Sourdough - Flopped Classic French with Poolish: A Timeline

Poolish and Autolyse

1/24: 1:00 PM Poolish - Don't read this. It was a flop. 

500 g flour + 500 g water+ .5 g yeast

Finalize Ingredients

Poolish after 23 hours. It was bubbly and slick. Slimy really. 

1/25: 12:00 PM (23 hours)

308 g water to poolish

(100 g flour + 500 g whole wheat flour + 24 g salt + 4 g of yeast) + hydrated poolish

Very sticky and dense. 

mix and rest 20 minutes

Stretch and Fold

1/25: 

Stretch and fold 6-8 times every 20 minutes for 60 minutes

1st: 12:27

I forgot to wet my hands. 

2nd: 12:52

3rd:   1:14

4th:   1:35

5th:   1:55

Wow! What a change over time! The dough became much less sticky, becoming silky and spongy.

Rest

1/25 2:00-4:00 

Rest two hours. This is what it looked like after two hours. 

Proof

1/25

Proof 60-90  minutes. It is MUCH bigger than I thought it would be. Much bigger. Feels TOO big. 

I prepared a banneton, highly floured. 

1/25 - 4:12 Then I shaped the dough and plopped it in there. Now we wait until it rises again. I feel like I dropped it in the bowl too roughly. We shall see in 60-90 minutes. 

Preheat and Prepare

1/25 5:15

Preheat oven to 500

Add stone and heat 30 minutes

Well, that was stinky. I used my pizza stone. It was oily, smoked, and dripped down into the oven. We wiped up the stone and covered up the burnt stuff with salt. 

Bake and Cool

1/25

This is what it looked like after proofing for an hour and 15 minutes. 

Invert proofed loaf onto stone

Score

We read that the score needs to be pretty deep. I made three passes. 

Cover with bowl

Bake at 500 for 30 minutes covered We took the bowl off at 6:24 to find...such a disappointment. 

Bake at 500 for 20-25 minutes uncovered (should reach internal temp of 195 F) It's a horrible failure. A giant flat crouton. 5:56. 

Cool 30 minutes

Recipe

https://www.billyparisi.com/classic-french-boule-recipe-with-poolish/ 

Amish Sourdough: A Timeline

Feed and Wake Start

1/25: 10:30

It was already awake. Can take up to 8 hours. It should foam, "boil", and roil. 

1 c warm water (105-107 F) + 3/4 c sugar + 3T potato flakes=blend and keep warm

Optional = Let the tea kettle continue to heat until the whistle wakes everyone. Make coffee or tea. 

Wake Yeast

1/25: 10:31 

1/2 c sugar + 2 1/2 c water (105-107 F) + 1 cup start + 1T yeast = time until it foams

Optional: Stir and smell the aroma akin to beer. Take your vitamins. 

Not Optional: Do not use Amarillo water. There's stuff in there that will kill yeast. And it's nasty. Use bottled or filtered water. 

Make Sponge

1/25: 10:30 Mixture above + 5 c flour + mix until smooth + 30 plus minutes 

Optional: Tell Alexa to set a timer for 30 minutes. Go check email. 

Finalize Ingredients and Kneed

1/25: 11:17 

Mixture above + 3/4 t soda + 1 T salt + 4 T oil + blend until incorporated

Mixture above + 3 c flour (wheat if making wheat) + kneed until it feels right

Optional: Mush up the baking soda before you add it. That stuff is disgusting if you get a clump of it. I mix up the soda, salt, and oil together. Use regular or kosher salt. Iodine kills yeast. 

Rise 

1/25-11:30

2T oil in a clean high rise bowl + dough + swish it around until the dough is all covered

Optional: Go have lunch with mom. 

Cover with tea towel and place in a warm area

Wait until doubled

Rise Again

1/25 - 12:32

When doubled, squish it all back down. Make the bottom the top. 

Cover with a tea towel and place in a warm area

Wait until doubled

Shape

Shape into loaves. 1: 40 I flatten out the dough like a croissant - fat at the top and skinny at the bottom. then I roll it up and squish it into the pans. 

Grease pans

Add parchment paper sling to ease removal

Proof

Cover with tea towel and place in a warm area. 

Wait until dough rises one finger over edge.

