What a week of snow! It’s beautiful outside, and I’m glad to have had some days this week to admire the weather from the inside. The kids are outside playing, making snowmen and snow angels. I can see the neighbors having a snowball fight and having a great time! This is the first winter we’ve had in Michigan with so much snow!
The hard work of shoveling and carrying in wood boxes has had me leaning into heartier meals. Tacos with homemade tortillas, pork tenderloin with roasted veg, baked potatoes with all the toppings. It’s always a balance to find meals that are satisfying but not heavy.
I follow a similar concept with breads. I like to have something sweet, but I don’t want to have so much sugar that I feel terrible afterward. I’d like to enjoy my bread, and my day! This week’s bake of the week is the perfect bread for me in that regard. It has pockets of sweetness from the dark chocolate and the dried cherries, but without any additional sugar it’s not overwhelmingly sweet. Half of the flour is freshly milled rye, which comes from our friends on their Colorado farm. This loaf is naturally leavened, and that extra time really amps up the flavors. I think you’re going to love this one!
Baking sourdough in winter is a big adjustment from the summer. As long as there is no rush, it’s wonderful! The dough takes much longer to rise, leaving the day with larger windows of time for other pursuits. My house sourdough loaves typically get mixed in the evening and baked the following evening, or the morning after that. It’s more difficult to follow that schedule in the summer when the house is warmer and more humid! I’m enjoying the slower pace in this season.