[aaronatthedoublef]

I made chocolate chip cookie... I should have chilled them a bit and/or made them smaller as they all ran together on the pan. But they taste good and bend until they snap! Perfect except for the fusion.

Also while on a family walk some friends offered to help me with garden work in exchange for pizza so once this social distancing stuff is done I'll take them up on that!

[aaronatthedoublef]

Be careful with the grow lights. I used to have a buddy in Seattle who monitored for increased power usage caused by grow lights. He then turned those houses over to the police... 🙂

[aaronatthedoublef]

My friend is now selling fresh yeast telling people to use approximately twice as much as dry yeast. Also at least one of the local beer making supply stores I checked has dry and fresh yeasts. It might be interesting to go there as they have different strains. ANOTHER experiment to try!

[aaronatthedoublef]

Whole Foods at Amazon does not ship through Amazon. They let you order groceries from one of your local WFs and then someone goes through the store, fills your order, and delivers it to your house. The app is not great but it's the best service we have for this and for not going to the store.

Around us they are talking about opening some WFs just to fill Amazon orders. The logistics of it are pretty inefficient and the apps is built backwards but it's better than anything anyone else offers by us.

[aaronatthedoublef]

My starter is on day 7 and bubbling some. I wonder if I should have done it in something other than a glass jar. Also it's just www and water. I wonder if some sugar would have helped. Deb Wink uses pineapple juice which is good for adjusting pH but it also adds sugar which cannot hurt.

Not sure what I will bake today. I may start some cinnamon rolls for tomorrow.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks. I was thinking yeast cakes. My mom used to use them some when I was a boy and I've had brewer friends use them too.

[aaronatthedoublef]

The article said that while dry yeast is in short supply demand for fresh yeast is softening... I have never baked with fresh yeast. Another thing on my list...

[aaronatthedoublef]

Baking bread every day and razor thin margins drive a lot of behaviors at bakeries. The kitchens I've worked in did not throw away anything. My boss in Seattle could always squeeze out at least one more whatever we were making. Her bowls usually looked like nothing had been in them. And if it wasn't saleable we put it our for samples. Home bakers are less concerned with margins and controlling costs - even us here who are always watching the price of supplies and looking for bargains.

With bread it seems like it takes so long but the mixing, kneading, and shaping are actually pretty quick. If you can refrigerate of freeze it your bread before, during, or after proofing it makes it easier. But many don't think that way - they think you have to do everything at once and hang around while it's happening. Also I know lots of people afraid of baking and even more afraid of yeast baking. So they make bread less often I think.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks BA. I autolyzed the water and flour for 2.5 hours. Then added all the dry ingredients and ran the food processor for about 75 seconds. Then added the water and oil through the chute, as you said. Not sure what I am missing and the bread is light and tastes good and we haven't missed store-bought sandwich bread.

Here is an interesting recipe for almost sourdough bread. It's almost a recipe - no specific amounts just making dough by feel but it uses what might otherwise be wasted starter.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Was at Costco and they had no shortage of yeast. Blue Star I think. And I just ordered SAF red from my friend.

But I am also making a starter and I am going to try the old dough method next time I make pizza dough. It's fun to try different things and my wife, who has never wanted a starter sitting on the counter, is very interested in it now that they've been in the news.

Someone posted this on the BBGA forums. I haven't finished it yet but it's a neat story about 4500 year old yeast!

[aaronatthedoublef]

Kimbob, nice to meet you.

BA, I love Elizabeth Alston's book and made my variation of the raisin scones this week. It was my wife's birthday. I subbed in chocolate chips as I didn't know we had raisins.

I made another loaf of Stella Park's 100% whole wheat sandwich bread. I've done it four times now and it is consistently too soft to rise above the edge of the pan. It just kind of overflows it. I will start to add a little more flour and a little less liquid. But my family likes it.

I am on day four of my starter. I moved it to a warmer spot and I have a little more activity. My daughter wants to know when it will be ready to use in bread. I think it's on day nine. Have to admit I am anxious too.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Ugh! Sorry. I cannot find anyone who has whole wheat flour to sell. I can get SAF Red for $6/pound and KAF bread for4 $5/pound. I think I can get Caputo oo but not sure of the price.

I am still searching for whole wheat. I do not know what shipping will cost but I am saving boxes.

[aaronatthedoublef]

I am on day one of my first starter! I decided to go with the Serious Eats starter as it's simple. I started with an ounce of water and .5 ounce of white whole wheat, stir, and cover with plastic. Day 2 is just stir. I will see how it goes!

I also have flour and water autolyzed and frozen. I'll thaw it and see it I can make it into whole wheat bread!

[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks Mike. This helps a lot. I will definitely need to experiment! Been meaning to do that anyway.

[aaronatthedoublef]

I realized as I was making pizza dough I always have left overs. I'll keep the leftovers from batch to batch until I have enough to make a pizza. But how much old dough would I need for a new batch of dough?

I make five pounds of dough from two pounds of water. I have 1.5 pounds of either cake flour or Caputo tipo oo when I can find it, 1 pound of KAF white whole wheat, and 4 ounces each of BRM flax meal and chickpea flour.

Also, how would I turn this into baker's math amounts?

Thanks

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