I’m having a little trouble gathering my thoughts in a any sort of system for today’s post, so we’ll make this chatty, sound good?
I only have these bread pictures, which I already did post on Instagram, so forgive me:
I will try to give you some sourdough tips little by little (following up on this post), if you are interested in getting better at sourdough bread baking.
Everyone’s method sounds definitive, but conditions are so different; as you are flitting from tip to tip out there in the wild, resolve to try them, but not be wedded to them until you get the result you are looking for. (And to know what to look for, every once in a while buy a really good loaf of artisan sourdough if you have any available to you, and make note of its characteristics if you love it.)
Today’s tip that works for me — see if it helps you:
Try making your starter a bit stiffer. The usual recommendation is for your feeding ratio is one part starter to one part flour and one part water, by weight.
What works better for me is one part starter, one part water, and one and enough more of flour, added little by little, to make the dough stiff enough that you have to work the flour in somewhat, but it all gets incorporated. (I use a flat whisk like this one because it fits in my large-mouth mason jar – affiliate link.)
Let it rise until it’s bubbly and domed but not so squishy that it looks like it is losing its ability to stay domed. If it falls, just feed it again and try to catch it at its height.
Then when you are making your levain preparatory to mixing your dough, mix in enough water with a small amount of starter (100-200 grams, 1/4-1/2 cup) to make a mixture with flour that will be easy to incorporate with the rest of your ingredients once it has risen — more like one part starter, two parts water, one part flour. Let that bubble, then continue. Having a greater proportion of levain in your dough is helpful in colder weather, by the way.
The stiffer starter results in a less sour loaf (especially if you rise it in a warm environment — the colder and slower, the more sour).
And know that everyone has their days with their dough falling into ruin!
I got this Ask Auntie Leila question:
How do you remember what to do with babies when you get a new one? I’m on my fifth boy, with only two years since my last baby was born, and I’m still forgetting all sorts of things like how milk let down works, the amount of fever that necessitates an ER trip with a newborn, and most importantly, the HUGE necessity of doing the most important thing, not the appealing most frivolous thing, the moment that the baby’s asleep. I thought I had a method – I keep a binder with notes by subject on meals, cleaning, kid fun, holiday recipes and to-do’s, baby notes. However, there must be a better way! And I bet you’ve probably found it with your seven, or your girls have. Has anyone figured out how to keep “life with baby” notes that transcend the fog of mommy brain?
We’re five weeks out. It was a lovely postpartum with husband working from home and lots of grandmother help. However, it feels like it’s time for me to at least be able to heat up leftovers for folks, direct the kids to their chores and school, and take the reins of the house back from my tired and wonderful husband. I just keep on stumbling on my own forgetfulness. Maybe it’s like re-learning how to knit for the umpteenth time, goes a bit faster. Your posts have been just wonderful for encouragement and good reminders. I read them again and again with enjoyment. And when the blog was down, how I treasured extra my Summa Domestica books! Thank you!
God bless you and your wonderful family! We’re very thankful for you and your good words.
Love,
Sarah
You’re welcome, Sarah! Thank you for your kind words!
This continual learning curve is why I wrote my books. Even those with experience keep needing reminding! I tell about how with my later kids I was grateful for reminders from friends: “nurse her before you get in the car” — nurses: “he’s fussy because he’s cold — warm him up!” — and doctors: the one at our town clinic, channeling her inner grandma rather than any medical training, who berated me for not having a playpen — she was really old-school and basically said, “you need a 1/2 hour in the morning and a 1/2 hour before supper with baby in the playpen if you want any sanity.”
My first thought: Does she know how many kids I have? (Six at the time). My second thought: Brilliant! This is happening!
Not to mention (in the department of getting back into the groove of life with lots of kids), make your menus, know what you are having by 10 am so you can defrost, soak, etc., and keep the laundry going. All of those thoughts are accessible in the menu and search bars here.
