Sourdough Attempt IV and final

Following Sarah's instruction, I used the last of the starter to make a dough with aid of fast acting yeast.  As I got some bacon, I decided to make some bacon rolls, they turned out very nicely, with a complex flavour pro.  There are a few more dough balls left to use, I am thinking of making some steamed scallion rolls, naan and lastly a loaf, let's hope they all turn out nicely.

Meet the Councillor

Although I heard Angela talking about surgery all the time, I had never been to one.  I actually attempted to go to one a few years ago, but it was in recess in Summer. 

This time I brought my grievance on the crime in area to Councillor Jessica Lennox.  She seemed to have taken my information in, so let see if she is able to help.

Dried Up Cheese Sticks

I picked up some marked down cheese stick in the evening.  It was unbelievably crunchy, you can barely taste the cheese.  It is quite unbelievable!  The only thing that is acceptable after a whole day on the hot plate would be bacon hock or chicken leg.

DPF Chemical Believer

One of the many problems with a diesel car is the diesel particulate filter.  I usually have problem in winter, as the exhaust does not get quite hot enough.  When after a long drive, the DPF light came back, I decided to get the most expensive DPF cleaner and stick it in.

I used to put chemical in, but some mechanic said they do nothing, so I am not religious about them.  Then after I stick this expensive DPF cleaner in, the light came off after 10 miles driving and stayed off.  I am now a born again additives believer!

Sourdough Attempt in Breadmaker II

On the second attempt, I made some adjustment to make the dough dryer.  I was using the scale for the fast acting yeast, and I was planning to add 3 grams to help the rise, because 3 grams looked like a lot, so I stopped short at 2 grams.

After the mixing and the first rise, when I was checking up on the dough, it was clearly too dry.  After some consideration, I jumped in and made some last minute changed.  I concluded it was a little dry and insufficient lift.  I added a little water and another 2 grams of yeast, put it back in the bread machine.  But even the bread machine motor was struggling, so I hand kneaded it.

I also manually proved it, and I let the bread machine do the final baking.  We were both pleasantly surprised by the result.  So my final adjusted recipe is:

360g strong white flour
360g 50% starter
3 grams yeast (no short measure)
2 table spoons oil
50g water
8g salt
8g sugar
Panasonic Basic White Large

But I am not sure I need this again, as Sarah said I should wind down my experiment!

Peri Peri Chicken

We tried out the Portuguese restaurant in Leicester.  Both of us ordered things very predictable.  I got grilled chicken, Sarah got grilled fish, exactly what we had in the Lebanese restaurant.

So from my recent history lessons, I learnt that Portuguese has ties with Africa since 14th century, before Spain bursted onto the game of exploration and took the Americas.  That was a reason how they imported the spice via Africa and made "peri peri".  The chicken was very anatomical, it had a bum. which was not surprising, and it had a very long neck, which I had no issue nibbling.

One day when I visit Portugal, I shall try their Peri Peri chicken.

Sourdough Attempt in Breadmaker I

I found some recipe online for the sourdough in breadmaker.  In the first knead, it looked nice, and even has signs of having slightly risen.  So I diverged from the recipe, and added a little kick of fast acting yeast to it, it turned slushy again.  So I just set it to bake, and I was expecting the worst.  The bread turned out to be edible, albeit very unevenly risen.  When on a second thought, would it be the super duper Canadian Strong flour?