May 21st, 2014 CSB Note

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This weeks Share
German Whole Wheat
Polenta Pepita
Nutty Corners

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It’s raining and on this rare and beautiful day I am reminded on how much we all need this water. It smells  so good outside and the trees look bright green! Aside from stepping outside for a few minutes here and there I was mostly involved in my bread world today and that is where I observed most of the effects of the moisture in the air. 
I didn’t have to constantly wet down the surface of the rising loaves to prevent a skin from forming and inhibiting the rise, the ambient moisture in the air took care of it for me. Also, the crust of the loaves got soft as soon as the loaves were cooled. You might remember the Olive Bread from a few weeks ago didn’t have much of a crust either due to the moisture that day, a rare occasion on the Eastside. You can bring the crust back by sprinkling a little water on your loaf and then putting your loaf in a 375F oven for 10 minutes. 
Moisture (not influenced by the outside rain) also plays a role when the loaves go in the oven. If no steam is injected in the first few minutes of the bake (there are many crazy ways to do this in a home oven, I can tell you about them another time) crust building occurs immediately and the loaves don’t expand to create the open and light crumb texture that I try to achieve. Even bread needs water to grow! Enjoy the rain while it lasts!