February 4, 2018 - 3:54am
Tip - Great Mixing Tool for Pennies
For some time now, I have been using a 12” piece of 3/8” wooden dowel rod as a mixing or stirring tool. Since my starter is fed twice a day, I get plenty of practice. IMO it mixes better than anything else I know. Other than cutting the dowel to length, the only other modification was to sand flat the 2 opposing sides (about an inch high)on the bottom. Easy Peasy.
No sticky hands, mixes and kneads starters very well. Great for mixing to shaggy mass for autolyse.
Give it a try. You may like it.
Dan
Just this morning I wanted to know how much starter was available. I checked the weight marking on the bottom of the glass container and saw 130. The full weight was 206, so I knew there was 76g starter.
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Look around in your genealogy. You're likely to find a Scottish ancestor. In that case you can class up your kitchen with a spurtle topped by a carved thistle. Of course you wouldn't buy it yourself, too expensive, but you could add it to your next gift list.
Very interesting. I love learning. Now, if I could remember what I’ve learned, that would be great ;-)
From Wikipedia
tool, dating from the fifteenth century, that is used to stir porridge, soups, stews and broths.[2]
The rod-like shape means that porridge can be stirred without congealing and forming lumps,[2][3] unlike a spoon that would have a dragging effect during stirring, and the low surface area reduces the chances of porridge sticking to the instrument.[2]
Spurtles are made from wood, including beech (in the UK), cherry wood (in the US) and maple (in Canada). They come in a range of sizes. Traditional spurtles have thistles at the top, while modern ones often have a smooth taper.[2]
The custom is that a spurtle should be used to stir in a clockwise direction with the right hand.[2]
Maybe I do have some Scot in me. I’ve often used the back on a wooden spoon for mixing ;-D
Thanks,
Dan
I thought to myself, how could I live without this?
https://www.amazon.com/Spurtle-FSC-Certified-Beech/dp/B000G04MOE/ref=lh_ni_t?ie=UTF8&psc=1&smid=A147HWTB7TJHI
I can earnestly hope that my home made stick doesn’t get too jealous.
Dan
Congratulations on an apparently excellent choice. Any jealousy may be hard to detect. Sticks are famous for their 'wooden' expressions.
... is the reverse/handle end of a wooden spoon; the head also provides a decent hand grip.
This one, been mixing my dough this way for 5+ years... Guess we should have spoke up. ;)
Hi Dan,
I just wanted to thank you for the great tips you are often sharing, or the thoughtful answers you give to people seeking advice, often with very pertinent links to videos for example (I have recently found some gems this way). So helpful!
I spoke with Floyd about a way to search for all post with the keyword, “Tip - “. He tells me that won’t work.
I’ve been starting all Tips post that way in the hopes that they could be searched. I thought anyone could post a tip that way and we could all have access to them.
I still haven’t given up on the idea. If I find a way to pull up all tips using another keyword, I could edit all of the post already made by editing them.
If anyone has an idea as to how we can enter a specific keyword in the beginning of a topic, please let me know.
Thanks Chouette for the kind compliment. Without this forum, I’d be a lost, uninformed, frustrated bread baker. God Bless Floyd!
Dan