Hello from the Deep South, US
I've been reading the The Fresh Loaf for some time. I'm finally in a position to feed my obsession for bread making as I am now retired.
In the 1980's, I made bread as a part-time job. I was renting a 2nd Floor apartment in Wheeling, WV above a cafe and an old-school health food market. It was owned by 2 nuclear physicists who "retired" to WV, purchased a goat farm, and started the cafe and market.....When the "we are hiring" sign went up, I jumped on the opportunity. I was very poor and needed extra cash desperately.
Those ladies taught me how to make bread----and that's all I did for them from 2am to 7am seven days a week. I became quite the expert, making yeast breads and the various sponge breads for their sandwiches and loaves for sale in the cafe and market.
I was able to duplicate those results in my own kitchens as long as I lived in WV.
Then I moved to the Deep South, and my previous methods of breadmaking were complete failures here.....What I didn't learn in those WV days were the finer points of temperature, humidity, elevation, etc. The ladies had already figured that out and I never questioned it.
So, here I am reading everything I can.
With a couple dozen utter failures under my belt, I am now able to duplicate beautiful results with potato rolls and Pain de Mie. Sourdough is still a near complete failure, except I make outstanding flat breads with sourdough discards.
As I write, I am developing a Biga for Ciabatta. It's looking pretty good---starting to dome and smells like heaven.
I will post results later--good or bad.
Regards, Carol Cuevas
Just curious, does anyone know why USA refers to it as the "Deep South"?
I always found it strange when it sits in the top third of land mass that runs essentially unbroken all the way down to about Latitude 50deg South.
Since people in the US tend to be US-centric, the rest of the continent south of the US wouldn't be a consideration here. The "Deep South" states are ones farther south than the ones on the border between northern and southern states. So they are farther south ("deeper"). For example Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, and Mississippi are some of those deep south states. That border is not a formal one, though a formal demarcation existed before the US Civil War, being called the "Mason-Dixon Line". Virginia is one of those borderline Southern states.
Probably because the term began as a geographic descriptor, as in Out West as opposed to the Mid-West, back East vs the Middle East or the Far East. It may also reference the realization that, historically, the further into an area one goes, the more deeply the traditions and culture are steeped. Personally, I’m inclined to view it in as deeply Southern, as in deeply invested, deeply, religious, deeply convinced. But I am deeply astonished by the question. 😉
"Deep South" is a reference to our Civil War, 1861-1865, where brother fought brother over states rights. Almost everyone I know has ancestors who fought on opposing sides----which makes it somewhat unique as civil wars go. Descendants get to hear both sides of the story, and some of the finer points are somewhat disputed.
Welcome to the Deep South, Carol! I live very near sea level (32 ft elevation) about an hour east of New Orleans, on the beautiful MS Gulf Coast. I, too, am retired and can indulge in this living art-form, at least for most of the year. My hubby complains about the A/C bill in the depths of “The Great Heat” in July & August, but he has a Big Green Egg now, and I’m looking forward to trying to bake in it. Please share your elevation/humidity/etc discoveries with us. I look forward to hearing about them.
We have a residence in New Orleans, and I used that because it's reference is one everyone is familiar with.
However, we spend most of our time on our farm in the Kiln, which is 13 miles east into MS off I-10.
Our elevation is 89 feet, which is great for drainage. I guess, like you, the average humidity is about 90%.....The "Great Heat" was something else, wasn't it? Not a great year for crops.
However, the old, crappy stove at the farm has proven to be a more consistent proof box than the fancy oven in NOLA.
Kiln? I’m in Long Beach! We do need to get together!
I'd love to get together.
When you were baking bread in WV, did you ever bake salt rising bread?
Regards,
William