Oh, and my friend Shyla reminded me of this book, regarding the “when to call the doctor” question, and I urge you all to purchase a copy, because it’s gold: How to Raise a Healthy Child in Spite of Your Doctor: One of America’s Leading Pediatricians Puts Parents Back in Control of Their Children’s Health by Robert S. Mendelsohn, MD. It’s available used, and you should order a copy STAT.
I link to my practical advice below, in from the archives.
Relatedly and randomly:
Let me remind you, all of you: don’t cover your baby’s face with anything. Breathing is an actual thing — oxygen is a human right, even for babies…
Don’t know where this trend started, but it’s escalated beyond reason. I’m having a hard time with it.
It’s one thing to drape a light, gauzy receiving blanket over the handle of the carseat or stroller to keep the sun, overhead lights, or stiff breeze off your baby, with plenty of airflow on the sides and lots directly above his nose. It’s another to use that heavy double-sided minky and fleece quilt, and quite another to close the quilted sleep sack liner of the carseat over his face.
Early on in the pandemic I encountered a woman whose stroller was totally encased in heavy plastic. Auntie Leila says no.
Okay, that could have been three posts, but you are used to me!
bits & pieces
- My friend Jana, remembering that I have posted in the past about folk dances, line dances, traditional dances, sends these Rebecca Stout videos, simple, charming, and easy to follow, to help with getting started. You just need one or two people who are experienced with folk dancing to join you and get your little community prancing about!
(Note that the music makes sense with the dance. We don’t dance anymore, so these pieces — helpfully named danse, courante, sarabande, allemande, gigue, and so on — can seem strangely stilted or even boring when listened to on their own, without the accompanying movements. Something to consider when studying them in the curriculum or listening to them for pleasure.)
- A fun sampling of traditional folk music, from the band called Shake That Little Foot, from the 30s!
- I struggled with helping one of my children with eczema and asthma (two of them with that condition). Here is a round-up of studies that might have helped me back then: Raw Cow’s Milk and Its Protective Effect on Allergies and Asthma. Do you have any experience with this? I think it’s better to give a weaning child (over the age of 10 months or so) raw or lightly pasteurized milk (180° vs. in the 300s) than formula. (Before you comment — as you know, I am a big advocate of breastfeeding and baby-led weaning. Some babies wean themselves surprisingly early despite all efforts, and sometimes mom gets pregnant and her milk wanes. I have lots of posts about these things — here I am talking about what to do with an older baby who has weaned and of course toddlers and older children too. The current recommendations are to hold off cow’s milk until a year. In my experience, it could be given at around 10 months if raw or near-raw, and I have a couple of posts about tested, cow’s milk–based home-made formula here. The information includes a discussion about the risk of allergy to cow’s milk. Please read all that before commenting and I think you will find your concern is answered. I’m not a medical professional of course, so use your judgement.)
- We had talked about Kitchenaids but wow, find a used one. This makes me angry, really.
- Do you know about ESG? If you’re wondering how we are surrounded by rainbow everything, and why angry letters won’t help, read this.
“The most important tool for accomplishing this strategy is environmental, social, and governance (ESG) standards, a new framework for evaluating businesses. Under an ESG model, which has already been widely adopted by corporate America, companies are rewarded or punished based on how they score on dozens of metrics developed by bankers, investors, activists, and, in some cases, government officials.
- Let’s go back to Biblical morality and natural law, because the alternative is brain-dead mothers acting as surrogates for traffickers in human flesh (this isn’t a horror movie, this is what is in store for us, as a logical consequence of having taken childbearing out of the marital act).
- Leila Miller writes about what to do if your little boy says he’s a girl. Calm, common sense from an experienced mom in these confusing days! Her books are linked in that article; they are practical and help you not panic.
from the archives
- As promised above, How to care for your sick child at home.
- Know what is meant by a bland diet! Comes in very handy as all these stomach bugs are going around. Your recovering child needs to eat certain things and not eat other things, and then he will recover quicker.
liturgical living
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The post Chatty: Sourdough and new babies appeared first on Like Mother, Like Daughter.