Greek feta. Fantastic. Having the opportunity to live in Greece gives me all the feta (and who knew how many varieties exist!!) I want and within a minute’s walk from my house. Don’t forget the generous gifts of fresh garden produce from my neighbor’s garden and fresh farm eggs. Not such a hardship post….
On another much less fortuitous note…
Our beloved Jasper town and Park has been engulfed in flames from devastating forest fires. How tragic and sad for all the families (relatives included) and plethora of animal habitat. Climate change? Possible although events like this have been happening for millenia and much more extreme. Now enough controlled burns? Also possible. The bottom line is now for everyoe to pick up the pieces and move on. Rebuild or relocate. Many difficult decisions in the coming days.
It was time to make bagels. I had not made bagels for many years and did not have a favorite recipe so went searching for one that looked authentic and would hopefully have the desired result. I made a few minor adjustments then halved the recipe and was absolutely ecstatic with the result. I made them again a week later and am sure they will become a staple ‘go-to’ recipe.
A preferment is used, and I used various types of honey (the darker the better) instead of barley malt. This is an easy recipe with basic method, and I encourage even beginner ‘boulangers’ to try it out.
Notes:
Recipe makes 10 bagels each about 90g
Make the preferment the night before. I find the best time to use the preferment is between 10-14 hours
For the preferment and dough I turn the oven light on and place the bowl in the oven to rise; this maintains a steady temperature if your kitchen is on the cool side
If using toppings like sesame or poppy seeds, onions, add these after step 12
Toasting the sesame seeds prior adds more flavour as well as lightly caramelizing diced onions prior to topping also adds much more flavour
Preferment:
170 g bread flour
170 g warm water
1/2 teaspoon instant yeast
Dough
85 g warm water
25-30 g honey (clover or dark honey but any will work; melt first if honey is not liquid)
370 g bread flour
1 teaspoon instant yeast
12 g salt
Boiling Water Bath
Approximately 2 quarts of water in a wide shallow pan
1 1/2 tablespoons of honey
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
Method:
1 – Mix all ingredients for preferment in a medium bowl and cover with plastic wrap placing in a warm location for 10-14 hours.
2 – Bloom the dry yeast in a small bowl with about 1/4 cup of warm water (this water is in addition to the 85 g).
3 – Using the mixer bowl weigh the flour, salt, add the honey, warm water and bloomed yeast. Using the dough hook combine. If slightly dry add more warm water a tablespoon at a time and incorporate completely before adding more. Mix for about 7 minutes then turn out onto lightly floured surface, kneading lightly and forming a ball.
4 – Lightly oil the inside of a bowl, place the dough inside covering with the oil, cover with a damp cloth and place in a warm place to rise to double, about 1 hour.
5 – Once dough has doubled in size, place onto lightly floured surface and fold to de-gas (not necessary to punch the dough!) Return to the bowl and let rise again to double about 45 minutes. It is not necessary to add more oil to the bowl.
6 – Once risen, place the dough on a lightly floured surface to rest for 5 minutes.
7 – Place parchment paper on the sheet pan and brush lightly with oil. This is so the wet bagels do not stick to the parchment after boiling.
8 – Weigh 90 g pieces of dough and let rest 5 minutes.
9 – Form each 90 g ball of dough and poke a hole in the middle and gently stretch out the circle forming a bagel. Place on the parchment to rest and cover with a towel (same damp towel used for the bowl is fine) and let rise 15-20 minutes.
10 -While the bagels are rising prepare the water bath. Combine all ingredients and bring to a light boil then reduce heat to medium high to keep a steady simmer.
11 – Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F while boiling the bagels.
12 – Boil 2 – 3 bagels at a time depending on the size of the pan but do not crowd. Place the bagel in the waterbath seam side up and boil for 1.5 minutes. Flip over using a slotted spoon and boil for 30 seconds. Remove and place on the parchment paper.
12**** If using toppings such as sesame, poppy seeds or onions see Notes above for preparation. Add the toppings at this point when the bagels are still wet from the water bath.
13 – Once all bagels have been boiled and are on the parchment on the sheet pan, bake in 450F oven for 10 minutes. If you have a hot oven place the rack in the upper portion to avoid burning the bottom. After 10 minutes, rotate the sheet and bake another 6-7 minutes until golden brown. Remove from oven and slide off the parchment onto a rack to cool.
Bon Appetit!!
