I made bread by hand yesterday. Videos of bakers folding bread dough inspired me to skip the mixer and try the slap and fold. It worked so well I will be applying this technique to hair combing, sandwich making, good night kisses, mowing the lawn, and playing the harpsichord. Well. It works well for bread. I started out ready to be frightened by the stickiness of the dough and the seeming impossibility of disaster. Sure enough, after five minutes, the dough made a ten-second transformation to satiny cohesive dough from a gummy mess. It literally changed in my hands and I knew it was ready. Also, as I slapped and folded, it cleaned up more of the board so by the end there were only little bits left. Total slapping time was 8 minutes, exactly what I would’ve done in the mixer. And I used no dusting flour! I’m really excited about this technique and can’t wait to try it on other doughs.
Last night’s bread was the Heavenly sandwich. However it has been more terrestrial recently as I’ve switched up the method, trying to get away from rapid-rise yeast and high-temp proofing. The problem with the new method is that the bread is softer, less dense, and less flavorful. Even though the original was very yeasty, it was very delicious. I want to figure out a way to use regular yeast and still get that dense Heavenly sandwich I love so much. The one last night came out more like Wonder bread, which, believe me, is an epithet in the baking world. Sure, it looked good and toasted okay, but I need to ascend back to the heavens. Maybe I won’t let it rise as much on each proof?
Yesterday at school, Baby Harbat has several biting attempts. Odd, since she doesn’t try to bite us. Worrisome, because her venom-dripping fangs are quite sharp and she could take down a moose with a proper bite. Luckily the teacher was able to intervene before she injected her host. As a parent, you don’t want your kid to be “The Biter”. She’s only done this once or twice before, so I’m not worried. Hopefully she’ll go back to getting the “Nice Friend” box checked on her daily school report rather than the “Paralyzed and Cocooned a Friend” box. Our little cutie!
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