Things Remain a Little Hectic

Calico, the kitten, 3 weeks old

Things are still crazy. I somehow thought that when the kittens got a little bit bigger everything would sort itself out, but it's just been a madhouse around here. If you want to see what I mean, the kittens have just learned how to get out of the box and explore. Here is a short clip of the first kitten who managed it. I honestly didn't expect it to be so much work, I just wanted to make sure the kittens were fostered and didn't have to go to a shelter. You can read the story here.

I had originally planned to try out doing my work in 90-minute blocks which is supposed to be quite productive (I've gotten very little done this summer). I read about the strategy here. I have PhD applications to attend to as well as keeping up my Latin, Greek, German, and French.I am crossing my fingers that I begin to manage some of my time a little better. I hardly have looked at any of these languages except Greek, and only at that for an hour or two once a week and I can feel it deteriorating.

Things Have Been a Little Hectic...

Things have been a little hectic around here over the past two weeks. Egnatius left to go back to Ireland and I helped him move out and pack. My family and I agreed also to host my friend's cat while she went to visit her parents on the other side of the country. This cat is fun and adorable, but quite particular so i will call her Princessa.

Cats love windows

While Princessa was here, she managed to become absolutely terrified of my room. She hung out up there most of the time for the first three days, but on day four it became the zone of horror.

Cute Kitty Pose

After that, late the night of 4th of July, she managed to jump off of something and twist her leg. Catullus II and I  took her to the vet. The vet said that she had only some soft tissue damage and gave us an anti-inflammatory, but not before dear usually-sweet Princessa attempted to rip the vet's face off.

However, in the mean time between agreeing to host Princessa and actually hosting her, my friend took in a pregnant stray whom she called Gimli. Gimli was a thin and lithe little ginger cat who sought out my friend at the beginning of the school year and my friend and her roommates had been feeding her. Gimli disappeared for a while in the spring and returned with a little ginger kitten, whom my friend named Eowyn. Sadly, one day shortly after arriving for the first time, Eowyn disappeared.

When Gimli became pregnant again, my friend took her in so that she and her kittens might be able to survive. Gimli, while bulging with pregnancy, was still as thin as she had ever been. About five days later, she had a litter of seven kittens.

I met the kittens on the first day after they were born. They were so cute and helpless. They looked almost like tiny hamsters.We gave them all nicknames based on look and personality attributes.

Calico, 1 day old

By the second day, we were arranging to take Princessa (my friend had to fly to the other side of the country to see her mother). However, my friend had not found foster care for Gimli and the kittens so she was going to have to take them to a shelter.

Kinky tail, 2 days old

Kittens, however, are much more likely to die in a shelter than in foster care, so my family agreed to take them until we could find homes for all of them.

Gimli and kittens

Gimli is an wonderfully sweet cat. She takes incredible care of her kittens. We have been looking for homes for all of them. I put up a website so that people can watch the growth of the kittens.

At one week old, they looked like this:

Superman, meowing. Photo by Steph Joyal

At ten days old, they looked like this:

Kinky-Tail, Photo by Steph Joyal.

They look much more like this now:

Calico, 16 days old

Smokey, 16 days old, asleep

So, this is the reason I am not posting quite a often as I had planned...

Sourdough Imitation Prophet Bread Recipe

sourdough, crust and crumb

Here is the sourdough version. I came up with it myself, for which I am pretty proud of myself. While I am verging on being a good bread maker, I still have certain problems with consistency, especially when it comes to chaning recipes from baker's yeast into sourdough so it was nice that this came out perfect the first time.

Ingredients

• 170g white starter
• 42g whole wheat starter
• 231g bread flour
• 8.5g salt
• 170g milk
• 14g sesame seeds
• 14g hulled millet
• 14g poppy seeds
• 14g flax seeds (I forgot to toast these, but they're probably better toasted)
• 14g sunflower seeds (toasted)
• Egg white for brushing the top
• Extra millet, poppy seeds and sunflower seeds for sprinkling over the top.

Method

Day 1

• Measure all the ingredients into a the bowl of a stand mixer.
• Mix with the paddle attachment until the dough comes together. It should be slightly sticky.
• Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.
• Use the bread hook and mix for 4 minutes.
• Remove the dough from the bowl and fold a few times for good measure
• Let the dough rest for two hours covered by plastic wrap or similar.
• After, the two hours, place it in the refrigerator overnight.

