perfect as a Sunday can get

Sundays, I think I've mentioned before, are usually one of my least favorite days. Sundays are days full of goodbyes and gearing up for the long haul of the workweek. This past Sunday, though, was pretty much as perfect as a Sunday can get - four of us went for the best pizza in the city, then walked it off at the Zoo, and three of us continued to play a whole bunch of Mario Kart and eat a delicious dinner (which is not what I'm going to talk about, sorry, I was too busy playing Mario Kart).


Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures from the day, though not for lack of cameras. We averaged a camera per person, with 2 SLRs, a baby Holga, and a digital. Three of those were mine; yes, yes, I know, I am some kind of monstrous fiend. My goal was to use up my second (!) roll of black and white film that came with my N80, and so I never really thought to pull out my digital camera.

It's funny, shooting with film again after so long with the instant gratification of digital and Polaroid has made me think about things totally differently. I've been forced to consider light and how that will effect the outcome of the photos, about ISO and aperture and other things that I am really still just learning about. It has also forced me to be patient - every roll of film I've shot so far has needed to be sent to the labs, which they say takes two weeks but is really more like three, in my experience. So I wait.


And in the meantime, I bake.

Bread, mostly, this weekend. I attempted a pumpkin ale beer bread, which smelled fantastic but was not exactly what one might call delicious. I'm not sure if it was the recipe (which seemed fairly complicated) or me, but either way, I ended up with most of a loaf of bread in the trash. C'est le pain. Luckily, I had a back-up plan.


Perfect Sunday Rolls

These really deserve a better name than that, but what can I say? I'm not great at naming food. Anyway, these are fantastic. I kind of couldn't stop eating them. I imagine they'd be good with pretty much any kind of dinner, though they, uh, also make a pretty good breakfast (with some Nutella!).

1/4 cup warm water
1 cup hot water
1 package (2 1/4 tsp) active dry yeast
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 large egg
2 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Combine 1/4 cup warm water and yeast in a small bowl for about 5 minutes, or until dissolved.

In a large bowl, mix the butter, sugar, and salt. I find it's easiest if the butter is room temperature or softer, especially for this next part. Pour 1 cup hot water over the butter mixture and stir until dissolved. Let cool a little (by the time you're done stirring, honestly, it should be cool enough) and stir in the yeast.

Add in the egg, beating until fully mixed, then pour in the flour until a dough starts to form. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover with tin foil, and set in the refridgerator for 2 to 12 hours. (I left mine in there for about 5 hours.)

Punch down the dough and divide into as many rolls as you'll want. Shape into rounds and place onto baking pan to let rise for 45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Bake for about 18 minutes. Move to a rack to cool.