The winds in the Polar Vortex are allegedly slowing down and temperatures in Chiberia are jumping from -14F to a balmy 14F. One can only hope.

I fed the last bit of bread in my apartment to the birds who apparently didn’t seek warmer temperatures at a lower latitude.  Since my courage has only allowed me to venture a block outside my apartment and without a grocery store within a reasonable distance, I have been forced to make bread myself.

And of course I need it now. But with the time yeast needs to develop into a proper carbohydrate-rich butter vessel, bread is an all-day affair. How could I speed up this process so that I can have toast to accompany my soup by lunchtime?

America’s Test Kitchen had the answer. A really excellent, soft, delicious answer.

I got this from Cook’s Illustrated. I tweaked it a little.

It’s so good it kept my mind off my cabin fever. Maybe tomorrow I’ll make some cheese since we’re in the middle of a Velveeta shortage.