Day 2

• Take the dough out of the refrigerator. Just over four hours before baking.
• Let it warm up for two hours.
• Turn it on to a floured surface
• Shape it:
• Separate the dough into three equal pieces
• Roll these pieces between the hands into ropes about 15 inches long (approximately).
• Braid the loaf from the middle to the exterior.
• Turn the braid onto its side and bring the two ends together. Pinch them together.
• Fold the braided ring such that the pinched-together portion is on the bottom. Place it in an oiled loaf pan (mine was oiled and then floured, but i don't think the flouring was necessary).

• Let it rise for 2 hours at room temperature (about 75 degrees F) or until the dough feels light and puffy to the touch (covered with plastic wrap or similar)
• Brush the top with egg white and sprinkle extra seeds on top right before baking.
• Bake at 350 degrees F (325 degrees F convection) for 50 minutes. I baked mine at 300 degrees F convection per the instructions, but I had to extend the baking time immensely and so I think baking them at a higher temperature is better. Bake under steam the first 25 minutes for maximum oven spring, according to the lovely people on the Fresh Loaf. Bake until the internal temperature is between 180-200 degrees F.

Sourdough, crumb, close up

You can see here, the crumb is more open and creamier than the baker's yeast counterpart

Crumb Comparision: Baker's Yeast (left), Sourdough (right and top)

The bread was delicious. I liked it better than the baker's yeast one because it had a creamier taste and texture and it had just the slightest hint of acidity. However, they were both delicious.

Lunch the other day: Sourdough toast with egg whites

I highly suggest everyone tries one of these two versions. You can make the seed mixture depending upon your own personal taste. And, even for those who do not appreciate multigrain bread, the base is almost entirely white flour, so it shouldn't be too hard on the palate. Enjoy!

Follow-up: Imitation Prophet Bread

Sourdough, crumb

I mentioned the other day that I tried to make a bread from one of my favorite coffee shops. In order to do this, I tried two different tactics. In one, I stayed close to the recipe from Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day that seemed most similar to the bread I had. In the other, I made a sourdough version with a couple of key modifications. First, when I at the bread at the coffee shop, I thought that it was only sweetened by milk and not by honey, sugar, or some other sweetness. Although the version from the coffee shop was clearly not sourdough, it tasted much more like the sourdough version because it did not have a sweetener and had more milk (yielding a creamier taste and texture). I will post the sourdough recipe soon.

Ingredients for the Baker's Yeast Bread (makes 1 loaf)

• 316 g bread flour
• 42.5 g whole wheat flour
• 14 g sesame seeds
• 14 g poppy (the recipe omits this but rather doubles the sesame seeds)
• 14 g flax seeds (I lightly toasted these, even though the recipe does not)
• 14 g sunflower seeds (lightly toasted)
• 14 g hulled millet (this is not in the recipe, I added it)
• 14 g toasted pumpkin seeds
• 8.5 g salt
• 7 g dry active yeast
• 170 g water, warm (approximately 95 degrees F)
• 85 g nonfat milk, warm (approximately 95 degrees F)
• 28.5 g honey (1.5 tablespoons)
• Extra millet, poppy seeds and sunflower seeds for sprinkling over the top. 

Method

Day 1

• Measure all the ingredients into a the bowl of a stand mixer.
• Mix with the paddle attachment until the dough comes together. It should be slightly sticky.
• Let the dough rest for 5 minutes.
• Use the bread hook and mix for 4 minutes.
• Remove the dough from the bowl and fold a few times for good measure. Then put in the refrigerator.

Day 2

• Take the dough out of the refrigerator. Just over two hours before baking.
• Turn it on to a floured surface
• Shape it:
• Separate the dough into three equal pieces
• Roll these pieces between the hands into ropes about 15 inches long.
• Braid the loaf from the middle to the exterior.
• Turn the braid onto its side and bring the two ends together. Pinch them together.
• Fold the braided ring such that the pinched-together portion is on the bottom. Place it in an oiled loaf pan (mine was oiled and then floured, but i don't think the flouring was necessary).