Bake and Cool 

1:46 -2:25

Recipe

"Is this an appropriate reading assignment for...? 8 Critical Considerations

   A client contacted me about an assignment to a 9th grade student. "Is this an appropriate assignment for a 9th grade student? I'm pretty conservative, but the sexual content seems a bit much." Not one to ban books in libraries, classrooms, or anywhere else, teachers need a decision making protocol to evaluate the choices they make for instructional materials. 

For this blog, I will be using Chapter 2 of How to Read Literature Like a Professor, "Nice to Eat with You: Acts of Communion" 

Some basics before we begin. 

Author: Thomas C. Foster

Summary: Foster explains in this chapter that when characters eat together, the author is using the meal to symbolize a the theme of communion: "...breaking bread together is an act of sharing and peace, since if you're breaking bread you're not breaking heads" and "Generally, eating with another is a way of saying, "I'm with you, I like you, we form a community together'" (paragraph 2). Foster then explains several texts that help the reader interpret why the author brings characters together to eat. 

Genre: Nonfiction, Informative

Length and Complexity: It's 2411 words long. Reading at 199 words per minute, that would take 12 minutes. About four full pages at Times New Roman, 12 font. As for complexity, it doesn't do you much good to consider Lexile or any other mathematical construct. What makes this piece difficult is not the vocabulary or syntax. What makes this piece difficult is that it discusses texts we may or may not have read. It is also asking the reader to synthesize information about those texts and make inferential, analytical, and analogous interpretations about what eating a meal in them means. 

Critical Consideration One: What is the purpose for using the text? What standards are to be addressed? Does the content of the text help deliver that purpose, or does it hinder the reader's acquisition of the concepts? If there are explicit concepts and situations, is there a text that would be less of a distraction to meet the instructional purpose? 

9	10	11	12
2B Vocabulary: analyze context to distinguish between the denotative and connotative meanings of words.	2B Vocabulary: analyze context to distinguish between the denotative, connotative, and figurative meanings of words	2B Vocabulary: analyze context to draw conclusions about nuanced meanings such as in imagery	2B Vocabulary analyze context to draw conclusions about nuanced meanings such as in imagery

It is not until 11th grade that students are working with nuanced meanings as opposed to nuanced words. Meals as an archetype of meaning would not be appropriate until 11th grade. 

9	10	11	12
Response: 5G: discuss and write about the explicit and implicit meanings of text	Response: 5G: discuss and write about the explicit and implicit meanings of text	Response: 5G: discuss and write about the explicit and implicit meanings of text	Response: 5G: discuss and write about the explicit and implicit meanings of text

While this TEK could apply, the standard is not specifically mentioning archetypal constructions in text. And, since this text is explicit with explaining the connection of meals to themes in a literary text, does the standard actually apply? I'm pretty sure that the teacher using this text was wanting to show students how to write a literary analysis, not explain the explicit and implicit meanings of this text. Foster flat out tells us that meals equal communion. Students would not really be applying this skill/TEK until they encounter a text where eating is involved. Frankly, this text is about content - meals equal communion. The text does not offer the opportunity to apply the skill to a literary text. 

9	10	11	12
Response: 5J Defend or challenge the authors’ claims using relevant text evidence	Response: 5J Defend or challenge the authors’ claims using relevant text evidence	Response: 5J Defend or challenge the authors’ claims using relevant text evidence	Response: 5J Defend or challenge the authors’ claims using relevant text evidence

While thisTEK could apply, the lesson and student activities would have a very different purpose. The students would be defending or challenging Foster's assertion that eating in a literary text indicated a theme of communion. 

9	10	11	12
Comprehension: 6A analyze how themes are developed through characterization, and the plot in a variety of literary texts	Comprehension 6A: analyze how themes are developed through characterization and plot, including comparing similar themes in a variety of literary texts representing different cultures	Comprehension 6A: analyze relationships among thematic development, characterization, point of view, significance of setting, and plot in a variety of literary texts	Comprehension 6A: analyze relationships among thematic development, characterization, point of view, significance of setting, and plot in a variety of literary texts

Different cultures are somewhat present in the literature Foster presents, but the culture is an undertone that would take much research to reveal. And again, this text is informational content about how to read literary texts. Students need to be able to understand what they are looking for, but this article is not where they learn to analyze how meals provide a theme within the setting. This text just tells them that when meals happen, the reader should think of communion themes. We do see the impact of setting in 6D for freshmen, but the contextual setting of meals is way more nuanced than what the TEKS guide explains we should be teaching here. 

