I Need a Bench Rest (I think)

Sweet freakin' relief. 

I finally got iChat working between my computer and my mother's new computer. I can now chat with my mom on line and she can see her grandchildren through video chat. And, more importantly, I can take over her computer when I need to fix something, or show her how to do something, or do something for her.

Sorry, but this was driving me nuts. I didn't realize how difficult it might be for two people who speak the same language, to speak the same language. But I'm learning, more and more, that for every new hobby, task or adventure, there is another English language.

While I'm looking at a very similar computer screen as my mother, she is trying to describe what she sees. I'm trying to understand. I'm giving commands in a language she is not entirely familiar with, and she's trying to understand. Throw in a password typed incorrectly, or an error in the email account and we're both looking for a bottle.

The same applies to my new bread baking hobby. Got an email from a fellow bread enthusiast from that website I've previously mentioned, The Fresh Loaf. I had asked a question about what "proofing" means exactly. I know it has something to do with the bread rising, but I wasn't sure if it meant the first rise, the second rise, or another rise I didn't know about.

And excerpt from that email:

"Then there is autolyse, sponge, soaker, poolish, biga, retard/retarded/cold

retard, bench rest, preferment, levain/sourdough, chef/motherdough, old

dough/altus."

I'm not sure, but I think she's coming on to me.

But you see what I mean? I know that a sponge soaks up water and you wash the floor with it. I know a soaker is something I used to get on the way to school when I stepped in the creek. I'm sure that's not what my new friend is talking about. I have a new language to learn. No idea what poolish means, yet. 

But one step at a time. For now, I'm celebrating my major computer victory. I can now explain myself while showing my mom exactly what I'm talking about. And I can see exactly what she's looking at. This is awesome!

I just wish that there was a similar remote bread-baking system, where one of my more knowledgeable new friends could look over my shoulder, knead the bread a little more if necessary, toss in a little extra flour when needed and make sure my poolish has the appropriate sponge soaker for the bench rest. If not, I guess I'll just make it biga.

So much to learn.

Anyhoo, it's early in the a.m. and I've had another relatively sleepless night, thanks to something that has invaded Sonwun's ear. Spent three hours at the hospital last night and woke up every four hours since for medication. Maybe I'll tell you all about that one tomorrow.

As for today, Neomom's headed for Thompson and I don't see Sonwun heading for school. Gonna be a long one.

Have a great Tuesday. And remember, the yeasts are most active during the bulk rise. Keep your mouse on the pad.

Happy Monday

So, five days down in my little hydroponic experiment and I have three little plants peeking through. Thyme was first out of the gate, and now the Italian basil and lemon basil have made an appearance. If the literature is correct, I'll be enjoying my first harvest in a week or two. Yay! (You can click on the little pictures to see them full size).

In other news, a fairly sleepless night has resulted in a few new theories for bread baking. My brain tends to sort out the day's problems over night. When the problems are bugging the crap out of me, my brain often wakes me up to check a few of its theories before allowing me back to sleep.

For my next bread version, 7.0, I will allow more time for the dough to rise in a less warm environment. I will also be shaping the loaves in a slightly different way. And that, my brain told me at 2:13 a.m., should result in an unfallen loaf. Here's hoping.

So, the week ahead . . .

Neomom's been called to testify at a trial in Thompson. She had a minor role in this one, but is apparently needed. She leaves tomorrow and will, hopefully, be back on Wednesday or Thursday. The good news is that she gets to see our best friends in Thompson, Cathy and Dave. The kids call them Grampa and Nana and they were the best part of our time in Thompson. I'm a little jealous.

Sonwun's back to school today, Sontoo and I have a little shopping to do and then it's back to work on Sonwun's new bedroom.

Have a great Monday!

Frustration

I am frustrated today. My bread is not working as well as I'd like and my mother's new iMac is not cooperating with me.

First the bread. For some reason, my results have gone downhill. My loaves are sagging during baking. And it's driving me nuts. For help, I've joined the The Fresh Loaf bread baking forum. I've found a whole crapload of information and am still wading through it. Thought I'd solved the sinking problem this morning, but the bread I baked sagged, yet again. Erg!

