Too darn hot
Folks, I just want to say I appreciate the fact that so many of y'all are keeping that bread flag flying despite this psycho heat wave. Is it *not* hot anywhere in the continental US?
Here in SW Ohio, we're working on a record for consecutive 90+ degree days. We hit 100 today, and probably will again tomorrow, so not being fully acclimated to subtropical temps, I just can't get my head into bread-making mode. Not that I don't love hot weather. I do. And usually I bake through the summer. But this ... wow. I boiled a little pasta this evening and probably drank a half-gallon of water before it was done.
I am however still reading TFL every day and jonesing to make something. Anybody have any good ideas for something bread-ish that can be made really fast? Or, you know, without turning on the oven?
Cooky, maybe you should come and visit Whidbey Island - we had cool drizzle all day yesterday and sprinkles on and off today, with temps under 70*. In fact I am planning on starting a NKB this evening and maybe Susan's Norwich Sourdough tomorrow. This in spite of a diagnosis of bronchitis this afternoon. Thank goodness for strong medications! I have a spare bedroom if you can get here, A
As AnnieT says, Pacific Northwest has been very cool this year. In Portland we had one heatwave early in the summer but since then it has been very cool. I think it only broke 80 4 or 5 days in July and hasn't yet in August.
Try flatbreads. Top of stove cooking using a heavy skillet or griddle. Castiron is ideal for this. The breads are intended to be eaten right away.
While not as hot as your area, the NE USA has been pretty hot too. I've been making bread designed for baking in loaf pans and using the cold oven start method. No artisan breads requiring oven temps of 450 to 500 degrees for me until it cools off!
Cooky,
It's a lovely 65 - 70 here (Downeast Maine) today, but yesterday was 58 and pouring rain all day!
I've been doing pita bread outside on our gas grill; it came with a griddle surface, and it works wonderfully. I'm sure a cast iron pan would work on a gas grill.
Stay cool!
edh
Like this :)
Seriously, I'm with ya on the too hot to bake. It's been disgusting here in NJ, too. Hot, humid, gross. I made sourdough the other day and while I got awesome results, I was sweating for the whole day, even with the A/C crankin'.
-Joe
Thanks, all! Flatbreads, check. On the grill, check. In an earth oven .... um, maybe. (Although you made it look easy, Joe.)
Fleeing to Pacific NW or downeast Maine -- oh, baby. Do not tempt me this way.
"I am not a cook. But I am sorta cooky."
Since mine is a counter top model (la dee da), I've stuck my oven out on the porch near a window so I can check things while staying cool. Now I'm greasing the slides to the porch door so it opens/closes faster. Wait 'til ya see my new scales! Looks like something out of a country store 200 years ago! I think I can actually balance a baby in it! Not good for any measurement under 50g. Set me back 6 whole bucks!
Had a craving for choco-chip cookies and made the smallest batch possible as bars in one pan so I wouldn't be running the oven too much. Man were they good! :p Mini Oven
I'll second griddle/stovetop breads, and my personal favorite is english muffins.
I finally got my butt in gear this year and built an outdoor mud oven. I highly recommend it: pizza, roast chicken, more loaves of hearth bread than I can proof at once, pan breads, crackers, and croutons all from a single firing, and it doesn't heat up the house at all. Of course you have to spend several hours occasionally staring into a flaming hole, but it's worth it.
Here in Morro Bay on the Central Coast of California it's downright cold! Well, not really cold, but right now I'm wearing a sweatshirt and a fleece vest and am snuggling under one of my cats. We get a lot of marine fog while inland parts of the county may report temperatures near 100. Our hottest weather usually occurs in September, sometimes October, and we're usually guaranteed about two days a year over 90.
So we rarely have days when it's not good to bake.
Rosalie