A Soft Submission

With a rare day of sunshine yesterday I decided to be spontaneous and indulge in some bread making, in my opinion one of the most therapeutic things you can do. With just two weeks before moving day and a house groaning with packed cardboard boxes I relished the act of kneading some dough into a soft submission and with it the stress, if only for a short while. I'm sure you can empathise that with the effects of this unrelenting winter it's been darn near impossible to feel inspired. I was tired of moping around, feeling sorry for myself. I'd even wondered if I'd ever get my "mojo" back again, so I was somewhat relieved to feel it returning yesterday. Long may it last, please!One recipe for sweet bread I turn to time and time again is Babka/Pulla/Kringle-a bread made with sugar, butter, cinnamon and or cardamom. There are several variations on this theme depending on where in Europe you find it but the method is much the same. My favourite is the Babka from food writer Tessa Kiros' 'Falling Cloudberries' but given that I'd already boxed it away I plumped for an Estonian Kringle instead via 'Just Love Cookin' ' blog.With the dough rising beautifully in the airing cupboard we headed out for a walk to blow the cobwebs away before returning home tired and revitalised. I so looked forward to building up and braiding the dough ready for its thirty minute bake and afterwards I sat on the kitchen step with my son to watch it swell and caramelise in the oven. A little piece of heaven.I realised with a tinge of sadness that this sweet little indulgence would most likely be the last thing I bake in our oven before we leave it for the new owners. I was 21 when I moved in with my now husband and in those eight years this oven has seen all manner of dishes and delights , from numerous wedding and birthday cakes, to moussakas and baklavas. Like a constant companion it's never let me down and I know it as if it were an extension of me. Bit of an odd way to talk about an inanimate object, but let's just say I'll miss it a great deal.On the 26th we'll begin a new chapter in our new home, which as its rented will present a whole new set of decorative challenges but I wholeheartedly look forward to sharing this adventure with you. There'll be so much to do before this new baby arrives but with each day that passes I can feel my inspiration returning which can only be a good thing.See you on the other side. X{Check out more recipes like this}Chocolate Babka ~ Smitten KitchenBraided Cardamom Bread (Pulla) ~ SaveurPulla ~ Pure Vegetarian...and if you can't be bothered to bake your own but want to savour the flavour anyway, get down to Fabrique, a gorgeous Swedish bakery in Hoxton..