Seven Peaks Saturday

On Saturday, Aaron and I took the kids to Seven Peaks. I am SO glad that I had not attempted to do this on my own with four children. The kids were really good, but it just would have been too hard to try and keep track of three kids while holding a baby. I'll do it when Ollie is old enough to float in a life jacket, but until then, we'll have to stick to Saturday visits so Aaron can go with us.

We had a good time though. Aaron mostly swam with the older kids, and I mostly held Ollie and watched. I was planning on putting him in the water a little, but he fell asleep, and I thought that would be mean. :) Aaron also took Lincoln and Ivan down a few water slides while I watched Adelia in the kiddie pool. I love Ollie's little baby swim suit.

After Seven Peaks, Aaron worked on the shed for a bit. He got all the trim put up, and both doors on. So all it needs now is to put the vents in and then get painted. I stayed inside and made French Bread to take to Aaron's mom's birthday party. I have been perfecting my french bread recipe, by making it a couple times a week over the last several months, and I think I'm to the point where I make better french bread than I can buy, so that makes me happy. The last couple of times, I've even been able to get that flaky crisp crust. My recipe is a whole wheat french bread. I even bought a special loaf pan for it and everything. I'm pretty happy with my results. The trickiest part has been figuring out the right flour to water consistency. That part is tricky because even if you follow the directions exactly, the consistency varies depending on the age of the flour, the water temperature, the room temperature, and how well the dough is kneaded. That's why I've had to make the dough over and over and over again, to get a feel for what makes a good light loaf and what makes a dense, hard-as-a-brick loaf. But my efforts are paying off. Here's the recipe:

Whole Wheat French Bread
2 Tbsp yeast
2 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
2-2 1/2 cups of very warm water
4 cups whole wheat flour
1-2 cups white flour

1. Dissolve yeast in water with salt and sugar. Beat in 3 cups flour to make a batter; beat until smooth. Let rise for 15-20 minutes until double in bulk.

2. Beat in enough remaining flour to make a soft dough. If your dough gets too tough, add a little more water, and mix well. 

3. Knead for 10 minutes

4. Place dough in a large, greased bowl and let rise for 1 hour, or until double in bulk. 

5. Knead briefly, and shape into two oblong loaves. Place on a greased baking sheet. (if you don't have a french loaf pan, a cookie sheet will work.) Let rise 1 hour until double in bulk.

6. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. The length of time will depend on your oven, I always check mine at 18 minutes just to make sure. Loaves are done when the are light golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. 

7. Remove from pan immediately and place on a rack to cool.

Saturday evening we went over to dinner at Aaron's parents' house to celebrate Debbie's birthday. It was fun to see Aaron's brothers and their families there as well. We ate out on their back patio, and the weather was perfect for it.