Do you ever have that week where you just seem to make one silly mistake after another for no real reason at all? It might be something totally routine that you do every gosh darn day and one day you wake up and you’re doing said routine and you just seem to mess it all up? I hate that. Well, last week was one of those weeks…
It started when I made too much sourdough starter. The night before I make bread I make up a huge amount of sourdough starter to leaven the bread. This week it was 1500g of sourdough starter that I accidentally made double of, resulting in me throwing out over 3lbs of gooey sourdough starter. 3 lbs people!! Suck. Total. Rookie. Mistake. (It’s not the first time either, *blushes*). You always catch yourself when it’s too late too…added all the water in, in goes some old sourdough starter, mix, mix, mix wait a second, this looks like far too much, why isn’t it fitting in the bowl like it usually does? ::Realization::….TOO LATE!
Fast forward two days. On Friday, I baked bread for all you lovely folks. Mike, my husband, kept going on about how excited he was for spent grain bread and which loaf could he cut into. I kept telling him he could eat the last loaf, just in case there were any bread accidents, I was reserving our loaf as a back-up in case something happened to one of yours. Well, I started going through my spreadsheet, jotting down who I was delivering to and where. I started counting heads. Then I started counting loaves. And well, they didn’t match up exactly. I checked, double checked, triple checked….I forgot to bake us a loaf of bread. The bread last week looked gorgeous in my opinion. The dough felt so perfect and the kitchen was warm, it was doing it’s thing, the loaves rose so nicely. I pulled them out of the oven one by one, admiring each one and it’s personality traits, giving them a little tap on the bottom, thump-thump, to make sure they were cooked. The kitchen smelled of baking bread for hours. Out I went, delivered, delivered, biked, biked, sweated a bit, and finally came rushing home starved for something to eat. I open the fridge. Almost empty. And no fresh bread in sight. So sad! My backup plan? Homemade Tortillas. Yeah, they were pretty awesome but I was so darn sad I didn’t get to cut into one of those spent grain loaves! Total. Rookie. Mistake.
In other news, I’m happy to report that my mother has mastered my bread techniques and is feeding everyone she knows with home-made bread. She’s actually baking more times per week than I am I think. Makes me feel like I’m slacking off or something. Time to get into the kitchen and BAKE!
So I tried out a few new recipes this week and currently have 3 loaves of bread sitting on the counter. 3!! There are just two of us here at home. 3 loaves of bread seems a tad excessive, don’t you think? I guess I’m making up for my bread deprivation last Friday. The 18 tortillas I made seemed to disappear in about two days. I’m not sure that happened exactly…
I was able to make myself a loaf of spent grain bread on Monday, however, and with a few tips from a gal I deliver bread to (tips can be found here), I made some amazing grilled cheese sandwiches which I ate accompanied by home-made tomato soup. I would never have thought to use mayonnaise on the outside of the bread! Who knew? I would definitely recommend this technique.
This week’s bread is a rye bread with caraway seeds. Rye flour is one of those flours that has always scared me. With the lack of gluten in the flour (gluten gives bread umph and body) I always envisioned making rye bread that came out flat like a pancake and totally inedible. Well, I’ve got a recipe here that is anything but that. It’s denser than the breads I have been making for sure, but that is to be expected. I used just enough rye flour to impart a distinct rye flavor and sweetness. With the added caraway seeds (my favorite!) this bread is delightful. The dough is so luxuriously smooth and silky, it’s proofing right now. I think I like this bread best slightly toasted. Now, if only there was some corned beef in the fridge….
No news on the commissary kitchen space yet for anyone still waiting on a wait list. I’m working on a few details and my energy has been put into searching for a job. I’ve been living in Portland for nearly 5 months and have yet to find a job. Bakester is a business of love but it certainly doesn’t pay the bills yet. I’m sending out good vibes into the universe while simultaneously sulking, sighing and rolling my eyes at job announcements. I’ll even go far as to tell you there has been lots of grumbling, stressing out and even a few evening of tears. I’ve been pondering whether to post this here, but if any of you know anywhere that’s hiring, please think of me!
Thanks everyone, you guys are awesome.
Laura
BAKESTER 