[aaronatthedoublef]

COOL! I didn't know these existed. Thanks

[aaronatthedoublef]

I made another batch of Stella Parks 100% whole wheat bread. I increased the flour and decreased the liquid. I also hand kneaded it a little before shaping. It was stiffer and had a beautiful crown and I was about to put it in the oven when I was told we were going on a socially distant picnic (a BIG deal). So I popped it in the fridge and when I came back it had flopped. So maybe I was over proofing it before but it never developed the nice crown. I made a double batch of autolyzed dough and used half of it. The other half is in the freezer and I'll thaw it out, and add the remaining ingredients at some point this week. We would need a MUCH bigger food processor to make a double batch and Ms. Park is pretty adamant that a food processor be used to make this.

Today I want to make sourdough crackers. There is a KAF whole wheat recipe (I think it what BA uses). We go through crackers like crazy. I have been informed I need to make cinnamon raisin bread too.

[aaronatthedoublef]

I just finished making 2.5 dozen strawberry pancakes. Only one son has come down to eat and neither I nor my daughter have eaten any. I have 20 pancakes left. Of course on top of being 16 he runs 65 miles a week...

I will need a LOT of starter. And even if he doesn't like them he will still eat that many. He will just use more syrup.

Thanks for the bread recipe.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks everyone. BA, I've never made sourdough pancakes or waffles but I have yeasted ones. No one liked them. It might be worth a try again.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Let me check with the Boss. Sunday is usually pizza night but maybe we can switch it up. But I usually don't have much time for a party. 😉

[aaronatthedoublef]

I am learning iPhones as my team supports a few thousand. BTW, there is a security bug in iOS mail that is pretty serious. We just shut off access to it and replaced it with Outlook for iOS. Not sure if Outlook is the best client but we had to do this in a hurry and it's what we know and already support on PCs.

For a virtual pizza party you would probably use your PC but you would need a PC with a webcam.

My brothers and I had a virtual seder for Passover and it was the first time we've managed to have all our families together. One brother said it was the first time he has had a seder with his son since high school. My book club had a virtual meeting last week. Both were great and welcome relief from hanging out at home.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks Joan. Once I start using it I think my starter will prove way to valuable to dump any out. Which raises the question how much starter do you all make? The recipes I'm looking at call for 4-8 ounces. I am making my starter in a quart Mason jar because we have a bunch lying around. But I could see using a couple cups a week so would I need something bigger?

Thanks

[aaronatthedoublef]

I spent five minutes talking to a friend before I realized who it was. Of course this sometimes happens to me without masks...

I miss giving food to friends but I still have plenty of family to eat my stuff. Thank goodness for that.

While it's not as good as being together lots of people here are having virtual happy hours. I know BA suggested a virtual pizza party.

And people here are also starting to have small gatherings where everyone is outside and everyone stays six to 10 feet apart. I suspect there will be more of that as the weather warms.

[aaronatthedoublef]

BA, I had to laugh at your comment about the crisp breads being too big to scarf. We call my middle "Snake Jaws" because he appears to be able to unhinge his mouth and fit massive quantities of food into his mouth. Snakejawing something is now a verb in our house as he continually violates the "never eat anything bigger than your head" rule.

I have lots to make and bake this week. Just need to set aside time to do it.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Oh... Well, I just stirred it in. Then I fed it about an hour later.

Next time I'll pour it off. But after reading here and on the BBGA forums that I want my pH to be acidic, I can see why alcohol should be poured off. Maybe if it happens again I'll save it (there wasn't very much) and see if someone will measure it for me.

Thanks

[aaronatthedoublef]

If I've told you all this before, my apologies. When we lived outside of Los Angeles we were less than half an hour from huge fruit and vegetable farms. But all the produce in the store was crap. The stuff in stores was trucked to warehouses in Texas where it was packaged and distributed all over the country. Labor and space were way less expensive. We found farmers' markets and the produce there was from the same farms but was so much better and sometimes, less expensive. When they were in season we would buy huge flats of beautiful strawberries for less than we pay for a quart here. And they wouldn't sell us less than a flat despite the fact that there were only two of us.

A chef friend started going to the docks to pick up seafood because even though he was buying local fish it was being sent offshore to be processed and then shipped back to the US.

So your maple sugar may have come from the VT (who knows) and shipped south because there is a lot of sugar processing that happens there... I've seen imported pineapples and coconuts in Hawaii because it was way less expensive to grow them some place else where land and water are not at a premium.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks BA. The recipe would be great!

This morning it sort of looked as if my starter had separated and had a small pool of liquid on top so I stirred it and it began to bubble again (our kitchen is around 63 most nights). I then fed it and I think I'll try and use it tomorrow.

There are a bunch of recipes I want to try. I am not sure how my family will react.

[aaronatthedoublef]

In January I started working for a supply chain company. It is amazing how fragile they are and how little slack there is. I remember when Just In Time started and inventory was seen as wasteful bloat. I am not smart enough to know how this will affect things in the future.

[aaronatthedoublef]

COOL! Now I need to test my mixer.

[aaronatthedoublef]

IC, as long as you're having fun that's all that matters. I remember one of the first pizzas I made for someone outside of the family as for a chef friend. I was having a rough dough night and the pizzas looked really wonky. But they tasted good - bread, sauce, and cheese - unless it's burned how can that taste bad?

I apologized for the shape and he smiled and said "they're artisan" and asked for more.

The more you do the more you'll figure out what you like and how to achieve it. Have fun - and it sounds like you are. There is enough stress in life, especially now.

And show us some pictures!

[Author]

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