-Despite a light dusting of snow late yesterday afternoon/evening, the winter continues to be unseasonably warm. Again today we're expecting temperatures close to five degrees above freezing and I'm not sure if it's even gone down to -20 at any point this month. It's just bizarre.
-A few months ago I noticed that our oven didn't seem to be heating evenly. Of course, because it did eventually heat up it took me a while to identify the problem. That the element in the oven continued to operate as normal made the problem even more baffling.
Finally, after months of procrastination we finally called an appliance service company last week and arranged for a visit by a repairman. After quickly describing the problem, the service technician got down to work and began disassembling our oven.
Before long panels were off and he was deep in the gut of the thing, where he found that the oven's second element - which was hidden in the side of the oven away from site - was shot. Fortunately, he had a replacement element on hand and he was able to have the oven back in proper working order in less than an hour.
While we were more than satisfied with the quality of the service call, it seems like a bit of a design weakness to place a replaceable element in a location that requires the oven to be torn apart to reach. That the first element lasted about fifteen years will hopefully mean that this won't be a service call we will need to make again.
-With our newly functioning oven we've both already completed baking projects. Yesterday I made a loaf of bread and Jeannette made a small batch of coconut cookies.
-In addition to regular Sunday cleaning and errands, we'll likely have to make a trip to the grocery store later today. Hurrah!
Cameron - 10
Neil - 0
Showing posts with label bread. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bread. Show all posts
Sunday, February 28, 2016
Tuesday, December 24, 2013
That time of the year
[Embedded video]
Not only is it time-lapse season, it's also baking season.
After this batch I decided to make a special, vegan version for Jeannette. Hopefully the vegan version's as tasty and sought after as the original.
Sunday, February 10, 2013
Get your dough hooks off of me! - 7
Bummer, the crumb isn't anything like I hoped it would be. Fortunately the taste and texture are quite palatable.
I guess at the end of the day I do feel relatively comfortable that the extra kneading does make some difference - even if I can't quite quantify it right now.
I guess at the end of the day I do feel relatively comfortable that the extra kneading does make some difference - even if I can't quite quantify it right now.
Cameron - 15
Neil - 0
Get your dough hooks off of me! - 6
So both loaves are now out of the oven and on the cooling rack. Maybe in a few minutes they'll be cool enough to try.
Cameron - 14
Neil - 0
Get your dough hooks off of me! - 5
So the first loaf is out of the oven and on the cooling rack.
All things considered, I'm quite hopeful that the outcome will be what I was hoping it would be.
Let's hope the second loaf, which is currently in the oven, turns as well or better.
All things considered, I'm quite hopeful that the outcome will be what I was hoping it would be.
Let's hope the second loaf, which is currently in the oven, turns as well or better.
Cameron - 13
Neil - 0
Get your dough hooks off of me! - 4
So to misquote the Spiderman universe - "with great time comes great rising."
All of the ridges and imperfections that I created through the wet dough process have been removed through the power of rising. Of course, now I need to 'scar' the bread (I can't remember the technical term).
One term I do remember is 'crumb,' and I think that there's a chance that this bread may have been allowed to rise long enough that it will have a crumb of the sort that I've been looking for for some time.
In case you're curious, the oven has been cranked and the racks re-arranged to allow for the steam tray. And generally the excitement level in the apartment is building.
Cameron - 12
Neil - 0
All of the ridges and imperfections that I created through the wet dough process have been removed through the power of rising. Of course, now I need to 'scar' the bread (I can't remember the technical term).
One term I do remember is 'crumb,' and I think that there's a chance that this bread may have been allowed to rise long enough that it will have a crumb of the sort that I've been looking for for some time.
In case you're curious, the oven has been cranked and the racks re-arranged to allow for the steam tray. And generally the excitement level in the apartment is building.
Cameron - 12
Neil - 0
Get your dough hooks off of me! - 3
Well, it looks as though a few of the rough edges have buffed out thanks to the rising process.
Hopefully everything will be fine when we get back from our trip to the store.
Cameron - 11
Neil - 0
Hopefully everything will be fine when we get back from our trip to the store.
Cameron - 11
Neil - 0
Get your dough hooks off of me! - 2
Much to my surprise, the rising process has been going quite quickly. While I probably could have let the dough rise for a little more time, I just recently decided that I would move on to the next phase of the process.
