#also i ate the beets with my hands like gollum

[shoku-and-awe]

Veggie lunch! Featuring @baronmagikcarp's delicious peasant bread (halved), roasted beets with dill sauce, and green beans with almonds. Recipes behind the cut. Yes, emotionally I still feel like some kind of fuzzy mold growing inside a forgotten tupperware but this was very tasty and fun to eat.

The bread looks like it has a very dense crumb (my yeast may be dead or dying; time to check!), but the texture was extremely pleasant and doughy. It was delicious and very crusty! My husband said it was the highlight of the meal, and I ate so much I feel slightly sick, but I still want more.

Beets: Wash, wrap tightly in foil, and roast at 210C until slightly soft. (This took at least an hour? I did it yesterday.) Chill, peel, slice, serve with dill sauce.

Dill sauce: Greek yogurt, fresh dill, green onion (supposed to be chive but they are still in winter hibernation), garlic, lemon, salt, pepper, and a little bit of mayo for fat. Mix it up. Taste continuously.

Green beans: While salted water is boiling, snip off bean ends and snap in half. Boil about 30 seconds, strain, and run under cold water until cold. Toast almonds in a skillet and add to green beans with melted butter, lemon juice, and salt and pepper to taste.

Peasant Bread　 (Thanks again, @baronmagikcarp!) Make: Two 14-ounce loaves

4 cups (512 grams) unbleached all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons kosher salt 2 teaspoons sugar 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast 2 cups lukewarm water Softened unsalted butter for greasing

1) In bowl, whisk together dry ingredients 2) Add water, mix with rubber spatula until absorbed and sticky dough ball forms 3) Cover and let rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours 4) Set rack in middle of oven and preheat to 425 F 5) Grease two 1-quart oven safe bowls 6) Using two forks, deflate the dough by releasing it from the sides of the bowl and pulling towards center 7) Separate into two pieces and transfer to bowls to rise for 10 to 20 minutes uncovered 8) Transfer to oven and bake for 15 minutes, reduce heat to 375 F and bake for 17 to 20 minutes more, remove to cooling rack (if pale, cook for 5 minutes more), let cool for 15 minutes.

Note from shoku-and-awe: I had to make the following modifications knowing my oven and because either my yeast is dead or my kitchen is cold/inhospitable even when it feels warm. (I've generally had difficulties baking since we moved here, both with yeast and sourdough alike.)

My dough had barely risen after nearly 90 minutes, so I proofed it at 40C for maybe an hour and it still did not seem to need deflating in Step 6. I did score it, though!

Since my oven is weak, I baked it covered in a pre-heated pot for 15 minutes, then uncovered it and went for another 20.