More Yummy Stuff in the Kitchen

A while ago I made some Irish soda bread that turned out pretty good. It hadn't involved any yeast, or kneading, or all that goes with that. That made me feel like I might could tackle some regular bread, like my Mom used to make all the time.   So today, while I was looking around the Internet for something else, I came across a recipe for a cute little loaf of turtle bread.  Really, it's just regular white bread shaped like a turtle.  So I saved the recipe and came home to try it.

The list of ingredients was not too intimidating, even though it did call for yeast.  So I got all the stuff out and got started on it.

It was simple enough.  First all the dry ingredients go together.

Then all the wet stuff.

Then you put them together and mix them up real good.  Gradually, add more flour until its the right consistency for good bread dough and then let it rise, or "rest" for a little while.

It only had to rest for ten minutes.  Then you shape it, assemble all the pieces on a pan, and let it rest for a few more minutes.  Add a couple of craisins for the eyes and it's all done.

Score the back to make a proper tortoise shell, let it rest a little more, and pop it in a preheated oven.

Cook it for a while and pull it out.  And there you have it - a cute, yummy, little turtle.  The recipe doesn't make a lot, the turtle was only about ten or eleven inches from tail to nose.

Let it cool a minute or two, add some butter and honey, and you have a really yummy treat.  And it turned out very good.  Not bad at all for my first time at real bread.  Yeah, I suppose the Irish bread was real bread but this one, because it had yeast, needed kneading, and had to rest a couple of times, seems more "real" to me.  I might have to do this again.