cerevisiae's blog

The Saturday after Thanksgiving, after giving my oven a heavy workout on Thursday, I went to make scones, and discovered that my dear kitchen appliance was lacking some of it's functionality. Namely, its ability to turn on. Some contact with the landlord and a visit from a repairman ensued, but it was still nearly a week before I heard the sound of it firing up again.

Yesterday I was struck with the urge to make a poolish, and mixed up 50% KAF AP with 50% high extraction spelt, water, and a little instant yeast. It burbled away for a good 13, 14 hours, and then became fodder for two different doughs.

I followed Hamelman's Ciabatta with Wheat Germ and Olive Oil pretty exactly, and turned it into a small ciabatta and a little foccacia. Since I hadn't yet gotten the chance to try focaccia with grapes and fennel, I took this chance to do so. The crumb came out well enough, and the flavor combination was nice, but not a new favorite.

I'm making baguettes for the first time in quite a while, and pacing through the kitchen, fretting while I wait for the stone to heat up and hoping for good steam from a method I haven't used before. I'm eyeing my newly contrived lame, born of a visit to my boyfriend's shaving shelf and look through the kitchen drawers.

There's not a lot to say, really, but the picture doesn't show the whole story, so I suppose I'll have to explain.

What you see above is a new rendition of Hamelman's Challah recipe, altered a bit. There's milk where there should be water, and butter in place of oil, honey instead of sugar, and a small amount of whole wheat flour, just for a little somethin'.

It's not what makes this bread significant, though. Nor the weaving of four strands of dough together, which went well enough for not having done it for so long.