Sourdough, just placed in the baking pan

• Let is rest for 1.5 to 2 hours at room temperature (about 75 degrees F) or until the dough feels light and puffy to the touch.

Baker's Yeast, during the second rise

Baker's yeast at the end of the second rise

• Bake at 350 degrees F (325 degrees F convection) for 50 minutes. I baked mine at 300 degrees F convection per the instructions, but I had to extend the baking time immensely and so I think baking them at a higher temperature is better.

Baker's Yeast out of the oven

Baker's Yeast, side view

Baker's Yeast, on cooling rack

Baker's yeast, crumb

Sourdough directions and ingredients coming tomorrow. Sorry...too much to do. I will write and explanatory post soon.

Quick Fun Video

So I was reading a New York Times article about NASA's new video. Apparently, the new Mars Rover will land on late August 5th PST. Here is a little promo. It's a bit melodramatic, but it's rather fun.

According to the article, there is a place called the Atlanta Science Tavern. They are hosting a party for the landing which will include five planetary lectures and a raging party. If you're in Atlanta, you should go and tell me about it. It sounds like fun.

A Question for Serious Bakers

So I have an annoying habit of tasting bread at a restaurant or a bakery with some friends and saying "pop quiz!" I then proceed to ask my unlucky compatriots about the ways in which the bread is identifiable, e.g. what kind of rising agent is used, if it is proofed in correctly, what kinds of grains compose it, etc. But oftentimes I also run into questions for which I have no answer.

One question that came up when I was making my Many-Seed Bread/Imitation Prophet Bread is: do I need to put a sandwich loaf under steam? I have never seen any indication that a sandwich loaf should be steamed. On the other hand, I haven't baked a sandwich loaf since I made my first successful rustic loaf, so I have no idea. Here was my experience recently that makes me think I might need it. When I made the side by side comparison of the commercial yeast bread and the sourdough version, the final rise time was the same (2 hours). The commercial yeast one rose a lot and filled the loaf pan. The sourdough loaf did not. It only increased a small amount in size, but it had the same light and airy texture as the commercial yeast version so it seemed ready to bake. As there was no mention of steam in the instructions, I cooked the commercial yeast loaf without it. There was almost no oven spring at all. On the sourdough loaf, I didn't want it to come out as a brick so I baked it for the first 25 minutes under steam. Surprisingly, the sourdough had massive oven spring. It did not get quite as bid as the commercial yeast loaf. However, I thought the crumb of the sourdough was better. It was still small and regular, as in a good sandwich loaf, but it was slightly more open and creamier than in the commercial yeast loaf.

Commercial Yeast (left), Sourdough (right and top)

Did the oven spring occur because I put the sourdough loaf under steam or was it just because the sourdough needed that final push to expand while the commercial yeast version did not? Does anyone know?

Formulas for both loaves coming tomorrow.

Imitation Prophet Bread

Prophet Bread

There's a little coffee shop near school that I like. I have taken a number of different friends there and they all seem to really enjoy it. The coffee is pretty expensive, so I don't go very often, but it is fantastic. However, it doesn't have much in the way of pastries. They have a few eccentric danishes and a couple of demi-baguettes with olives and figs. It's not really my cup of tea. However, one day I noticed that you can get toasted slices of brioche or 5 grain bread with butter, peanut butter, or fancy jam.

On the first morning I stayed at Egnatius' apartment, his kitchen was almost entirely devoid of food. I told him that we should go down to this coffee shop for breakfast. We each ordered slices of the "5 grain toast," his with butter and jam and mine with just butter. I rarely eat butter except a little bit on bagels, but I decided to try it. The toast came out as thick slices of white bread-- so white I think they might even have used bleached flour (or maybe there was just no whole wheat in it) peppered with millet, sun flour seeds, poppy seeds, flax seeds, and sesame seeds. The bread was delicious, especially with a tiny hint of butter and a delicious nonfat latte.

The last time we were there, I told Egnatius that I wanted to learn how to make the bread. After scouring over my bread books, I found a recipe called "Many-Seed Bread" in Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day. At first, I didn't know what the foreign round yellow seeds were in the bread from the coffee shop (Prophet Bread), but I eventually found, while going through recipes, that they were millet. I bought some bulk millet and went to work. The bread is delicious. Recipe to follow tomorrow.