Meanwhile, the Protestant Baker did his best to incorporate some baking tips gleaned from relatives and the internet. The results were spectacular, compared to what they've been, and when Dan came back from the church in his building, he was stunned by the sight of the beautiful golden loaves on the racks. Unfortunately, he forgot himself on his way home and gobbled a full meal, realizing his error only after the smell of fresh bread hit him at the door, so Stan was left to enjoy the fresh fare alone. The other loaf was designated for Aaron, across the hall. We believe it is Hanukkah over there.
We've got the goofy oven to settle down to a consistent 350 degrees now. A little re-programming did it. So that was good. And we had better luck with our rising in the coolish condo by taking Sosie's suggestion that we use the Microwave Oven as a proofing box. In other words, get it nice and cozy warm in the microwave and then put the dough in it and shut the door for both rises. It worked GREAT. First we boiled water in a Pyrex dish to heat the box, then left it in there next to the rising dough. It was warm and moist and draft free, perfect for growing yeast. Thanks, Sosie!
We've also improved our kneading technique by watching some pros do it on YouTube. More love, less leverage, we've found. The result was large silky balls of dough. Soo. . . it was all good today.
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We got a thoughtful note today from Michelle, Mom's companion at Clearwater. She writes:
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Stan,
In a mixer or bread machine, layer
1 1/3 cups finger temp water (from glass measuring cup)
2 Tbsp butter
2 c. flour
2 Tbsp of sugar
2 Tsp of yeast
2 Tsp Salt
2 c. flour
Make sure sugar and yeast touch eachother, Then mix
Put bread machine on dough cycle or mix in mixer and rise in Warm oven for about 1 Hour then punch it down and rise it again. ( I warm the oven to 200 then shut it off before putting in the bread)
Bake 350 for 25 mins
Perfect everytime
Michelle....I make my own bread almost everyday...much better than the store =)
________________________
Stan says: Thanks, Michelle. Sounds great. Unfortunately we don't have a mixer or a breadmaker, we bake like the pioneers with their unpredictable woodstoves, but we are going to invest in a real wooden breadboard soon. And then of course, Christmas is coming!
 |
| Sosie's proof box. Raw dough rising in the microwave. That's a Pyrex bread pan with hot water in it on the left. |
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We got a thoughtful note today from Michelle, Mom's companion at Clearwater. She writes:
-------------------------------------
Stan,
In a mixer or bread machine, layer
1 1/3 cups finger temp water (from glass measuring cup)
2 Tbsp butter
2 c. flour
2 Tbsp of sugar
2 Tsp of yeast
2 Tsp Salt
2 c. flour
Make sure sugar and yeast touch eachother, Then mix
Put bread machine on dough cycle or mix in mixer and rise in Warm oven for about 1 Hour then punch it down and rise it again. ( I warm the oven to 200 then shut it off before putting in the bread)
Bake 350 for 25 mins
Perfect everytime
Michelle....I make my own bread almost everyday...much better than the store =)
________________________
Stan says: Thanks, Michelle. Sounds great. Unfortunately we don't have a mixer or a breadmaker, we bake like the pioneers with their unpredictable woodstoves, but we are going to invest in a real wooden breadboard soon. And then of course, Christmas is coming!
