Dough-Sticks and Love-Butterflies

It was a week in which my husband issued a challenge, my children were quite creative, spring sprung (please say it has, at last?) and I made a new version of the famous* dough-balls.

*It's still my most-read post.

Is it really possible to make Fresh Bread In 20 Minutes?

And what exactly is a love-butterfly?!

More on this in a moment.

First, in other dough-related matters, I wanted to note that I am not the only one in our family who loves working with dough.

Here's some homemade playdough, sculpted by my eldest (who is seven).

I can imagine this in shortbread. Perhaps she will go on to produce a range of delicate and elegant biscuits. She will grow up to delight us with her artistic bakery.

I, meanwhile, made these.

The hopeful stage: proving

Not particularly photogenic

Yes.

Well.

What they lacked in beauty, they made up for in mouthwatering fresh-breadiness. My children absolutely devoured them.

These were dough-sticks, resulting from my husband's challenge to me one running-late tea-time.

"Can you really make bread in 20 minutes, Mrs P?"

He was looking a bit doubtful (you'd think he'd have more faith...) so I assured him that it could be done.

"It has to be a shape that we can dip in our boiled eggs," he added, "Ready, steady, go!"

So I used the doughball recipe and shaped them into 32 mini-baguettes. I can assure you, they were ready within the requisite time and boiled-eggs were had by all.

If you want artistic-looking, smooth, un-cracked doughballs or dough-sticks, you need to take your time; let the dough properly rise, shape them carefully, let them prove sufficiently.

But if you just want dippy-soldiers in 20 minutes flat, these will do nicely.

Also from the camera this week

A pretty patchwork that I made when I was a child. I'm de-cluttering my house and this has been the cover of a saggy cushion that had to go. I'm hoping to recycle my handy-work into something else though.

A really, really tricky packet of berries and cherries...

The Slithergadee. (If you follow this link, scroll down to find the Slithergadee, though the whole of Shel Silverstein's website has proved to be excellently entertaining for the under-7s).

Love-butterflies. Teeny tiny messages on teeny tiny butterflies. Aw.

And richly scented spring flowers, brightening up my life.