9	10	11	12
Multiple Genres 7 Di, ii: analyze characteristics and structural elements of informational texts such as: clear thesis; relevant supporting evidence, pertinent examples, and conclusion; and multiple organizational patterns within a text to develop the thesis.	Multiple Genres 7 Di, ii: analyze characteristics and structural elements of informational texts such as: clear thesis; relevant supporting evidence, pertinent examples, and conclusion; and the relationship between organizational design and thesis	Multiple Genres 7 Di, ii: analyze characteristics of informational texts such as: clear thesis, strong supporting evidence, pertinent examples, commentary, summary, and conclusion; and the relationship between organizational design and author’s purpose	Multiple Genres 7 Di, ii: analyze characteristics of informational texts such as: clear thesis, strong supporting evidence, pertinent examples, commentary, summary, and conclusion; and the relationship between organizational design and author’s purpose

If the purpose of the lesson were to examine characteristics and structures used in informational texts, then this text is a good choice - especially in 11th and 12th grade because the Foster uses examples and non examples of meals as communion, summary of texts, and commentary regarding the examples. 

Conclusion: According to the purpose of lessons and the standards this text could address, this text is better suited to the 11th or 12th grade. 

Critical Consideration Two:  For what purpose and audience was the text originally intended? Consider the background of the author. What audiences regularly consume the text? 

Foster serves as the professor emeritus of English at the University of Michigan, Flint. While there, he taught these courses: contemporary fiction, drama and poetry; creative and freelance writing. He has written about British and Irish literature and poetry. The text has become adult reading and very popular on the list New York Times best sellers for comparative literature, general books and reading, and literary history and criticism reference. 

Conclusion: The book was written for adults. The author's expertise is at the college level and for British and Irish texts. Freshmen in high school are not adults. While standard 7A states that they read American, British, and world literature, the topic and focus of Foster's chapter two is not often the goal or content of freshmen coursework. According to state standards, freshmen generally do not study comparative literature, literary history or literary criticism. As an instructional text, this text is not suitable for freshmen. 

Critical Consideration Three: What is the genre? According to the citation from the Library of congress targets this book as explication, criticism, and literary history. 

Conclusion: This text would be appropriate in a study of informational texts, but does not fit with the other genres in the standards. 

Critical Consideration Four: Does the text address issues and experiences similarly to how students are assessed at that grade level? STAAR does not use topics or genres of this nature. Students in AP courses may see similar content, but would be applying the skills in a literary text. 

Conclusion: Foster's text would be appropriate as background context for literary reading in 11th or 12th grade. 

Critical Consideration Five: What scaffolds will need to be in place to bridge maturity levels, language, culture, interest, and textual lineage? Scan the text for controversial issues and concepts that you will need to prepare/inform to your audience and parents. Do these concepts fit the maturity and culture of the students you teach? 

Here are the ideas that jumped out at me: Sigmond Freud, cigar is just a cigar, Christianity, sexual  meal, consuming desire, dope they smoked, cathedral/illicit drugs, the interloper, desperate drives and desires, resident drunkard...

Conclusion: Not all freshmen will know about Sigmond Freud or references to Monica Lowinsky. They will not all know the interloper. The mentions of sex, drugs, and religion may be concepts to cause parent concern. Should this text be used in 9th grade as an instructional text? It depends. But certainly controversial concepts warrant parent and administrative notice prior to using. Highly controversial texts in younger grades are probably more suited to independent reading rather than required reading with no other options to master the objective and teaching purpose. 

Critical Consideration Six: What other literature is mentioned? Are these texts appropriate for the age, maturity and interest of the reader?

Foster uses Tom Jones by Henry Fielding; Cathedral by Raymond Carver, Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant by Anne Tyler, and The Dead by James Joyce. 

Conclusion: The texts referenced are used in college literature courses after 101 and 201. I'm not saying that we don't read things that might show up in another course, but the themes in the books listed above are more nuanced and could interfere with student's ability to understand the objective. 

Critical Consideration Seven: What preparation would need to be completed to address areas in which students are ready/not ready for such material? What scaffolding will students need to comprehend the text before ever dealing with the teaching objective? Will you be spending more time explaining the sub content than teaching the main objective of the lesson? In this text, how important is it for students to know about Freud and cigars to grasp the concept of thematic archetypes? 

