What’s exciting you right now?

Dear users, dear authors,
is there anything that excites you in this heat?

Yes, my granddaughters are what excite me—especially Juna, who was born just under 5 weeks ago. She’s absolutely adorable, and I could watch her sleep for hours. :)

Right now, I’m fascinated by flowers, butterflies, and bumblebees—
basically, almost anything that’s colorful and/or can fly. 

Harvesting my own produce from the garden and the variety of blooming flowers never fail to inspire me.

My little boy, every time I get to go to an ultrasound appointment.
This week he was sucking his thumb — it’s sooo fascinating and incredible.

Other than that, I’m loving our terrace and everything around it that’s just been freshly finished.
I still can’t believe how beautiful our home is now :) 

Tina: when is your due date? 

I'm delighted by my grandson Oskar. He is now 9 months old, and today he crawled around on the lawn in our garden for the first time. There is just so much to discover and put in his mouth. Crawling indoors isn't half as much fun. 

@Krea_Tina
Because you told us about your son's ultrasound image ..., I have a little comment about that too. I saw in my grandson's ultrasound image that he has long eyelashes. No one but me wanted to see it that way; it is quite blurry after all. In real life, they really are very long.

@mowi19:
Your youngest granddaughter is almost 5 weeks old—congratulations on that! I can well believe that she is absolutely adorable. Juna is a beautiful name.

@Arni: the calculated due date is 10/31 - let's see if there really will be a Halloween baby :) (as long as the birth doesn't get scary... :D)

@Schnuckelina: Eyelashes on the ultrasound? Wow, that really is fascinating.
Well, I haven't been able to make out anything that detailed yet. 

Right now, I’m fascinated by the fireflies in the garden in the evenings—it’s just so beautiful to watch :)

Tina, I can well imagine your joy. It really is a little miracle when such a tiny being is growing inside your own belly and you can even watch it now and then.

The little one is named Juna Merlia; I also think the name is very beautiful. The older one (3 years old) is named Linja. I am just as delighted by her, a little ray of sunshine with lots of energy.

@Schnuckelina
9 months is such a lovely age, even if it can be exhausting sometimes. There is so much to discover, and being with the little ones is simply fun. Time goes by much too quickly.

By the way, something else delights me too: the many fruits in our garden. Every morning I can pick fresh berries for my muesli, which is simply wonderful. In general, I love our garden and the many spots where we can sit and watch the birds. And I am also delighted with our apartment. It offers everything we need to feel at home, for which I am very grateful.

I’m so happy that it’s warmer here than usual for a change. This morning, I was even able to wear a dress with sandals—it’s usually more of a pants kind of weather, with a light jacket in the morning.
Today we had cappuccinos outside on the patio again, made ourselves an ice cream sundae with fresh strawberries and lots of whipped cream, and even had dinner outside—the sun is shining brightly. We’ve been enjoying the afternoon sun since 1:00 p.m. until it sets—it’s simply wonderful. My hair and laundry are drying perfectly.
All in all, a lovely after-work afternoon.

Wishing you all a great weekend!

@mowi19
Dear Monika, that just made me smile, because I, too, stroll through my garden every morning and pick fruit for my muesli. I think that’s so great. It doesn’t get any fresher than that. I also think the name Linja is beautiful. Both are very unusual names—at least, I’ve never heard them before. But they both sound lovely to me.

@bastelfan
Dear Andrea, I’m glad you’re getting a taste of summer in cold Norway. Strawberry sundaes on the patio are definitely summer. It’s wonderful that you have sunshine until sunset and can enjoy it. If only life could always be like this!

Tina: Enjoy the time. It goes by so fast. It feels like I was still pregnant just yesterday, and he’ll be turning 2 in September. :-)

How are you handling the heat? Is this your first child? 

@Schnuckelina
Thanks, Ina, we're enjoying that too. We have the weekend off, and it's even supposed to get up to around 25–30 degrees, unusual for Norway, but pleasant—not as hot as it is for you in Germany.
A wonderful evening sky is showing itself again.

I enjoy sitting outside after dinner, crocheting or knitting while gazing at the trees and the evening sky and listening to the birds… I’m also really enjoying the currants, fresh off the bush, the little strawberries from the garden, and I love watching the zucchini blossoms and even the first small fruits start to form, the Swiss chard grow bigger, and the beans slowly push through the carpet of weeds…

I’m happy that my medication change has taken away quite a bit of my pain. For someone who hasn’t experienced it, it’s almost impossible to understand what it’s like to have to live with terrible pain every day despite medication; thank God, that’s gone now.
Then I’m always happy about my homemade bread; I think it tastes far better than anything store-bought. My machines also delight me again and again; they work precisely and just the way I like, because by now I have quite a good lineup of sewing machines.

