It wasn't much of a firepit, but last night I did have a small fire to commemorate the summer solstice.
When I started the wind was 9-10 miles per hour, normally the top of my limit for having a fire since usually the winds lessen steadily after sunset. But last night the winds were to increase as night came, blowing in some very hot weather for the next few days for us. Anyway, I got an early start and pretty much just burned the fallen branches and sticks that had accumulated, not even taking the cover off the firewood rack. It didn't take long until the bigger stuff had burned down and began smoldering. Smoke was starting to blow everywhere so I had to put the lid on it, which I rarely ever do but it works well to suffocate it at times like this.
Today I tried a new recipe picked by my wife from King Arthur's Big Book of Bread, an Olive-Rosemary Fougasse.
The dough felt good, but was a bit sticky so my first attempt at shaping leaves leaves a lot to be desired. It came out very tasty, crusty outside with a light and airy crumb. Not bad, and I may try this again with different flavors. The recipe called for semolina as the bench flour, so I got some for the first time and I like it a lot. I may try it for pizza and peel instead of parchment paper next time.
I have another recipe from the book that I may try tomorrow, an everyday wheat bread. I still use the frozen, store-bought bread dough for my work sandwiches, and sometimes my own flatbread, but I need a good sandwich bread recipe in my repertoire.
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