"hghaynes" <hghaynes@comcast.net> wrote:
>Today I made the crumpets from RLB's Bread Bible. I got lots of bubbles
>after I added the baking soda but the dough was quite, quite sticky and
>didn't pour into the rings. I didn't get little bubbles when they
>fried. What did I do wrong? I followed the recipe to the letter and they
>taste good.
Thanks, Holly
i'm quite sure that there was not enough liquid, since the batter didn't
pour. the most probable reason is that different measuring cups vary quite
a bit. i'm assuming you used volume rather than weight for the water and
the flour. i'm glad they at least tasted goodo but you're right--the little
bubbles are a major part of the delight of crumpets. also, higher protein
flour requires more more water than lower protein flour to get the right
consistency. on another note, i made my challah on thursday (it's now
sunday) adding 16% of the weight of the flour in old sourdough starter
(meaning i had not fed it for several days) in addition to the yeast. i
left out the vinegar in the recipe since the sourdough acidity makes the
dough so extensible. i'm happy to report that day 4 it is still moist which
is amazing for challah!
i'm also forwarding the following e-mail from a digest bread-baker who writes:
>The whole thing was a total experiment so what did I have to lose. I
>had dried yeast stored in my freezer with an expiration date of April 04
>and this is January 05. I used it in the recipe and believe it or not the
>bread rose with totally NO problems. Isn't that unusual?
from Rose: i''m using instant yeast store in the freezer that has an
expiration date of july 03! if you store the bulk of the yeast in a larger
container so you don't have to open it every time you need a little yeast
it seems to keep for as long as 2 years! incidentally, for those of you who
are members of iacp (international association of cooking professionals)
peter reinhart has organized a terrific sounding session on yeast with the
most knowledgeable yeast person i know, bill weekly who represents SAFand
di holuigue, a terrific food personality from melbourne australia. (i'll be
there!)