Getting over laziness

I've been incredibly lazy for the past three weeks or so. Beats me why. I'd like to blame the unbearably hot summer we've had but I know myself too well. No excuses. Just lazy.

It's turning cooler and just in time! I'm running out of the 12 loaves I baked a few weeks back to give me the practice and confidence I need in proofing and shaping bread. I've said it before and I'll say it again: practice, Practice, PRACTICE!

That 12-loaf weekend bake taught me so much: starter and levain timing to maximize time to oven with only one loaf in at once. I learned what a proper proof looked like, what dough should look like, and how to get consistent results.

I just fed my sorely-neglected yeast water. I'm liking it very much!

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/comment/360664#comment-360664

I've been gearing up to try dabrownman's easy rye recipe. I think you can find it under a post entitled "Why is it always 500° F?," if you're interested. I was pleased to see he baked a rye bread this week. I wonder if he was tweaking me or if I'm just being vain. Again. :) He's a good man.

Speaking of lazy... it's been so bad that I haven't even found it in me to do the math to build a NMNF seed into a 75% hydration 60/40 rye/bread flour levain.

By coincidence, I found a reply from Elagins  (Stan Ginseng, The Rye Baker, and now author) on how to do the math with percentages. I cringe at my irreverent early posts but am grateful to everyone here who puts up with me and helps me and all us newer bakers. Thank you, everyone!

Where's that calculator...?

Murph