I was startled to realize that it was 8PM already. The light was fading fast (that was my clue), and I had to go tuck the chickens in for the night. Then I came inside and of course it was too dark to take any pictures.

I paged through the images folder on my computer, hoping to find a neglected gem. (It happens fairly often actually.) Something that I could pass off as “fresh today.” But no such luck!

At about the same time I remembered that it was about time to do something with today’s batch of bread dough. I’m trying a new recipe from King Arthur Flour, Extra-Tangy Sourdough Bread. (I left out the citric acid, even though I do have some.)

Confession: I don’t know how to properly knead dough. When it came time to knead in ingredients this morning, I was in the middle of something and didn’t want to take the time to track down “how to knead bread” videos on YouTube. (Although I am sure there are tons, just ripe for the watching.)

Instead, I just turned it out on my silicone pastry mat and faked it.

It’s baking in the oven now. It smells good. I am cautiously optimistic. I guess “cautious optimism” is sometimes the best you can hope for on a Monday evening.

Tags: Makoto, sourdough

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(I shouldn’t joke – half the time when I title a post “X [day of the week]” it becomes a real thing, like Sims Sunday or the erstwhile Puppy Wednesday.)

Loaf #3 turned out considerably better. It’s shaped a little oddly, because I baked it in a casserole dish.

It has a great sourdough flavor, and a pretty good texture. Next time I think I will let it rise in the pan for a little while longer, because it turned out a little on the chewy side.

Mozzarella, ridiculously expensive vine ripened cherry tomatoes from Mexico, salt, pepper, and olive oil. Oh it’s SO hard to eat these vegetarian meals! THE DEPRIVATION.

Tags: Makoto, sourdough

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Evidently Cat Bordhi has an instruction in one of her knitting patterns that you should check the fit of your sock toe by trying it on. If it’s too big, “pinch off N stitches” meaning literally pinch the extra fabric with your fingers and see how many stitches you need to remove to get it to fit.

Needless to say, this instruction – and the concomitant Ravelry thread, titled “What does pinch off mean” – sends me into fits of hysterical giggling. Particularly when people posted comments just to clutch their pearls in horror and say, Well I never!

I think you can see where I’m going with this.

I made a loaf! Would you like to see a picture of the loaf that I made?

In all seriousness, this loaf did turn out better. I wouldn’t call it “a success,” but it was definitely “less bad.”

You see, the thing is that bread-baking people are crazy for weighing their ingredients. Not weighing your ingredients – or committing the sin of asking “How much is that in cups?” – is almost as bad as making a poop joke on the main Ravelry boards (the “Big Six”).

For the first recipe, I diligently weighed out so many ounces of starter, so many ounces of water, and so many ounces of flour. Turns out that if you weigh out the ounces of starter and flour, but measure the ounces of water in a measuring cup, it works out better. Less sloppy-wet.

After all, no one likes to pinch off a sloppy-wet loaf.

Tags: Makoto, poop jokes ahoy, Ravelry gossip, sourdough, yes I am eight years old

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… Make ciabatta!

Makoto has been running for about a month now. I was led to believe it would be mature at this point. However, those estimates are based on “room temperature” and I’m pretty sure my room’s temperature isn’t the same as “room temperature.” February + wood stove = “room temperature” that’s erratic at best.

Nevertheless, I decided to give it a try. I put together a batch of bread dough on Friday morning, and basically spent the next three days trying to coax it into doing the right thing.

By Sunday night I was getting severely frustrated. I had read that you can test the dough by poking it with a finger. “If the indentation springs back, the dough needs more time; if it stays hollow, it’s ready.”

You know what happened when I poked it with a finger?

The dough was a sticky mess, the texture of Elmer’s glue. And after three days spent mostly in the refrigerator (I had things to do this weekend, and couldn’t babysit the damned thing) it was damn tangy.

I decided that enough was enough. I was going to bake it, and if what came out of the oven was only fit for the chickens, so be it.

It’s pretty dense, as you might expect from something that’s only half as tall as it ought to be. But it’s actually people-edible!

Tags: Makoto, sourdough

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It seems like everyone’s getting a new pet these days! (Technically I think Norma’s only long-term-dogsitting Mr. Jeffries, but we all know how that’s going to work out, don’t we?)

I have a new pet, too.

Who’s a good little symbiotic culture of lactobacillus bacteria and yeast? You are, that’s who!

I took up the offer of some random person on the internet, who mailed me dried flakes from his own sourdough starter culture. Yesterday’s gray Patons Classic Wool hat has been mailed off to him in exchange. Man, I love the barter system!

Apparently it will take almost a month before my starter is ready to make bread. Right now it bubbles, but it doesn’t rise. And it smells exactly like ranch dressing, which is a little disconcerting.

Okay, so it’s not the most charismatic pet. But it’s essentially immortal if you keep remembering to feed it. That is why I named it Makoto.

(Is it weird to name your sourdough starter? After your favorite Sims 2 character? I don’t know, maybe. Whatever. Not my problem.)

Tags: Makoto, sourdough

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