Homebaking One year on...
Time flies and I've just realised that I have been doing this blog for 1 year! and in the past year I have been baking more, praticising more, so I thought I would share a bit on my journey in homebaking.
So bread, I'm really glad I started making my own bread. At least I don't have to spend a stupendous amount of money on artisan bread. Ok perhaps I actually did not save much in this aspect, but I guess I learnt a lot about bread.
I started off only knowing how to make biscuits and muffins and then I started on this challenge of bread. From the bread machine, then to kneading by hand, instant yeast and then a brand new journey with sourdough. Crazy, huh?
Working with sourdough requires incorporation into your daily life / rhythm. For example, I found that the best way to refresh sourdough is to feed it before I sleep, so that the next day, after 10-12 hours, the sourdough is all defrosted properly and done with 1 cycle of feeding. So I discard half and feed it once again, within 1-2 hours it is all bubbly and then I can use it to make my bread!
And recently I found another new challenge, kneading without the timer. I got a timer to set 15 minutes time to knead the dough, I guess because in the beginning I would often get tired from kneading and just couldn't wait for it to be done! But now I've done it.
One day, I noted the time on the clock and I kneaded my dough until it was smooth and bouncy. I went back out and checked the clock. Boom. 15 minutes, approx. Cool huh? So I guess this further reinforces the fact that kneading 15 minutes gives the dough we want!
And.. I don't need the timer for kneading now. I can just knead until it's done. Yay!!!
So I guess the takeaway is, don't be afraid of a challenge, don't be afraid to start something new, keep improving and keep learning.
And speaking about that, I just realised cake is more complicated than just flour and baking powder. Now excuse me while I go to work out how to make the cake of my dreams: soft fluffy sponges, delicate creams and flavours.
So bread, I'm really glad I started making my own bread. At least I don't have to spend a stupendous amount of money on artisan bread. Ok perhaps I actually did not save much in this aspect, but I guess I learnt a lot about bread.
I started off only knowing how to make biscuits and muffins and then I started on this challenge of bread. From the bread machine, then to kneading by hand, instant yeast and then a brand new journey with sourdough. Crazy, huh?
Working with sourdough requires incorporation into your daily life / rhythm. For example, I found that the best way to refresh sourdough is to feed it before I sleep, so that the next day, after 10-12 hours, the sourdough is all defrosted properly and done with 1 cycle of feeding. So I discard half and feed it once again, within 1-2 hours it is all bubbly and then I can use it to make my bread!
And recently I found another new challenge, kneading without the timer. I got a timer to set 15 minutes time to knead the dough, I guess because in the beginning I would often get tired from kneading and just couldn't wait for it to be done! But now I've done it.
One day, I noted the time on the clock and I kneaded my dough until it was smooth and bouncy. I went back out and checked the clock. Boom. 15 minutes, approx. Cool huh? So I guess this further reinforces the fact that kneading 15 minutes gives the dough we want!
And.. I don't need the timer for kneading now. I can just knead until it's done. Yay!!!
So I guess the takeaway is, don't be afraid of a challenge, don't be afraid to start something new, keep improving and keep learning.
And speaking about that, I just realised cake is more complicated than just flour and baking powder. Now excuse me while I go to work out how to make the cake of my dreams: soft fluffy sponges, delicate creams and flavours.
Comments
Post a Comment