The boy was greatly displeased that I made soup, and leftover soup at that. “When are we going to chop something?” he whined.

Tonight’s bread was a new creation. Following the format of the original no-knead bread, I scoured the internet for variations and came up with a wheat and oat concoction. I’ll include the ingredient list here, but I have to admit upfront that it wasn’t as chewy and grainy as I had hoped it to be; I expected more flavor and texture from the steel cut oats, and the crust was lackluster. I’m willing to give it another try, though, possibly after toasting the oats in a dry pan beforehand.

Ingredients

• 3 oz whole wheat flour
• 3 oz steel cut oats
• 10 oz bread flour
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 1/4 tsp instant yeast (as usual, I used active dry yeast, increasing the amount by roughly 25%)

Results: The soup, though tasty, got a thumbs-down from the tiny chef who rejects anything served in broth or unidentifiable sauce. The bread was given a neutral rating, and won’t be repeated without modifications.