I made rolls today and was much disappointed that they did not raise. Boy, I've been having a time with that. I'm not sure what's going on. I got new yeast and everything.
I gave up my sour dough starter. I did not see the bubbles that they claimed I should be seeing. Of course, it was during the cold snap, and frankly, my kitchen is not 70 degrees, the recommended temperature for 'growing' starter. So, I scraped it out into the trash, and much to my horror, it was only then that I got a whiff of sour that I'd expected. There was quite a bit of bubbling going on under the surface. It probably was just taking longer because my kitchen was cooler! I made up my mind to try again when it is warm.
To be having difficulty with sourdough AND yeast breads just leaves me flat.
(Ahem.)
I sadly looked at my poor unrisen rolls and went ahead and flattened them down and put them on a parchment covered cookie sheet and made 'sandwich thins'. Those turned out great, and they were much cheaper than buying them, that's for sure.
Tomorrow is the final inspection of our house. We are excited to get that part of things finished and done. It is at 11 AM. We'll probably just continue working on the house as long as we are there, but Tuesday, we'll return to the Wayne St rehab. I will be glad when these two projects are done.
I did finally get my tree down and put away, which is a little embarrassing to admit, but I've had a lot of appointments and we've been doing a lot of work. Still, I don't think my tree has ever been up for this length of time.
I hope you all are stocked up on coffee.
Laugh of the day:
Reckon by the time we go to the store tomorrow, coffee will will have gone up $5 a pound. Jackass is gonna start a trade war. Good on the President of Colombia for refusing to let that USAF C17 land, putting those poor folks in restraints is just sick & wrong.
ReplyDeleteThere is so much that is wrong. Every where I look.
DeleteI have been stocking up on coffee for a while and tossing it in the freezer. I imagine that I've got a years worth. I only drink a cup in the morning.
I say leave your tree up as long as you want! There's no tree police...at least not yet. Who knows, though, given the current environment.
ReplyDeleteCoffee. Yes, that's a concern. Must stock up. Geez. What next.
I needed to get it put away so that I can get my rocking chair back downstairs.
DeleteHave no fear for your coffee yet. Columbia caved and even offered to help shuttle deportees.
ReplyDeleteWelp. I can't hardly keep up with all of this.
DeleteDon't think Colombia "caved", only Faux News is reporting that, and the headline does not reflect what is in the text of the article. It merely says that Petro offered to send his airplane to Brazil to pick up the folks that landed there after Colombia refused landing rights. Faux may well be slinging bullshit. Time will tell. Fun fact: The US imports 209,000 barrels of oil a day from Colombia.
DeleteAs I understand it, Colombia refused to allow people to be returned to their country in handcuffs like criminals. The presidential plane is being sent to ferry them back. It is an important distinction and underscores the cruelty of what is happening.
DeleteDig in Mr. Mittens. So gross and disturbing, and so funny:)
ReplyDeleteIt just struck my funny bone.
DeleteFeeding Mr. MIttens would be a final act of charity. Kitties need to eat! Their paws will not operate a can opener, so what is a kitty to do. Coffee is a concern, we don't have the freezer space for mass keeping of much of anything. Actually everything is scary, H5N1 is wiping out chickens and cows, the republicans are wiping out the agricultural labor, I guess we're all supposed to lay down and starve to death. Aaargh.
ReplyDeleteI use a heating pad with a towel to coddle the yeast into performing. Our house is not all that warm.
DeleteI'm going to give it another try today.
DeleteWhen I was in the arctic , we had an oil burning stove which gave off lots of heat. We had excellent bread...no problem with rising.
ReplyDeleteI imagine not. We have a wood stove. it never occurred to me to put it on top of that. It seems like it would have simply been too hot.
DeleteAllison 's idea of a heating pad is brilliant.
ReplyDeleteAlthough you can raise sourdough overnight in the fridge..and also keep a spare amount in the freezers or dry it and break it to powder to keep it in a jar
I actually have done this with yeast bread before, now that I've come to think of it.
DeleteYou could try setting your dough to rise on top of some sort of never-really-off electronic gear that emits just a bit of warmth…
ReplyDeleteThe only thing that I can think of that would be that way is the refrigerator. Hmmm.
DeleteI can beat you on the Christmas tree! One year I still hadn't taken it down from the posh room( only used on high days and holidays) by April when my sister visiting with her daughters and a French exchange student visiting, rushed her to the room and said" see its a tradition in England to leave it up till Easter! " I fear there is a family in France who still believe this is true. Su
ReplyDeleteWell...it is down now, so, we'll just pretend that this never happened, that the tree has been down for weeks.
DeleteI am not keen to admit, but depending on what was in the bin, I might have retrieved the sour dough starter.
ReplyDeleteDownright, it is embarrassing to have your tree up until late January. Lordy, you may as well just leave it up, ready for next year.
Quite so about about being food for pets. It could be days before you are found dead, and they've gotta eat.
It was kind of embarrassing, but no one came to the house, and we've been working, and...well...by the time that I got home and got supper together...it just did not get done.
DeleteI thought that meme would have been a great comfort to you during your recent time tending cats.
I had the same trouble with my bread, but I put it on the Aga, the lids are hot and it rises. Also cling film to protect the bread as it rises, but oh so careful when transferring from warmth to the oven, the kitchen is cold.
ReplyDeleteI am a great fan of those Agas. I could never afford such a thing here. The cheapest one I saw was just under $8000. The most expensive? $43000.
DeleteJ buys Odlums soda bread mixes from the supermarket. Have you tried bread mixes Debby?
ReplyDeleteI haven't, actually. I'm trying to relearn an (apparently) lost skill.
DeleteI hope the inspection is completed to everyone's satisfaction. Its' exciting, and there have to be some bright spots in life.
ReplyDeleteWell. I did not even go along. Tim walked into the bedroom at 7:55 and said that he was leaving.
DeleteUm...goodbye then?
Warmth = dough rising! Don't give up. I cheat with my oven loaves as I get the dough mixed and rising in the Panasonic (bread maker) then shape and cook it in the oven.
ReplyDeleteWith 4 cats, if I snuffed it they would make short work of me!!
I do have a bread maker, myself, but I'm just not keen on it. It just seems to turn out too crusty (I don't bake it in there. I remove the dough and bake it in my oven. Of course, it might be because I'm using their recipe. I wonder what would happen if I made my own recipe in it.
DeleteI have a tea cart in the kitchen which is set over the heating vent. That makes a warm place in the winter. Also, if you have a heating pad, you can wrap that in a towel, snuggle your rising bread bowl in there and turn the heating pad on warm. Those are my proofing arrangements in the winter.
ReplyDeleteI remember your tea cart and the work Mr. Moon put into restoring it for you! I think my method for the day will be to put an inch of water into a crock pot and turn it on low, and set my baking sheet on top of that.
Delete