Lest you think the title of the post refers to me and quit reading, let me assure you it does not. I am fairly well rested, thank you for asking. No, the title of the post refers not to me, but to my yeast.
I decided to make italian bread a couple of days ago, and Sandie turned me on to a recipe in the Better Homes and Gardens Red Checkered Cookbook. It seemed easy enough, and I was smiling when I uncovered the dough after the first rise and saw that it had indeed doubled in size. After I rolled it up into itialian style loaves, it was supposed to rise again, but it didn't really. Not being a yeast-bread maker, I didn't really think anything of it until it came out of the oven tough and not so fluffy. In short, it was a disappointing disaster.
At Sandie's house the next day (or maybe two days later?) I discovered she too had made itialian bread that day and hers actually looked like. . .italian bread. "What did I do wrong?" I asked. After walking her through the steps I took and their results, she said, "I think maybe your yeast was tired. That's why it needs a warm place to rise, to give those little yeasties extra energy. I also add a spoonful of sugar to help them out," she added.
So, armed with this new information I will make another attempt. . .as soon as I figure out where my grocery store keeps yeast!
1 comment:
I had the same problem at my grocery store! I searched and searched and finally had to ask someone. It turned out that they only sell a very expensive brand in single envelope packages (remember the ones that came as three envelopes stuck together? They seem to be missing!) and after discovering that I really like baking yeast breads, I quickly bought a pack of two one-pound packages at BJ's. I will happily share it with you, as I have enough to last me quite a while. I also suggest that if you don't use it much, you store it in your fridge. That will extend it's shelf life.
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