An Inside Day

Mark, Amy and I have been working outside in the garden to get everything ready for the busy season but today is looking like an inside day.  The rain is falling, skies and gray and, unfortunately, I hear wind is forcasted for later today and lasting through the weekend.  I am not a fan of wind.  Well I will make the best of it and curl up on my cozy blanket and take a long morning nap.  I heard something about bread baking this afternoon so maybe I can help with that.  Here's to a cozy, dry, unwindy weekend for all of you.

The Winning Recipe

Last month, the Benjamin F. Packard House B&B sponsored the Dreamland Theater movies here in Bath. At each of the two movies shown, there was a drawing to win one of our famous baked goods. The first winner has yet the claim his prize, but the couple who won at the second movie are picking up their winnings today. Each winner gets to pick from a choice of three baked goods. Being that the second couple is vegan, Amy needed to make some adjustments to the choices to meet their dietary needs but she found three good recipes and they chose the Pumpkin Pecan Braided Bread. It turned out wonderful and the house smells of toasted pecans and cinnamon. Luckily, it is a big recipe and makes two loaves so hopefully there will be some leftovers for my breakfast tomorrow.

Perfect Day for Baking Bread

Today was chilly and rainy - I hate going outside in this kind of weather - but it was the perfect day for baking bread. Amy bakes all the bread that is served to our guests. She makes wonderful cinnamon bread which she slices thick and makes into french toast or an English muffin bread that she toasts and serves topped with ham, poached eggs and cheese and a classic wheat bread which goes great with the frittatas. She makes many different kinds and is always trying new ones or adapting old recipes but today she made my favorite - Italian bread. Being of Italian heritage, of course, I love this one. For Amy, who used to work in the Little Italy section of Erie, PA, it is a reminder of the smell of baking bread early in the mornings which filled the air and enticed her to buy bread for her breakfast. She has finally settled on a recipe that reminds her of that bread from Erie's Little Italy and our B&B was full of that delicious smell today. It is quite a long process with all that rising time but well worth the waiting. I took some pics throughout the day so you can see the product from beginning to end. Too bad I can't send a taste through the blog - it came out perfect!