Wherein I dust off my kitchen nerdery…
I was making bread. I do this often. Yesterday it was pizza crust. And I know that instant yeast was invented just so I could skip the “proofing” step, but did you know that the proofing step is one of my favorite things? So I put the warm water into the bowl. And I sprinkled in the yeast. And the salt. And, because I wanted to watch it do some fun stuff, a little sugar. And I watched, nose almost touching the rim of the bowl. And the yeast got wet and started to sink down into the water, a few heavy little flecks at a time. Then, as I sat there and smelled the magic yeasty smell, it started to dance. The little flecks of fallen yeast rose up as great blobs of frothiness. In different rhythms and in different places in the bowl, they got their groove on and floated up to the top. I stared as they crowded each other out of the surface and started rising higher, above the water level, until they’d become this frothy, airy cloud of perfect yeasty gorgeousness.
Did you know that yeast will proof and rise without sugar? I make bread without sugar all the time.
But did you further know that if you want to watch it jive like I wanted to watch it jive last night, you need to add a little extra sweetness? There’s a lesson in there for me. I know it.
I am grateful for the things that rise to the top and the sweetness that allows the process to become a beautiful thing.
I love the proofing stage, too…just something sorta cool and magical about it…
I love the proofing stage, too…just something sorta cool and magical about it…
I always proof my yeast, every time. It’s too magical not to. =)
I always proof my yeast, every time. It’s too magical not to. =)
Because of this post, I have a wonderful loaf of rosemary olive oil bread rising in my kitchen.
Because of this post, I have a wonderful loaf of rosemary olive oil bread rising in my kitchen.
You (and bread) rock!
You (and bread) rock!
31 years ago today, you and I and the rest of the crew were at Plimoth (sic) Plantation. When we asked the lady what she used for yeast in her bread, we got a blank stare. Hearkening back to our best Jacobean biblical vocabulary, we asked how she leavened the bread. Then she grinned and said, “We just scrape the foam off the beer.”
I love that! I have a very small memory of that day, but it doesn’t include this important detail. Thanks, Dad. Happy Day.
31 years ago today, you and I and the rest of the crew were at Plimoth (sic) Plantation. When we asked the lady what she used for yeast in her bread, we got a blank stare. Hearkening back to our best Jacobean biblical vocabulary, we asked how she leavened the bread. Then she grinned and said, “We just scrape the foam off the beer.”
I love that! I have a very small memory of that day, but it doesn’t include this important detail. Thanks, Dad. Happy Day.