ejm's blog

I made these loaves for Bread Baking Day #6. [center][/center] When shaping freeform bread, I usually shape it in boules because that's what I know how to do. But there is a request for shaped breads, specifically NOT "batard, boule or baguette" for Bread Baking Day #6. I took a look through our bread baking cookbooks to find some traditional shapes for bread.

[center][/center] I have really been struggling to get our wild yeast bread to be less sour. This time, I added malt powder to give the dough a little sugar rush. I contemplated adding a bit of baking soda as well to bring the acidity down. But not really knowing the science of it, I decided against it.

[center][/center] This past summer, one of my sisters-in-law brought most wonderful crackers as part of her offering for a family dinner. My sister-in-law's crackers were fabulous and she claimed they weren't all that difficult to make. It turns out she's right. Even though they require double baking, they're dead easy. And they're delicious! I made a few changes to the recipe my sister-in-law copied out for me.

[center][/center] After looking at our bagel recipe sit for months on my recipe stand, I finally made bagels! I don't know why I waited so long. Because I adore bagels.... After admiring Susan's (Wild Yeast) bagels several times, I decided to copy her and use my wild yeast starter too. And how did the bagels taste? Well, [i]I[/i] liked them!

[center][/center] Even though Santa Lucia Day is 13 December, I made Lucia cats so we could have them for breakfast on Christmas morning. I now know that I should have placed them further apart on the pan so they wouldn't grow together.

Last week, I got pay back for laughing at Jenn's (Leftover Queen) misfortunes. There I was just hitting "send" on my reply to Susan's (Wild Yeast) hilarious account when I realized how much time had gone by since I had put the buns in the oven. And smelled that unmistakable smell of sugar.

[center][/center] As soon as I saw Susan's (Wild Yeast) post entitled "Semolina Bread with Currants, Fennel, Pine Nuts", I knew I HAD to make it. (Make sure to take a look at Susan's bread.) I can't decide what I like more about this bread. The aroma of it baking?

• Fennel!

The flavour?

• The currants! The fennel!

[center][/center] Lately, I have been having a devil of a time judging whether the dough has risen enough. And I have been allowing it to over-rise. The over-risen dough produces flat as pancake loaves that taste good but don't look all that great. But finally, after weeks of trying, there was oven spring and the loaves are round rather than flat. Yay!

[center][/center] The other day when I made grissini, I used part of the dough to make Susan's (Wild Yeast) Tortas de Aceite (Olive Oil Wafers). They may not look quite as nice as Susan's but I have a feeling that we like them as much as she does. I made ours with fennel seeds (didn't have anise seeds) and Pernod, which I'm guessing amounts to the same thing as "anise liqueur". Wow!

[center][/center] When I read about Susan's grissini, I thought they would be perfect for using up leftovers after building up the starter in preparation for making bread. And I was right!!