Conclusion: Kylene Beers teaches these concepts as signposts. Eating a meal is a signpost for theme. It's probably more efficient to say: When writers have characters eating together, they are pointing toward a theme of community and connection. In Enemy Pie, the the father helps his son make and Enemy Pie. Throughout the process, the boy learns that eating together is something that friends do. Let's dive into Salt into the Sea. In this chapter, the refugee group arrives at the a formerly astounding Prussian estate. Let's look at what the author is leading us to understand with the description as the weary travelers enter for the evening... " 

Frankly, the text in contention takes much longer for students to get to the learning objective. For freshmen reading at 199 words per minute in fluency, it would take 12 minutes to read this text. I can give a quick mini lesson in 10 minutes and get students into analyzing a literary text right away. This text doesn't seem to be worth the limited time I have to make sure students understand the concept and can apply it. 

Critical Consideration Eight: What has been going on in the community regarding controversial texts? What steps would need to be made to prepare the community? 

At this writing (January of 2022), there are many issues about censorship starting at the government and down to local families - representing both pro and con. Local communities and Facebook groups vociferously post their opinions about such controversial texts. 

Conclusion: Be prepared. It's important to select the right text for the purpose, but if that controversial text is the right fit, then there will need to be parent and administrative preparation. Classroom protocols must be in place for how to deal with mature and controversial topics before they begin reading the text. 

The Questions: 

1. What is the purpose for using the text? What standards are to be addressed? Does the content of the text help deliver that purpose, or does it hinder the reader's acquisition of the concepts? If there are explicit concepts and situations, is there a text that would be less of a distraction to meet the instructional purpose? 

2. For what purpose and audience was the text originally intended? Consider the background of the author. What audiences regularly consume the text? 

3. What is the genre? According to the citation from the Library of congress targets this book as...

4. What scaffolds will need to be in place to bridge maturity levels, language, culture, interest, and textual lineage? Scan the text for controversial issues and concepts that you will need to prepare/inform to your audience and parents. Do these concepts fit the maturity and culture of the students you teach? 

5. Does the text address issues and experiences similarly to how students are assessed at that grade level? 

6. What other literature is mentioned? Are these texts appropriate for the age, maturity and interest of the reader?

7. What preparation would need to be completed to address areas in which students are ready/not ready for such material? What scaffolding will students need to comprehend the text before ever dealing with the teaching objective? Will you be spending more time explaining the sub content than teaching the main objective of the lesson?

8. What has been going on in the community regarding controversial texts? What steps would need to be made to prepare the community? 

What Can I Cook with Breadcrumbs and Croutons?

 Ukrainian Koteti - Patties of pork and chicken, mayo, seasoning, onions, and garlic. Patties are then shaped, breaded, and fried.

Ukrainian Chicken Kiev - rolled chicken breasts, breaded and fried. 

Cauliflower fried with breadcrumbs

Meat on a Stick (Shashlyk/Patychky)

Sweet Cheese Balls with Breadcrumbs (Hombovtsi) - Ball size sweets made by kneading and forming cottage cheese. You can add fruits and berries. Then, the balls are rolled in sugar and breadcrumbs and baked. 

Topping for Soups and Casseroles...Here's four recipes from my head. 

Creamy Chicken Noodle Soup - I made this the last time it snowed. It's a mixture of some recipe I found in Taste of Home in the 80's and Bill Quarrel's mushroom soup. 

1. Fill a pot with stock/broth. 
2. Boil egg noodles while you saute finely chopped onion, carrot, celery, and mushrooms. Add some garlic at the end.
3. When transparent, add a can of cream of something soup. 
4. Add sour cream. If you need me to tell you how much, that's about like telling you how much garlic. (I had a 1/2 pint, so I used a 1/2 pint.)
5. Throw in some rotisserie chicken. 
6. When the noodles are al dente, add the other stuff to the broth. 
7. Before serving, add 1 cup wine and simmer. 
8. Spoon into bowls and top with parmesan, croutons, or bread crumbs. Red pepper is also nice. 

Chicken and Rice

1. Fix some rice. 

2. Saute some chicken tenders. 

3. Make Burre Blanc or gravy

4. Melt some butter and pour over bread crumbs. 

5. Put the rice in a greased pan, top with chicken and gravy. Top with buttered crumbs. 

6. Bake until hot or chicken is 165. 

Mom and I have been seasoning and smelling the breadcrumbs for a bit. Mom can't stay out of them. If that stuff doesn't call for a breaded pork chop, I don't know what does. 

Breaded Pork Chop

1. Get a thick pork chop. (Mom and I brine them in a baggie before we put them in the freezer. That way, when they are thawing, they are also tenderizing.) 

