I fail at food

[pecunium]

Well, not really.

I am making a "chili-soup" (beans, tomatoes, vegetable stock, spices),and some bread to go with it.

Because I'm working with whole wheat I need some gluten. Because I'm in the south I need more gluten. Because this is a simple bread, I'm winging it (water, flour, salt, yeast). Because this isn't my kitchen, I'm really winging it.

I miss my breakmaking board. I really miss my bench scraper. I was making a ciabatta style bread. So I was planning on a floopy dough. Factor the softer wheat (which is differently absorbent), and the higher ambient humidity (so the flour is less willing to take on water; which I forgot) and the dough was really floopy.

It wasn't that bad, really. Heck, it looked more like ciabatta than it usually does. Fire up the oven (wish I had my water pan). Do the last shaping and realise... my father doesn't have a half-sheet baking sheet. Crap.

I've reshaped it, and it's rising a bit more. It won't be a slipper.

It will be a loaf of bread. I will eat soup with it.

Comments

[youraugustine.livejournal.com]

(so the flour is less willing to take on water; which I forgot)

! Is that why all my perfect-for-the-frozen-North recipes required adjusting when I moved down to the Wet Coast? It seemed so counterintuitive to me!

[pecunium.livejournal.com]

Depends on the recipe, and just what the problem was, but yes, probably.

There are seasonal variations, most places. San Luis Obispo has less of that than many places (well, the west coast, below SF, has less. The seasonal variation in both relative, and absolute, humidity is largely the same, year round; at least as far as flour is concerned).