Could you please describe your Rubbermaid box and hot pad setup
for someone who just joined the list. If it is a hassle for the rest of the
list, feel free to email me off-list.
Martha


Spanning a 13-14 hour period isn't difficult if you have a cool spot,
I use a cellar, and reduced starter ratio, about 10%, sometimes less,
and things work pretty well. I think the trick is to get your dough
ripe enough in a bulk fermentation so that it's ready for that final
proof when you have a 6 hour window.

Not to start a food-fight here, but a homemade proof box would pretty
much nail the six hour issue. I can reliably proof in 4 hours with my
Rubbermaid box and hot pad setup. Less, if I've let the bulk stage run
long. Without the proof box I'm dependent on room temperature... that
doesn't work unless its summer. What I like about the proof box is
that it narrows my baking window to within an hour. That makes a
schedule do-able.

The alternative you have (and it's not bad) is the NYT approach, where
you essentially pour a very ripe, and very slack, dough into a hot
casserole. That would work since you eliminate the shaping, eliminate
the final proof. What's left is a long bulk proof and then your glop
is pushed hard in a very hot, very small environment.



------------------------------

Message: 2
Date: Fri, 16 Feb 2007 21:08:56 -0700
From: "Dusty da baker"
Subject: Thank you for the tip!
To:
Message-ID: >

To somebody posting he "Thank you!"

Some weeks (months?) back, somebody here posted about how they had such
excellent success with capturing the "sour", in sourdough. You'd mentioned
a starter you got from "King Arthur". Being one that's sought just that for
years (and NOT found it!), I ordered some directly from your post (sometime
in the second week of January).

What I'd neglected to consider and what I didn't know, was that KA sends
their starters "live" (everybody else sends dried crumbs)! I ordered it (as
well as a dozen other things), and then promptly left the PNW for the charms
(and warm, dry climate) of Quartzsite, Az Some days later my daughter sent
me an eMail that "another package" had arrived for me. Since she'd become
the "forwarder" of record for me...nothing much was thought of that. She
usually gathers our mail until it's a reasonable amount to send, and then
forwards it to us.

So, this "live" culture got sent to her from KA, then it spent a week or so
in her house waiting to get sent to me. She went on to send this to my mom
in Yuma, where it spent another week or so gathering dust while I found out
about it and scheduled a trip down there to pick it up. When I got back, it
spent a few days (probably closer to a week) waiting for me to "find it" and
take some kind of action.

When I actually got to "reading" my mail, I found the KA starter. Dismayed
over the time it took to get to me, I put it in the fridge while I rounded
up containers, flour, and water. Did that. Took it out and began to
culture it. The first 3-days weren't exactly anything to write home about.
But on the 4th day, it bloomed! And on the fifth day--today--I used it to
bake a loaf of my beloved SD bread.

The results were nothing short of amazing! My dear wife, not one with a
discerning sense of taste, found it "nicely sour!" I did too. Actually,
truth be told, the flavor was nothing short of outstanding! I've been
searching for the SD flavor I found in the bread that I got on the pier in
SF those many decades ago. Today, I found it.

To whom ever it was that posted that note: A great, big, "Thank you!"
You've made my century!

I've been baking SD for many years. I'd not yet found the "secret" for
getting the real SD flavor that I've been seeking. I was pretty sure that
getting to where I wanted to be was a matter of: starter, method, or flour.
I've tried just about every method, many starters, and most flours. I'd not
gotten even close! I knew it couldn't be: digital scales, any number of
tons of tiles, bannetons--no matter what kind of wood they were woven out
of, or microscopic temperature gradients.

While my "method" was pretty similar to what I've been doing for years, the
only real difference was the starter. Out here in the "outback", I use no
scales, thermometers, mixers, tiles, bannetons, or any of the other
"necessary" accoutrements that most posting here find so absolutely
necessary. Yet the bread was fantastic!

Thank you again, whom ever you are...


Dusty -- Comin' atcha via AMC9 from: N 33° 45' 30.2", W 114° 11' 17.6",
which is a
flatspot 3-washes north of BLM marker 811, north side of Plomosa Rd,
~2-miles east of US95, and ~6-miles north of Quartzsite, Az





------------------------------

Message: 3
Date: 17 Feb 2007 08:19:05 -0800
From: "Will"
Subject: Thank you for the tip!
To:
Message-ID: . com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

On Feb 16, 10:08 pm, "Dusty da baker"
wrote:

> I've been baking SD for many years. I'd not yet found the "secret" for
> getting the real SD flavor that I've been seeking. I was pretty sure that
> getting to where I wanted to be was a matter of: starter, method, or flour.
> I've tried just about every method, many starters, and most flours. I'd not
> gotten even close! I knew it couldn't be: digital scales, any number of
> tons of tiles, bannetons--no matter what kind of wood they were woven out
> of, or microscopic temperature gradients.

So which process do you think KA employs to manufacture that
starter...
a product which has so impressed you?

a) yours... very casual measuring and temperature control...

b) rigorous determination of water ratios, specific time and
temperature controls...

You don't have to flame me. Just answer A or B .

Will




------------------------------

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Molly Day


---------------------------------
Don't get soaked. Take a quick peak at the forecast
with theYahoo! Search weather shortcut.

On Feb 17, 7:22 pm, Molly Day > wrote:
> Could you please describe your Rubbermaid box and hot pad setup
> for someone who just joined the list...

Molly,

I have a Rubbermaid storage container and a hot-pad.... both purchased
at WalMart. I sized the hot pad to "fit" my proofing containers (two
bannetons or two cloches) and then made sure the Rubbermaid storage
box was big enough to hold everything. So I had to do some preliminary
measuring to suit my needs. But it's simple figuring. Don't forget to
measure for height requirements though...

Then I used a box knife to cut a small rectangle out of one of the
corners of the Rubbermaid container for the hot-pad's electric
connection. This took, maybe, five minutes of work.

Then I lined the very bottom of the box with aluminum foil, to
redirect the radiant heat back into the box. Over that I folded an old
towel for insulation, then the hot-pad, than a silicon "silpat" mat to
keep everything below clean. But a dish towel would work fine.

The project took no particular effort. The payoff is huge. I can push
proofs easily and within several cycles, I knew how long doughs took.
This meant I could reliably schedule my oven (and myself <g>). Hot
final proofing is really good for sourdough by-the-by, really develops
the flavor.

My expenses were small... $17 for the hot-pad... it's one of those
modern, digital, 6 level units and $4 for the Rubbermaid box. You
could do very well with an older hot-pad. Use a wet sponge in the box
to keep things moist.

I use the box all of the time. It's just great. Makes proofing simple
and utterly predictable. Any storage box will do though I'd recommend
a translucent one for viewing purposes...

Will