2. Dry it off real good.

3. Salt and pepper. 

3. Beat an egg. 

4. Dip the dry pork chop in the egg. 

5. Press both sides into the breadcrumbs. 

6. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes on a rack. (This makes the coating stick to the meat instead of the pan.) 

7. Dip and crumb. 

8. Let is sit for 5-10 minutes on a rack while the oil gets hot or your oven comes to 150. 

9. Fry or bake until pork is 145. 

10. Make gravy. Add the crumbs. 

Breaded Ravioli

1. Cook some frozen ravioli until al dente. 

2. Dip in egg and crumbs. 

3. Bake or fry. 

4. Serve with marinara or spaghetti sauce. 

The Baker's Post Christmas Advent 12

 

I used self-rising flour to make the bread. Dumb. That stuff has baking powder in it. It starts working as soon as it gets wet. Then it stops. Yeast works differently. Kind of like our God. We can’t have any ole leavener - we have to have the real thing: Jesus. 

But - here I had all this dough. I couldn’t bear to waste it. Momma says she’d eat a cow pattie if it was fried and had cheese and onions. Frying things really is quite a redeemer. Frying and cheese just might save that dough. I rolled them out like cinnamon rolls, stuffing it with cream cheese, cheese, and spices. I cut them up and fried those suckers. And topped them with some more cheese. A quick garnish with cilantro and some everything bagel seasoning - the bread was saved. I named them after my cousin. Tommy Tubbies. I think that’s the thing I love best about having a savior - a Redeemer. I’m so glad I don’t have to remain a useless mess.

The Baker's Post Christmas Advent 11

 

 Mom gave this to me one year for my birthday. She wrote a sweet message for me on every date. It sure is a treasure now…and later. While I still have her, I cannot bear to think of the days when she is gone. Yet, I’m so grateful that the Lord has left his words for us. It’s through those words that I know that someday, I’ll see her again.

The Baker's Post Christmas Advent 10

 

Without salt, bread is gross. Without my lovely friends, life is pretty gross too. Check out these verses about salt. Pretty important stuff.

The Baker's Post Christmas Advent 9

 

Mom lives next door. She wanted to know if I had some nutmeg. Sure do. Do you want the good stuff

or the easy stuff? I recommend the good stuff and the hard work. It reminds me to

work out my salvation with sincere faith and trembling (Phillipians 2:12).

Stay fresh and spicy, my friends. 

The Baker's Post Christmas Advent 8

 

Mom has a saying for when we make food for company: Some is good, more is better, and too much is just enough. To make the jalapeno bread, I layer the flavors. I buy the biggest, brightest green, straight (vs curves) and roundest jalapenos I can find. I don’t get ones that are yellow or red looking or the ones with brown striations (not enough water during growing cycle). I deseed and put six in the blender with two bricks of cream cheese and a tablespoon of Spike or Beau Monde. Sometimes I add other seasonings like Italian seasoning. Just depends on what I have around the house. A little milk makes it smooth and pourable. Next, I dice a few of them to put in over the cream cheese mixture. Then I slice some for the top, saving the stems for decoration and placing it all in oil so they don’t shrivel when baking. I mix the oil into the egg wash too. Sometimes I use pickled ones, but the fresh ones are my fav. Seeds go into the “thank you for coming” bowl that end up in the compost or are eaten by O'henry, our itinerant opossum.  Once the braids are baked, I put on some everything bagel stuff and some red pepper flakes. Most of the time, I just use whatever cheese I have around. Wonder if I should try some pepper jack? Too much? But this is just like our Jesus. He didn’t give some or more. He gave his all. He thought too much is just enough for those He loved.

The Baker's Post Christmas Advent 7

 

Mise en place. It’s the religion of line cooks (Anthony Bourdain). It means that you have everything in

place before you start cooking. There’s actually five steps to it. 1. Read the entire recipe.

2. Prepare your workspace. Prepare the sanitation bucket. 3. Prepare the equipment.

Make sure all that stuff is clean. 4. Gather ingredients. Pre-measure ingredients into prep cups.

5. Prepare ingredients and place in bowls. This may include washing, knife work, and other steps.

While I can make analogies like reading the entire recipe and reading the entire recipe(Bible) for our

lives and God’s plan, I’m struck by the actual translation of the word to English: establishment.

God established a plan to help those in Ukraine through Kind House. We bake. You buy.

God uses it to save lives. What a joy to be part of God’s mise en place.