Dough ready for first rise90 g pieces to form bagelsBagels ready for boilingBagels in boiling water bathBaked bagels – sesame, onion and plainBon Appetit!
A new year begins. A new year of Covid-19. Currently on the ‘Omicron’ variant. What is next? Sigma? Omega? Pi? Nu? The Nu Covid-19 variant. Has a certain ring to it. I digress…yes Covid rages on. Vaccines are being administered and anti-vax idiotas continue with new conspiracy theories.
But…on another note it is winter! Winter and snow and cold weather and wind and frozen toes and fingers and frostbite. Ah love it! And my backyard menagerie is back. Flocks of Sharp-tailed Grouse visit daily and since I have moved a bird feeder up onto the deck so there is something left for the birds to eat, they land on the railings and line up like a Disney movie. They have to be some of the most amusing creatures I have ever seen. There is a definite hierarchy amongst their ranks as some get pushed away from the feeder and even kicked off the railing! Obviously not their turn to eat. The other day one actually walked up the stairs and onto the deck. He stopped and looked from side to side and then slowly sauntered over to the flower box and popped up onto the railing to see what was for breakfast. It is easy to see their furry legs and fluffy, furry feet and they actually blow them selves up with air like a downfill jacket to retain heat. So very cool.
The chickadees are here as always. And the pretty little red-poles. Both tiny little birds who stay for the winter. I really wonder how evolution worked that one out. I guess as they are so tiny they do not require a lot of food and energy to stay warm and can easily tuck into a tree or hole in a snowbank into the grass or underbrush but still…makes one wonder.
And of course the deer. This fall there was the usual bunch of deer passing through to wander on into the fields close by and a little later there was one lone deer. Small. Young. Probably born in the spring. I noticed him (her?) a few times or at least what I thought was the same one, coming back every day. The neighbors said they noticed the same at their feeder. One morning I looked out the window and it was bedded down under a tree in the backyard. Not a big evergreen with boughs bending down to the ground but one of the old apple trees. Not a tree I would choose to lay under if I was looking for shelter. However at that time it was not yet too cold outside.
He kept returning and eventually I noticed he was bedding down beside the old shed in the back. A little better I suppose. There are more trees around that area and the shed does block the north wind. Now it is a resident. Every morning I get up and look and can see little ears poking up in the spot he has chosen as home. He gets up to eat at the bird feeder (and I just might sprinkle a little more seed onto the ground…I know…that is not a good thing and I really should not do it). After breakfast he usually walks back to his bedroom for a nap…..then back to the feeder then back for a nap. But not without leaving a whole lot of droppings along the way. It is not a trail of breadcrumbs it is a trail of well, other crumbs.
When I go out to fill the bird feeders he sticks his head up to watch me. Sometimes he will jump up and run away into the bush but not always. Judging by the method of how this little guy runs (high hops) it is a Mule deer. I asked those who know better than I.
I managed to dig an old bale out of the windbreak and break it up in the ‘bedroom’ for a little more warmth and it looks like he lays on it and maybe eats it too! Nothing like having a snack in bed and not worrying about the crumbs.
There was a brutal cold snap into the -40’s and I worried every night if he would be there in the morning. And he was. They are made to live outside and know how to survive much better than I would in weather like that.
Every day is a risk for the little guy. Predators but worse, crossing the road and getting hit by a vehicle. I really hope he makes it through the winter. Come spring time and early summer he will need to venture out for food as the birdseed ends. I do not feed the birds in the late spring, summer or fall as there is so much for them to eat in nature.
I was working in Northern England last year in the Scarborough area (also a beautiful spot) and had time for a quick day trip to the ancient city of York. Founded in 71 AD by the Romans, York has a plethora of history presenting itself in multitudes of architecture at every turn.
From Scarborough it is easy to hop on the train in the morning, spend the day wandering around the city, enjoy a meal and a pint and catch the late afternoon train back to Scarborough.
Very close to the train station is the National Railway Museum – a must see for anyone remotely interested in the history of rail.
Next wander into the heart of the city past York Minstrel Cathedral and if lucky enough to be there when the bells are ringing it is absolutely breathtaking!
Wander further into the centre along the narrow cobbled streets and if a cat lover, the Cat Gallery is a quirky little stop and if you have time there is a self-guided cat trail taking you into various sections of the city including the Shambles where the goal is to find cat statues that have been placed in odd and curious places such as on the sides of buildings.