So the thing I remembered as I moved on to the next process is that working with wetter dough is much more challenging than working with dough that kind of holds a shape and isn't incredibly sticky. Maybe at some point I'll need to talk to Peter to get a few tips on how to work with this stuff, but until then I am probably going to basically stick to my 'grab a handful of dough and slap it onto the baking surface' approach that I've been using.
But they'll kind of buff out as they rise, right?
So now I'm back to waiting for dough to rise. Hooray!
And we now have at least a post-a-day!
Cameron - 10
Neil - 0
So the thing I remembered as I moved on to the next process is that working with wetter dough is much more challenging than working with dough that kind of holds a shape and isn't incredibly sticky. Maybe at some point I'll need to talk to Peter to get a few tips on how to work with this stuff, but until then I am probably going to basically stick to my 'grab a handful of dough and slap it onto the baking surface' approach that I've been using.
But they'll kind of buff out as they rise, right?
So now I'm back to waiting for dough to rise. Hooray!
And we now have at least a post-a-day!
Cameron - 10
Neil - 0
Get your dough hooks off of me! - 1
There's no better way to up your number of blog posts than live-blogging a DIY domestic project (at least that's been my experience).
So down to the project at hand - a few years ago my mother gave me her old mixer. With the mixer came a set of dough hooks. And because I'm kind of lazy and set in my ways when it comes to bread making I'm never quite motivated enough to try making dough with dough hooks.
For the past few days I've been thinking that giving the dough hooks their shot might be worthwhile. What if all of the extra kneading that I can provide through dough hooks actually makes a difference?
So this morning I finally got around to putting the dough hooks in the mixer and adding bread ingredients to make a very basic bread (and one that some people have suggested requires plenty of kneading but that I've never knead more than a few minutes).
Immediately it became clear that unlike when a spoon is used, the ingredients were quickly and evenly mixed. With just a few more minutes the dough really started to take shape and look like dough. And because the dough I was making is relatively wet this process was much cleaner than had I tried to do it with my hands or a wooden spoon. Oh, and it was also much less wasteful.
So after the 'kneading' I was left with a dough about which I am quite hopeful: it's quite wet, it's evenly mixed, and it's been well kneaded.
Now I'll just have to see if the rising, baking, and consumption processes go as smoothly. And, as you've likely already guessed, I'll be trying to keep you updated as I work my way through the remaining stages of the production of this bread. Hopefully you fascination with the progress of this project won't cause you to spend you entire day in front of the computer hitting re-fresh again and again until you see the next update.
Back in a few.
Cameron - 9
Neil - 0
So down to the project at hand - a few years ago my mother gave me her old mixer. With the mixer came a set of dough hooks. And because I'm kind of lazy and set in my ways when it comes to bread making I'm never quite motivated enough to try making dough with dough hooks.
For the past few days I've been thinking that giving the dough hooks their shot might be worthwhile. What if all of the extra kneading that I can provide through dough hooks actually makes a difference?
So this morning I finally got around to putting the dough hooks in the mixer and adding bread ingredients to make a very basic bread (and one that some people have suggested requires plenty of kneading but that I've never knead more than a few minutes).
Immediately it became clear that unlike when a spoon is used, the ingredients were quickly and evenly mixed. With just a few more minutes the dough really started to take shape and look like dough. And because the dough I was making is relatively wet this process was much cleaner than had I tried to do it with my hands or a wooden spoon. Oh, and it was also much less wasteful.
So after the 'kneading' I was left with a dough about which I am quite hopeful: it's quite wet, it's evenly mixed, and it's been well kneaded.
Now I'll just have to see if the rising, baking, and consumption processes go as smoothly. And, as you've likely already guessed, I'll be trying to keep you updated as I work my way through the remaining stages of the production of this bread. Hopefully you fascination with the progress of this project won't cause you to spend you entire day in front of the computer hitting re-fresh again and again until you see the next update.
Back in a few.
Cameron - 9
Neil - 0
Thursday, March 15, 2012
A Few Quick Notes 572
-Much to my surprise we had a few hours of snow today. Fortunately relatively warm temperatures meant that we didn't see much accumulation.
Fortunately for you, I was able to capture this non-accumulation through the power of time-lapse.
[Embedded video]
-I must be 5 for 19, with a +/- of about three on the total number of cups, in this year's RUTRTW. And to think that this represents only a fraction of my coffee consumption.
