Sourdough bread!
Nov. 13th, 2012 11:27 pmSo, since I am so taken with this new baking my own bread thing, I want to share this bit of gloriousness with everyone! Here an instruction for making your very own sourdough bread, adapted from this German site. 'Cause Germans are bread fu masters.
WHAT YOU NEED:
- whole grain flour (wheat, rye, spelt -- whatever floats your boat, really!)
- lukewarm water
- a spacious dough bowl
- a warm room
And you can get started!
First, take roughly a handful (I think I just used two heaping tablespoons) of the flour. Put into the bowl! Now, add enough lukewarm (!) water to make a thin mixture. Now, go spy out a warm, cozy place where you can let nature do its magic.
About every 12 hours, stir the dough until it's nice and bubbly. Your sourdough likes it breezy! Once a day, fill up with another rough handful of flour and enough lukewarm water to have a thin mixture again. Repeat for 4-5 days, up to a week, until the dough is notably sour. It should have a pleasantly sour smell. If it's rank, you have not succeeded. :(
Fill some of your dough in a marmalade glass or something and store in the fridge. Leave about 500 grams of sourdough in your bowl. Add about 500g flour, 200ml lukewarm water, a tablespoon of salt and a cube of yeast and make a dough. Wheat and spelt flours need to be kneaded thoroughly, 5-10 minutes. Since your dough will be soft and sticky, it'll probably turn into more of a flaily pounding. Rye dough just needs to be mixed well -- and take my advice and don't do it with your hands, it is murderously sticky. Leave to rise in a warm place for about an hour, then make some cuts of the surface and stick into your 220°C hot preheated oven, on the floor of which you have emptied a small coffee cup's worth of water. Turn heat down to 180°C after 15 minutes, bake for about 50-60 minutes total.
Tadaaa! You have bread.
You may have noticed that this still has yeast in it. That would be because our sourdough culture is still a tiny baby sourdough culture and needs to be well-fed to grow.
Thus, bread #2!
What you need is:
- bowl!
- your sourdough
- 100g flour
- 100ml lukewarm water
Stir it all together nicely, let rest at a very warm place. I put it on my radiator. Leave it there for about 6-8 hours. Then add another 100g flour/100ml water, stir, leave to rest at a slightly cooler place for the same amount of time. Lastly, add the flour and water again, leave to rest at yet another slightly cooler place for about 3-4 hours.
There, now our sourdough is big and strong! Take a bit away to store in your marmalade glass. Mix the rest with flour, about a 1:1 or 2:1 sourdough to flour ratio, add a tablespoon of salt and some lukewarm water. I usually play this by ear a bit -- your dough needs to be coherent, but not too soft (else you will get whole grain cake, which you... don't really want). Again, wheat and spelt doughs need some punching to ensure future fluffiness. Let the whole thing rest at a warm place for 30-40 minutes, then stir/knead it again. At this point, you can put it into a boxy bread form, or, even better, one of those nifty little bread rising baskets, well floured (in which case you would later turn your dough onto the baking sheet). Leave to rest for about an hour.
Now pour some water onto your 250°C preheated oven and shove your bread (which you have made some cuts in, again) into the oven! Lower heat to 220° after ten minutes, then to 190° after another 15 minutes. Bake for about 60-70 mins total.
This is the instruction on the site; however, my oven has this little quirk in which it starts literally blowing off steam if heated as high as 250°C, so I just heat it to 200° and lower the heat ten degrees twice within the baking time. That works fine too.
Congrats! You have delicious bread. And now you can repeat this process whenever you have a hankering for fresh homemade bread! And best, you can also always toss seeds, nuts or whatever really into your dough. Be creative.
WHAT YOU NEED:
- whole grain flour (wheat, rye, spelt -- whatever floats your boat, really!)
- lukewarm water
- a spacious dough bowl
- a warm room
And you can get started!
First, take roughly a handful (I think I just used two heaping tablespoons) of the flour. Put into the bowl! Now, add enough lukewarm (!) water to make a thin mixture. Now, go spy out a warm, cozy place where you can let nature do its magic.
