My sister Ann just sent me a text–they have arrived back in Arkansas and it’s HOT there, 90 degrees–she asked if they could come back to Montana. Well, it’s not hot here–nasty cold wind and 38 degrees. During the night it rained and rained–this morning we woke to a bit of snow. Big Timber received about 4 inches of heavy wet snow causing lots of tree and plant damage. But, we still aren’t complaining–after the nasty summer we had, this weather is a welcome relief!
In 2008 I bought the bread cookbook–Artisan Bread In Five Minutes A Day and began baking lots of bread. One of the tools for baking bread with that artisan, crunchy crust is a baking stone. I had a Pampered Chef stone but it didn’t last long cracking right down the middle. In 2009 I purchased a thicker stone from Amazon.com and have been using it frequently. Wednesday night we had homemade pizza and I told Ann, I think my baking stone is cracking–
Yep, time for a new one again.
The Cowboy has puttered most of the day–packing stuff for Arizona. We took a walk down to the mailbox both of us bundled up as if it was really cold–our blood must have thinned??? I worked in the quilt studio making binding for another quilt I’ve finished and I made a quilted pouch for our spotting scope.
There’s a big pot of chili simmering on the stove and bread rising–supper smells wonderful! More photos from our trip to the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife Refuge.
The Missouri River.
Restoration Cowboy Style 
Your supper sounds great! I only made artisan bread once and it did not turn out too well so I quit but I bake all our bread and have done so for most of the 58 years of married life. Maybe I needed a stone. I wonder if a slab of wood would do the trick?
LikeLike
I’m just not a “kneader” so never baked much bread until I came across the artisan recipes–we love this bread and there are so many different recipes in the cookbook. No, don’t try a slab of wood Vera!! 🙂 🙂
LikeLike
We came through Big Timber yesterday and there wasn’t any snow. Same with Bozeman pass, just rain. Today I checked the web cam up there and saw quite a bit of snow. We drove through snow flurries today but there’s no snow here in Dillon. Just so cold. I keep telling myself this is wonderful weather for fighting fires but it could have waited a couple of days til we got out of here.
LikeLike
We have another inch this morning and I’m still not complaining!
LikeLike
Have you thought of buying a unglazed floor tile? You can buy pretty large ones at Home Depot or Lows. They make great baking stones and are a lot cheaper than bread stones.
LikeLike
The Cowboy has thought of that although I found a screaming deal on Amazon yesterday for a pizza stone–$19 for a large, thick one!
LikeLike
We drove through some hail and snow today – it was lovely! I bet your mountains are beautiful. Fresh baked bread sounds delicious.
LikeLike
If we could see the mountains I am sure they would be lovely but they are still hidden under banks of clouds. The chili and bread were delicious!
LikeLike
We went from sleeping with the A/C and fan on Wednesday night to an extra blanket and flannels Thursday night! But I was ready for the cooler weather. We watched snow storms all day over the mountains but we were sunny in Bishop. Mammoth Lakes got three inches of the white stuff. Home made bread sounds wonderful. Yum!
LikeLike
Isn’t it wonderful! We have another inch of snow this morning and 32 degrees. The homemade bread and chili was so good!
LikeLike
It was 95 today in Euless, TX today and that snow looks really inviting to me. Mom lives in Sherwood, AR right across the river from Little Rock and it is still very hot there.
Sorry to hear about your baking stone. Artisan bread and chili sounds delicious especially if it’s cold outside.
LikeLike
Even though my entire family lives in Arkansas, I don’t think I could ever move back there due to the heat and humidity–ugh! I wasn’t exactly ready for snow but with all those fires, we will take it!
LikeLike
92 in Michigan yesterday with more of the same on tap for the next few days. We left Montana because of the predicted snow – I wasn’t quite ready for that, but I would sure prefer the cooler temps now. This heat is crazy.
LikeLike
Way too hot for this girl–I’ve adapted to the cooler temps and hate the heat–don’t think I could live anywhere hot and humid again.
LikeLike
I might have to get that bread cookbook, good honemade bread! Mm Larry said- he feels so bad that you had to experience the cold!
LikeLike
The Cowboy said, “he just bets Larry feels bad!” It is really, really easy to bake that bread–not so easy in a RV without refrigerator space.
LikeLike
89 yesterday and day 55. We aren’t getting the snow here in Southeast ND, but we are getting drizzle and rain. I have baked bread both yeast and sourdough for about 55 yrs since my grandmother taught me. Are your artisan breads sourdough?
LikeLike
We had more snow this morning, only another inch but it’s been cold and damp all day. No, the artisan breads are not sourdough. You mix a large batch, place it in a bucket with non-locking lid, let rise two hours then put the dough in the refrigerator. Sometimes I pull off a chunk and make the bread right then before placing the container in the refrigerator. When you are ready to make bread, you simply pull off a chunk of the dough, grapefruit sized, and let it rise for about 45 minutes, then bake on a stone in a hot, 450 degree oven. Delicious!
LikeLike