A second batch of bread utterly failed. Either the bread gods hate me or the yeast is bad. I’ve certainly gone through a lot of flour today, though. :P
I’m up to about page 80 on PHOENIX LAW. I’m really enjoying it. o.o There’s nitpicky stuff I’m dealing with, but so far I’m not finding anything huge that has to be redone. There’s a thread I seem to have dropped, but I’m not quite sure yet if I’m going to weave it back in, rewrite it out, or accept that it’s the catalyst and isn’t necessarily all that important in itself. Except that gives me the heebie jeebies, so I’ll probably have to do something about it. Aside from that, so far so good. I’m pleased. :)
It’s really beautiful out. I should probably go for a walk. I could, for example, walk to the grocery store and buy more yeast and flour. *sigh*
It’s not the bread gods that hate you.
The yeast are observant Jews and know that it’s Passover now and they’re not supposed to rise! :)
*laughs* I was just about to write the same thing!
*laugh*! Oh. Maybe I should make a loaf of soda bread, then… :)
To test your yeast without wasting the ingredients for a whole batch of bread, put the yeast, a teaspoon of sugar, and warm water into a bowl. Let it sit 10 minutes. If the yeast swells up and looks bubbly, it’s fine. If it doesn’t, buy new yeast. I always test my yeast this way before I bake because I can’t bake often enough to be sure the yeast is still fresh. Good luck!
Linda
Yeah, well, I always do that, and the yeast didn’t foam up on the first batch but this is quick-rise yeast so it rarely foams as much as the regular stuff ’cause you’re not supposed to have to proof it, so I didn’t worry about it not foaming. And the second time I was impatient and didn’t do the proofing because I just wanted to get the damned thing in the oven to rise, and hey, it was quick-rise yeast so I wasn’t supposed to have to.
:P
The advice, however, is sound. :)
I hate using quick-rise yeast because all to often, it doesn’t. I’m usually home, so waiting for the bread to rise is no big deal for me and my schedule, anyway. Good luck with the next batch. :)
Linda