A song of the good green grass!
A song no more of the city streets;
A song of farms - a song of the soil of fields.
A song with the smell of sun-dried hay, where the nimble pitchers handle the pitch fork;
A song tasting of new wheat and of fresh husk'd maize.
A Carol of Harvest, for 1867. Walt Whitman (1819-1898)
While I love rustic free-form loaves with a bold, crackling crust, complex flavor, and a crumb riddled with holes, my family does like whole wheat bread with a denser crumb, softer crust, and low acidity, in a shape good for sandwiches and toast. I hope that I was able to deliver something to satisfy that need, providing a healthful loaf with the previously mentioned qualities.
Here are some pictures of the loaves, including some crumb shots.
This past weekend, I attended a conference in Portland, Oregon, so I wasn't home to bake. I want to assure you my suffering was not intolerable. Susan and managed a long-deferred visit to Ken's Artisan Bakery.
As some of you may know I've had serious problems trying to get my Sourdough bread to rise, after posting my problem in the forum many of you guys took the time to give me some advice, for which I'm truly thankful. So for those who hadn't read my question before, here it is, and apologies for repeating myself to those who have.
Friday afternoon, I mixed the dough -- again using 50% White Whole Wheat (milled from Praire Gold White Hard Spring Wheat) and 50% Caputo "00" flour. I put the dough balls in the fridge and left for the weekend. On Sunday afternoon, I realized that I was out of canned tomatoes. Fortunately, I had a fresh tomato, and I decided to make my own tomato sauce.
On Friday afternoon, we left for a weekend at the NJ Shore. I had no idea what time I'd be home on Sunday and did not want to try and figure out a way to pre-plan my loaves for a Sunday bake. So, I mixed up some pizza dough and stuck it in the fridge, figuring we could eat it for lunch or dinner on Sunday.
If he shows talent as an artist, give him pencils or modeling wax in his playroom, but do not let him bite his slice of bread into the silhouette of an animal, or model figures in soft bread at the table. And do not allow him to construct a tent out of two forks, or an automobile chassis out of tumblers and knives. Food and table implements are not playthings, nor is the dining-room a playground.
Table tricks that must be corrected from Etiquette (1922) by Emily Post.
I started a new job about two weeks ago and, as a result, I haven't had much time to bake or surf the internet lately. I miss being able to read TFL daily, but I miss sleeping more so I chose sleep over the internet. :) My brotformen are still vacuum-sealed for safe keeping while I get settled with my new routine, so I've been baking in loaf pans.
I hope everyone is having a good late summer, early fall.
Things have been remarkable busy in my household the past few months and only appear to be getting busier the next few months. But I have been baking when I can.
Mostly I've been baking sourdough boules, these sorts of things.
