Wheat Bread And Music Boxes

Anyone remember how popular Lucite was in the 1970's? I mean, everything was made of the stuff and it wasn't cheap. Equally popular were musical items, so much so that there was for a while a chain in malls across the country that only sold music boxes. This little gem is the best of both-and a lipstick holder as well! What? You just throw your lipstick in a drawer? Barbarians.

Danny had been playing with my musical water globe and asked where the batteries went. I figured this was a great opportunity to show him something he isn't likely to run across that often, so I dug out the Lucite lipstick holder to view the mechanism. He was completely absorbed. No toy I ever purchase will equal winding up that mechanism and watching it go. Fortunately, I have a number of musical items/boxes he can play with as my mother (and grandmother) were fond of the things. In fact, when Danny came home from the hospital we hadn't bought any sort of musical soother or mobile for him, but I had a musical bell (a Christmas ornament) that we hung over the crib to lullaby him to sleep each night (it played I Am The Bird Catcher, from The Magic Flute).

I suppose his sudden interest in items around the house may partly be due to the amount of trouble he has been in since Friday. No need to detail it here, but let's just say were I a parent that spanked he'd be awfully sore right now. Since I'm not the spanking sort, he lost privileges-all of them. I pretty much took large garbage bags and dumped all his toys into them and told him he'd get them back when he can behave and earn them back. He's awfully sorry-and bored. Oh-so-terribly bored. He made a train out of empty boxes that the canning jars came in. So bored, so very sorry, so still being punished.

In fact, Danny's boredom is so complete that in addition to peering through all the curio cabinets looking for something interesting, he took a baguette off the counter and played with it-like a baseball bat at first, and then decided to cradle it like a baby.

Danny: (Hugging the loaf of bread) "Awwww, a hug for my little baguette."

He's bored out of his bloody mind. That's good-I want him to remember how horrible it was to loose all his toys and be so bored he cradled a baguette and played with a Lucite lipstick holder.

Have I mentioned how much trouble that kid is in? Oh my goodness.


You Will Need:

1 Lucite lipstick holder circa 1976 (just kidding)
2 cups warm water
3 3/4 teaspoons regular yeast
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 cup olive oil
2 cups whole wheat flour
3-4 cups bread flour
Cornmeal for dusting

Dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water in a large bowl. Let proof ten minutes. Add the olive oil and salt. Add the whole wheat flour and then the bread flour a cup at a time until you have a not-sticky dough. Knead until smooth adding more flour if needed. Place in an oiled bowl, cover and let rise until doubled. Punch down, shape into loaves and place on a cornmeal dusted baking sheet. Dust with small bit of flour and cover with a cloth.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Use whatever method you prefer to create steam. Slash loaves and place in oven. Bake 20-30 minutes or until bread reads an internal temperature of around 200 degrees F.

Cool on racks.