Friday, March 6, 2015

Artisan Bread

Since we have been following the Paleo way of eating the thing that I have craved the most is bread.  I love it.  Mind you, I don't eat a lot of bread but tell me that I can't eat it any more and I almost become obsessive in my need for it!
I started doing some research and found some Paleo Bread recipes.  Most of the recipes called for lots of eggs.  One recipe had ten eggs so you can imagine that it really did not taste like bread at all!
Now I started thinking about perhaps making my own bread using good quality organic flour.  I know it is not Paleo but as I have said before we only follow Paleo "loosely".
I stumbled across a blog that talked about making five minute artisan bread.  I was intrigued.  The blogger would not give the recipe but instead posted a link to the website to purchase the book.....which I did immediately.  (I have since found the recipe on another website and if you google "5 minute artisan bread" you will also find the recipe)
The bread is a miracle.  Only flour, yeast and a small amount of salt.  Definitely no sugar.  No kneading and the large batch can happily sit in your fridge for up to two weeks.  Mind you, it has never lasted that long for us.  Each day I break off a piece of the dough, let it sit for awhile and then pop it into the oven.  The hardest part is letting it cool before eating!
I know it is not Paleo, but I do believe if you are going to eat bread, this is the healthiest option.

Just flour, yeast, salt and water.  This is the mix that has risen and goes into the fridge for up to two weeks.

Artisan Bread straight from the oven.

The taste and texture is very much like sourdough and so delicious!

Thursday, March 5, 2015

A new addition to the family.

Last year we purchased a donkey to protect our calves from wild and domestic dog attack.  Donkeys really hate dogs and will kick, bite and chase any dog that comes near them.  The donkey bonds with the cattle that we run with her and so far we have not had any more dog attacks.
When we purchased her the previous owner said that she was pregnant but as the months have rolled on we were beginning to wonder if she really was pregnant.  Some days her belly looked like she was pregnant and other days not.
Yesterday when Philip went to move the mob of cattle that "Milly" was running with he found all the cows huddled around a very distraught donkey.  You see she had given birth during the early hours of the morning and the cows, being very inquisitive, had gathered around Milly to check out her baby.  Philip quickly moved the cattle into the next paddock and left Milly and her foal behind.
We have checked on the foal quite a few times to make sure she (yes it is a Jenny) is OK and we are still not sure that she is feeding properly.  We cannot of course get close enough but the foal seems strong enough and Milly seems contented so that is always a good sign.  We will continue to check on the progress over the next few days.
Here are a couple of photos that I took yesterday, a good safe distance away from the very protective mother and her baby.  The little girl seems to be all ears and will look that way until she grows into them!