Time for white

The time for white bread has come around again, so batch 608 was baked yesterday without the usual Canadian stone ground from Waitrose. Just 3lbs 8oz of Alto white from Ponders End, that is to say something over 5lbs of dough.

A bright warm day which one might have thought would have speeded things up, but actually the first rise, mainly due to my forgetting about it, ran to a record five hours without coming to grief, that is to say without wet dough dripping down all over our airing cupboard. Furthermore, in the past, a long first rise has meant a very sticky second knead, but not on this occasion. Plus the dough seemed to have more structure than usual. Would the twists and turns of the dough be recorded in the baked bread, in the way of a large white bloomer from a proper baker? Second rise long, but not record breaking at something over two and a half hours. Finished loaves looked rather good: a good size, a good colour and with no bubbles or volcanoes.

As we were by then running late, the first loaf was started before it had completely cooled down. Looked good, felt good, even smelt slightly of yeast. But still a little bland, so some was taken with butter, some with cheese, this last being in particularly good condition.

Sadly, the twists and turns did not survive into the cooked crumb. Nicely risen and light, but no spirals or anything else visible.

Still good with cheese the following morning. But not particularly successful with hard boiled eggs with today's picnic at Hampton Court, the first such for months. I shall try a fried egg sandwich in the morning.

While yesterday evening we celebrated with a bottle of 2017 Menetou Salon, last noticed at the end of last year at reference 2. Very good it was too. Must put it on my list for my next order.

PS: the people from Neal's Yard Dairy sell very good cheese, but they have quite abruptly been pushed into advertising slots all over the place. I am getting to see them several times a day. How do I tell them that this irritates more than it attracts, more than it burns the brand into my brain? That it might encourage consumption of more Comté from the people next door, probably not a big enough operation to bother with Google or Microsoft?

Reference 1: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2021/02/festival-of-white.html. The last occasion for white bread.

Reference 2: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2020/12/from-kimmeridge.html. Possibly the last occasion for Menetou-salon. The wine with the wax.