A Tale of Two Loaves

 

Being out of commission because of my back for the past few weeks left poor Betty in limbo in the fridge for a long time. When I took her out a few days ago she really struggled to get back to her old self. While I was nursing her along I tried a new technique. I made a stiff starter out of her. Instead of the usual feeding ratios I made a playdough like ball and left it overnight. I was shocked at how much it rose and how bubbly it was compared to poor weak original Betty.

The directions said to keep feeding this ball for three days or until the bottom of the jar is covered in bubbles. 

By then Betty had perked back up so I made two loaves using the different starters.

There didn't seem to be much difference in them at all to be honest. The stiff starter folks swear it makes a better tasting bread with a fluffier interior but I didn't get it.  What I did get was one heck of a terrible clean up job. That stiff starter needs sand blasting out of the jar. I would NEVER do this again unless I used a disposable paper cup.

I also did an experiment with my ovens. I made discard crackers in both my toaster oven and in my now functioning regular oven. The regular oven won hands down. I could get them evenly crisp without having to burn them. That's a big improvement and was a healthier choice for my late night viewing of SNL than my usual potato chips.