Tuesday, February 6, 2018

Sour Dough Bread and the New Office (getting boring I know)

We got down to 6° and had about l inch of snow on when we got up this morning.  It has slowly warmed up and lots of the snow has melted.

The carpenter did show up and got a lot done.  At least I can  now see what the finished room will look like. He will be back  Thursday and Friday and finish both jobs. This is Antique White.  I like it enough, I will use it on the living room (plan on having him paint the inside house for me).


 Showing the vinyl strip flooring, he and  Max picked out the grey tones and I like how they look next to the marble entry just inside the door to the living room.

The next picture just shows the dining room wall side with the window for heating access.  He will build  movable shelves (sort of a table ) that  will be in front of the window and go wall to wall.

and now on the  to the Cooking

First I want to share the Scottish Shortbread Cookie recipe I have been making since 2005.  To give  credit  where it is due, it is from Allrecipes submitted by Linda.

Scottish Shortbread IV

2 cups butter (softened)
1 cup packed brown sugar
4 1/2 cup all purpose flour

1.Preheat oven to 325°F
2. Cream butter and sugar .  Add 3 to 3 3/4 cups of flour and mix well.
3. Sprinkle board  with the remaining flour and knead into dough for about 5 minutes.  Makes a soft but easily handled dough.  Roll out to 1/2 inch thickness.  Cut into 3x1 inch strips (I use a ruler).  Prick with a fork and place on ungreased backing  sheets (I like to use parchment paper)
4.  Bake at 325° for 20 to 25 minutes.

Enjoy. (GD's cookies are in the mail!)  

Sourdough Bread venture:  Bread turned out great.  I used l teaspoon of regular yeast but won't use any next time and see how that works.  This rose nicely within l  hour. I have never tasted sourdough bread and just assumed  the 'sour' wouldn't be something I would enjoy in a bread.  Wrong! There was just a hint of sour and we both really liked it.

I have now put the 'mother' in the fridge and don't know how long I will keep this project going.

I used the discard (2 cups worth) and made King Arthur's recipe for pancakes/waffles and made some of both.  Very, very good.  I have frozen the leftovers for later toasting.


8 comments:

  1. The carpenter did a nice job on the trim and painting. Just out of curiosity, what brand of yeast do you usually use? I sometimes see recommendations for rapid rise and then other times regular. Do you ever use the rapid rise? Thanks!

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  2. Since I got interested in bread making several years ago, I only use Saf-Instant yeast by Lesaffre. I buy it in l-lb. blocks that are compressed. I open them and put in a container and store in the freezer where it will keep indefinitely. I use it directly from the freezer and never do the proofing thing recommended for most yeasts. It has never failed me yet. I change nothing else in a recipe and proceed with normal rising times called for.

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  3. Going to give those cookies a try. Look great! Not sure how much patience I will have with a ruler but can "assign" it for my husband to do.

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  4. Love your new office space and am looking forward to seeing it finished, as I know you are also.

    Your sourdough bread looks delicious! I'm going to read up on the yeast that you use. I've been using Fleischmann's Active Dry Yeast, because it has no aluminum in it. Is SAF aluminum free?

    Enjoy your day today ~ Love & hugs ~ FlowerLady

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  5. OMIGOSH Glenda, those baked loaves look like overinflated footballs! And no 'blowout' at all. The crust is beautiful. Glad it came out so well for you and that the 'tang' is pleasant on your tongue. Dontcha love it when an experiment turns out! Kris

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  6. Glenda,
    Antique white is a color I love to use, I never get tired of it. Is the office going to be yours? Great flooring!

    I'm jealous......look at your bread....OMG I'm drooling😁

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  7. Lovely loaves! I have managed to keep a whole wheat sour dough starter going for several years. I bake the bread in bread pans, though. I like the way you slashed yours. I make Xs, and they sometimes open up unevenly. I want to try the way you did it.

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