low hydration bread

I spend way too much time on Instagram looking at other peoples baked goods.  I like to bake.  I like to be inspired.  There are a lot of hydration breads on Instagram.  What does that mean?  That the amount of water usually sits in proportion to flour at 70% or higher.  For example, if you use 100 grams of flour there is 70 grams of water used for the bread.

One of the high hydration gurus actually posted that the bread he makes most normally for his family or as a gift is a low hydration bread. Low hydration has water at about 65% compared to the flour.  65 grams of water to 100 grams of flour.  That made me go hmmm.  Because the crumb is soft but it holds butter.  Also, because most of these breads are flour, water, and salt, it is a very good traveling bread.  He calls it pioneer bread, which it really is.

I decided to see what I thought of a low hydration bread.  I put a scoop of my starter in a bowl.  Which should have been measured but was not.  I then started with 325 grams of water in the bowl with the starter.  I added 250 grams of flour.  The flour was a mix of white and whole wheat. about two for one.  I let that get all nice and bubbly.  It took about twelve hours.

I scooped out a bit of starter to freshen my jar and added about 200 grams of flour and 10 grams of salt to the waiting dough.  Why did I keep out a bit of the flour?  So I could knead with no more flour then I had.  Also, the moisture in flour is ever changing.  I did not wish too stiff a dough.  I knead the bread dough until all the flour was kneaded in.

I covered and let rise until double.  My kitchen was very cold so this was over night.  I deflated it and let it rise again until double.  Just lots of patience and waiting.  This how I used to make bread all the time.  Pioneer bread.  Or crazy lady bread.  Grandma bread.  Once the second rise occurred, I shaped it into a small loaf.  I let rise and baked it at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 45 minutes.  I shortened the time because the loaf was small.  I also do not pre-heat.  It means that my crust does not hurt to bite into but I also do not get the thin crust that is so brittle that it goes everywhere.

This is a bread I like.  I have made it in the past without all the proportions and scale.  I can do it by feel but it helps when I talk to chefs who are baking bread to speak their language.  And I said, it is a good traveling bread.  Without the sugar, it has less chance of molding due to the variation in temperatures as one travels.  It makes good toast or goes well with cheese or as a simple sandwich.  I do like it toasted with butter and strawberry jam.  I am quite simple at times.

This just shows how simple good bread can be and how few ingredients.  

deconstructing because of changing ideas

That sharpening truck I was building?  Yeah.  I took it apart Wednesday and Thursday.  Yes, I worked on Thanksgiving.  It is okay because it was a low key Thanksgiving for us but I think I might have preferred to work on some of my own projects.

My Beloved and his engineering friend decided what I was building was not going to work in the long run.  Mostly hold up.  I can be okay with that.  Since I had problems taking parts of it apart, that may not be a true statement but I can change.  It seems like most wood projects that my Beloved is part of change scope.  The question is how many times do they change scope!  If this is the only one, cool!  But if not, I have ideas on how to do this build better.  Part of building is taking things apart.

I drove a couple hours one way yesterday to look at a different solution.  I could not see it in that form.  We are going to go look at a different solution on Monday.  I did get to eat Thanksgiving leftovers outside in a rest area yesterday!  I did realize that I wanted to keep going west.  North would have been good too.

Am I in the holiday spirit?  Not really.  Though have downloaded a radio app on my phone for a station that only plays Christmas music between now and Christmas.  I like the decorations.  The music.  Some of the food.  I like making things for people but time might be very limited this year.  I will do what I can.  I will take care of the Bear and the Velociraptor.  Then, it will be my Beloved and the Tall Short Person.  Everything else may be limited except for my Mom's stocking, which I normally do.  Instead of cookies, I am thinking about sending everyone scones and homemade jam.  Because the jam is already made and the scones are much less work then dozens of cookies.

I will have Koda Bear help me hang the tree when he gets home tomorrow.  We may have an actual tree as well this year.  Though I am thinking about purchasing the live Alberta spruce I saw at the grocery store.  It might survive in the yard if I plant it!

chef rolls

My life seems to be revolving around what the boyos need for the shop.  I have been making chef rolls.  Different sizes.  Different upscaled fabrics.  I having been using a lot of coats.

Some of the coats are easier to work with then others.  This autumn leafed one was horrible!  The leather was appliquéd to fabric to get the texture and to sew through it again was difficult.  But it turned out well.  Now, whether it will sells or not is always the question.

This one has been my favorite so far.  It is waxed cotton and wool.  I have to admit that I really like working in waxed cotton and have started to go down that road of how do I make it myself.  I have a bunch of canvas around that I could play with.  Or, I could go to the thrift store and find pants that would work.  