This recipe is for 2 loaves of what I call basic bread. It is similar to what I learned to make from my Mom growing up on the farm. It uses dry yeast and is made on the same day as baking; there is no levain or poolish although it is easy to separate out a portion of the flour / water and the yeast the night before if you want to try it.
Makes two large loaves approximately 700g each or three smaller ones just under 500g each or make two decent sized loaves of 550g and use the extra dough to make a large cinnamon roll or deep fried scone – a treat for the baker!
1 tbsp yeast (~20 g)
Bloom in ~1/3 c of warm water
175 g milk
40 g sugar
75 g butter
Heat milk , butter and sugar to scald; remove from heat and add 175 g cold water to cool the mixture.
Add 1 beaten egg to the cooled milk mixture.
Weigh 730 g flour – can use a mix of bread flour and All-purpose or all of one or the other. In this particular case I used 400 g of bread flour, 280 g AP and 50 g dark rye flour.
20 g salt
If using a mixer, weigh flour and salt into the bowl, add milk mixture and bloomed yeast. Mix on low with bread hook approximately 10 min. Scrape the sides of the bowl; a few grams of extra flour may be needed but do not add too much.
Turn out onto floured surface and lightly knead until soft and smooth, not sticky, about 5 minutes. Place into clean bowl, cover and set in a warm place to double about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Turn onto floured surface and fold into itself to remove the gas and return to the bowl, cover to rise to double about 45 minutes.
Turn onto floured surface and separate into portions for loaves (see above weights and options).
If using metal loaf pans, grease the pans before shaping the loaves and placing into the pans to proof. Cover to proof before baking.
Heat oven to 425 F whilst bread is proofing.
Bake to golden brown about 35-40 minutes. For the first 15 minutes of baking the oven can be sprayed with a mister every 5 minutes to enhance the golden crust.
This recipe for sourdough is denser than the traditional sourdough with many ‘holes’ in the bread. I wanted to experiment with various additions to get a loaf with less holes that still retained a nice sourdough flavour.
Day 1 Evening:
Make a poolish the night before planning to bake bread:
230 g (about 1 cup) of fed sourdough starter
200 g bread flour or All-Purpose (AP) or mix of both
200 g warm water
Mix together well, cover and place in a warm place for 10 to 14 hours.
Day 2 the Bake:
Method:
Heat to scald but not boil:
250 g milk
40 g sugar (about 2 tbsp)
Remove and add:
250 g Cold water to cool the mixture
Pour the milk mixture into mixer bowl and add flour:
780 g flour – can use bread flour or AP or a mixture of both
15 – 20 g salt
Add the poolish mixture.
Mix with bread hook on low about 5 minutes then increase to medium-low speed for another 5 minutes.
Dough will still be sticky, do not keep adding flour.
Turn out onto a well-floured surface and fold the dough over itself to work in the flour on the surface.
More flour is needed at this point – maybe another 1/3 cup but do not add too much. The dough is soft and very flexible but should not stick to your fingers.
Place into a clean bowl, cover with a towel and put in warm place to rise for 2- 3 hours.
The dough should double in volume in 2 – 3 hours.
Once doubled, turn out onto floured surface and degas by folding over upon itself. It is not necessary to ‘punch down forcefully!’
Return dough to the bowl to rise a second time approximately 1-2 hours.
Degas the dough on a floured surface by folding over and into itself and cut into two portions (or three smaller ones). Let rest 5 – 10 minutes then form into loaves by folding and place into bannetons upside down seam side up. The loaves will be turned into the hot pans thus the bottom of the loaf becomes the top of the loaf.
Cover and let rise in a warm place approximately 45 minutes to one hour or enough for the loaves to almost double in size.
About 15 minutes before the dough is ready preheat the oven and heat the pans.
The best pan in my experience is a Dutch oven but I have been experimenting with various pans and pots.
Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F to heat the pots.
Reduce to 450 degrees F and place the loaves into the hot pans. Be very careful!
This is where the bannetons are very handy as it is simply a flip over from the banneton into the pan or pot.
Slash surface with a lame or sharp knife.
Place the cover on the pot and bake for 25 minutes at 450F.
After 25 minutes reduce the temperature to 425 F and remove the lids and further bake for approximately 20-25 minutes.
Dutch Oven Loaf (above)
Using the Dutch oven results in a nice caramelized crust and the alternate pan also produced a nice loaf.
