Friday

And here we are again at the end of the week (nearly!).  Two down, eleven to go.  It doesn't seem very long really!  It's chilly out there again with a beautifully clear and starry sky but I gather it will warm up during the day and be lovely.  I hope so - we have outdoor games.

Yesterday was very dull for a while but cheered up amazingly as the sun came out.  Unfortunately, I didn't get as much done in my coordinator time as I hoped but, dear me, no-one will die as a result so I can cope.  There's a weekend coming up, after all.

You may remember, gentle readers, that I had intended to get into school last Saturday but a much needed afternoon sleep got in the way.  Well, thanks to some hard work by my lovely LSAs and me, we managed to get most of the stuff done and dusted so this weekend should be a free one!  That will be nice.

Well, I say 'free' but am not counting the usual housework, washing, ironing, etc   There won't be as much because today is cleaner day so I should come home to a shiny clean house this evening.  Excellent!  And thinking of the day's planning, I won't have all that much marking either which is double excellent!

I will be making my second sourdough loaf.  Last week's may have been full of mistakes one way and another, but it was delicious - well, still is, in fact, because I sliced it and froze it so I can take off one slice at a time.  I have to say the flavour was something else entirely - absolutely delicious and quite different from my usual bread (which is also tasty, I hasten to add).  I also find that it doesn't give me a slightly indigestible feeling afterwards either, as ordinary bread sometimes does.  If I can remember to get some strong wholemeal flour, I might try making a half and half with the white flour starter and adding wholemeal.  I might also try the autolyse method which, as far as I can gather is basically mixing the flour with the water and leaving it for a while before adding the starter and salt.
As it says on a blog elsewhere:
 'I’m going to discuss the easiest, fastest way to improve the flavor of any bread, or, the autolyse [awe-toh-lees] method.  This is the fancy term for “mix only your flour and water together, and let it sit for twenty minutes before adding salt and yeast, and kneading”.'
(http://www.abreadaday.com/?p=1159)
I'll let you know.

I'm afraid I shall be cheating (and sourdough experts - look away now - warning).
(whispers)  I will be using loaf tins this time.
(speaks normally again)  There.  Isn't that shocking?  You see, last week's effort spread all over the tray it was on and threatened to escape so I had to put it in the oven early.  I cooked it from a cold oven and actually it worked extremely well, rising beautifully as the heat increased, but all the same . . .

I don't have a basket or banneton as I believe they are called.  I may, at some point, get one, but maybe not.  So for now it is investigation!

So we come to a name for my sour dough starter as I have been told every baker ends up doing.  I'm no baker but have been considering it.  I thought of 'Paul' after Mr Hollywood but didn't fancy that.  I'm wondering about Charlie or Henry but I think it will end up as 'starter', poor thing!  After all, it is alive.

After July I will be able to make my bread any day I want, not just weekends.  Lovely thought.  The only problem will be of the supply and demand kind.  I wonder if anyone local would buy artisan bread from me?

And now I must look at the lessons for today!