Food of champions

G checked out a kids' book about Vikings while we were at the library on Saturday. In addition to history, it's full of crafts you can do -- making a Viking shield, building a model boat and so forth. The one G really wanted to try was baking a loaf of bread, so when I got home from work tonight, we pretended to be Norse women, and we baked.

First we made the dough. ("Eeeew, it feels like warm, squishy porridge!" said G. "You know, if we really lived in Viking times, you would have to help me do this every day," I said.)



Then we shaped the loaf and sprinkled on the seeds. I don't think the Vikings had sunflower seeds, but our book said they would be a good substitute. (I doubt the Vikings formed their bread into Valentine heart shapes either, but G insisted.)



And after an hour in the oven, we had one rock-hard, heavy loaf of bread. It doesn't have any yeast, which is why it's so flat.



Once it had cooled a little bit, we each tried a piece ... and boy, are we glad we aren't Vikings. Maybe the stuff tasted better after a long day out on the fjords. Or maybe it didn't, and the men all went out a-Viking in hopes of finding something tastier to eat. Either way, we had fun making it.