About every 12 hours, stir the dough until it's nice and bubbly. Your sourdough likes it breezy! Once a day, fill up with another rough handful of flour and enough lukewarm water to have a thin mixture again. Repeat for 4-5 days, up to a week, until the dough is notably sour. It should have a pleasantly sour smell. If it's rank, you have not succeeded. :(
Fill some of your dough in a marmalade glass or something and store in the fridge. Leave about 500 grams of sourdough in your bowl. Add about 500g flour, 200ml lukewarm water, a tablespoon of salt and a cube of yeast and make a dough. Wheat and spelt flours need to be kneaded thoroughly, 5-10 minutes. Since your dough will be soft and sticky, it'll probably turn into more of a flaily pounding. Rye dough just needs to be mixed well -- and take my advice and don't do it with your hands, it is murderously sticky. Leave to rise in a warm place for about an hour, then make some cuts of the surface and stick into your 220°C hot preheated oven, on the floor of which you have emptied a small coffee cup's worth of water. Turn heat down to 180°C after 15 minutes, bake for about 50-60 minutes total.
Tadaaa! You have bread.
You may have noticed that this still has yeast in it. That would be because our sourdough culture is still a tiny baby sourdough culture and needs to be well-fed to grow.
Thus, bread #2!
What you need is:
- bowl!
- your sourdough
- 100g flour
- 100ml lukewarm water
Stir it all together nicely, let rest at a very warm place. I put it on my radiator. Leave it there for about 6-8 hours. Then add another 100g flour/100ml water, stir, leave to rest at a slightly cooler place for the same amount of time. Lastly, add the flour and water again, leave to rest at yet another slightly cooler place for about 3-4 hours.
There, now our sourdough is big and strong! Take a bit away to store in your marmalade glass. Mix the rest with flour, about a 1:1 or 2:1 sourdough to flour ratio, add a tablespoon of salt and some lukewarm water. I usually play this by ear a bit -- your dough needs to be coherent, but not too soft (else you will get whole grain cake, which you... don't really want). Again, wheat and spelt doughs need some punching to ensure future fluffiness. Let the whole thing rest at a warm place for 30-40 minutes, then stir/knead it again. At this point, you can put it into a boxy bread form, or, even better, one of those nifty little bread rising baskets, well floured (in which case you would later turn your dough onto the baking sheet). Leave to rest for about an hour.
Now pour some water onto your 250°C preheated oven and shove your bread (which you have made some cuts in, again) into the oven! Lower heat to 220° after ten minutes, then to 190° after another 15 minutes. Bake for about 60-70 mins total.
This is the instruction on the site; however, my oven has this little quirk in which it starts literally blowing off steam if heated as high as 250°C, so I just heat it to 200° and lower the heat ten degrees twice within the baking time. That works fine too.
Congrats! You have delicious bread. And now you can repeat this process whenever you have a hankering for fresh homemade bread! And best, you can also always toss seeds, nuts or whatever really into your dough. Be creative.
recipe: HUTZELBROT.
Oct. 21st, 2012 09:39 pmLiterally dried fruit bread. These are traditionally made for Christmas where I'm from!
Translated from an old German cookbook.
3 pounds* whole grain wheat flour
1/4 l water
1 TBSP salt
25 g fresh yeast (or the according amount of dry yeast)
1 1/2 pounds dried pear slices
1 pound dried plums
-> for cooking: 1 1/2 l water, 300g sugar
1/4 pound sultanas
1/4 pound currants (tiny dried grapes)
1/2 pound nuts, chopped
40g candied lemon peel, diced
40g candied orange peel, diced
1 1/2 tsps cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1/8 l Kirschwasser
* As you may or may not know, Germany uses the metric system, i.e. we are in the land of kilos and grams. An American pound is about 450g, but a German pound is 500g.
Soak the pear slices and plums overnight. After about 24 hours, bring to a boil with 1 1/2l water and 300g sugar. Cook until soft, then drain, preserving the water. Warm up the flour a little and sieve it into a bowl. Make a little dip in it and create a smooth little dough with the yeast and water (use only a little of the flour). Cover with flour and leave to rise for about half an hour. Now add enough of the reserved fruit water to make a thick, but pliant dough. Knead for 45 minutes. (Yep, that's right. Those who have a food processor that can knead dough are lucky indeed.) Now add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Shape into small loves and leave them to rest a few hours or overnight, then brush them with some of the fruit water, shove 'em in the oven and bake at 140-160°C for about 1 1/2 hours. Brush with fruit water again 5 minutes before taking them out. And you're done!
