December 27, 2010 - 10:49am
Pets Vs. Rising Bread
I have had an unanticipated rising complication; about 2 hours into the final rise, my lovely cat stepped on my (covered) dough in the banneton.
There is a big dent in the middle of it now. Has anyone ever had this or similar problem where the rising dough was flattened? Any pointers or advice on whether it will bake properly, if i let it rise another couple hours maybe?
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Other than that, I can't see it as a problem. The dough will recover and the bake will expand the dough filling in any holes. Don't risk overproofing by letting it rise too long. Might want to have the print side up for baking so no air is trapped under the loaf.
Take photos! ( Always keeping a sharp lookout for a new scoring method.)
That will protect the dough from pets who walk on counters!
Locking the cat in the microwave while the loaves are proofing? Nah.
David
Inside the Box! Great suggestion, David.
David G
How's this for a problem. My 100 pound Giant Schnauzer reached up to the counter where my dough was rising and ate the entire thing. He's way to big to put in the microwave.
Get a bigger microwave...
Getting a bigger microwave is cetainly a possibility but . . . how do I convince Spenser (my dog) to get into it? Just had an idea. I can put some rising dough in it.
your dog eats bread dough - it's bad enough that my dog wolfs down every kind of bread (even ancient sourdough butts) she is able to grab...
Karin
That shouldn't surprise you - most of dog food is actually very poor quality bread with meat by-product flavors. Here at least your dog gets better quality bread.
I've certainly had stray fingers poke and dent loaves. There will likely be some compression but it usually bounces back more than I expect.
Can't blame a cat for exploring something soft and warm. I'm surprised it didn't curl up and go to sleep on the nice hand-made pillow.
If it were my cat (though Tasha is much too well behaved to be on the counter [snicker]), I'd spray a little lemon oil on the towel over the banneton, or just put a cut lemon nearby. She hates that.
Good luck.
Glenn
Your cat was just doing the "proof test" for you. Since the paw print didn't spring back immediately, the loaf was probably ready for the oven.
How do you think I knead my dough? My cat's are required to work for their kibble. It's either that or they will nigh-nigh me. <grin>
Cheers,
Francine
When I took my shaped and overnight fermented Pane Siciliano out of the fridge to come to room temperature, my cat Fritz jumped right on it. The bread was ready to go into the oven, so no closing of the indentation possible.
One bread had a distinct paw pattern - really cute! Of course that was the one I kept and did not sell.
Karin
You can sell bread baked in a house with indoor pets?
whether I had any. But normally they don't interfere with my baking. But when we got the dog from the shelter, and I didn't know how far she could reach, when nobody was looking, I lost a few cupcakes and pitas, before I learned to put everything high up.
Not to mention a whole sheet of whoopie pie halves cooling on the porch, followed by a whole bowl of marshmallow filling...
Karin
home baking business are required to be inspected by the Dept. of Agriculture on a yearly basis. The very first statemen/requirment on their forms was, in big, bold caps, no indoor pets.
It's a bit of a pain, but I agree. I'm okay (not really) with finding my pets hair in something I make for myself, but I'd be less than pleased to find the same in something I purchased from someone else.
I solved the problem by remodeling my old shop into a micro-bakery. A dedicated space, pet free and out of the house eased a lot of family tension.
I just knew there would be a good use for the 4 orphaned kittens that my wife has taken under her wing, they weighed between 200 -300g when we found them, which was a week after we found the presumed mother deceased.
While looking for a photo of Garfield, Tiger, Harold Holt and Jesse there were some pics of a recent bread that i had made which the kittens would be good for indenting for the toppings a schiacciata from The Bourke Street Bakery book.
From the left Jesse, Garfield, Tiger and Harold Holt all named by the grand daughters and daughter. Harold Holt was an Australian prime minister that went swimming and never returned and was never found, our Harold actually dashed into a near empty swimming pool and swam away a little bit when we were trying to rescue him.
Anyway the kittens were very lucky and those that enjoyed a good flat bread were also lucky.
Happy new year to all the TFL crowd
kindest regards Yozza
to you, your family and the lucky, rescued, bread imprinters, too!
Karin
THanks everybody for your input, the paw prints did bounce back!
so cute to hear everyones pets vs rising dough stories. And the flat bread is GORgeous!
Happy New Year Loafers!