Hello from Moose Creek, Alaska
Found this site yesterday and can't seem to get away! I'm a home cook and baker, and my current specialty is individual sized artisan corn flour flatbreads. (I love to make fresh corn tortillas!). I will try anything, I keep a sourdough starter all the time but will use dry yeast. I look forward to trying sooo many of the breads and techniques that I have seen.
I will also share my kitchen adventures of trying to get a dough to rise when it's -40F outside and only +40F above in my kitchen! Or those strange days when my sourdough starter climbs right out of it's enclosure and goes off to explore the countertops, some days (well, to be honest, most days) it's a half-baked Alaska kind of day! My husband says that the only reason I bake bread is because it's not socially acceptable to simply eat a stick of butter...
Look forward to all you have to offer, it's a pleasure meeting you all.
Welcome to TFL from a South Australian novice home baker. You will find invaluable help and support on this site. There are so many brilliant home bakers here who are only too happy to share their knowledge and exchange information.
I don't envy you trying to bake in that temperature range! But what a beautiful country you have to bake in!
Enjoy the ride .. you will become obsessed like most of us on this site. And I agree with your husband, it is always more seemly to have bread on your butter!
Sondra
Welcome, Moose Creek, Alaska ! It's great to have you here on the forum; I'll be interested to see what interesting techniques you devise in order to deal with the seemingly impossible temperatures for bread-proofing. Though, I bet the cold will just retard the fermentation process, ultimately leading to a crystal palace of bready deliciousness.
Keep us posted on your baking adventures. I will say, as an admonition: if you're not ready to become completely obsessed with the quest for the perfect loaf (that ineluctable darling!), then turn away now. Otherwise, this site will become the locus of your descent into madness, tasty, buttery madness !
Happy baking !
Welcome to The Fresh Loaf. I look forward to seeing what you are up to in the kitchen.
Paul
Butter is great, but to say I'd bake for an excuse to eat butter would be a stretch for me. Contrariwise, I often love to eat a slice of homemade bread without any adornments at all. Although, a slice of toast just isn't finished until the butter is applied liberally!
Welcome to TFL, and may your bread be worthy of the butter upon which it is spread!
I'm guessing you have moose in yoru creek pretty often. Here in Gilbert, AZ we have Gil living on one side of the street and his brother Bert on the ohter. Your moose sonld a lot better to look at than the brothers!.,
Happy baking
Moose Creek as in close to North Pole, Alaska?
Are they still mining for gold there? I think there's a fairly large Air Force base near there, Eilson if I remember right.
You've found the right place for bread though avoiding sourdough seems somewhat contrary to your geographical position.
Wild-Yeast
When were you here because no one knows where Moose Creek is! We've resorted to telling people we live just south of North Pole!
North Pole is still there, Fairbanks is still there and has spread all over, Eielson is still there, but not so active anymore. It has been on the base closure list a couple of times now. Only aircraft left is a single squadron of fighter planes that they use for Red Flag exercises and they are trying to get those moved to Anchorage.
I am in the process of refreshing my sourdough starter, I'm going to need it next week, it's currently bubbling happily away...
Thanks for responding, glad to know some one who's familiar with the arctic!
Welcome to TFL! As you've already noticed, lots of good info here.