The chef rolls are both in inventory at my Etsy shop and Serenity Knives, if anyone is interested.

The sharpening truck idea may have gotten turned on its head.  Which is okay.  I just have to figure out what is next.  It means I may need to take apart what I have already done.  And I have been asked to build a new display table since new knives have come into the shop.  I am hoping to get lumber for that so I can build on Thursday.  I am still practicing sharpening for them too.  Next year may mean more hours sharpening.

Yes, I know Thursday is Thanksgiving but it is going to be untraditional.  We are having salmon pie with salad and pumpkin pie.  I like turkey but there is no reason to go through all that trouble for two.  I have also been playing with bread recipes.  Because I can.  But that does not mean I am making rolls for Thanksgiving dinner!

well, it sounded good

It is not a surprise that I am a tea lover to anyone who reads anything I write.  That usually means a nice cup of black tea.  I have some I like with milk, some with milk and sugar, and some black.  But I do like a nice cup of chai.  Which is probably one of the reasons I like a gingerbread latte so much better then a pumpkin spice latte.  The thing is, I do love pumpkin pie.

I receive a few tea newsletters.  There was one that talked about their pumpkin chai.  That sounded very good to me.  All those flavors that I would expect in a cup of chai and I could see how pumpkin could work with that.

I looked up their chai.  The thing is, the smalles quantity I could buy was a pound.  But if I did not like it?  From the list of ingredients, I put a pumpkin chai together.

The ingredient list called for pumpkin.  I decided to take some of the pumpkin I had roasted and dehydrated it.  I took spoonfuls of the roasted pumpkin, smeared it on parchment paper, and dehydrated it for twelve hours.  Blue really likes it just to snack on!

I then put a pinch of pumpkin, a pinch of black pepper corns, two star anise, about a tablespoon of dried dandelion root, three or four cinnamon sticks, and a hunk of sliced ginger (about the size of my thumb) in my pot.  I filled the pot with water and brought it up to a boil.  Then, I turned the heat down and let it simmer for about fifteen minutes.  I turned off the heat and steeped black tea in it for about five minutes.  I strained it into cups and added milk and raw sugar.

So, what did I think?  I should have remembered I do not like pumpkin spice lattes.

The pumpkin in the chai threw my taste buds.  Not bad but odd.  The star anise should have just been left out.  I am glad that I tried it at home before buying a pound.  I think the pound of chai would have become kombucha.  That is what happens to all the teas that are left over.  We just cleaned out the tea cupboard at my Mom's.  No more green tea for her.

I think I will stick with my regular chai recipe.  I missed the orange.  I can add more ginger and cinnamon to make it more like ginger bread if I want.  I can add dandelion or astragalus if I wish.  Just another way to get warming flavors this time of year.  And a bit of comfort.

because of traveling

When I am traveling, I know where to buy coffee.  My favorites are the truck stops.  Pilots and Flying J's are the most consistent cup of coffee across the country.  Loves is not bad.  But I drink a lot of tea. Lipton's is not very good and many places that is all you can get.  You can get hot water but poor tea.  

I have had luck in the recent past because Pilot/Flying J (they are owned by the same people) have upped there game.  But it was obvious on this last trip that either stocks had run down or people were not drinking as much tea.  What to do?

My Mom was told she had to gain weight and stop drinking the green tea she loves.  We suggested hot chocolate.  She tried it and it was not bad.

Many Washington rest areas also have volunteers serving coffee, tea, and hot cocoa.  Sometimes they have cookies too.  We got hot chocolate.  That was a nice change.  So when we could not find tea, that was a thought.

When we got back, I was wanting something chocolately.  And warm.  I was not in the mood to wait for baking.  I decided to make hot chocolate.  I used my Dad's old recipe because the hot cocoa mix we had in the house I really do not like. 

Warm goodness in a cup.  I added a bit of vanilla and I added bitter chocolate to make it richer.  But those are just extras.  Like a smidgen of cinnamon could be an extra.

hot cocoa/chocolate with fancy options

Note:  This is per cup of chocolate.  Increase the measurements by how many cups you are making.

2 tablespoons cocoa

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 ounces unsweetened/baking chocolate (optional)

1/2 to 1 teaspoon vanilla (optional)

a pinch of cinnamon (optional)

a pinch of salt

8 ounces of milk.

In a pan, over low heat, put the cocoa, sugar, and salt.  If you are using any optional ingredients, add them now.  Add the milk.  Whisk until everything is well incorporated or melted and the cocoa is the temperature you wish.  I like hot but not so hot I burn my tongue.

Lovely!