A Classic Cob Bread Loaf is a plain white bread has a hearty crusty crust which is usually in a round (cob) and has a diamond pattern on top.
I read a lot of books.
Some because I want to.
And quite a few because others have and I want to be part of the conversation or at least some idea what they are talking about.
Case in point.
If you are a woman on Instagram you have most likely posted a photo of yourself reading a self help book called Girl Wash Your Face.
I expected it to be very Eat, Pray, Love which I hated with the passions of a thousand suns.
That is how I feel about most of these self help just be happy and oh yeah I’m already rich so when I tell you to quit your job and and follow your dreams it’s because I had the money to do so crap.
And a few chapters into Girl Wash Your Face I wasn’t really feeling it to be honest.
But as it got going I started to appreciate it more and more.
Not in the oh my god this is life changing kind of way (sorry to tell you) but in a reminder kind of way.
In one chapter she discusses the “I should be further along by now” lie that we like to tell ourselves.
You know the plan you set our for yourself before you faced the real world.
I mean according to my 18 year old self I was going to go to college (did that), become a forest ranger in wildlife management (didn’t do that), marry my college sweetheart (didn’t do that), have a house and two kids, and a few dogs. Live in Colorado.
Well, I do have a house now.
And two kids.
But those are step kids who are grown adults and I definitely have the dogs that is for sure.
But the chapter reminded me of my divorce.
The hardest thing of my divorce was that wasn’t the plan.
I didn’t go into marriage thinking I was going to get divorced.
When I divorced I went from having a perfect little house with the best kitchen ever to living in an apartment like I was in my 20’s.
And being single again. In my late 30’s.
So not what the plan was.
I always knew my ex-husband and I would stay friends so I wasn’t so much mourning the loss of him.
Which we are still friends, family really, and that does freak people out.
Because we had no real reason to stay in each others lives…or so people tell us.
And I get it.
Not every relationship can be like ours.
My husband and his ex-wife cannot have what my ex and I have…nor do they want it.
Oh sure, we played polite nice for the kids.
We never said one bad thing about her (to their face) and we did all that we could on our end to get along during the shared years.
But since graduation I have not had to see her in person and I’ll be more than honest than saying that is beyond awesome.
My husband has maybe had to see her in person one or two times and that is more than enough for him as well.
They text when they need to about kid related things and that’s that.
I used to worry about what people thought about me staying friends with my ex.
Now I don’t care.
Sometimes it’s fun to freak people out on purpose.
For example, he was at the Treat Truck party.
He has always supported my team from the beginning and I felt he needed an invite because of that.
I had a few people finally ask me who he was.
People who did not know that I’m friends with my ex.
That the dog that was with him we dog sit for and call him cousin Blackie.
Some thought it was cool but you could tell some just thought it was bizarre.
And that’s okay.
What does this have to do with Classic Cob Bread Loaf?
Nothing.
But when have I ever really had a relevant story to what the food was? Haha.
Plus no one ever seems to make bread.
I love to make bread but they really are the least popular recipes on my blog.
Most likely because they involve yeast and everyone is afraid of yeast.
It’s a simple cob bread.
Made with evil white flour.
And it’s good.
Also goes with pretty much anything.
P.S. It’s a great day to buy my cookbook Holy Sweet!
Want More Bread Recipes?
Bulgar Wheat Apple Cider Walnut Bread
Classic Cob Bread Loaf
Ingredients
- 4 cups bread flour
- 3 TBSP unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 4 1/4 tsp. Instant yeast
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 1/4 warm water (105-115F)
Instructions
- Using a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment mix all the ingredients.
- When the dough forms properly it will pull away from the sides and the bowl will be clean.
- Once the sides are clear from let the dough knead on low-medium speed for 5-7.
- Oil a large bowl.
- Form the dough into a ball and place into a mixing bowl.
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let rise for a hour, or until doubled in size.
- Form the dough into a round loaf and place it on a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Cover with plastic wrap and let rise again for another hour, or until doubled in size.
- Preheat oven to 425F.
- Lightly flour the top of the loaf, then use a razor blade or sharp knife to cut a diamond pattern across the top of the loaf. Cuts should be about 1/2 inch deep.
- Fill a pie pan with about 1 cup of water.
- Place the pie pan at the bottom of the oven. This will help create steam and make for a crustier crust.
- Place bread on a baking sheet and place in oven for about 30 minutes or until golden brown on top.
Kelly says
People might be happier if they were able to regularly lose some stress in a good batch of bread dough! Love making bread. Bread is magic. (I think it’s super cool that you were able to stay friends with your ex.)
Peabody says
Yes, there is nothing like kneading your problems away in bread.
Irene says
I want to try that bread!
Have a great weekend!
Peabody says
Have a great weekend.
Julia says
Life is too short to worry about what other people think about you and your relationship status with others.
also, thanks for posting a bread recipe. With school starting next week, it’s handy to have one available.
Peabody says
Life is indeed too short!
La La in the Library says
Thank you for the story and the bread recipe. ❤