So, I managed to completely botch that.
I'm so talented, I can totally fail at virtually no-fail bread.
I thought the dough looked a bit wet, even for wet dough, and, sure enough, after 15 hours or so, it was bubbly but still very, very, wet. There was clearly not going to be any folding of this dough over itself and shaping into a boule before it went into the dutch oven. I baked it anyway, and it actually didn't taste too bad, but it didn't rise much and the crust was practically bulletproof.
I went back online and read in a bunch of places that, if the weather is humid, your flour may already be well-humidified and unable to absorb as much water. We're sort of the U.S. capital of humid weather, so I'm sure our flour is, well, absolutely waterlogged. I cut down on the water by 1/8 cup, which sounds insignificant but seemed to improve the dough texture considerably, so that it much more closely resembles what I think I'm seeing online.
I suspect I also overheated the yeast last night in an effort to counteract the cold. Tonight is warmer so I don't need to try so hard, and hopefully I won't have overcompensated. It's still in the oven for insulation, but this time I left the light off. I think our oven light is warmer than I thought.
I still messed with it, though. This time it was 3/4 cup whole wheat flour and 2 1/4 cup bread flour, 1/3 teaspoon active dry yeast, a teaspoon of honey, 1 1/2 cups warm water, 1 1/3 teaspoon salt, and a teaspoon of honey. I also added the 4 teaspoons of wheat gluten that the box recommended, which will probably turn out to be a different form of overcompensation, but . . . eh, whatever. We'll see what happens.
I got the extra fabric and the zipper I need for Simplicity 4714 (1943?) today. The navy blue Marian Martin dress never did fit me all that well and, now that I've lost some weight, it's really inappropriately misshapen on me. Out it goes. 4714 is a pretty basic dress pattern and shouldn't take me too long.
I wasn't going to do ruffles: I was going to navy and burgundy plaid with blue waistband, neck facing, and blue stripes around the skirt and wrists (on the 3/4 sleeves). Now I'm not sure. Ruffles? No ruffles? I'm too old for ruffles, aren't I? And yet they're so 1940's. And the dress is kind of dark: Ruffles might be good detail on it.
I'm so talented, I can totally fail at virtually no-fail bread.
I thought the dough looked a bit wet, even for wet dough, and, sure enough, after 15 hours or so, it was bubbly but still very, very, wet. There was clearly not going to be any folding of this dough over itself and shaping into a boule before it went into the dutch oven. I baked it anyway, and it actually didn't taste too bad, but it didn't rise much and the crust was practically bulletproof.
I went back online and read in a bunch of places that, if the weather is humid, your flour may already be well-humidified and unable to absorb as much water. We're sort of the U.S. capital of humid weather, so I'm sure our flour is, well, absolutely waterlogged. I cut down on the water by 1/8 cup, which sounds insignificant but seemed to improve the dough texture considerably, so that it much more closely resembles what I think I'm seeing online.
I suspect I also overheated the yeast last night in an effort to counteract the cold. Tonight is warmer so I don't need to try so hard, and hopefully I won't have overcompensated. It's still in the oven for insulation, but this time I left the light off. I think our oven light is warmer than I thought.
I still messed with it, though. This time it was 3/4 cup whole wheat flour and 2 1/4 cup bread flour, 1/3 teaspoon active dry yeast, a teaspoon of honey, 1 1/2 cups warm water, 1 1/3 teaspoon salt, and a teaspoon of honey. I also added the 4 teaspoons of wheat gluten that the box recommended, which will probably turn out to be a different form of overcompensation, but . . . eh, whatever. We'll see what happens.
* * * * * * * * * * * * *
I got the extra fabric and the zipper I need for Simplicity 4714 (1943?) today. The navy blue Marian Martin dress never did fit me all that well and, now that I've lost some weight, it's really inappropriately misshapen on me. Out it goes. 4714 is a pretty basic dress pattern and shouldn't take me too long.
I wasn't going to do ruffles: I was going to navy and burgundy plaid with blue waistband, neck facing, and blue stripes around the skirt and wrists (on the 3/4 sleeves). Now I'm not sure. Ruffles? No ruffles? I'm too old for ruffles, aren't I? And yet they're so 1940's. And the dress is kind of dark: Ruffles might be good detail on it.
Comments