-I made a nice batch of breakfast Afghans today. I am really quite fond of this recipe.
-This evening I started making some bread. After about an hour of the bread not rising I realized that adding some yeast would probably help that out. I think I fixed things, but they still aren't perfect.
-This whole Robocall things keeps on trucking along. It seems that today's big news was that the CEO has now 'requested' to appear before a parliamentary committee and discuss the investigation.
Fortunately for you, I was able to capture this non-accumulation through the power of time-lapse.
[Embedded video]
-I must be 5 for 19, with a +/- of about three on the total number of cups, in this year's RUTRTW. And to think that this represents only a fraction of my coffee consumption.
-I made a nice batch of breakfast Afghans today. I am really quite fond of this recipe.
-This evening I started making some bread. After about an hour of the bread not rising I realized that adding some yeast would probably help that out. I think I fixed things, but they still aren't perfect.
-This whole Robocall things keeps on trucking along. It seems that today's big news was that the CEO has now 'requested' to appear before a parliamentary committee and discuss the investigation.
Monday, March 12, 2012
A Few Quick Notes 571
-We had another beautiful day in Wolfville today. I think the temperature even made it up into the low teens.
-The whole Robocall issue has really been heating up - or at least it has seemed that way to me. My day's productivity has been somewhat undermined by the supposed impending unmasking of the infamous 'Pierre Poutine.' And frustratingly, at least as far as I can tell, Mr. Poutine has not yet been unmasked.
And today's efforts weren't help by a paper from a SFU prof that suggests that negative robocalling may have had a meaningful impact hit it big on the internets this afternoon. Interestingly, Kessler, the SFU prof, cites the paper on voter demobilization I linked to a few days ago. It would seem that there isn't a large literature on the topic.
[Embedded video]
While I was tempted to go immediately, what sold me on attending is that they have managed to work time-lapse photography into their research program/film. They even have special towers to get good shots - if you don't believe me check out the trailer embedded above.
-The whole Robocall issue has really been heating up - or at least it has seemed that way to me. My day's productivity has been somewhat undermined by the supposed impending unmasking of the infamous 'Pierre Poutine.' And frustratingly, at least as far as I can tell, Mr. Poutine has not yet been unmasked.
And today's efforts weren't help by a paper from a SFU prof that suggests that negative robocalling may have had a meaningful impact hit it big on the internets this afternoon. Interestingly, Kessler, the SFU prof, cites the paper on voter demobilization I linked to a few days ago. It would seem that there isn't a large literature on the topic.
-I decided to use a bit of my freshly 'milled' 'flour' to make some bread today.
Hopefully this stuff won't taste as bad as the unbaked dough looks.
-Today I learned that a film created by father's former student, People of a Feather, will be screened at 7:00 PM on Wednesday night at the Al Whittle theatre in Wolfville.
[Embedded video]
While I was tempted to go immediately, what sold me on attending is that they have managed to work time-lapse photography into their research program/film. They even have special towers to get good shots - if you don't believe me check out the trailer embedded above.
Wednesday, March 07, 2012
A Few Quick Notes 568
-We had a pretty standard grey winter's day today. I guess this is fine following yesterday's snowfall as it meant that we didn't have as much melting as we have had recently, and that is always nice. Sadly, this melting is supposed to come tomorrow.
-I guess I must now be something like 4 for 14 in this year's RUTRTW contest. I really think at some point I lost track of how many of these beverages I've purchased. I do feel relatively certain that I have just four wins (three coffees/lattes and a 'donut').
-I've been intermittently following some of the 'Super Tuesday' coverage online. My sense of things is that the results we are seeing mean that the whole issue won't likely be unresolved when we wake up tomorrow morning - though US presidential politics really aren't my speciality and I could be way off.
-It's just about 11:00 PM so I threw my loaf and a half of bread in the oven. I guess I'll have freshish bread in the morning.
-I guess I must now be something like 4 for 14 in this year's RUTRTW contest. I really think at some point I lost track of how many of these beverages I've purchased. I do feel relatively certain that I have just four wins (three coffees/lattes and a 'donut').
-I've been intermittently following some of the 'Super Tuesday' coverage online. My sense of things is that the results we are seeing mean that the whole issue won't likely be unresolved when we wake up tomorrow morning - though US presidential politics really aren't my speciality and I could be way off.
