I do more than cook and read books. I also enjoy cycling. As I used to be a long distance runner like Sarah, back in high school and the first year in College, I do enjoy the nostalgia of moving across the countryside under my own power. Unfortunately, my knees no longer allow me the luxury. I've been told I should go see a doctor and get knee surgery or something, but it feels like such a bother. I can walk any distance without problem. Its running that hurts me. Thus cycling presents itself. I biked a lot as a kid. I biked to college a few times, depending on weather. It was far enough to be exhilirated, not so far as to ruin my day. As oil is running out, our choices for travel will descend from the skies, and slow from racing automobiles to crowded passenger trains and bicycles. There's already a subculture of bicycling enthusiasts who tour by bicycle on a touring bike.
Like these: http://bicycletouringpro.com/blog/touring-bikes-bicycles-made-specifically-for-long-distance-touring/
Apparently, club cyclists in Britain have been going strong for most of a century, doing 40 mile rides on a Sunday, sometimes weekend trips with camping. The effort has been duplicated here in the USA and if you live in a place with a lot of nooks and crannies like a Thomas' English Muffin, all filled with buttery goodness and jam behind those mouth piercing sharp shards of carbonized bread, then this metaphor has stumbled over its own feet and needs to try rolling once in a while. Its soothing to bicycle. Besides, they make radios for your MP3 player now. And that's the funniest thing ever. Even better than a bell, and you can hear the traffic as well as they can hear you. Safer than earbuds, by far. I am presently riding a converted mountain bike with rack and fenders and smooth tires. Its faster than it was but I should ante up for the proper touring bike with thinner tires and better mechanicals. I would hate to break down on a 30 mile ride and have no one to help me. My wife suggests I join a club. We know one meets downtown, so its a real possibility, provided I save up for this bike ASAP and get started on riding more seriously, as if I liked the sport rather than merely talking about it. ;P
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Yeast Bread
First: get some yeast.
Second: put it in a clean rinsed bowl with clean filtered warm water and sugar, stirred with a clean metal spoon. I used to do the wooden spoon but you know what? Wooden spoons absorb the detergent which, anyone anyone? ...Kills the yeast. Metal has no pores so you can just stir it and not kill the yeast and its fine.
Third: Yeast is prooved when its bubbled into a foam. This usually means keeping it somewhere warm for 25 minutes. You can use it now. Add bread flour, wheat flour, oat bran, and wheat bran. Soluble fiber is your friend. Remember that. And you can't taste it anyway. Add salt too. Slows down the yeast action so it will rise properly.
Fourth: Stir it around and then let rise an hour or so. Take it out onto a flat board with lots of all purpose flour handy and knead it. You will end up with your hands covered in sticky dough, so make sure your hands are good and clean and that the flour container is open before you start because taking it off when your hands are covered is messy. Knead until the dough has mostly pulled off your hands and is retaining its shape. This will make you sore and tired and cursing your decision to make home made bread.
Fifth: Rise again, this time with the sides of the bowl(s) coated in shortening or oil so it doesn't stick to the dough. This will take hours, possibly. Check every hour until the bowl is mostly filled.
Sixth: Knead again. Dough should feel like your mistresses breast, though it shouldn't make moaning sounds or offer to do naughty things to you. At this point you form the dough into the shape you want for your bread and put into greased loaf pans of onto a cookie sheet covered in corn meal. Let rise one final time, around half an hour usually.
Seventh: bake bread at 350'F for about 25 minutes, though it make take 35 minutes depending on the size of the loaf. The smell will tell you, and thump it with your finger. Should sound hollow when done.
That's how you make bread. You can add other exotic ingredients to it, like wheat berries (requires long soak in hot water, btw or they will break your teeth), dried fruits, cinnamon, other spices. Since most spices are antibacterial agents, add them at the last kneading rather than the first or your yeast will die and you've wasted time and ingredients.
Btw, the reason cinnamon is used with sweet rolls is because it has a particular medicinal effect of aiding sugars pass the cell walls for use, faster than your own insulin alone will do. Its good for treating Type 2 diabetes, up to a point.
Second: put it in a clean rinsed bowl with clean filtered warm water and sugar, stirred with a clean metal spoon. I used to do the wooden spoon but you know what? Wooden spoons absorb the detergent which, anyone anyone? ...Kills the yeast. Metal has no pores so you can just stir it and not kill the yeast and its fine.
Third: Yeast is prooved when its bubbled into a foam. This usually means keeping it somewhere warm for 25 minutes. You can use it now. Add bread flour, wheat flour, oat bran, and wheat bran. Soluble fiber is your friend. Remember that. And you can't taste it anyway. Add salt too. Slows down the yeast action so it will rise properly.
Fourth: Stir it around and then let rise an hour or so. Take it out onto a flat board with lots of all purpose flour handy and knead it. You will end up with your hands covered in sticky dough, so make sure your hands are good and clean and that the flour container is open before you start because taking it off when your hands are covered is messy. Knead until the dough has mostly pulled off your hands and is retaining its shape. This will make you sore and tired and cursing your decision to make home made bread.
Fifth: Rise again, this time with the sides of the bowl(s) coated in shortening or oil so it doesn't stick to the dough. This will take hours, possibly. Check every hour until the bowl is mostly filled.
Sixth: Knead again. Dough should feel like your mistresses breast, though it shouldn't make moaning sounds or offer to do naughty things to you. At this point you form the dough into the shape you want for your bread and put into greased loaf pans of onto a cookie sheet covered in corn meal. Let rise one final time, around half an hour usually.
Seventh: bake bread at 350'F for about 25 minutes, though it make take 35 minutes depending on the size of the loaf. The smell will tell you, and thump it with your finger. Should sound hollow when done.
That's how you make bread. You can add other exotic ingredients to it, like wheat berries (requires long soak in hot water, btw or they will break your teeth), dried fruits, cinnamon, other spices. Since most spices are antibacterial agents, add them at the last kneading rather than the first or your yeast will die and you've wasted time and ingredients.
Btw, the reason cinnamon is used with sweet rolls is because it has a particular medicinal effect of aiding sugars pass the cell walls for use, faster than your own insulin alone will do. Its good for treating Type 2 diabetes, up to a point.
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