Today I went out and found vital wheat gluten on a shelf in Fred Meyer. Then I came home and tried to nap. Instead I worked with the boy on learning to read. This is always a battle of the wills, meaning that there is a chance I am actually teaching myself how to read.
Then I fed everyone the ever-so-nutritious macaroni from a box, hot dogs and chips. Afterwards they went out to run through the sprinkler (no, it's not warm enough, but they're young) and I had a small moment of peace.
Which I then went and ruined by starting the bread making portion of the day. This is when I learned that weighing your ingredients is actually faster than measuring them. Who knew? I mixed up a batch of whole wheat bread in less than five minutes. No proofing and no kneading required. It is a wet method of making bread. Then I set it aside. After two hours I will put it in the refridgerator and make a loaf tomorrow morning. The dough lasts in the refridgerator for up to fourteen days. We'll see. But I can tell you that it took twenty minutes to clean my kitchen afterwards (remember the macaroni?).
Oy. I might need this recipe...I turned away from my mixer today while it was "kneading" my dough for me. Put a few dishes in the dishwasher and heard a KABLAM!
ReplyDeleteMixer on it's side on the floor, dough spreading everywhere, socket pulled out of the wall. Luckily the microwave didn't follow the rest to the floor.
Mixer still works; a few years of my life are gone, though.
What the heck is "vital wheat gluten?"
I'm glad to hear that your mixer made it. You have the most amazing adventures with your mixers. I've never had my Kitchen Aid take a journey before, but it has jumped a few times when the load was to heavy. Is your floor ok?
ReplyDeleteAccording to Bob's Red Mill, which is the brand I bought, "Gluten, Vital Wheat is the natural protein found in wheat. It contains 75% protein. A small amount added to yeast bread recipes improves the texture and elasticity of the dough." It seems to work.
The whole thing created a crazy amount of heat. An hour after mixing I had to transfer bowls and it still had enough heat to warm the bowl and put condensation on the saran wrap top.
I would miss hand-kneading if I let the hook do it. I also miss cake yeast from my childhood. The perfect crumble and smell...
ReplyDeleteI had a baker for a roommate once and she had some sourdough starter in a jar in the refrigerator. One night about two a.m. that sucker blasted the fridge door right open and sprayed goo on every surface (ceiling to floor) for twenty feet. Good times!
Murr~
ReplyDeleteI usually let the mixer do about half the kneading, then I do the rest.
We've had home-brew explosions resulting in nasty messes from ceiling to floor, wall to wall. Isn't it fun to have kitchen/closet explosions?!
Here are some instructions from Chickens in the Road on making your OWN yeast cakes. I'm gonna do this someday...
http://suzannemcminn.com/blog/2010/02/21/on-the-trail-of-homemade-yeast/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SuzanneMcMinn+%28Chickens+in+the+Road+-+Author+Suzanne+McMinn%29&utm_content=Google+Reader