The Joy of Cooking (with children)

Today Evan and I baked bread. This isn't just any old loaf of bread. This is the Hartman Family Annual Christmas Bread that was passed to me from a family friend. I think Mrs. Fore got tired of making loaves for us every Christmas, so she decided to teach me how to make the bread myself. I have unsuccessfully tried to teach my sister how to make it. She's smart. She wants no part in having knowledge of this 6-hour project. She only wants to eat the results...little bread eating shark.

Since no one else is able or willing to make this treat, it is left to me to create every year. I figure if I start young with Evan, maybe by the time he's 8, he can make it all by himself! Hey, I can hope.

What is normally a 6-hour project turned into an 8-hour project. Cooking with a 4-year-old somehow mysteriously warps time. Let's just say it took the child an awfully long time to measure out one cup of sugar. Being the ever patient mom that I am (hey, stop laughing), I stood by and let him feel the success of getting that cup of sugar leveled to the top...even though it took 18 stinkin' minutes.


Measuring sugar one grain at a time.


Mixing eggs and sugar. No "creaming" anything in this recipe thank goodness!


The best part of making this bread is punching it after it rises for 90 minutes.


Now comes the tedious part of making this bread. This was the highlight for Evan. There was flour (or powder as Evan kept calling it) everywhere...counter, hair, floor, and shirt. See all those round blobs? I had to roll these into strands and braid them together. It takes FOREVER and is the reason I only make this bread once a year.


At this point, the strand making portion of the day was a race against time. I had a doctor appointment that I had to get to, and I was in the kitchen in a bathrobe and wet hair. I don't always manage my time well. I also forgot how long tasks take when Evan is helping.

I did manage to get all the strands braided and back in the oven to rise again. However, the actual baking of the bread had to wait a few hours until after I got back home from the doctor. I was worried about leaving the bread, but I didn't have much of a choice. Once I got home, I found that all was well. The bread turned out golden and puffy, just the way it is supposed to look.


The braided beauties. That blob near the left center of the baking sheet is what Evan created. I didn't want to hurt his feelings, so I let the blob bake with the loaves.

Two days in a row of baking. Those wife/mom instincts are really kicking in now that I'm on vacation!