Mostly completed today, although I did make granola again the other day. (Note to self: melting the coconut oil is a huge improvement.)
After I brought home some of that starter culture, I thought it might not be terrible to try to maintain it. I renamed it "Legion" as it is both One and Many. I spoke with two of the chefs and got a few more suggestions of how to manage its generally slow growth and so last night after we got back from dinner I made the dough and set it up to ferment overnight. This morning I shaped the loaves, set them to proof, and left. The elderchild had a class at MIT this morning, and then we all went on a bike ride to the dim sum place in the next town. Once we came back home, I baked only one of the loaves. In the middle of the oven. And it was perfection. (At least, on the outside. I haven't sliced it yet.) For the record, it proofed for 7 hours.
The second two loaves waited through that baking time and the hour it took to bake a pie and just came out of the oven as well. I did put them on separate sheets so they wouldn't touch each other while baking and put the smaller of the two on the top for the first 15 minutes. Neither split on the sides. While it neither proves nor disproves the theory that the oven temperature is very uneven, it does suggest that the longer proofing process helped. In the interest of recreating what appears to be a success, here are the stats: 400˚F oven, turn (and swap racks) every 15 minutes, total bake time is 40 minutes.
And, did I mention, there was a pie? Tomorrow is Pi Day. It's almost as good as last year's because it's 3-14-16 which is π rounded to 4 decimal places. 3.1416. I made a blueberry pie. I keep forgetting to do something about the tapioca. Maybe I need to grind it finer or something, as many of the pearls don't get incorporated. Doesn't affect the taste, though.
I did have a plan to also make Meyer Lemon curd. I still have about 8-9 Meyer Lemons downstairs in the fridge. After setting up lamb shanks to simmer for dinner, which involved grinding more dried lemon, I no longer have the energy. Another day.
After I brought home some of that starter culture, I thought it might not be terrible to try to maintain it. I renamed it "Legion" as it is both One and Many. I spoke with two of the chefs and got a few more suggestions of how to manage its generally slow growth and so last night after we got back from dinner I made the dough and set it up to ferment overnight. This morning I shaped the loaves, set them to proof, and left. The elderchild had a class at MIT this morning, and then we all went on a bike ride to the dim sum place in the next town. Once we came back home, I baked only one of the loaves. In the middle of the oven. And it was perfection. (At least, on the outside. I haven't sliced it yet.) For the record, it proofed for 7 hours.The second two loaves waited through that baking time and the hour it took to bake a pie and just came out of the oven as well. I did put them on separate sheets so they wouldn't touch each other while baking and put the smaller of the two on the top for the first 15 minutes. Neither split on the sides. While it neither proves nor disproves the theory that the oven temperature is very uneven, it does suggest that the longer proofing process helped. In the interest of recreating what appears to be a success, here are the stats: 400˚F oven, turn (and swap racks) every 15 minutes, total bake time is 40 minutes.
And, did I mention, there was a pie? Tomorrow is Pi Day. It's almost as good as last year's because it's 3-14-16 which is π rounded to 4 decimal places. 3.1416. I made a blueberry pie. I keep forgetting to do something about the tapioca. Maybe I need to grind it finer or something, as many of the pearls don't get incorporated. Doesn't affect the taste, though.I did have a plan to also make Meyer Lemon curd. I still have about 8-9 Meyer Lemons downstairs in the fridge. After setting up lamb shanks to simmer for dinner, which involved grinding more dried lemon, I no longer have the energy. Another day.
The bread came out beautifully, whatever you did! The appropriate PI for today - and that gorgeous cake just seen on inst. Love the flowers!
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