Well, we're on holidays again. I usually try to bake at least once during any week that we're away, and have to make do with whatever equipment is available. We're at our usual resort (nice units, good kitchens but a little dated now) and I was expecting a certain number of baking items to be available. Alas, it was not to be!
I brought a small amount of bread flour with me, a strip of instant yeast packets, a dish of salt and another bag of 12-grain (I think; it was from the bulk store) cereal. The latter is a hot cereal blend with mostly cracked grains and seeds, and a few flakes of something. Mystery ingredient!
I did have a couple of bowls available, so I mixed up some flour, water and a tiny bit of yeast into a poolish (the hydration was probably about 100%, given the consistency), and added some hot water to the cereal mix in another bowl. After sitting most of the day the poolish wasn't terribly active but did show some signs of life, and the water in the cereal had all been absorbed. So on to mix the dough. Here's where I was a bit silly - I dumped some water into the poolish and stirred it up, then added a bit more yeast and the soaked cereal. Then I added the flour. I ended up adding all the flour I had brought with me, and the hydration was still very, very soupy. Whoops, no more flour! Silly me, too much water initially and too late to take it out. :) Oh well, let it sit for half an hour or so, add the salt and try to develop some gluten. This was very difficult, and I ended up using a rubber scraper to turn and mix the dough (more like batter) in the bowl. I did this several times over the next few hours then covered the bowl and put it in the fridge for the night, hoping time would be my friend.
In the morning the dough had visibly risen but was still wet, sticky and unable to hold any kind of shape. Added to this was the fact that I had no more flour to ease the shaping, so I poured the 'dough' out onto a wet counter and folded it a couple of times as best I could. I think this was even wetter than my ciabatta dough! And then came the really tough part - turns out there are no baking pans of any kind in this kitchen! All I had was a small casserole dish. I knew this wet dough would stick like glue to the dish, so I greased it as well as I could with both butter and oil, and dumped (poured, more like it) the dough blob into the dish. I covered it and left it to rise for an hour or so, preheating the oven to 450F. I put the dish in to the hot oven, covered, and set the timer for 15 minutes.
Well, it rose beautifully! And, of course, stuck to the glass lid of the casserole dish. Taking it off was a bit tricky and I tore the top crust a bit, but it wasn't too bad. I turned the oven down to 425F and let it bake for a further 20 minutes. It looked quite nice at the end of this time so I took it out (no thermometer). Of course, it was very stuck, but running a knife blade around the side several times (well, sawing was more like it) unstuck the side and, miraculously, the bottom released fairly well. Then I had to search for something to use as a cooling rack - how about an upturned colander?
I was also surprised to see that it wasn't burnt (it smelled burnt at the end of the baking time). The top crust indicated a lot of air bubbles so I was a bit impatient to cut into it, but we went out for lunch so that helped me wait. :) And I was pleasantly surprised - the crumb is wonderful! Open but not too holey, and very soft and moist. Nice flavour too.
Just goes to support the oft-given advice - always bake it to see how it turns out, no matter how much of a disaster you think the dough is!
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between a couple of slices and sit back and enjoy the holiday with the sun on your face. There you go. Baking is supposed to be a cheap individual sport where you don't need much sporting equipment and you get to eat your errors and home runs - both taste pretty much the same in the end. Well done, happy baking and
Have a great holiday LL!
That is the best evidence of all that you still love the baking, even with being so busy with it as a business!
I might have been a bit better prepared than you, I think - not with ingredients, but I carry foil and parchment paper in my "grab and go" bag that goes with me everywhere (hmmm - rubber scraper, I need to carry one of those...), so could have at least lined the baking dish and lid for less sticking. I doubt that any amount of kneading (even stippling the kitchen!) would have done more than the rest in the fridge did --- and I bow to your dedication in still trying to shape that batter! The results really do speak for themselves, and I bet you are enjoying it all the more after the challenge of creating it.
For all of the conveniences of baking at home with our own equipment and technology, it really can be fun to meet the challenge of creating something with the minimum you can find in a strange kitchen. I tend to do a lot of swearing while doing it, but there are giggles in there, too!
You are so right about the "bake it anyways" idea --- since really, the worst case scenario is that you'll end up with something to use as croutons, or in bread stuffing, or as altus, or even in a bread pudding! Besides, the odd looking things quite often end up being the most tasty...
Hope you and yours are having a great vacation, and that you have a wonderful Canada Day weekend!
Keep baking happy - and thanks so much for the inspiration, Wendy!
Best, Laurie
Yes, I do still love the baking. Every time I get a bit stressed with it all and think, "This is too much work!", I log back into TFL, read all the things everyone else is doing and get inspired all over again. There are so many things to try! And your kind words and encouragement mean so much too. Most people don't understand my obsession, or even what I'm talking about half the time. :)
The joy of creating something both beautiful and useful (tasty!) with my own hands is far more meaningful and enduring than the work I used to do.
Did the thought of adding more cereal to soak up some of the water cross your mind? I thought that was where you were going but you didn't! You persevered! And you were definitely rewarded for your efforts!
It did briefly cross my mind, but I didn't want the bread to be too heavy and grainy. It turned out very nice, just hard to handle. And of course I'll never be able to re-create it, having not measured anything. :) I'll give it a more scientific try when I get home, and publish the formula when I get around to actually measuring things. If I keep it that wet I might make it a pan loaf!
I have been known to bring some of my sourdough culture and kefir grains with me on vacation-even when I fly. It is always an adventure and I feel so much better eating my own bread!
Always cook the dough! Even if it a pancake or roll on an inverted clothes iron in a hotel room!
Some ideas for emergency pan release-any crunched up dry cereal (boxed like raisin bran, cheerios, etc), uncooked oatmeal flakes, cream of wheat or grits (both a bit crunchy),bread crumbs, cookie crumbs, cracker crumbs, seeds/trail mix (not the chocolate pieces),nuts, bacon or ham, butter/sugar, well oiled foil or wax paper and lastly, very well oiled brown paper grocery bag (harder and harder to find!) I have used many of these at one time or another (not the bacon or ham)
I use casserole dishes for baking all the time but, as you found out, some form of pan release is essential. I know you didn't have access to any of the usual suspects but as an FYI I use a homemade mix of veg.oil and liquid lecithin and brush it on. It's commercial spray equivalent is any brand of release spray with lecithin. I never had a problem after that.
What delicious fun!
Those are all good ideas for sprinkling or lining baking pans, for sure! Problem was, I didn't actually have any of them. :) I suppose I could have used lettuce leaves, or maybe a slice nectarine! That could have been fun.
Hmmmm, baking on the sole of an iron; now that's creative! Have you ever actually done that?
Yes, had I tried to do this a couple of years ago it would have been very stressful and would likely have ended up in the bin before baking. It's nice to get to the point of knowledge where I can evaluate what has happened and decide what to do next that will hopefully result in success.
And this one really was a success. The bread stayed very moist, creamy and tasty for a couple of days (I had the last of it in a sandwich for lunch today). I will definitely try it again now I'm home, only measuring ingredients this time!