-It's just about 11:00 PM so I threw my loaf and a half of bread in the oven. I guess I'll have freshish bread in the morning.
Tuesday, February 21, 2012
A Few Quick Notes 563
-We had another crisp Winter's day in the Valley. Apparently tomorrow is supposed to be rather nasty with some snow and rain and temperatures just a few degrees above freezing.
-This afternoon Rebecca drew my attention to an easy to misinterpret headline from CBC: Fiddling Bishop Dies in Charlottetown. Wasn't anyone on double entendre patrol when this story was posted?
-For dinner tonight I made myself a massive tofu stir-fry. Sadly, I learned that I can even overeat foods that are basically healthy. I feel pretty gross.
-The bread I baked yesterday definitely tastes a little like cardboard. I guess it's good that I made only one loaf. On the other hand, it's too bad that the one loaf that I did bake is incredibly dense and probably weighs twice as much as a normal loaf.
-Back to work.
Cameron: 32
Neil: 0
-This afternoon Rebecca drew my attention to an easy to misinterpret headline from CBC: Fiddling Bishop Dies in Charlottetown. Wasn't anyone on double entendre patrol when this story was posted?
-For dinner tonight I made myself a massive tofu stir-fry. Sadly, I learned that I can even overeat foods that are basically healthy. I feel pretty gross.
-The bread I baked yesterday definitely tastes a little like cardboard. I guess it's good that I made only one loaf. On the other hand, it's too bad that the one loaf that I did bake is incredibly dense and probably weighs twice as much as a normal loaf.
-Back to work.
Cameron: 32
Neil: 0
Monday, February 20, 2012
A Few Quick Notes 562
-Though today was a cool day, it was also a beautiful day. If only most winter days were like today nobody would have anything against winter.
-I guess RUTRTW started today. I am already batting a big fat .000 at 0 for 1. I don't think I am even going to joke about trying harder this year. If anything I will try harder to make my own coffee.
-The bread I mentioned this morning is now done.
The taste and texture are pretty much what you might expect them to be in a bread with 12 grains.
-We had a somewhat pleasant sunset tonight in Wolfville.
[Embedded video]
-While sitting in a reception area this afternoon I had the chance to catch parts of three day-time talk shows. Maybe my sample size is limited, but I have no idea how anyone could watch that stuff. Not only were all of the shows at least mildly exploitative, but they were just unpleasant and void of substance.
I guess I can feel a little more comfortable with my decision not to consume this kind of media.
Cameron: 30
Neil: 0
-I guess RUTRTW started today. I am already batting a big fat .000 at 0 for 1. I don't think I am even going to joke about trying harder this year. If anything I will try harder to make my own coffee.
-The bread I mentioned this morning is now done.
The taste and texture are pretty much what you might expect them to be in a bread with 12 grains.
-We had a somewhat pleasant sunset tonight in Wolfville.
[Embedded video]
-While sitting in a reception area this afternoon I had the chance to catch parts of three day-time talk shows. Maybe my sample size is limited, but I have no idea how anyone could watch that stuff. Not only were all of the shows at least mildly exploitative, but they were just unpleasant and void of substance.
I guess I can feel a little more comfortable with my decision not to consume this kind of media.
Cameron: 30
Neil: 0
Back in the saddle (in more ways than one)
Some of you may have been inclined to think that my paucity of blog posts meant that I had given up on this year's blog-off. The reality could be nothing further than the truth - I am still in it to win it this year (even if Neil doesn't seem interested in taking his usual late surge approach).
My failure to post was nothing more than a few days worth of pre-existing obligations trumping blogging. And while I would like to say that I live in a world where blog-offs would always come first, it seems that at least from time to time this isn't the case.
Anyway, it has also been a few days since I've had the chance/need to bake bread.
The loaf I am making today is based around some "12 grain" flour I purchased yesterday. As I was trying to rush the preparation process this morning I didn't really cut this flour with regular flour, so the resulting loaf may be a bit heavy on the multi-grain aspect.
My failure to post was nothing more than a few days worth of pre-existing obligations trumping blogging. And while I would like to say that I live in a world where blog-offs would always come first, it seems that at least from time to time this isn't the case.
Anyway, it has also been a few days since I've had the chance/need to bake bread.
The loaf I am making today is based around some "12 grain" flour I purchased yesterday. As I was trying to rush the preparation process this morning I didn't really cut this flour with regular flour, so the resulting loaf may be a bit heavy on the multi-grain aspect.
