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This site is a member of WebRing. To browse visit here. Wednesday, April 13, 2005 Homemade breads, part 2 I haven't talked much about making bread, but it is a large part of my cooking—partly because Clarence and Nick really like whole-grain home baked bread, and partly because I just enjoy making it. What I don't enjoy is struggling with enough dough to make four to six loaves at a time. Nor do I want to run the oven every other day to make a more manageable amount. So I bought a Bosch mixer, the Universal. It will allegedly make a 12-pound batch of dough at one time, though I have made only smaller amounts so far.Unfortunately, I don't think I can run the Bosch off an inverter powered by 12 volt batteries. What I'm going to do when we go entirely off-grid I'm not sure. But in the meantime, I'm having a lot of fun with it.The first thing I learned is that my oven isn't big enough. Or rather, the shelves aren't placed properly. I can't put bread pans on the top shelf because the bread rises so high it runs into the broiler elements. And if I use only the middle shelf, I can bake only four loaves at a time, not enough to reach my goal of baking only once a week. Plans for an outdoor masonry oven are therefore under consideration. It may have to take its place far down the list of construction projects, but we'll get to it eventually.The second thing I learned is that the Bosch will knead way more stiff a dough than you really want. My first batch of bread was terrific (except for the loaf with a black bar across the top from contact with the broiler element). But I thought the dough was too soft. The second batch turned out no better than the loaves I kneaded by hand, because I used too much flour. The third batch was fine, except for being able to bake only four loaves at a time. The next step is to replace our very cheap, and correspondingly poor-quality, grain mill with a better one. The Family Grain Mill can be powered by hand or attached to the Bosch mixer with an adapter. Not really much of a decision there. The next time my work takes me up into the Shenandoah Valley, where several retailers sell wheat in 50-pound sacks, I'll come home with a couple of sacks. I have no earthly idea how long that will last, but I guess we'll find out.Tomorrow I'll be working in Lynchburg, where the Dadant Beekeeping Supply Company is located (jacket, hat and veil for Nick, and a hive-top feeder for the bees) and will swing by my chicken and sheep-raising friend's house on the way home (eggs and fleece).It pleases me to think the price of gas is partly mediated by the good things I bring home with me. posted by Liz @ 8:07 PM | The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section RSS Feed PERSONAL Send email toliz at life-as-a-spectator-sport.com Home I'm a mother, grandmother, a computer professional, Democrat, Christian. I welcome politely worded comments and email, my spam filter throws the rest away, so don't bother to flame me WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT' "If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart. THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3 KNITTING BLOGS Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits FINISHED PROJECTS -------FINISHED IN 2006------- Peruvian Cap Tutti-Frutti Socks Shelley's Socks Carol's Socks -------FINISHED IN 2007------- Chain Link Socks Baby Surprise Jacket Valerie & Friend Baby Bonnet Rainbow Baby Socks Girls Pixie Hood Mitred Square Heart Red & White Socks Coffee Cup Pot Holder Nubbins Dishcloth Garterlac Dishcloth Suede Booties Kate's Socks Norwegian Sweet Baby Cap Half Thumbless Mittens Red Mittens for Akkol -------FINISHED IN 2008------- SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE -- Blogs and websites -- Causubon's Book Club Orlov Food Storage Made Easy From the Wilderness In the Wake Listening to Katrina Survival Topics The Modern Homestead The Oil Drum Notes from a Hillside Farm -- Mailing Lists -- 12vdc Power Living on the Land Rainwater Refrigeration Alternatives Old Ways of Living POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES The political sites have moved BOOKS I'M READING How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising ARCHIVES February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002 Feedjit Live Blog Stats
I haven't talked much about making bread, but it is a large part of my cooking—partly because Clarence and Nick really like whole-grain home baked bread, and partly because I just enjoy making it. What I don't enjoy is struggling with enough dough to make four to six loaves at a time. Nor do I want to run the oven every other day to make a more manageable amount. So I bought a Bosch mixer, the Universal. It will allegedly make a 12-pound batch of dough at one time, though I have made only smaller amounts so far.Unfortunately, I don't think I can run the Bosch off an inverter powered by 12 volt batteries. What I'm going to do when we go entirely off-grid I'm not sure. But in the meantime, I'm having a lot of fun with it.The first thing I learned is that my oven isn't big enough. Or rather, the shelves aren't placed properly. I can't put bread pans on the top shelf because the bread rises so high it runs into the broiler elements. And if I use only the middle shelf, I can bake only four loaves at a time, not enough to reach my goal of baking only once a week. Plans for an outdoor masonry oven are therefore under consideration. It may have to take its place far down the list of construction projects, but we'll get to it eventually.The second thing I learned is that the Bosch will knead way more stiff a dough than you really want. My first batch of bread was terrific (except for the loaf with a black bar across the top from contact with the broiler element). But I thought the dough was too soft. The second batch turned out no better than the loaves I kneaded by hand, because I used too much flour. The third batch was fine, except for being able to bake only four loaves at a time. The next step is to replace our very cheap, and correspondingly poor-quality, grain mill with a better one. The Family Grain Mill can be powered by hand or attached to the Bosch mixer with an adapter. Not really much of a decision there. The next time my work takes me up into the Shenandoah Valley, where several retailers sell wheat in 50-pound sacks, I'll come home with a couple of sacks. I have no earthly idea how long that will last, but I guess we'll find out.Tomorrow I'll be working in Lynchburg, where the Dadant Beekeeping Supply Company is located (jacket, hat and veil for Nick, and a hive-top feeder for the bees) and will swing by my chicken and sheep-raising friend's house on the way home (eggs and fleece).It pleases me to think the price of gas is partly mediated by the good things I bring home with me.
The template is set to display 10 posts. To see all the posts for this month, click on the month name in the Archive section
RSS Feed
PERSONAL
WHY 'LIFE AS A SPECTATOR SPORT'
"If you're lucky not to live in the gutters of a slum, but still can't afford to take vacations in the Alps, you're part of that enormous middle class who lives life through the medium of the television, further separated from "real" life by air conditioner, by automobile, by dishwasher, microwave and ice-in-the-door refrigerator, by automatic washer and dryer, and all the other appliances and conveniences that make it possible for America to live life at second hand. I'm not sure why Americans decided that televised drama was better than the real thing, that cardboard microwave food containers were an adequate substitute for real dishes, and their contents for real food, or that cooking, dishwashing and face-to-face conversation wasn't worth the effort and time it required. Someone fed this nation a plastic crate of out-of-season tomatoes and told us it was life and we took them at their word, and we're so much the poorer for it that it's hard to know where to start to list the shortcomings." I wrote this a couple of years ago, but I have to admit it's much less amusing than I thought it would be to see the artifical construct falling apart.
THE NON-ELECTRIC HOME
Cleaning, 1 Cleaning, 2 Cleaning, 3
KNITTING BLOGS
Extravayarnza Knitting Heretic Mind of Winter Pie Knits Persistent Illusion See Eunny Knit The Keyboard Biologist Taleweaver's Ramblings TECHnitting Wendy Knits
FINISHED PROJECTS
SELF-RELIANCE AND THE FUTURE
POLITICAL BLOGS and SITES
BOOKS I'M READING
How to Grow More Vegetables, etc. Small Scale Grain Raising
ARCHIVES
February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 August 2008 July 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003 March 2003 February 2003 January 2003 December 2002 November 2002 October 2002 September 2002 August 2002 July 2002 June 2002 May 2002 April 2002 March 2002 February 2002
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