Domesticity Rocks

[elfs]

Kung-Fu Kouryouchan.

Mmm, bread. I tried one with baker's percentages, which means that you measure out the flour and determine its weight. From that, you then calculate the weight of water, salt, and yeast you'll need. I tried a 72% water, 1.8% salt, and faked it on the yeast and just tossed in a whole packet.

It's fantastic. I'm now scrounging the internet for other bread recipies in baker's percentages, to find out what the ranges are and see what can do about things like bagels, pretzels, and donuts.

I introduced the girls to Guitar Hero II. At first, they were cool on it, now they can't stop playing it. Omaha and I had to limit their game time or they would have never gone outside.

In other domestic news, I mopped the kitchen and dining room, cleaned the kitchen counters (needed that to make bread), broke down a ton of delivery boxes and put them in the recycling, did two loads of laundry and one load of dishes, walked to the grocerly store for milk, eggs and bread, burned off sixteen gigabytes of DVDs, weeded the garden and cleared off the back porch. (I just write these so I can keep track of what's been done; I know it's hardly exciting to y'all.)

While I was unpacking my gym bag and doing the laundry, I found my boxing gloves, which Kouryou-chan immediately put on. Very cute.

Omaha and I have taken to photocopying our favorite recipies, putting them into plastic slipcovers to protect them, and putting them into a family binder. I made a photocopy of Yamaraashi-chan's favorite casserole recipe, from a 1950's Better Homes & Gradens cookbook, because the poor well-loved book is falling apart. I had to run down to the store to get egg noodles and milk and stuff. We forgot that this weekend was our monthly grocery run, so we're short on bread.

It was very sad, sending Yamaraashi-chan over to her mother's house for the summertime. She'll be gone for two whole weeks, and poor Kouryou-chan will miss her terribly, just as we all will. To make up for it, we went to Dairy Queen for dessert.

Comments

[srmalloy.livejournal.com]

Using a baker's percentage formula for bread makes scaling it up or down a lot easier. One of the things that you will want to play with is the hydration percentage against the type of flour -- whole-wheat and rye flour absorb more water than does white flour, largely due to the types of protein present in the flour. For example, the amount of protein in wheat and rye flour is similar, but the gluten that forms in a rye dough will be different from the gluten that forms in a wheat dough, and the same for white and whole-wheat doughs. Once you have made bread to a formula, make it again with the hydration increased 3%, and see the difference it makes in the dough and the finished bread. Then fiddle with it some more -- change some of the flour to another type, change the hydration again -- and see what happens. It's much easier to get a feel for what changes in the formula will do to a dough if you're able to handle the dough to get a feel for it, rather than just reading it in a book.

... so if it is recipies you want then...

[(Anonymous)]

I recommend:

"The Baker's Manual" by Joseph Amendola
(isbn:0-8104-9458-2)

I feel it is one of the best basic introductory manuals for baking by weight instead of volume. While I don't think it would be good for a person who has never baked, you might find it to be a good way to transition from volume to weight.

As an aside it was the first baking book I used and I got in when I was at the CIA...

Not to brag, but I am just saying...

PandaKahn

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

[antonia-tiger.livejournal.com]

One of the Two Fat Ladies (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_Fat_Ladies) cookery series had them using a Field Kitchen.

The eponymous, and accurately described, cooks treat some trends in modern cookery with derision. and their approach was to go to different places, and cook some scrumptious (and often frightningly unhealthy) meal for the residents. (Unless you have some specific medical reason, I don't see a problem with occasional gluttony.)

In the particular episode they were cooking a formal meal for the Officers' Mess of one of the British Army's Gurkha Regiments. Apparently, one of them had a family connection.

Apparently, a Field Kitchen is still WW2 tech, slightly updated for things like a gas burner option and wheels/drawbar/lights compatible with modern standards.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

[antonia-tiger.livejournal.com]

Yes, and they mentioned the old petol burners. But I know that the British Army has switched to diesel engines for everything, getting rid of a lot of old petrol-engined vehicles at around the time the program was made.

[acelightning.livejournal.com]

[sirfox.livejournal.com]

that picture is adorable! well done.

I introduced the girls to Guitar Hero II.

[brandywilliams.livejournal.com]

Yesterday I introduced my nephew (I am one of his parenting units) to "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner." We sing along cheerily.

I gave him the Presidents of the United States song "Poke and Destroy" when he was nine. One of the great joys in life.

[http://users.livejournal.com/_candide_/]

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Koryochan is definitely showing a strong resemblance to her father's facial features there. Especially the eyes.