Sunday, January 17, 2010

Success

With both bread and yogurt!

First the bread--I started it Thursday evening, moved it to the fridge, then woke up a little early on Friday so I could bake it in time for breakfast. I even did a little yoga while it cooked (it's every crunchy vegetarian's fantasy!). Of course, I forgot to start it till nearly bedtime on Thursday, then was too impatient to wait till Friday, so I had to get up the the middle of the night to move it into the fridge. How is it that even though the bread and yogurt each take 5 total minutes of work, I did 20% of it between midnight and 6 am? Twice?


The trouble is that we keep eating it before I can take a picture. Yesterday, Kevin sliced up loaf #2 when I left the room to get the camera--so that's half of it up there.

And then yesterday I tried again on the yogurt. It worked this time, but I'm a bad scientist and changed everything at once so I can't tell why.


Last time I:

-used skim milk
-probably never got the milk to 180 degrees
-let it cool by itself over 3 hours
-added 4 oz of yogurt
-wrapped it in cotton towels
-let it ferment overnight, when the house is chilly

This time I:
-used 1% milk
-added an indeterminate amount of powdered milk
-accidentally boiled the milk (just for a few minutes--when I realized low wasn't getting the milk warm enough I turned the crock pot to high... and then forgot about it till I heard it bubbling)
-stirred it to cool it down to 120
-added 6 oz of yogurt
-wrapped it in a wool shawl and sweater
-let it ferment during the day, when then house is warmer

I think it was the wool, don't you? Cotton kills.

Whatever it was, it's tasty.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have to admit - I still have not much success on my bread! It always came out too dense and no rise!? I even bought the oven thermometer and new jar of yeast to begin with... :( I've been discourage and haven't make anymore since.

Your yogurt sounds yummy though - although I didn't realize you need yogurt to make yogurt... Interesting!

Anonymous said...

Couldn't you do something with sourdough bread now? I always get the sourdough starter mixed up with yogurt-y stuff in my mind.

Which may be why I don't make either sourdough bread or yogurt.

But congrats!!