Hey, look, another break!

It's not too far into February break, but the baking is already underway!

Following some non-dessert kitchen wrangling at the coop of a favorite culinary partner, I did the prosaic Valentine's Day baking thing (getting to the heart through the stomach, n. 1. way to compensate for being annoying, other personal flaws, 2. possibly unwise move for future doctor).

First up: chocolate sandwiches with strawberry creme, like an Oreo but not disgusting. The cookie part expands A LOT when baking, so take care! I did add a drop of red food coloring to the filling, and just a dab more jam (which I ran through a strainer to remove any fruit debris) than called for. And then I ate too many.

Next: the most effortless bread ever. I was a little worried because the dough seemed too moist, liquidy, like I had miscounted the number of cups of flour I'd put in, but it baked up perfectly (I did decrease the amount of salt a tad and add just a half-teaspoon of sugar to help proof the yeast, though...). No, really. This bread made me want to do a little Wordsworthian dance with the daffodils and call it my sweet baboo and then eat all three boules the recipe produced. Bonus: It was so simple to make that I can see myself setting it up in the morning, going to class, coming back, and baking it, even while school is in session. Perhaps for a production night?

I've eaten way too much today. The diet starts tomorrow, I swear.