Almost 8 months into the Pandemic and I see no real indication of the situation improving anytime soon. Vaccine? In process but when will it be safe for us mere humans? I am not running to line up for the first batch…Volunteers? Guinea pigs? And it may have been transmitted to animals. Now there is another worry to consider when your furried friend sneezes…was it that dust rhino under the sofa he sniffed or was it the virus??!! Ahhhh!!! I picture an image of Bela Lugosi as Dracula veering overhead, dark and foreboding, delivering doom and gloom.
Speaking of furried friends I sure miss my Diva. She was my confidante and my friend and her presence is missed. Hopefully she is tormenting and obliterating all the little rodents of her dreams. Good kitty!
I have always been quite the hermit, at least I have been developing this trait much more aggressively over the past 10 or 15 years, so I am quite fine with having my personal space expanded and staying home. I can always find something to do, the question is whether or not I do it.
My sourdough project has been phenomenal. I bake bread usually every 10 -1 4 days whether it be sourdough or other. Each time I take out the starter to feed it the mixture literally busts off the lid of the jar it is so active. Well done little yeasties. I am quite proud of that venture and can keep the starter well, forever.
Lots of cooking and baking but that is nothing new for me. I finished all my yard work in record time since I had the ‘time.’ Including maintenance on my John Deere and motorcycle. And still manage to stuff in endless hours of bingeing Netflix and Prime. How does one do it all? And getting some good reads in and scribing my journals electronically. I guess I have been busy. I always think I am not doing enough.
Before diving into this recipe there are a few assumptions, the main one being you have an active sourdough starter. Do the float test to see if it is ready before making the levain.
Float Test
This is also fairly straightforward and what I would classify as easy to medium for those who already bake bread.
Check the link for my sourdough starter recipe fermented 14 days and used in this recipe:
Make a levain the night before planning to bake bread
NB: The levain and the starter are both preferments but the starter or ‘Mother’ is maintained and kept for long periods (potentially forever) and the levain uses a small portion of the Mother and is used in its entirety the next day.
More info here from Kitchn if you want to read about preferments:
Mix together well, cover and place in a warm place for 8-12 hours. I made this in the fall and my house is generally cool so I placed it in the oven with the light on which helps maintain a temperature of about 70 degrees F.
Levain
Day 2 the Bake:
525 g warm water
700 g flour (I used 500 All-Purpose and 200 bread flour)
15 g salt (about 1 tablespoon)
Method:
1 – In a separate small bowl mix 50 g water with the salt, stir to dissolve and set aside. This will be added later to the dough.
Salt dissolved in water
2 – Add the remaining 475 g warm water to the levain and break it up with your fingers or spatula.
3 – In a large bowl measure out the flour, add the levain mixture and mix with a spatula until you get a shaggy, rough dough about 5 minutes.
4 – Cover with a clean tea towel and let rest 30 – 45 minutes.
5 – Add the dissolved salt and gently mix in using your fingers. Be gentle with your sourdough bread there is no need (knead??!) to punch or be aggressive with the dough; it will love you more in the end trust me.
Shaggy dough with levain, flour and salt
6 – Cover and let rest in a warm place for about 1 hour (I placed mine in the oven with the light on).
7 – Now start the stretch and fold process. The dough should look quite fluffy and moist, it will not be like other bread doughs. Go around the edge of the inside of the bowl in sections and gently pick up a portion of the dough, stretching upwards and towards you so you are placing it on top of the dough in the middle of the bowl. Go around and do this in 4 or 5 sections until you come back to the first spot. This stretching and folding will give you the nice holes so characteristic of the inside of sourdough.
After first fold and stretch
I did this every 30 – 45 minutes for a total of about 4 hours. You can do it longer if you have the time.
Dough after folding and turning / stretching
I found Kitchn explains it in a great video here, along with the overall process of making sourdough:
8 – Flour the counter and gently turn out the dough. It should be a big fluffy poof of dough. No punching!
Dough after resting
This is a generous recipe and I made two large loaves and thus divided the dough into two equal parts.
Separated dough
Let rest a few minutes.
9 – Flour a couche or parchment paper on a baking sheet (so it can be moved) or banneton bowl, whatever you are using to proof. I did not have banneton bowls but could have easily lined a bowl with a floured tea towel which I will do next time. Instead I used a couche which worked fine. There are dozens of choices on Amazon if you are searching for supplies.