Translated from an old German cookbook.
3 pounds* whole grain wheat flour
1/4 l water
1 TBSP salt
25 g fresh yeast (or the according amount of dry yeast)
1 1/2 pounds dried pear slices
1 pound dried plums
-> for cooking: 1 1/2 l water, 300g sugar
1/4 pound sultanas
1/4 pound currants (tiny dried grapes)
1/2 pound nuts, chopped
40g candied lemon peel, diced
40g candied orange peel, diced
1 1/2 tsps cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1/8 l Kirschwasser
* As you may or may not know, Germany uses the metric system, i.e. we are in the land of kilos and grams. An American pound is about 450g, but a German pound is 500g.
Soak the pear slices and plums overnight. After about 24 hours, bring to a boil with 1 1/2l water and 300g sugar. Cook until soft, then drain, preserving the water. Warm up the flour a little and sieve it into a bowl. Make a little dip in it and create a smooth little dough with the yeast and water (use only a little of the flour). Cover with flour and leave to rise for about half an hour. Now add enough of the reserved fruit water to make a thick, but pliant dough. Knead for 45 minutes. (Yep, that's right. Those who have a food processor that can knead dough are lucky indeed.) Now add the rest of the ingredients and mix well. Shape into small loves and leave them to rest a few hours or overnight, then brush them with some of the fruit water, shove 'em in the oven and bake at 140-160°C for about 1 1/2 hours. Brush with fruit water again 5 minutes before taking them out. And you're done!
(no subject)
Jan. 30th, 2011 10:06 amKANNA FOURTH WALL EVENT is a go!
Come by, have fun? ♥
Edit: THE MAGNIFICENT JOINT NETWORK POST OF RIN AND ALLEN, AKA THE WONDERTWINS idk.
Come by, have fun? ♥
Edit: THE MAGNIFICENT JOINT NETWORK POST OF RIN AND ALLEN, AKA THE WONDERTWINS idk.
Vallie Goes Cookbook, Round Two
Jan. 9th, 2011 02:45 amSooo people on plurk requested that I post some recipes, because I randomly did a plurk about my Cooking Repertoire For The Lazy Single Student. What this meant is stuff that I, a fundamentally lazy student who most often cooks for only herself, regularly make. Other criteria were that it was cooked food and that it was largely homemade, because while I am not the most healthily eating person on the planet, I do make an effort to make my own food as often as possible, as opposed to, say, largely living off take-out and frozen pizza, to paint in large brushstrokes.
Let it be said that I come from a household with... sort of rustic cooking. Basically, our opinion is that everything is better with a good helping of butter in it. I can't seem to divorce that line of thought entirely, so "these recipes will totally help you lose weight!" isn't happening here. What they are is good recipes that are relatively easy to assemble and mostly vegetable-based. I think they can probably be made vegan with little effort. So, on to the recipes! Just two of several more, of course.
Both of these are meant to serve one person (though they may serve twice), so if you have more eaters, adjust accordingly.
The first was requested by![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
homgsekrit. Here, for you:
( Fried zucchini in sauce with rice )
Next, another very basic, traditional recipe:
( Kohlrabi in white sauce with fried potatoes )
Bon appétit!
Let it be said that I come from a household with... sort of rustic cooking. Basically, our opinion is that everything is better with a good helping of butter in it. I can't seem to divorce that line of thought entirely, so "these recipes will totally help you lose weight!" isn't happening here. What they are is good recipes that are relatively easy to assemble and mostly vegetable-based. I think they can probably be made vegan with little effort. So, on to the recipes! Just two of several more, of course.
Both of these are meant to serve one person (though they may serve twice), so if you have more eaters, adjust accordingly.
The first was requested by
homgsekrit. Here, for you:( Fried zucchini in sauce with rice )
Next, another very basic, traditional recipe:
( Kohlrabi in white sauce with fried potatoes )
Bon appétit!
Yuletide Reveal
Jan. 4th, 2011 10:12 pmThis year, I was just slightly more active than usually at Yuletide. I wrote two fics -- my assigned fics and two short treats. It was a good experience, all in all! I actually had a lot of fun writing these, more so than in the past years that I participated in Yuletide, to be honest. I also got my fic in on time. I tried to write fic that's respectful in terms of gender and race, and also fun, and I hope I somewhat succeeded.
