I have been busy in the kitchen all morning..........This is my sourdough bread in its initial rise. I think I will finally be able to actually bake it today!!! This bread has been a week long process just to get to this stage! The first part was making a wild yeast starter. Which is then made into a barm, which you must feed in order for it to remain active...then only yesterday was I able to actually start making the bread itself......then refridgerate overnight and then today make the final dough. There is absolutely no commercial yeast of any type, just basically water and flour (bread flour and high gluten flour). I hope it was well worth the wait and the workout....I had to knead this dough for about 30 minutes to get it to pass the windowpane test. This is how you know that your bread has been sufficiently kneaded.....cut off a small piece of dough and begin to stretch it into a thin membrane. If the dough breaks apart before a membrane can be acheived....you must knead somemore. Now I have to let it rise for 3-4 hours.....shape and then let rise for another 2-3. Luckily I don't have to be to work today until 11pm. It is better to let the bread rise slowly, rather than encourage it to raise more quickly; a slow rise allows the flavors more time to develop. I will let you know how it turns out. 
This was my next project for today. Right now it is still cooling in the oven. There are two main points to acheiving a great cheesecake.....do not over mix the ingredients......I only use a mixer for the initial mixing of the sugar and cream cheese and mix the rest by hand and to let it cool in a closed oven for about 5 hours. Cooling in the oven will prevent the cheesecake from cracking and falling, while not overmixing will ensure a creamy consistency. I also bake my cheesecakes in a water bath. So this is a new recipe also...will let you know how this turns out as well.
Ok, so I didn't make all of these soaps today, but I just thought I would share with you....
I have 7 different kinds of soap made(and many more ideas kicking aournd in my head)....I made 2 batches yesterday and cut them both today. They are on the "curing rack" Cold-process soap must cure for about 4 weeks before it is ready to use. This gives it suffiencent time to dry and ensure a harder, long lasting bar of soap. Starting in the back left.....lemon poppyseed (poppyseed for exfoilating), moving right, coffee house kitchen soap, it is made with coffee and has coffee grounds in it for an exfoilant. It is a kitchen soap b/c the coffee removes smells from your hands such as onion, garlic, ect. Next to it is my Honey Oats (made with goat's milk)....oats for exfoilating....this version is unscented. Next to it on the very end is basically the same thing only it is lightly scented. In the front row is beer soap made with our local brew...Moose Drool. The purple soap in the middle is Lavender Goats Milk and finally Vanilla Goats Milk. I have been thinking about participating in Daly Days in Hamilton...they are looking for artisians to demonstrate and sell their wares...things that were made at the turn of the century. Marcus Daly is pretty much the founding father of Hamilton...I believe he was a copper baron. The event will be held at his mansion which is now a museum.
I have 7 different kinds of soap made(and many more ideas kicking aournd in my head)....I made 2 batches yesterday and cut them both today. They are on the "curing rack" Cold-process soap must cure for about 4 weeks before it is ready to use. This gives it suffiencent time to dry and ensure a harder, long lasting bar of soap. Starting in the back left.....lemon poppyseed (poppyseed for exfoilating), moving right, coffee house kitchen soap, it is made with coffee and has coffee grounds in it for an exfoilant. It is a kitchen soap b/c the coffee removes smells from your hands such as onion, garlic, ect. Next to it is my Honey Oats (made with goat's milk)....oats for exfoilating....this version is unscented. Next to it on the very end is basically the same thing only it is lightly scented. In the front row is beer soap made with our local brew...Moose Drool. The purple soap in the middle is Lavender Goats Milk and finally Vanilla Goats Milk. I have been thinking about participating in Daly Days in Hamilton...they are looking for artisians to demonstrate and sell their wares...things that were made at the turn of the century. Marcus Daly is pretty much the founding father of Hamilton...I believe he was a copper baron. The event will be held at his mansion which is now a museum. 
1 comment:
The soap looks great!!!
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