Busy-work

Also known as crocheting!

I've been very busy the past few weeks, hence the lack of posts. Working, making bread on my weekends (Which has all turned out very yum, if I do say so myself.), and trying to finish something...anything! lol

Well, all the wrist pain (no jokes!), the sore necks (still no jokes!), and the unhappy eyes have paid off! This weekend I finished two finger-less mittens and a mathing headband. I also started making a shrug and am just less than 1/4 done, so far.

Yay! Fingerless gloves :D

The whole set, gloves and headband.

On a bread-related note, Im trying something a bit new! While my bread is delicious, I havent been able to get any actual sourdough flavor. That particular tang that I crave. So I thought about it a bit, and I came up with two things to try.

The first was letting my culture 'age'. Up until this week I had been getting out some of the original starter, feeding it, and letting it griw for a day; effectively giving me a 2 week old starter. (The stuff in the fridge is kept in a sort of stasis, so it doesnt age.) This week, instead of just putting the extra starter into my 'mother', Maggie, I kept it out and fed it each day.

When you feed a starter the first step is to start with a small amount , a few Tblsps, and then add equal amounts of flour and water. Equal amounts will give you a 100% starter, which just means the flour is fully saturated. TBH i just eyeball it, and stir it together until the texture looks right; sort of gummy when stirred, but it relaxes into an even puddle fairly quickly. This, obviously, took practice. Once you like the consistancy you cover it loosely and leave it out in a cat-safe place on the counter for 24 hours. Then you feed it again, starting by reducing the starter to a small amount by adding some to your 'mother' (which I keep as a safety net in case I mess up), or by just throwing it out.

I did this all week, giving the culture time to age, or ripen, and hopefully get a stronger flavor. Pro tip....don't taste your starter. They are G-ross. Also, if you DO taste your starter and its gross (which it will be) dont throw it out. It's fine.

The second part of my 'add more flavor' experiment takes up fridge space. I don't know about you, but in our home fridge space is a hot commodity. So heres hoping the 1/2 hour rearranging things was worth it.

I mixed up the dough as normal (350g warm water, 100g starter - mix. Add 500g flour and combine. Let rest for 20-40mins, depending on how quick you can clean your kitchen...lol, then mix 25g water and 10g salt in a dish before mixing that into the dough.) then, instead of sitting it on the counter and turning it every 1/2 hour, I put it in the fridge, covered with saran wrap.

It will stay there, getting turned if I feel like it, until tomorrow morning when Im planning to bake it. Im hoping the extended rise will help the dough ferment and gain extra flavor. The trick is that, unlike bread dough from 'regular' yeasts, you cant guess what the bread will be like by sampling the raw dough....cause the dough is gross. (sadface, I love bread dough, but not THIS stuff!)

Heres hoping it turns out the way I want!

And a happy cat in the sun, just for fun :)

*note* turns out posting from a phone is a pain in the bum. I blame any and all typos, missed punctuation, ect on my phone.

-Becky