Peasant 3 was sure to note, "Well, she turned me into a newt!"

...thank you, Monty Python.There's nothing better than breaking bread with a friend, something I've been trying to make a habit of lately. While my wrists are just about killing me from all that dough kneading, those moments when the loaf cracks in two and the crusty crumbs fly everywhere, make those pains in my joints sort of, moot.I've recently tackled the French Traditional Braided Peasant Loaves, which have an exhaustive rising sesh (...dedicate at least 2 hours to letting the dough puff up and punch down), but the crunchy, crusty outside (made possible by a nice egg white wash) generally makes all that time consumption worth it.This recipe is available in Bernard Clayton's New Complete Book of Breads, which is kind of my obsession since receiving it as a birthday gift this fall. I highly reccommend this book for any bread baker--its got simple yeast breads and more ambitious starter breads, so the extreme bread baker and the amateur are all pleasethed much. You can find the recipe fo this exact Braided Peasant Bread, courtesy of the Google Books project (geeky libarian note: I am not sure yet if I embrace the Google Books Project, but damn if it ain't handy at times).File Under: Break Bread. Shake crumbs off shirt. Eat. Enjoy.