Title: Candlelight!
Fandom: K-ON!
Characters: Tainaka Ritsu, Akiyama Mio, Kotobuki Tsumugi, Hirasawa Yui
Pairings: Kotobuki Tsumugi/OC
Rating: G
Word Count: 4388
Author's Notes: I somewhat recently read about how Japanese female mainstream musicians (we're talking Hamasaki Ayumi et al here) use their lyrics to express criticism of society and create a kind of female space, and that stuck with me. When I was assigned K-ON! for Yuletide, it pretty much immediately sprung to my mind to do something with that. I also read that young Japanese women still have to deal with sexism at the workplace, so both of those things sort of clicked and produced this.
( Don't Blow Out The Light! )
Title: Stories Thought and Sung
Fandom: Blade of the Immortal
Characters: Yoshino Dōa, Asano Rin
Rating: G
Word Count: 348
Author's Notes: I... feel like this is WAY too short, which it is because I wrote it on 12/24 and, as such, did not have much time to expand on it. Dōa is so interesting to write about; her conflict and definition of self, identity and the idea of "home" especially. Since I mentioned the bullying we know she received from the other kids in her village, that line about her mother was important to me, to sort of counterweight that characterization.
( The night before they enter Edo Castle, Dōa thinks of Kuichiru )
Title: Good Boy
Fandom: Blade of the Immortal
Characters: Asano Rin, Hyakurin, Magatsu Taito
Rating: G
Word Count: 218
Author's Notes: Now, this? This was just pure fun. Magatsu just lends himself so easily to topping and trolling.
( Hyakurin is amazing. )
Title: Candlelight!
Fandom: K-ON!
Characters: Tainaka Ritsu, Akiyama Mio, Kotobuki Tsumugi, Hirasawa Yui
Pairings: Kotobuki Tsumugi/OC
Rating: G
Word Count: 4388
Author's Notes: I somewhat recently read about how Japanese female mainstream musicians (we're talking Hamasaki Ayumi et al here) use their lyrics to express criticism of society and create a kind of female space, and that stuck with me. When I was assigned K-ON! for Yuletide, it pretty much immediately sprung to my mind to do something with that. I also read that young Japanese women still have to deal with sexism at the workplace, so both of those things sort of clicked and produced this.
( Don't Blow Out The Light! )
Title: Stories Thought and Sung
Fandom: Blade of the Immortal
Characters: Yoshino Dōa, Asano Rin
Rating: G
Word Count: 348
Author's Notes: I... feel like this is WAY too short, which it is because I wrote it on 12/24 and, as such, did not have much time to expand on it. Dōa is so interesting to write about; her conflict and definition of self, identity and the idea of "home" especially. Since I mentioned the bullying we know she received from the other kids in her village, that line about her mother was important to me, to sort of counterweight that characterization.
( The night before they enter Edo Castle, Dōa thinks of Kuichiru )
Title: Good Boy
Fandom: Blade of the Immortal
Characters: Asano Rin, Hyakurin, Magatsu Taito
Rating: G
Word Count: 218
Author's Notes: Now, this? This was just pure fun. Magatsu just lends himself so easily to topping and trolling.
( Hyakurin is amazing. )
Yuletide Recs!
Dec. 30th, 2010 05:49 amYup, finally, here's my recs post for stories I enjoyed this Yuletide. It was a good one! First, I want to rec the two wonderful stories that were given to me this year. Because they are wonderful. ♥
Persuasion to Joy
Fandom: Huâ Mùlán | Mulan (2009)
A wonderful take on what happens after the movie, through the eyes of the Princess of Rouran, or the new Empress of Wei. We get a beautiful insight into her character, how she deals with her new life and how she relates to the other characters. It rings so true and complements canon perfectly. ♥ I particularly loved her sassy maid and the end scene. Ohh, the end scene.
This is definitely everything I wanted for Yuletide.
Two Wet Swallows
Fandom: Kaze Hikaru
This is a lovely little piece, an in-between scene between Sei and Okita. It's so sweet and so them and so adorable... and it has a picture by Utamaro! "Kamiya-sannn, you're so mean to me" will NEVER get old. ♥ I am so happy that I got this as a treat.
