I went look for beautiful cat pictures and the Art Institute of Chicago had several prints of Japanese woman playing with cats. Cats were brought in to help control rats and mice at some point during the 1700's. As a result the silk industry, under the control of women, grew tremendously. So, art! Courtesan and [...]
I had a new thought in my ongoing bread experiments. It actually suggests that I’ve been a bit stupid. But here’s the thing. Recipes for soudough bread nearly universally suggest that you cook the bread at a high temperature for the effect on the crust, and rise, and all kinds of bready things. But! I [...]
Gone out. Busy. Back soon. Busy. Also… Try a cup or two of the ancient grain, spelt, in your regular sourdough recipe. I don’t do all the Bake at 450º after heating the stove and Dutch oven for an hour ahead of time because I’m not organized enough, but once I remembered to add salt, [...]
I made some bread last night and then, because my grandchild who is madly allergic to dairy will be in my house briefly, I greased the pans with coconut oil. I've done this in the past and it mostly worked. This time it did NOT work, and when I tried to release the bread from [...]
I started making sourdough bread five years ago when yeast wasn’t readily available in grocery stores (during the pandemic). At that time I learned to make a basic loaf and somehow made it work in ways that I can’t repeat now. I had a rhythm going that kept the starter alive, and could make some [...]
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