Easy No-Knead Peasant Bread and Not Every Run Will Be Perfect

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Remember my last post where I shared this amazing “Cheaters Sourdough Bread”.  You’re in for another treat! Last weekend for a gathering I made my original No-Knead Bread, but with no yogurt and a little whole wheat flour.

The prep time is the same, the method is the same, but as I mentioned, I used no yogurt. I personally love them both. They both have a slight tang due to the longer fermentation time. Sourdough is my absolute fave! Bring on the gluten and please don’t forget the butter?.

An hour rise and in the oven

Most often I do eat gluten free, but as I mentioned in this post, it’s best for my mind, body, and soul to live an 80/20 lifestyle so if that means eating sourdough bread on occasion, YEAH! It’s so freeing.

Eating perfect every day is just not realistic. As I reflect on this I also wanted to share something else I have learned as I get ‘older & wiser‘? Every run I have doesn’t have to be perfect either! Or Race for that matter!

If I don’t have a good race, I don’t let it define me as a runner. Just becuase I didn’t make my time goal, or have a PR, it doesn’t mean I am a failure.

Crusty on the outside but chewy on the inside!

After running the twin cities marathon just over a week ago, (I promise to get a re-cap posted soon) I could have let my time on the clock ruin my day but I didn’t.  Instead I tired to look at the big picture and take some things from that run to learn from and use to reach my goals. I never take any finish line for granted that’s for sure! I learn something from every race I run and guess what, they’re all very different!

When I was qualifying for Boston, I worked hard and everything clicked for several years. In 2009, I got married and as wonderful as the last 7 hears have been, I have had lots of change, with some added stress, and therefore different priorities.

I didn’t really realize the stress I was under or how it was affecting me.  I used to let a bad race day and workout get to me.  I’ve learned a lot since turning 50 and I have realized I don’t need to have a good run every day.  Nor a good Race.  In fact, it’s next to impossible to PR every time. I may never have another PR but I will continue to have personal bests in my age group, and that’s kind of cool too!

Letting go of defining myself based off a number on a race clock made a huge difference in my love for running. It’s a joy to be able to approach each run with joy and I am so blessed!

[reminder]How about you? Do you have anything that your working on or letting go of? [/reminder]

NO-KNEAD PHEASANT BREAD

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 1/2 Cups unbleached bread flour
  • 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon of active dry yeast
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon of salt
  • 1 1/2 cups of lukewarm water

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Combine the bread flour, whole-wheat flour, yeast and salt in a large bowl. Add warm water and mix with your hands or spoon until the dough come together (it will be wet and sticky). Cover with plastic wrap and let set over night. I leave mine out at room temp. You can also refrigerate.
  2. Take out of fridge or continue to let dough set for 18 hours at room temp. The surface will be bubbly.
  3. Generously dust a work surface with all purpose flour. Turn the dough out onto the flour. Sprinkle more flour on top. Fold the top and bottom of the dough into the center, than fold in the sides to make a free-from square. Use a dough scraper or a spatula to turn the dough over than tuck the corners under to form a ball.
  4. Line a baking sheet with parchment and generously dust with flour. Transfer the dough to the baking sheet, seam-side down, and sprinkle with more flour. Cover with a cotton kitchen towel (do not use terry cloth) and let rise at room temp until doubled in size, 2-3 hours.
  5. Position a rack in the bottom of the oven and place a 2 – 4 quart bread baker or cast iron dutch oven (without the lid) on the rack. Preheat oven to 450° for at least 30 minutes.  When the dough has doubled carefully transfer the hot pot to a heat-proof surface.  Uncover the dough, lift up the parchment and quickly invert the dough into pot (shake the pot to center the dough if necessary). Cover with the lid and bake 30 minutes then uncover and bake until brown and crusty, 15-30 minutes.  Turn out onto a rack to cool.



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