NB: Ensure your surfaces are well floured – very well-floured. You do not want the dough to stick when you are read to place into the baking vessels.
10 – Shape your loaves, fold in quarters, flip over and place on the couche or in the bowl you are using to rise the dough.
11 – Cover with a tea towel and let rise in a warm place at least 3 hours.
Loaves on floured couche to proof
This can also be placed in the fridge for another 12-hour slow rise but I did not do this for this bake.
The loaves should be nice and poofy and will spread out rather than a vertical rise typical of other doughs.
12 – Preheat the oven to 475 F (some say 500 but I stick with 475) and place whatever you are using to bake the bread inside the oven during preheat – I used a Dutch oven for one loaf and a baking stone for the other. I actually used a stone pie plate which worked well to keep a little bit of the form rather than a flat baking stone. These need to be piping hot when placing the dough – I left these in for about 20 minutes to heat up.
NB: obvious comment but if proofing bread in the oven remember to take it out before preheating
13 – Since I used a stone, I also had ready a spray bottle with water to mist the oven, as well as some ice to place in a pie plate on the rack below the stone.
14 – Remove the Dutch oven and / or stone and gently place each loaf in / on. Take extra caution as these are hot!
15 – For the dough on the stone, spray some mist on top before placing in the oven. For the Dutch oven, just put the lid on, the Dutch oven will do the work with the steam.
16 – Spray mist into the oven above the stone, place the ice in the pan in the rack below and close the door.
Dough in Dutch oven and on stone
17 – Leave it for 20 minutes do NOT open the Dutch oven. You can spray mist again a few times but do not touch the lid of the Dutch oven.
18 – Remove the lid of the Dutch oven after 20 minutes. There should be a decent oven spring.
After 20 minutes – nice oven spring
19 – Reduce the heat to 450 F and bake another 15 minutes for the stone and 20 minutes for the Dutch oven. The extra 5 minutes for the Dutch oven may or may not be necessary depending on the heat of your oven; I wanted the crust darker so I left it in a few more minutes.
20 – Remove the loaves and cool on a wire rack. Let them cool for a decent time before cutting into them. I waited about 20 minutes before cutting into the loaf baked in the Dutch oven. Fabulous. Very pleased with the turnout of both loaves.
Dutch oven loaf on left, Stone loaf on right
The crust is quite well developed and very crunchy and the crumb has the holes exactly as I envisioned.
Crust and crumb from Dutch oven product
The sourdough taste is distinct although it could be further defined. The starter could be aged longer and / or longer and / or cold proofing.
Overall I am quite pleased with this and it tastes great!
I usually make a poolish, levain or preferment the night before baking bread, but wanted to try my hand at making my own sourdough starter and if successful, to keep for as long as I am willing to maintain it. Alternatively I also plan to dry some of the Mother and keep it in a sealed jar in a cool dry place when I might not be able to use it for months. When I need it again, simply rehydrate some of the chips and use as a normal starter would be used. At least that is the plan.
There are a multitude of sites to read and learn about developing your own starter and some say you can use it within a day or two but the longer it is fed and allowed to ferment the more flavour it will add to the product. King Arthur Flour and Kitchn sites have good recipes to develop your own starter as well as some nice recipes to use with the starter and discard:
I planned on leaving mine at least 21 days but gave in at 14. I am still pleased with the outcome and now have the Mother in the fridge and depending how often I plan to bake sourdough bread or sourdough products, I will feed it every 7-14 days.
I am not sure why I changed volumes throughout but the end product appears to be a good sourdough starter
Day 1
Thursday September 03, 2020
Mix together in Tupperware bowl with lid:
About 1 cup of organic seedless red grapes cut in half
1 cup dark rye flour
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups warm water
Cover and let sit on the counter checking occasionally and opening the lid
Day 3
Saturday September 05, 2020
I noticed it had peaked and fallen from the line on the side of the bowl (I did not have a marker) and there were some bubbles
Remove grapes
I decided to reduce the volume and transfer to a wide mouth mason jar. I had another clean wide mouth mason jar on hand to use for each refresh feed.