And now on to the others:
( Recs for 20th Century Boys, Heian Period RPF, Fairy Tales, Journey to the West and The Twelve Kingdoms )
Persuasion to Joy
Fandom: Huâ Mùlán | Mulan (2009)
A wonderful take on what happens after the movie, through the eyes of the Princess of Rouran, or the new Empress of Wei. We get a beautiful insight into her character, how she deals with her new life and how she relates to the other characters. It rings so true and complements canon perfectly. ♥ I particularly loved her sassy maid and the end scene. Ohh, the end scene.
This is definitely everything I wanted for Yuletide.
Two Wet Swallows
Fandom: Kaze Hikaru
This is a lovely little piece, an in-between scene between Sei and Okita. It's so sweet and so them and so adorable... and it has a picture by Utamaro! "Kamiya-sannn, you're so mean to me" will NEVER get old. ♥ I am so happy that I got this as a treat.
And now on to the others:
( Recs for 20th Century Boys, Heian Period RPF, Fairy Tales, Journey to the West and The Twelve Kingdoms )
(no subject)
Dec. 24th, 2010 10:06 pmDear Yuletide writer,
so you've been assigned my request. First off, I want to thank you so much for the fic you're going to write! Whatever you choose, I will be satisfied with it, because these are all fandoms I love very much (of course, otherwise I wouldn't have picked them). So, thank you! ♥
Some preferences in fiction:
Hope those help! These aren't rules that are set in stone, just general pointers which I hope help you in your idea-forming process. As I said, absolutely anything you can come up with will be loved.
Now, on to the fandoms!
( Blade of the Immortal )
( Kaze Hikaru )
( Otoyomegatari )
( Hua Mulan )
I really hope these ideas and prompts help you some. :) They're meant for orientation in case you have no idea where to start, but if you have another idea entirely, by all means, write it! These are fandoms in which there is little I don't absolutely adore, and thus little to do wrong.
Anonymous commenting is allowed and IP-logging is off, so feel free to leave me a comment if you have any more questions.
I wish you a good time, a joyous yuletide, and merry festivities, whichever you celebrate. ♥
so you've been assigned my request. First off, I want to thank you so much for the fic you're going to write! Whatever you choose, I will be satisfied with it, because these are all fandoms I love very much (of course, otherwise I wouldn't have picked them). So, thank you! ♥
Some preferences in fiction:
- I am all about the ladies, and I like it when female characters do stuff, think their thinky thoughts and talk with each other! About all sorts of things!
- I like stories that have a mixture of serious and humorous moments, though I also like stories that are mainly serious, maybe dramatic.
- Character development is what I like best about my fiction. I don't mind if a story isn't purely about that, but I like when there's some hint of it along the way.
- In fact, I very much like character conflict, if that's what you'd like to go for.
- Plot is nice, but not necessary at all.
- I like both things that fit into canon and speculative fic.
- I'm not that partial to porn, except maybe for BotI. I'd gladly read BotI porn.
- No character bashing or pairing bashing, please.
Hope those help! These aren't rules that are set in stone, just general pointers which I hope help you in your idea-forming process. As I said, absolutely anything you can come up with will be loved.
Now, on to the fandoms!
( Blade of the Immortal )
( Kaze Hikaru )
( Otoyomegatari )
( Hua Mulan )
I really hope these ideas and prompts help you some. :) They're meant for orientation in case you have no idea where to start, but if you have another idea entirely, by all means, write it! These are fandoms in which there is little I don't absolutely adore, and thus little to do wrong.
Anonymous commenting is allowed and IP-logging is off, so feel free to leave me a comment if you have any more questions.
I wish you a good time, a joyous yuletide, and merry festivities, whichever you celebrate. ♥
Title: Inkdrops On Paper
Fandom: Blade of the Immortal
Character: Asano Rin
Rating: PG
Warnings: Very slight prison arc spoilers.
Summary: When there is a bigger picture to consider, Rin needs to write things down.
Notes: I more or less wrote this on a whim. Unedited.
( In the top left drawer, that's where the writing utensils are. )
Fandom: Blade of the Immortal
Character: Asano Rin
Rating: PG
Warnings: Very slight prison arc spoilers.
