even though I had great mental posts going on in my head during the week.  I never had the time to actually make them happen.  Still, I learned a good lesson in all of my activity.  The No S Plan is the right thing for me.  I never had to stress over food.  I never had to worry about how long it had been since I'd eaten and if I'd need to eat again before getting home.  I didn't have to count anything and worry about too many carbs.  I ate at meal time, avoided sugar, seconds and snacks.  (I was not 100% on any of those things.)  And, my weight remained flat!  That is great news for me.  I plan to discuss it more on Wednesday, when I weigh in.

Today,  I want to share my adventures in bread making.  I shared before how 65MD and I decided to make as much as possible from scratch, including bread.  I remembered that sour dough bread is lower on the glycemic index that other bread, so I broke out my recipe for the started and whipped one up.  After 3 days, when it was ripe, I made a batch of bread.  I'd even invited my family over to eat a meal which was to include this succulent bread.  It never rose.  I called my mother in a panic, (not really a panic, but a pinch) asking if she had any bread made that she could bring.  (She's the bread lady at church and keeps some in her freezer most of the time.)  She did and rescued me.

I thought my sister had some starter.  She used to but she let it go.  She advised me to try again, saying sour dough was 'fickle' and I'd probably done nothing wrong.  I went to the store for more flour because one recipe requires 6 cups.  65MD told me to buy a loaf of bread just in case.  (How supportive!!)  The cashier, bagger and I had a nice chat about sour dough bread.  Turns out the bagger's wife makes their bread.  We had a laugh when the cashier scanned the loaf of bread that my loving husband encouraged me to buy.

Sadly, he was right.  Batch 2 of sour dough was another FAIL! Then I remembered a friend from church makes sour dough bread.  She thinks my starter wasn't good.  She said that was the hardest part and will bring me a starter on Sunday.  In the meantime, I choose not to be defeated.  I decided to make regular old yeast bread, as I have made countless times in my life.

Guess what?  The first batch did.not.rise.  I have never had an experience like this.  I have three loaves of sour dough bread that can be used for bricks and two batches of flat dough to dispose of in some manner.  Is the universe telling me to give up bread?  Maybe so.  I'm a little stubborn.  I tried one last time, being meticulous about measuring each ingredient and ensuring the temperature of the water was just right.  

It felt cold as I was kneading it, so I didn't have high hopes for it.  It is in the oven rising right now.  Go figure!