The good folks at The Fresh Loaf were, however, able to solve another one of my little problems. My bread was sticking to the bread pan, in spite of my liberal greasing of said pan. I tried Crisco, I tried canola oil and I tried margarine. But the sticking was getting worse and the last time out I completely ruined one loaf while trying to remove it from the pan.

So I pass on this little nugget. One part flour, one part oil, one part Crisco. Mix well. Apply to pan with pastry brush. Worked like a charm. The somewhat flattened loaves slipped out like butta.

Rejoice in the small victories.

Second, my mom purchased the latest iMac, as I was told it would be easy to remotely access her computer, from mine, and be able to help with any problems. I would be able to do this through a program called iChat. Problem is, we can't seem to get iChat working properly, which means I can't access her computer to solve the problem. This is driving me crazy. She is, in theory, as I write, on the phone with Apple tech support trying to resolve this issue. 

Mom lives back in Ontario, and I'm here in Manitoba, so it's not like I can just drop in and deal with tech support on her behalf. This is frustrating the crap out of me.

Well, to make a long annoying story short, (and to meet my commitment to blog today), I'll tell you that between my brother in Ontario, the folks at Cogeco.ca, the folks at Apple Canada, my mother and myself, we've solved many of the problems. Lots of phone calls, lots of on-line hunting, one step at a time and we're getting there. 

Anyway, I'm frustrated and tired. I'm going to bed.

Good night.

The Year of the Loaf

Well, what can I say. Day 2 and it's been a busy 2012 already.

Before coffee this morning, I went sky diving, I went rocky mountain climbing, I went two point seven seconds on a bull named Fu Man Chu. And I loved deeper and I spoke sweeter, and I gave forgiveness I'd been denying. Basically, I lived like I was Mayan.

Thanks, Tim McGraw, for the suggestions.

So I can check those off my list.

Yesterday I played, once again, with my new Christmas toy: the KitchenAid Pro 5 Plus mixer. I can actually hear angels singing when I write that.

Anyway, baking bread. I consider myself a novice. I've done it a few times with reasonable, although not exceptional results. Sonwun loves it. That's good enough for me.

But the breads of 2011 were a little dense for my taste. So I've been doing some reading in hopes of improving the loaves of the New Year. Based on that reading, I figure temperature has been my enemy on many levels. First off, when dissolving yeast, I've learned that the water should be around 100F. I kinda played fast and loose with the temperatures in the past, and probably killed a lot of innocent yeasts.

And letting the dough rise . . . again, temperature issues. Don't think the house was ever quite warm enough to let the dough rise properly, just sitting on the counter. So this year, this brand new year, I've learned that I should put said dough in the oven, over a pan of hot water. Done.

And finally, I wasn't putting the dough in the loaf pans properly. I just kinda plopped it in there. But my research tells me I should be rolling out the dough into a rectangle, and then rolling up said rectangle into a loaf shape. Who knew?

But I did it all, and I gotta say the results were spectacular. At lunch, the boys were absolutely silent. Never happens. But they were so focussed on the warm bread, with butter and grape jelly. They only spoke to ask for more. Cool!

It's cheaper, it's better for them and it's not all that hard to do.

2012 - The Year of the Home-made Loaf!

Box on . . .

So, it's Boxing Day. Celebrate as you see fit.

The unbridled greed of Christmas Day (with young ones) has drawn to a close. I'll need a Bobcat to move the empty boxes and crumpled paper from the rec room. So that's on the list.

Neomom's back to work today and Sontoo is off school for two weeks. But at least the two boys have a whole new crop of crap to wade through. Fa la la la la, la la la la.

As for me, Daddy got a new KitchenAid stand mixer. And, as luck would have it, there are four old bananas on the counter, turning black. So, banana bread it is. I've wanted this mixer ever since I started baking my own bread. While kneading dough by hand can be therapeutic, it gets a little old after a while. I only have so much anger in the bank to transfer to my dough.

