First Adventure in Breadmaking

I've done lots of baking in my life (cakes, cookies, muffins, etc.), but had never made anything that used yeast. With everything going on right now, I bought some yeast a few weeks ago so that I could take a crack at bread making since there was no bread to be had at my local stores.

I'd heard a lot about no knead bread recipes, and I decided to follow this no knead recipe from Steamy Kitchen.  My first attempt wasn't without its mishaps.  I didn't have bread flour available to me, so I used all purpose flour.  I also didn't realize that there were different types of yeast and sure enough, I used active dry yeast when the recipe calls for instant yeast.  Looking into this to see how much of a big deal it was, basically I should have proofed the yeast in warm water before adding the other dry ingredients.  I mistakenly stirred the dry ingredients together, then added the water and stirred. There was an initial foaminess from the yeast, but that went away when I stirred everything together.

I panicked a little at 12 hours in because there was condensation on the plastic wrap, but the dough hadn't risen a significant amount. I did a bit of reading and asked around on reddit.  I was assured that my failure to proof the yeast shouldn't significantly impact my bread, but that the dough's failure to rise might have more to do with the temperature in my kitchen.  It was quite cold in my apartment and I don't have a window in my kitchen.  I ended up setting the bowl on a potholder on the stove while dinner was in the oven to warm it up a little, then put it on the counter on top of the dishwasher while it ran.  After seeing positive results from that, I left the oven on low with my dough on a potholder on the stove for the rest of the rise time.

I baked in my dutch oven on a piece of parchment paper as directed, and here's how the loaf turned out:

We had chicken alfredo for dinner and I was able to make garlic bread with my homemade loaf of bread:

Overall, I'm happy with how the bread turned out, though it was a little chewy.  I'm definitely going to try the recipe again and actually proof the yeast.  If I can get a hold of bread flour, I am also curious to try that.  I'm also interested in trying a softer, sandwich style loaf, so I'll be on the lookout for a recipe.  I have a kitchenaid mixer so I can make a kneaded dough recipe without too much hassle.  I'm excited to continue exploring breadmaking now that I'm not longer intimidated by yeast.

Art Therapy: Grieving Through Art

I've spent the last couple of months very sick, including a few days in the hospital, but I think I'm finally starting to get through it.  In early March, right before I fell ill, my grandma passed away.  The night that I heard about her passing, I did the thing that made the most sense and painted.  I wanted to use rainbow colors, but I also wanted a dark base for the colors to pop against.

I created the Dark Rainbow Series, which is a set of four paintings, done with the same colors but different techniques for each painting.  Art is therapeutic for me, and it was very helpful for me to have a little wine and just paint.  If you're interested, please check out the videos of these paintings:

More Acrylic Pour Painting

I've continued to make acrylic pouring videos.  I've really been enjoying it and I'm trying not to feel bad about other things that I feel like I should be doing instead of painting or editing.  You have to make time for the stuff that makes you happy too, otherwise, what's the point?

Please check out my new videos if you're interested:

The last one is probably my favorite out of this group.  There are more to come as I have several videos filmed, edited, and scheduled to post over the next couple weeks.  Please check my channel out and subscribe if you like pour painting videos!

New Painting Supplies!

I finally purchased some silicone oil, a heat gun, and some condiment bottles so that I can pre-mix my paint!

My current formula is: 1:1 acrylic paint to diluted Elmer's school glue.  My glue is diluted at 30% water and 70% glue.  I also add 3 drops of silicone oil per 100 ml of premixed pouring paint if I want cells.

I uploaded a new video today and I'm working on a couple more that I will post soon.

You can also see a sneak preview of my upcoming videos on my Instagram.  I think the rainbow swipe painting is my favorite things that I've created so far.

I tried to do a Dutch pour painting (and recorded it)

I record some of the paintings I do.  Originally the intent was that I could review a video if I really liked how a painting came out, but I also really like watching painting videos on youtube, so I decided to upload some of my favorites.  I'm starting with a pretty short video of one of my first Dutch pours.  Please check it out if you're interested!

Many other artists use a hairdryer or a straw for their Dutch pours, but I decided to just try blowing directly on the painting since it's such a small piece.  I did get a little light-headed though.  I really liked how this one came out and I'll definitely be playing with this technique some more.