Summary: When there is a bigger picture to consider, Rin needs to write things down.
Notes: I more or less wrote this on a whim. Unedited.
( In the top left drawer, that's where the writing utensils are. )
(no subject)
Aug. 21st, 2010 04:22 pmI am offering fic and art at ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
help_pakistan, a community to help raising donation funds for the flood victims in Pakistan.
help_pakistan, a community to help raising donation funds for the flood victims in Pakistan.(no subject)
Aug. 16th, 2010 01:49 pmTitle: A Long Month
Fandom: Blade of the Immortal
Pairing: Dōa/Rin
Rating: PG-13, girls kissing.
Note: Repost from older post, because that one contained too much personal babble to be linked anywhere.
( It started as a fight about food. )
Fandom: Blade of the Immortal
Pairing: Dōa/Rin
Rating: PG-13, girls kissing.
Note: Repost from older post, because that one contained too much personal babble to be linked anywhere.
( It started as a fight about food. )
Title: Hard Things
Fandom: Blade of the Immortal
Rating: PG
Warnings: Uh. References to somewhat brutal canon happenings?
Prompt: 143) I hadn't been aware that there were doors closed to me until I started knocking on them. -- Gertrude B. Elion, American biochemist, pharmacologist and winner of the 1988 Nobel Prize in Medicine (with George Hitchings and Sir James Black).
Summary: After all is said and done, Asano Rin is met with a proposition.
Author's Notes: MANY, MANY THANKS to the wonderfulsenri, who's been patient in letting me bounce ideas off her and even letting me borrow some of her own; and to my beta tanrien, who has been there in the nick of time. I didn't really use the prompt, but it fits in a general way. Entirely speculative post-eventual-canon fic.
( Sometimes you're caught between a rock and a hard place. )
Fandom: Blade of the Immortal
Rating: PG
Warnings: Uh. References to somewhat brutal canon happenings?
Prompt: 143) I hadn't been aware that there were doors closed to me until I started knocking on them. -- Gertrude B. Elion, American biochemist, pharmacologist and winner of the 1988 Nobel Prize in Medicine (with George Hitchings and Sir James Black).
Summary: After all is said and done, Asano Rin is met with a proposition.
Author's Notes: MANY, MANY THANKS to the wonderful
senri, who's been patient in letting me bounce ideas off her and even letting me borrow some of her own; and to my beta tanrien, who has been there in the nick of time. I didn't really use the prompt, but it fits in a general way. Entirely speculative post-eventual-canon fic.( Sometimes you're caught between a rock and a hard place. )
Icon Post!
Aug. 12th, 2010 05:13 pmBecause I can. I've been making icons a lot lately, and I've started using a new style as per the lovely tutorial found on momoizumu. Mostly Rin again, with a few Anotsus -- but not too many because I still have to tinker with him and his color scheme -- and some Manjis in the old style. Slight spoilers for prison arc, I guess? And err. Slightly foul language in one icon. May crosspost.
( She's the kinda girl who gets her slings and arrows from the dumpster )
momoizumu. Mostly Rin again, with a few Anotsus -- but not too many because I still have to tinker with him and his color scheme -- and some Manjis in the old style. Slight spoilers for prison arc, I guess? And err. Slightly foul language in one icon. May crosspost.( She's the kinda girl who gets her slings and arrows from the dumpster )
(no subject)
Aug. 4th, 2010 07:48 pmSo today I got my grad for my Modern Asia exam! It's a 2,7. For you Americans out there, that's between a B and a C, leaning toward the C. Not the best grade ever, but pretty damn good considering I wasn't even sure I was going to pass that one... and even more considering how much I studied for it (basically not at all).
Also sent in my app for Anotsu Kagehisa atparadisa and awaiting the verdict. Excitement, excitement! He's so... new to me, and not at all the type of character I've been playing for... a good long while! Kira might come the closest, but Kira is a troll. (I kinda miss him, though.)
Also sent in my app for Anotsu Kagehisa at
paradisa and awaiting the verdict. Excitement, excitement! He's so... new to me, and not at all the type of character I've been playing for... a good long while! Kira might come the closest, but Kira is a troll. (I kinda miss him, though.)
