Champion Sandwich Bread

NaNoWriMo Day 8 word count: 14,608

I baked bread today! GF/CF bread, of course. This is a variation on the Champion Sandwich Bread from Living Without magazine. (Update: Sorry, it looks like since I first posted this, the recipe is no longer available online without a subscription to the magazine. It was published in the October/November 2009 issue, so if you can get your hands on a back issue, you can find it there. If I can get my act together to get the okay from Living Without to post the recipe, I’ll update this post again with the full recipe. It’s really very yummy sandwich bread!)

I used the basic recipe and then added 1/2 cup each of raw slivered almonds, raw sunflower seeds, and raw sesame seeds. This variation isn’t on the recipe on the website, but it’s in the magazine, listed as “Granola Bread.” I don’t think it’s much like granola, but it’s quite tasty. The kids and my husband all raved about it, and we’ve already eaten nearly an entire loaf. I think this is my current favorite bread recipe.

The loaves took longer than I expected to rise, probably because it was so wintery outside and we keep the temperature inside the house so low. I had just put it in the oven when the babysitter arrived this afternoon. Luckily, she took its temperature and took it out of the oven when it was done. She also did the dishes and cleaned up the toys that were all over the living room when she arrived. Have I mentioned that she rocks?

While she played with my kids, I ran for 40 minutes and then wrote at City Cakes & Cafe. This was a lovely location to write. I sat at a table next to a window looking out on the rainy afternoon, sipped a decaf soy latte and nibbled on a sugar-free gluten-free vegan ginger muffin. The music was stuff I liked (Beck and White Stripes) and the volume wasn’t so loud that it distracted me. I might try City Cakes again on Friday. Although perhaps it would be safer for my waistline to write somewhere that doesn’t have GF/CF baked goods.

And when I got home, my husband was making dinner! What a decadent afternoon!