Bread et al

[bill_schubert]

So the raisin bread did not come out great. As a sweet bread it is OK. It came out dense and didn't cook well but both problems are my fault. I think it needs more raisins. It isn't the swirl kind that one normally sees. It has the cinnamon mixed in. For me it is not really sweet enough but that is easily solved by adding some cinnamon sugar after toasting. That way it is actually tasty. Fortunately I have low requirements when it comes to sweetbreads.



And while on the bread discussion, I bought some sandwich bread at HEB and unintentionally got some really disgusting high protein bread. They pump up the protein with flax seed and it is a really ugly taste. So much so that I'm going to take it back. I've met very few breads that I can't stand but this is one of them.  I spit out the one slice I tried.  That bad.

I'll make my own bread, thank you very much.

A few days ago I ran across a really fun project. The book, Dracula, was written as an epistemology piece beginning on the 3rd of May and ending on the 6th of November. Those letters and diary entries and emailed every day as they occur in the book so that they can be read on the day they happened. At the moment Jonathan is in Transylvania having met the Count two days ago and Mina is telling her friend of the news. First of all, it is a great book. I listened to an audio version a few months ago and fell in love with it. This is a really fun way to read it again.

Dana is still up in Tyler but I'm guessing will be back tomorrow.  She had a blow up with daughter in law and has moved on to stay with her aunt.  Tedious family issues.  I stay as far away as possible and enjoy the quiet here.

I'm soon to finished Scalisi's Locked In, a really fun book of the 'near future'.  

Over the weekend I got a message from Scott and White saying I need to establish service with a new physician.  My previous one retired after about 100 years.  I looked around and found a new doctor who is in a clinic located within walking distance of us.  A mile and a half by car but less than half that as the crow flies.  A lovely change on a par with HEB being so close.  

On to my morning oatmeal.

Comments

[beautiful_dreamer_02]

Oatmeal as in steel cut, or oatmeal as in rolled oats? (Either way, good stuff; I'm just curious.)

I'm only familiar with the "slab and roll" style of making cinnamon raisin bread. You roll (or pat) the dough you've punched down, out into an appropriately sized rectangle, than slather that with softened butter or margarine mixed with some sugar, dust or sprinkle on as much cinnamon as pleases you, and then sprinkle on the raisins (which I, personally, prefer to have plumped, first.)
Then roll it up snugly along whichever side of the rectangle will allow the roll to fit neatly into your baking pan; cover, let rise in a warm place free of drafts, etc., and then bake according to the recipe's directions.

I've never tried mixing the cinnamon into the dough. Interesting idea.

I so hear you about the bread. I LOVE good bread. How disappointing to have got any which was disgusting to eat!

[bill_schubert]

I'm a very boring person in many ways. Eight out of ten days I eat rolled oatmeal (the cheap HEB kind) with blueberries and strawberries and 1% milk cooked in the microwave for 2 minutes. I also add some collagen protein because it is tasteless and pumps up the protein some. I also put a couple of tablespoons of light brown sugar on it. The meal is really good and filling and healthy and easy to make.

The bread I made is King Arthur (https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/recipes/cinnamon-raisin-bread-recipe). I may try again with the more standard method you write about.

[beautiful_dreamer_02]

I love King Arthur flour.

And that recipe looks mighty fine except that a half-cup of raisins in a roughly standard loaf of bread is nowhere near enough for me; I'm going to have to try that one, and very soon before the rope weather sets in.
Thank you very, very much for sharing it.

ETA: Oh, and I don't consider anyone who eats oatmeal or porridge every day of his life---my dad did---to be boring, whether because of the oatmeal or in spite of it. In the words of Uncle Ebenezer Balfour, it's "...a grand, halesome food, parritch!" (And, its finest virtue in the eyes of that old mischief-maker and evil-doer, cheap.)

[jo]

I don't know if you noticed, but in Lock In, and the sequel, Head On, the main character, Chris, is never assigned a gender. I occasionally come across posts about one or the other novel, and whoever wrote the post refers to Chris as either "he" or "she" (usually "he") and when I ask them why they determined Chris was a "he" (or "she") they assume because that's what it indicated in the book. And are surprised when I point out that it never is. The audio book version has two different narrators, one male, one female, so I guess people who listen to the book rather than read it will form an opinion based on the narrator?

[bill_schubert]

I saw the dual reader thing but never an explanation. Didn't even really notice that it was a male and a female but thought it had more to do with the Wil Wheaton backlash and didn't look further.

The protagonist is most often referred to by the name of 'Shane'. Since it is a droid body named after another androgynous character, C3PO, there is a lot to consider. I just finished Lock In and am waiting for Head On (also in Kindle edition). I'll pay more attention this time.

Scalisi wrote it a decade ago. Futurist indeed.

[msconduct]

That does look dense. I've never tried to make raisin bread, but I have made a Saudi recipe date bread absolutely stuffed with dates using sourdough. I was doubtful of sourdough's ability to heave all those dates up, but it rose really well. Commercial yeast doesn't seem to be as effective at yanking up heavy mixtures, so I would blame the yeast, not yourself.

I'm always entranced by stories of American customer service. I can't imagine trying to return something anywhere else just because you didn't like it. You'd be laughed out of the shop. It's actually spelled out in our consumer rights legislation that changing your mind is not grounds to return something. I love shopping in the US, it's like a warm bath. Aaaaah.

That is indeed a great way to listen to Dracula! On one of my UK trips I visited Whitby - I was looking forward to seeing it but it was even better than I could have hoped. Whitby is a gorgeous little seaside town, and the ruined abbey is absolutely spectacular. You can certainly see how it got Stoker's imagination going. Pretty pictures here:

https://www.visitwhitby.com/blog/dracula-and-whitby/

[bill_schubert]

I would have been OK with their not refunding my money in this case. It was still crap bread. BUT by returning my money (that I spent immediately on something else) they have my undying loyalty and get quality feedback they would not have.

The whole return things without question thing is actually fairly new. Amazon and Zappos are the ones that really started it. LL Bean and a lot of others immediately followed and it became the standard. It was a PIA when I ran my computer shop. People would buy on credit card with airline miles (for which I paid) and then return what they bought. I lost money every time and it had an impact as a small shop. A few people realized that but so many were kind of snotty about it. I did have a 'jerk' tax. If the customer was a jerk there would suddenly develop a 'restocking fee'. Take it or leave it.

I'd love to see Whitby.