homesteading/doing it ourselves

[knuckles]

I had a go at making (proper) sour dough bread yesterday. I have been craving french toast for almost a week, and decided tomorrow - my day off - way going to be the day. But I had no milk or bread, and didn't want to buy some just for french toast.
Found recipes without milk, so could try that. Or try to make oat milk and use that (haven't decided yet).

As for the bread I decided to try making sour dough bread. I have been using sour dough starter for my bread (buns, pizza and the occasional cinnamon rolls) for years, but haven't had a go at making bread with the stretching and folding process etc.
So, started yesterday afternoon. Had to stay up late to get past the stretch-'n-fold-every-half-hour part and had to set the alarm to get past through the stretch-'n-fold-every-hour. Left it to proof in the fridge over night and finally baked it today.
I found that forming this type of dough without a dough scraper was not possible, so it didn't turn out perfect. In stead of rising up it kinda spread to the sides. But it tastes really good and I am sure it will be good enough for my french toasts tomorrow.

Definitely not the last time I will try making this kind of bread. But I will wait until I have gotten myself a dough scraper.

 

[Tornadic Thoughts]

We save some seeds and compost, @Fadeaway . So far, the seeds we've saved have produced more, so I guess we're doing something right, even if only by accident.

We have a compost container in the kitchen (scored at a consignment shop for $5) that we put all of our fruit and veggie scraps in, then take it out to a designated spot in the yard.

We aren't very consistent in raking and flipping it, though, and usually end up buying some from a local company that offers an amazing quality compost, but we try. lol One of these days, we'll have one hell of a pile of it.

 

[knuckles]

Sauerkraut is one of the easiest things to ferment and it makes for a great starter for other vegetables. Garlic can be put in apple cider vinegar. The turquoise color is normal, it is just copper.

I pleasently discovered mint growing in my yard today. I love chewing on raw leaves and it is easy to dry.

Does anyone do seed saving or composting? Soil quality is so important.

I made sauerkraut once, but found that I never got around to actually eat it. This carrot/ginger thing I'm better at - I eat a little every morning.
How do you dry mint @Fadeaway? I have been thinking about drying some peppermint to use for tea later on.
I did some seed saving from flowers last year, and I think it was a success - if I remember correctly what I saved and where I planted it.

I am not too excited about dandilion leaves on their own (some day I will know about enough other edible leaves/herbs to make an appealing salad) but have found that I quite like the flowers.

 

[Friday]

@knuckles... this is one of my fav bread books
Dead Link Removed

Meanwhile, Dead Link Removed has some terrific flatbread & pretzel recipes. It’s where I first came across mixing flour, sugar, oil, & water into a glaze when one doesn’t have cast iron Dutch ovens for moisture swirling (for that crusty crust, or glossy sheen depending on ratio and desired end results) or -more modernly- a steam injection oven

 

[Fadeaway]

You just hang herbs to dry mint or otherwise or spread them out in the sun. Another option is to turn your oven on to 100 degrees and leave the door open. This works better with things harvested in fall and winter.

 

[knuckles]

You just hang herbs to dry mint or otherwise or spread them out in the sun. Another option is to turn your oven on to 100 degrees and leave the door open. This works better with things harvested in fall and winter.

Thank you @Fadeaway
Any tips on how to tell when it's dry enough to store?

 

[Fadeaway]

That is a hard one, you just kind of have a sixth sense for it I think.

 

[knuckles]

Thank you so much @Friday for the two links. I have been browsing through the various guides and tips on the King Arthur Flour website - so much useful and interesting information. And the book looks awesome - read through the first pages via Amazon's "look inside"-option.
Asked the local hardware store to order a good dough scraper for me. Excited to have a go at making more bread. Tweaked my daily pizza crust recipe today based on what I have recently learned - and it was a huge success. I like how something so relatively simple can be so complex and amazing.

 

[knuckles]

That is a hard one, you just kind of have a sixth sense for it I think.

Will have a go at it with a smaller sample and see if I can get a feel for it.

 

[Changing4Best]

I wish I could. However, I live in an apartment and am so poor I don't even have a TV or own a car.

 

[knuckles]

A simple thing I have enjoyed is to try and regrow vegetables from scraps and planting seeds from fruits (lemons, oranges, grapes, avocado). I haven't managed to produce anything to eat, but just watching the process has been worth it for me.
Oh, have actually succesfully planted ginger and tumeric - those I have been able to harvest small amounts of new roots from.

 

[VioletButterfly]

I've been unpacking my books since moving and ran across the book about which I spoke earlier. Here's a picture.

I would love to have a garden! I also want to learn how to make pickles and learn how to can fruits and vegetables. Maybe be a homemaker, of sorts.... bake bread, make soups, etc... I do make soup, one batch at a time though. Wish I had a deep freezer. :)