JUST PUTTERING ALONG
Things are puttering along. Anna has been here almost a month so everyone including me has been very well looked after.She leaves on the weekend and I do not look forward to doing it all by myself again.
She makes the most beautiful work lunches too! 
Do you remember the walnut that was split down the middle in a bad storm last summer? Here she is. Recovering fast!
We have a few days of sun ahead so we cut two more fields of hay. The hay is not growing back as thick and fast as previously but we are slowly getting it in. So I will be rolling the rows over this afternoon. The humidity has dropped way down so this load will be easier to dry I hope.
The pigs are getting fat in the fields eating apples and restaurant scraps – Del is back on twice a day milking after having a light bout of mastitis. Better now but annoying. 
It is cool again in the evenings. Really nice. The ducks and chickens are both laying a little less – no eggs from either flock of newbies yet. Still a good month to go I think before we go into even fuller production.
We are picking a small but steady supply of zucchini and the tomatoes have begun. The tomatoes are beautiful so far. 
My bread-making is improving in leaps and bounds now. ( the loaf on the left was baked in a pot with a lid the one on the right was in an open cast iron pan) I am finally making some nice doughs to work with. In fact I am sending loaves up to an event in Chicago today with Jill the Mill Manager. They are rising in The Coop right now. Though I feel apprehensive. Up to now it is all family and friends who eat my bread – not other bread makers.
Chicago and Calumet bread
Chicago and Calumet are both Glen flours. We have started milling a new Lot of Glen and it is high in Protein which is enabling a really good loaf. I feel I am finally getting a handle on these locally grown whole kernel flours.
Follow Tartine method as usual
800 g Chicago flour
200 g Calumet flour
700g water
200g starter
25g salt
Combine flour, water – rest one hour
Fold in starter – rest one hour.
Fold in salt – rest 1/2 hour
Fold every half hour for 3 hrs. Let rest 1 hr.
Divide. Rest 20 min. Final shape. Rise till double overnight.
Bake at 480 for 45 minutes. ( 25 minutes lid on – 20 minutes lid off).
This has become my standard loaf now. I start the loaf at 3-4pm after work and bake in the morning before work if all goes well. I baked two loaves almost every morning this week. And will bake two more every morning until Saturday. Everyone seems to want a loaf of bread lately.
So exciting to be finally making a good light loaf!
If you don’t have a sourdough starter you can make up a poolish for this recipe – I never have but I need to so I can see how they work.
I can hear the ducks making lots of noise. The duck eggs are not selling as well as they used to which is a little alarming given I have at least 25 more duck layers hopefully coming on line in a month or so. I think I need to find an alternate market. Until then the pigs are getting duck eggs too!
I hope you all have a great day!
Celi
17 Comments on “JUST PUTTERING ALONG”
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Duck eggs are eaten more in winter here. Maybe it is the same the the US.
Nice looking loaves 🙂
As your tomatoes are just coming on, ours are stopping production! We have had lots since mid June, but now the vines are drying up and the leaves are turning yellow and brown. The were all started from seed inside, went into the greenhouse and then into the garden beds by the beginning of May. We are thinking that we need to plant in a rotation next year, putting the first plants in early, then a week or two later another set and so on. It seems way too early for 20 tomato plants to all stop producing!!! A very sad story indeed!!! 🙁
The bread looks beautiful – the smells must be wonderful (although with summer’s heat, whew). Hard to walk past a freshly baked loaf of bread without wanting some.
There is a lot going on there. Nothing like a bit of cooler nights to recharge everything. Sending smiles in return for the ones from this post
Interesting that the bread on the left was baked in a pot with the lid on. I love the color of it..what kind of pot?
I use sourdough for my tortillas…they are amazing, not because of the flavor but because they hold up so well to even hot fillings. I roll them into balls and leave them in fridge or freezer for when I need a tortilla and they roll out like a dream.
Hmmm, I am going to try your method once it warms up enough to bake again. I must admit I just mix up my starter and everything together right from start. Laura
What a gorgeous chunky pig! Sorry you have to lose Anne what a miss that will be for you. Yay for the walnut tree
healing and yay for the fantastic looking loaves. And yay for everything else that good at the moment.
Your breads look so wonderful! I love the designs on them! 🙂 I can’t wait to see some of my tomatoes this summer…they are just starting to come out of the flowers, little green balls! 🙂
From the look of them, I bet your loaves taste fantastic.
Perhaps you could find some bakers who’d appreciate the large duck yolks in cake making.
I was amazed when I saw your treed with the pinkish-orange marker on it! So healthy! And your bread – wow! Is it for a demonstration or competition in Chicago? Good luck with it! You sound a bit more refreshed than a few weeks ago. Anna is good for your psyche and physique! Loved your pictures!
Yes happy to see the walnut tree flourishing and the excellent pig. Sorry to hear Del is back to two milking but good that you caught the mastitis
Ooh that bread!
Nice looking loaves! Best wishes to Anna!
Puttering along is my favourite speed ☺
MAMA MIA! I wish you could taste my bread!
Perhaps it’s no bad thing that the hay is coming along a little more slowly, given that you have so many demands on your time. I like the look of the loaf on the left, I prefer a chewy to a crisp crust on my sourdough…
I’m seriously impressed by your bread. And every day! Wow. That’s great. The book is coming along…