So, after a quick shop this morning, Sonwun and Sontoo in tow, my plan is to bake stuff. Probably the aforementioned banana bread and then a loaf or two of regular bread. The price of the stuff at the grocery stores has just gotten out of hand. I can do it cheaper . . . and better.

Anyhoo, not gonna spend much time blogging this morning. But I have accepted the New Year's resolution of daily blogging for 90 days. After that, we'll see.

I know I enjoy writing and blogging, for whatever reason, makes me feel good. And I need that.

So, not sure if anyone's still reading this, but if you are, you should know that the next few will not be up to my regular standards. (Check back in my archive for "regular standards.") But I will improve. Read if you like, ignore if you don't.

Happy Boxing Day all!

I made Bread - FROM SCRATCH!!

All righty then. After yesterday's entry, both boys awoke with a flourish of phlegm. Nasty coughing put a quick end to preschool plans, so we set ourselves up for another day in the house.

But, I kept my word and I shaved and showered before Neomom headed off to work. And I will admit it felt good. I even got to test out the nose hair trimmer on my new beard and moustache trimmer. Wooohooo! Nothing like a well-shorn nose.

By 9 a.m., I had the boys fed, the kitchen cleaned and a load in the laundry. Own the job, own the job.

So . . . what now? I've always wanted to try out a bread recipe I got from another stay-at-home dad I met on the dadstayshome.com web site. Other dads on the site have tried out the recipe and many swear by it. Last week I bought all the ingredients and yesterday, I figured, what the heck! We're stuck inside all day, might as well make the house smell nice.

(You can find the original recipe on my buddy's blog site right here.)

With Sonwun and Sontoo deeply engrossed in Blue's Clues, I knew the time was right. I pulled out the recipe and started my new career as a baker.

Following instructions, I grabbed a big honkin' bowl (that's actually exactly what the recipe said) and I added three cups whole wheat flour, three cups all purpose flour, quarter cup of oil, two tablespoons brown sugar, two-thirds tablespoon salt and one and a quarter tablespoons of yeast. And then I mixed it all up.

I then added two cups of warm (not hot) water and began kneading. I tried mixing it with a wooden spoon at first. Dumb idea. So I set the spoon aside and dug in with both hands.

And it was about at this time, with my hands covered in a sticky not-yet-dough concoction, that Sonwun called from the upstairs bathroom, "Daddy, I'm done pooping."

This is my cue to go and assist with the "paperwork," portion of the event.

**SIGH**

And so I washed my hands, headed upstairs, took care of business, washed my hands, washed my hands, washed my hands and returned to kneading. The recipe called for 5 minutes of merciless kneading. (I also had to add about a quarter cup more warm water - the amount of water is to be determined by the consistency of the dough. I am a rookie, so I just guessed.) I did my best to show no mercy and then, as instructed, I plopped the dough on the counter, cleaned the big honkin' bowl, dried it, sprayed it down with cooking spray and then replopped the dough into said bowl. I covered it with a dish towel with the understanding that, in three hours, it would double in size.

Must resist the urge to peak. Must resist the urge to peak.

Did not peak. Dough did the rising thing. As instructed, I punched it down and divided it between my two smaller bread pans. Is it pans? Well, the loaf-shaped metal things, whatever they are. Oh, and don't forget to spray down the pans, or grease them, whatever works for you, before plopping the bread in.

Then I left it alone again for an hour before firing it in the preheated, 375-degree oven for half an hour.

And oh . . . the smell. Even if it didn't work, the smell made all the effort thus far worthwhile. YUM!

But it did work. It was proudly served with my meatloaf (will post that recipe another time), potatoes, corn and peas. Great supper. I can't wait to try the bread toasted this morning at breakfast. It is delicious, if I do say so myself.

Anyway, Day 2 of beating the blahs begins. A challenge, once again, as Sontoo had me up at 2 a.m. with a nose full of snot and an attitude a mile wide. But at least he went back to sleep, as did I.

Happy Wednesday!

And, as promised, the picture below is of my latest achievement. Home-made bread! Okay, the pic is nothing to get excited about. I was in a hurry and it was all about content, less about composition.