| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| kericks08 |
Posted - Sep 01 2021 : 05:24:25 AM
Greetings from rural Connecticut!
I am grateful to be a member of this group. I have learned so much from reading posts. Thank you!
I finished week 1 with the counter mother and am happy to report a successful batter bread bake! I experimented a little with the amount of flour added to the mother as I wasn't sure how the batter should look. I added the honey and salt, then divided the batter into two portions: with one (Batter 1), I added the recommended amount of flour (about 1/4 cup with half the batter), and it seemed too thin, so with Batter 2, I added more so that it was more like a traditional bread batter that I am accustomed to.
Batter 1 rose on the countertop to be about 1/2 inch below the pyrex dish rim. Batter 2 only rose to about 3 inches below the dish rim. The maximum rise occurred at 6 hours with no further action at 8 hours, so I baked then.
Batter 1 gave a lofty bread with lots of holes. Batter 2 was dense with fewer holes.
Lesson learned: even if the batter seems a little thin, don't add more flour!
Some conditions at my home:
-I live on a horse farm with the kitchen facing the barn and pastures. The mother was on a countertop near a slightly open window.
-It has been hot and humid here, with humidity averaging 90%. Because of air conditioning, the ambient temperature hovered around 74 in the kitchen.
- There is a bowl of fruit (apples and bananas) on the same countertop as the mother, as well as a jar of local honey
-I use Mrs. Meyers products (dishwasher and hand wash soap as well as laundry detergent)
-I used tepid tap water. We have a private well.
I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next week.
Wishing all sisters well!
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| 5 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| kericks08 |
Posted - Sep 10 2021 : 11:00:01 AM
Thank you, Ashley! |
| Ashley |
Posted - Sep 10 2021 : 08:58:37 AM
Hi Kristine,
I'm glad your breads had good flavor, but the lower rise is a bummer. A proofer will be great to keep your mother at a stable temperature. When you keep your mother in a proofer, you'll want to keep it covered with the damp towel in a water bath just like you would on the counter. As far as exposure to fresh air (and wild yeasts), if your house is warmer during the day, but cools off at night, an option is to keep the proofer off with the top off during the day and then cover it up and turn the proofer on at night. That way it's exposed to some fresh air. If your house is cool both during the day and at night, and you plan on keeping it in the proofer full time, you can take to top off of the proofer for a few hours each day. Also, stirring your mother a little longer at each feeding can help immensely. |
| kericks08 |
Posted - Sep 09 2021 : 4:49:15 PM
Thank you, Ashley!
My second week did not produce as high a rise though the bread is delicious! I think it may be that we are cooling off here with nights in the low 60s. I decided to buy a proofer - we'll see how that works for week 3. One question: should the mother be covered and in the water bath just like on the counter? Also, would it be a good idea to take the top of the proofer off for a few hours during the day to allow new yeasts to enter? I apologize if this has already been answered in another place in the feed.
Christy
I'm happy that my suggestions were helpful! I am a science geek, so doing experiments is part of my nature!
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| christy86 |
Posted - Sep 08 2021 : 06:24:42 AM
This helps me so much!! I lost my first mother, (forgot to feed and it dried up) and now I am gearing up to start again Sunday. I had dense batter loafs, and while I kept trying adding more flour... I never thought to try less! Or to experiment between the 2 pans! Looking forward to trying again. |
| Ashley |
Posted - Sep 01 2021 : 09:35:15 AM
Hi Kristine, and thank you so much for sharing your results after the first week. Your conditions sound ideal for creating a Mother, and the results after week 1 show that. I look forward to reading more about how your next Bake Days go.
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