In a clean wide mouth mason jar:
100g starter
70 g all-purpose flour
30 g dark rye flour
100 g warm water
Stir and place lid on very lightly so as to allow air in and out
Place a rubber band on the level of the starter
Day 4
Sunday September 06, 2020
The line was visible where it had peaked and fallen so it might need more frequent feeding
In a clean wide mouth mason jar mix:
100 g starter
70 g all-purpose flour
30 g dark rye
100 g warm water
Cover, place rubber band on level
It was already starting to bubble and the smell is developing nicely
Day 4 Starter
Day 5
Monday September 07, 2020
Cold snap this weekend so I put the starter jar in the oven with only the light on to maintain a steady temp. and noticed bubbles forming within minutes.
In a clean wide mouth mason jar mix:
100 g starter
70 g all-purpose flour
30 g dark rye
100 g warm water
Cover, place rubber band on level and place in off oven with light on
Day 6
Tuesday September 08, 2020
Not much activity and it does not appear to have peaked.
Fed this morning about 7 am and decided to feed again around 5 pm to see if it makes any difference; it might need more food.
5 pm feeding just added to existing starter and did not discard any:
70 g all-purpose flour
30 g dark rye
100 g warm water
Day 7
Wednesday September 09, 2020
Starter bubbling and working overnight so I think it needed more food.
Discarded all but 113 g of starter and fed:
70 g all-purpose flour
30 g dark rye
100 g warm water
Checked at 9 pm and it had exploded! Pushed the lid off the jar it grew so much so I know there is yeast and it is feeding.
Discarded all but 113 g of starter and fed:
50 g all-purpose flour
25 g dark rye
75 g warm water
Day 7 Starter
Day 8
Thursday September 10, 2020
Overnight not much so I left all starter in the jar and fed:
50 g all-purpose flour
25 g rye flour
75 g water
In less than an hour it had bubbled to the top of the jar again.
It seems like it needs more starter left in the jar. Maybe I will try leaving 150 g starter and feeding tonight.
Feeding 2
~185 g starter
200 g water
150 g AP
50 g rye
Within an hour it had more than doubled. I have started adding the water after the starter then the flours and mixing well. Seems to help.
Day 9
Friday September 11, 2020
Will try less product and twice daily feeds for a few days to see how the fermentation develops.
Feed 1 morning
~80 g starter
80 g water
50 g AP
25 rye
Within an hour it was growing and almost doubled in volume. I think it is now reaching a stage of fermentation where the bacteria is regularly feeding on the yeast so it is a matter of maturing the product to a proper sourdough. As I am feeding twice daily I will reduce the volume used to 75g.
Feed 2 evening
~80 g starter
80 g water
50 g AP
25 rye
Day 10
Saturday September 12, 2020
Feed 1 morning
~80 g starter
80 g water
50 g AP
25 rye
Feed 2 evening
~75 – 80 g starter
75 – 80 g water
50 g AP
25 rye
Day 11
Sunday September 13, 2020
Feed 1 morning
~75 – 80 g starter
75 – 80 g water
50 g AP
25 rye
Tasted the product and it is very sour. The fermentation is working well and within about 2 hours from feeding it has almost tripled in volume to peak before falling. I am very tempted to use it now in bread but want to develop it at least one more day.
Feed 2 evening
~75 – 80 g starter
75 – 80 g water
50 g AP
25 rye
Day 11 Starter
Day 12
Monday September 14, 2020
Feed 1 morning
~75 – 80 g starter
75 – 80 g water
50 g AP
25 rye
Did the float test and it practically bounced out of the bowl it is so buoyant.
Feed 2 evening
~75 – 80 g starter
75 – 80 g water
50 g AP
25 rye
Day 13
Tuesday September 15, 2020
Feed 1 morning
~75 – 80 g starter
75 – 80 g water
50 g AP
25 rye
Feed 2 evening
~75 – 80 g starter
75 – 80 g water
50 g AP
25 rye
I decided to make a levain tonight and bake bread tomorrow.
Day 14
Wednesday September 16, 2020
Made two loaves of sourdough which turned out amazing!
One baked in a Dutch oven and one on a stone with misting.
Both fabulous.
Crumb and crust are great, sour taste could be more developed but it is distinctly sourdough. The starter is now in the fridge and I will feed weekly to bi-weekly depending on requirements.
Very pleased overall.
Check out my post on Dijon for more info and pics.
She is gone. My Uber Diva, Stinker, Furface Furball….the situation continued to deteriorate and I had to make a decision. I was not going to let her suffer. I owed her that much.
Now I wonder…will she come back as a kind kitty ghost thanking me for putting her out of her pain of impending slide into death or will she come back as an evil kitty ghost tormenting me for murdering her.