I’m glad your medication switch went well. :-)

How’s the bread baking going?
I really enjoy baking bread, too, and I’ve even got my own sourdough starter now. :-)
Though I don’t bake quite as often in this heat. ;)

My husband found a really great country bread mix for me online—I’ve been baking with it for a good three years now. If you’re interested, I’d be happy to send you the link via PM. That way, we always have bread at home, and it’s always fresh—especially in this heat when I don’t feel like going out. One package like this is enough for both of us—my husband and me. It contains 15 packets and lasts us about two months—sometimes a little longer, sometimes a little less.

Thanks for the info, Akela.
I used to bake with bread mixes or dried sourdough too, but ever since I found an article by (I think) Ökotest, I’ve been baking everything from scratch without any mixes. The article explained that the pesticides used aren’t completely gone by the time the grain is harvested—some of them are still there even after baking. I’ve been following the coverage on Monsanto, and in my opinion, baking with organic flour is a good thing. :- )

Plus, store-bought bread may contain enzymes and other baking aids, as well as flavor enhancers or preservatives—and you never really know exactly how those work or how long they stay in your body.

I’ve decided for myself to only bake my own bread from now on. I usually use a mixture of rye flour and type 1050 wheat flour, my own sourdough starter, a little yeast, salt, water, and a few bread spices.

It took me a few tries to get the sourdough starter right. My first attempts were a bit off, but now the sourdough is working well. It lives in the fridge and is having the time of its life. I feed it before baking day, and then we’re off. :- )

There are people who don’t like yeast in their bread. I, however, believe that yeast-free breads tend to turn out rock-hard, especially when the sourdough is still relatively young and you don’t have the temperature-control capabilities of a professional bakery. Adding a little dry yeast—just a few grams is enough—is definitely a good idea. I buy dry yeast from a bakery wholesaler in 500-gram batches. It keeps for a while in the fridge or freezer. You have to use yeast cubes quickly so they don’t go bad.

For me, this is just a hobby. :- )

It’s great, Josefa, that we’re getting to know one of your hobbies. :-)

I’ve also been baking our own bread and rolls for years—always whole-grain and preferably with organic spelt. We don’t even like store-bought bread anymore.

The 3-minute bread, for example, is a great option when you’re in a hurry. It always turns out well and tastes great. I also bake low-gluten oat and seed bread from time to time. That’s pretty quick and easy, too, and it’s very easy to digest.

Arni, this heat is really getting to me... I never would have thought so, because it usually can’t be warm enough for me.
It’s our first child, so everything is still new and unfamiliar :)

Josefa, it’s nice to hear a little about you!
  I’ve wanted to bake my own bread for sooo long, but I’ve never actually done it.
I tried my hand at making rolls once and failed miserably… They were tiny and rock-hard… Maybe I should give it another shot… I actually have a knack for cakes and stuff, too… :D 

Tina: This heat is really exhausting right now. Take care of yourselves, take it easy as much as you can, and try to enjoy the pregnancyits a very special time. You only realize that afterward, once its over. :-)))

Josefa: I also think its nice that youre sharing a bit about yourself. I find your sourdough fascinating. For the bread I bake for Anton, I always use sourdough starter from the health food store. I havent dared to try anything else yet.

We got back safely from vacation. I did a lot of laundry today, and most of it is already dry.

@Tina,
Wishing you lots of perseverance.

Try this:
- 500 g flour, e.g. wheat flour 1050 or 550
- approx. 200 ml lukewarm liquid, water or milk
--> Cold or overly hot liquid shocks the yeast, and then it stops working.
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 packet of dry yeast = 7 g or 1/2 cube of fresh yeast
- optional: a pinch of sugar to feed the yeast. But this isn’t necessary, and personally, I don’t really like it when bread tastes slightly sweet.
- optional: 1 tablespoon olive oil or margarine, etc.
- also optional: a little caraway / spices
- And then maybe a tablespoon of vinegar (regular salad vinegar, etc.) for a crispy crust. Give it a try—it works well, even if it sounds a bit odd. The bread will still be crispy the next day, too. Yeast bread tastes great right after baking, but you have to eat it soon. A little vinegar helps it keep longer.

