Blog posts

With the site turning one year old, I decided it was time to finally put together an article on French Bread. Regular readers probably have noticed that while I bake some kind of French Bread (rustic bread, pan sur poolish, etc.) almost every week, I've yet to do an article on it.

Done some bread baking this past Sunday. Was fun getting the ole fingers into the dough. The first bread was two loaves of 100% Whole-wheat Bread. I used the recipe from Laurel's bread book. It is called "A Loaf To Learn". I have made it several times. And it usually turns out rather good. Especially after I found Wheat Montana brand whole-wheat bread flour at the local Wal-Mart. A wonderful whole wheat flour that is high-gluten as well as chemical-free. It will definetly be used in my bakery.

What better title for my first blog than a turn of the phrase from that classic book by Betty MacDonald, The Egg and I? Usually if I want something catchy I have to borrow from someone brighter than myself. A little introduction, I am Teresa and I live in North Carolina, which is a Southern state in the US. Among the things that I am, I am a bread maker. I'm also a mom, sister, daughter, friend and quilter. I started making bread in earnest about 30 years ago when I used the very basic of tools, a bowl, wooden spoon, measuring cups and spoons, and my hands.

For a pot luck at church last weekend, I followed the 'Casatiello' recipe in the BBA. It was rich and very cheesy, and the crust was flaky. Also made the Tuscan Bread recipe. But i think too much flour paste and water made the inside a lil sticky and it became a rustic dough..and somehow, the gluten didn't develop right. Anyone experience that too? But the flour paste made the bread naturally sweet! Nevertheless, good with a stew..

I've been meaning to mention that this site is one year old now. Check out the first post. Thank you to everyone who has contributed and participated in the discussions. May your bread always rise!

This weekend:

• Banana bread: good, as always. I haven't baked it since the holidays began. Nice to have again.
• Sourdough batch #1: refrigerated overnight. Great flavor, but too dense. About like a bagel. I still ate two-thirds of the loaf.
• French bread: Awesome. Perfect with the pot of soup I made on a cold, damp day. Pictures and more info to come.
• Sourdough batch #2: I thought I did everything right, but instead of springing in the oven it just sat there.

Well, this is my first blog. And It won't be very active at present. I seem to be working a lot of hours lately. About 60-70 per week. I have a full time job with a short-line railroad in SW Indiana. We move railcars for a major plastics/chemical plant in the area. I am also working part-time at a local grocery store bakery. Wish the bakery job paid more. They have offered to train me as a bakery manager. But the money doesn't seem to be there. And if it is, the present manager could become upset. I think I would be making more than she does after 17 years with the company.

As I mentioned in my previous post, last night I placed my new sourdough starter in the oven with just the light on to see if staying 80 degrees overnight would give it some pep. It did, having slightly over doubled in size by this morning. I also started a poolish last night so I could do a standard French bread if my starter wasn't looking lively. It too was ready to go this morning. "Hey," I thought, "Since I have both, why don't I try making a yeasted and a sourdough version of the same recipe and compare how they come out?

I've been feeding my starter every 12 hours since Thursday evening. It isn't too lively: I'm getting some growth and bubbles, but nothing close to doubling in size. I went ahead and fed it again this evening. I put it in the oven with just the light bulb on, which keeps it around 80 degrees. We'll see if a slightly warmer environment stimulates it enough that I can bake with it tomorrow. If not, I may cheat and make a sourdough that is spiked with half a teaspoon of yeast, since it *smells* like sourdough.

My parents went to visit my bro in Melbourne, Aus recently. So I got them to get me some Kalamata olives from a Greek shop. No wonder they're more expensive. They taste really nice!! Here is a Sourdough Kalamata Olive loaf. (i think i'm baking everything with SD now..) Ingredients : 10% or less Whole wheat, Bread & AP flour, sea salt & Kalamata Olives. PS* Btw, i noticed an increased in SD activity when i used Organic Unbleached AP flour.