more baking, though on autopilot
Last night, I made honey wheat bread. It was an experiment.
I went out and bought yeast, just in case. Then proofed the yeast I had in the fridge, the stuff with the best-by date of some month in 2005. Turns out it still had some life in it.
I couldn't find the manual for my bread machine, which lets you know the order in which to add ingredients. So I used the manual for my old roommate's machine as a guide, and consulted a bread cookbook for the actual recipe.
I got to the very end of the ingredient list and realized that I didn't have any eggs. I considered that eggs may have been optional, since none of the recipes in the bread machine owner's manual called for them. And then I decided to look up egg substitutes. Found a handy list of different options--which I've just realized that I forgot to bookmark. Egg can be a binding agent or a leavening agent. I guessed that maybe the leavening was most needed here, so went with the substitute combination of 1 tblsp vinegar + 1 tsp baking soda.
2 hours and 40 minutes later, there was bread. It didn't rise to its full potential, I don't think, but it did rise some. So, partial success at least. Taste test to follow.
I went out and bought yeast, just in case. Then proofed the yeast I had in the fridge, the stuff with the best-by date of some month in 2005. Turns out it still had some life in it.
I couldn't find the manual for my bread machine, which lets you know the order in which to add ingredients. So I used the manual for my old roommate's machine as a guide, and consulted a bread cookbook for the actual recipe.
I got to the very end of the ingredient list and realized that I didn't have any eggs. I considered that eggs may have been optional, since none of the recipes in the bread machine owner's manual called for them. And then I decided to look up egg substitutes. Found a handy list of different options--which I've just realized that I forgot to bookmark. Egg can be a binding agent or a leavening agent. I guessed that maybe the leavening was most needed here, so went with the substitute combination of 1 tblsp vinegar + 1 tsp baking soda.
2 hours and 40 minutes later, there was bread. It didn't rise to its full potential, I don't think, but it did rise some. So, partial success at least. Taste test to follow.