Water / Milk: Depending on the humidity at the mill and in your home, the flour may be more or less “thirsty,” so you might need more than 200 ml. Just see if your flour has had enough; if not, add more by the spoonful until the dough has enough.

Dry yeast is convenient because you don’t need a pre-ferment. Just add it straight to the large bowl.

You can, of course, knead it with a mixer until the yeast dough is no longer sticky or pulls away from the side of the bowl, but doing it by hand is much more personal. :- )

After kneading, cover the dough with a cloth or plastic wrap so it doesn’t dry out, then let it rise for 45 minutes at room temperature. It should double in size. Then transfer it to the baking sheet; once shaped, you can let it rise there for another 15 minutes if you like.

If kneading isn’t really your thing, you can try the stretch-and-fold method. To do this, put the dough in the fridge—overnight, for example—so it can spread out at its own pace.
Yeast dough can handle that—don’t worry—even if it’s a bit finicky about the liquid temperature.
When it’s time to bake, shape the dough into a ball on a (lightly) floured surface, then stretch it out and fold it like a letter being placed in an envelope—with the sides folded inward. Then reshape it into a ball and repeat this a few more times. This adds more structure to the dough. You’ll notice the difference. At this point, however, you should add little to no new flour to the dough, because the flour already in the dough has changed its protein structure, and the new flour won’t be able to keep up.

If you want to use some rye flour, you should keep it under 30%; otherwise, the dough will tend to be soft, and it will be difficult to
give it structure. The more rye flour you use, the stickier the dough becomes.
In that case, you’ll need a loaf pan, for example, because the dough would spread too much during baking. Sourdough is better suited to rye flour than yeast.

Without rye flour, you can simply shape the dough into a loaf, perhaps make a few slashes on top so the crust cracks open nicely, or brush it with a little salt water so the bread turns glossy later, place it on parchment paper, and bake it through at medium heat. How long the bread takes depends on which oven you use. General guidelines aren’t very helpful here. The loaf is done when you insert a knife and no dough sticks to it, or when you tap the bread and it sounds hollow. If the top of the bread gets too dark, just cover it with a little aluminum foil.
But if you bake cakes regularly, you probably already know that anyway. :- )

Well, I find it flattering that you’re happy when I tell you something, but I’m actually here so that you have as much opportunity as possible to tell something about yourselves. It’s about you.
But the topic of bread is always good :-)

@Arni,
I also didn’t dare try making my own sourdough for a long time. I thought it would tip over or go bad, etc. The first two attempts went wrong, too. The third time it worked. For me, I’ve found that my personal sourdough turns out better if, when feeding it, I don’t give it flour and water at 50:50, but more like 60:40 or 65:35.

Flour and yeast are running low in stores due to panic buying.
Have you tried baking with yeast water or even sourdough yet?

Yesterday I read about how to culture and freeze yeast. But I don’t need that, because we still buy our bread at the bakery. I don’t bake much anyway, so I’m not going to start now unless it’s absolutely necessary. If people weren’t freaking out so much and would stop hoarding, none of this would be necessary. You can also bake bread just fine with baking soda or baking powder.

Oh, I had no idea you could grow yeast. I’m going to ask Ecosia about that right away.

I bake with dry yeast, but the shelf is empty. We usually buy bread from the bakery, but since the pandemic and my partner’s been working from home, we’ve been cooking a lot more at home. And for that, I need yeast—and of course for my cakes. But there are alternatives to baking powder.

It’s a different story with flour. For days, there was no flour from the mill on the shelf—that really gets me a little worked up. Now there’s a 2.5-kg bag back in the pantry, and I’m relieved. 
 

I just discovered a recipe for “wild yeast”—also known as “yeast water.”
I haven’t tried it yet, though.

Right now, I’m happy that my potato plant is growing well and that two bell pepper seedlings are starting to show.

Yesterday I made “jelly for the lazy”: I just boiled some multivitamin juice with jam sugar.

For almost a year now, I’ve been baking using only a tiny bit of yeast and yeast water. I keep refreshing the yeast water, and it’s still the same original batch. It works great! However, I do let the bread or rolls rise for longer.

Now I only need 1/4 of the yeast I would have used otherwise. If I can’t get any more yeast at all, I’ll try making it without any. That should work too—I’ll just let it rise longer.

I think you can find the recipe for yeast water on several websites, including Smarticular.

By the way, we’ve been baking our own bread and rolls in various styles for a very long time. It tastes much better, and I know exactly what’s in it. It’s become very quick and almost effortless.