Kitchen mishaps
Oct. 10th, 2025 07:38 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
wiseheartI didn't want to go to the shops today because frankly, I was too tired from yesterday. So I decided to make a plait indeed, with lots of leftover dried fruits, flaked almonds - the works. Well... it wasn't meant to be. Yeast dough is always temperamental and unpredictable. By the kneading I felt already that something wasn't right - the dough felt a bit rubbery. Then it refused to rise, even after an hour and a half. Either the dried yeast was no longer operative (I prefer working with fresh yeast, but this particular recipe asks for the dried version), or I killed it with too warm milk.
Therefore the plait wasn't an option; it would never bake through. So I made buns instead. Fairly little buns, in the hope that they won't turn out completely raw in the middle while burn on the outside. They didn't. But they barely rose in the oven, either, and they remained somewhat rubbery. Tomorrow I'll slice them thinly and toast them; they do have a nice flavour, they are just not easy to eat, especially for Mum.
Then I made ginger syrup, which was a lot of hard work - fresh ginger offers stubborn resistance to being peeled and cubed, even though I had learned the best trick from an Asian TV cook: peel them with a teaspoon - but turned out exceedingly well. Up to the point when I filled it into small, 100-ml-bottles and started to screw on the caps. At which point I managed to knock over three of the still open bottles. The kitchen was covered in hot, sticky syrup, and I lots the amount of an entire bottle. Needless to say that I was pissed off like whoa!
The bottles have cooled down by now and got cleaned on the outside and properly labelled. They look pretty. I'll take a photo tomorrow, assuming the weather cooperates and gives me enough natural light.
Other than that, I made lunch (fish fingers and rice, plus leftover soup), talked to my friend Erna on the phone, and that was basically it.
Therefore the plait wasn't an option; it would never bake through. So I made buns instead. Fairly little buns, in the hope that they won't turn out completely raw in the middle while burn on the outside. They didn't. But they barely rose in the oven, either, and they remained somewhat rubbery. Tomorrow I'll slice them thinly and toast them; they do have a nice flavour, they are just not easy to eat, especially for Mum.
Then I made ginger syrup, which was a lot of hard work - fresh ginger offers stubborn resistance to being peeled and cubed, even though I had learned the best trick from an Asian TV cook: peel them with a teaspoon - but turned out exceedingly well. Up to the point when I filled it into small, 100-ml-bottles and started to screw on the caps. At which point I managed to knock over three of the still open bottles. The kitchen was covered in hot, sticky syrup, and I lots the amount of an entire bottle. Needless to say that I was pissed off like whoa!
The bottles have cooled down by now and got cleaned on the outside and properly labelled. They look pretty. I'll take a photo tomorrow, assuming the weather cooperates and gives me enough natural light.
Other than that, I made lunch (fish fingers and rice, plus leftover soup), talked to my friend Erna on the phone, and that was basically it.
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(no subject)
Date: 2025-10-10 05:42 pm (UTC)You are brave, battling on in the kitchen despite the mishaps.
(no subject)
Date: 2025-10-10 07:27 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2025-10-10 07:16 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2025-10-10 07:28 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2025-10-11 04:08 pm (UTC)That´s exactly what I always fear when working with yeast!
(no subject)
Date: 2025-10-11 06:35 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2025-10-12 10:52 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2025-10-12 07:01 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2025-10-12 03:38 pm (UTC)Oh how frustrating — and sounds exactly the sort of thing I manage to do far too often,
(no subject)
Date: 2025-10-12 07:01 pm (UTC)