As you can seen in the above photo, there's so much millet it seems to be coming out of the dough (maybe millet doesn't like being smashed up next to sunflower seeds?). At least it still looks edible?
Cameron: 29
Neil: 0
Saturday, February 11, 2012
PB & J Bread - 5
Just a few minutes ago Jeannette and I got around to trying the PB & J bread. Much to our surprise it tasted and smelled like a slightly toned down PB & J sandwich. Had I not over-baked it causing the crust to be more like a shell than a crust I think it would actually be quite nice.
I think it is fair to say that I am 2 for 2 in this non-traditional bread ingredient thing (3 for 3 if you count the Pepsi bread from about a year ago). I can't wait to figure out what I will think of next.
Cameron: 22
Neil: 0
I think it is fair to say that I am 2 for 2 in this non-traditional bread ingredient thing (3 for 3 if you count the Pepsi bread from about a year ago). I can't wait to figure out what I will think of next.
Cameron: 22
Neil: 0
PB & J Bread - 4
Well, about 8 hours after I started my PB & J bread project I took the finished loaf from the oven.
Unfortunately, I think I may have left the bread in the oven a littler longer than I should have. Jeannette thinks that the bread may be a little hard to eat. I, on the other hand, am hopeful that this stuff will be fine/not too gross.
Cameron: 20
Neil: 0
Unfortunately, I think I may have left the bread in the oven a littler longer than I should have. Jeannette thinks that the bread may be a little hard to eat. I, on the other hand, am hopeful that this stuff will be fine/not too gross.
Cameron: 20
Neil: 0
PB & J Bread - 3
After a few more hours of unimpressive rising I decided that I couldn't wait any more and that it was time for my PB & J bread to go in the oven.
Based on the heft of the bread relative to its size I suspect that this bread is going to be on the dense side of things. Though hopefully not too dense to eat, but maybe that's the outcome you deserve when you are trying to cram the sandwich materials into the bread.
Oh, and this stuff really smells like a PB & J sandwich.
Cameron: 18
Neil: 0
Based on the heft of the bread relative to its size I suspect that this bread is going to be on the dense side of things. Though hopefully not too dense to eat, but maybe that's the outcome you deserve when you are trying to cram the sandwich materials into the bread.
Oh, and this stuff really smells like a PB & J sandwich.
Cameron: 18
Neil: 0
PB & J Bread - 2
Even though I left the PB & J bread dough to rise for a few hours while Jeannette and I ran a few errands (we made it all the way to Greenwood and back) the dough didn't really rise very much.
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After kneading the dough again I have now placed it in a slightly warmer location to rise a little more. I am worried that at this rate not only will the bread not be ready for lunch, but it may not even be ready for dinner or even my evening snack.
Cameron: 17
Neil: 0
.JPG)
After kneading the dough again I have now placed it in a slightly warmer location to rise a little more. I am worried that at this rate not only will the bread not be ready for lunch, but it may not even be ready for dinner or even my evening snack.
Cameron: 17
Neil: 0
PB & J Bread - 1
Because of the success of my dream-inspired waterless pumpkin bread I have been thinking about other non-standard ingredients I might be able to incorporate in a bread recipe.
It really didn't take me all that long to realize that raspberries might be a good choice. Not only are they full of liquid just waiting to be released, but with a little kneading they would evenly disburse through the dough. It took me a few more days to realize that I could save myself some time at lunch if I added some peanut butter to the mix and just baked my sandwiches into my bread.
While it would be really great if I could make this a four ingredient bread (raspberries, peanut butter, yeast, and flour), but I think that to be on the safe side I will add a little extra gluten.
As you can see, things are looking pretty red/purple so far.
[Embedded video]
Cameron: 15
Neil: 0
It really didn't take me all that long to realize that raspberries might be a good choice. Not only are they full of liquid just waiting to be released, but with a little kneading they would evenly disburse through the dough. It took me a few more days to realize that I could save myself some time at lunch if I added some peanut butter to the mix and just baked my sandwiches into my bread.
While it would be really great if I could make this a four ingredient bread (raspberries, peanut butter, yeast, and flour), but I think that to be on the safe side I will add a little extra gluten.
As you can see, things are looking pretty red/purple so far.
[Embedded video]
Cameron: 15
Neil: 0
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