SC - OT, OOP The Mail Problem and ISPs

[Medea]

In a message dated 11/14/2000 2:25:26 AM Eastern Standard Time, 
stefan at texas.net writes:

<< So, what recipe did you use when you made these trenchers and how did
 they work out? So far, no one has been able to relate to me whether
 they got soggy and were a total mess, whether they soaked up all the
 juice and thus left nothing for the food, whether they collapsed in
 folks laps or table or just what. >>

I worked out a recipe from Bear's suggestions about using only flour, water, 
yeast, and salt, and relatively proportions from my breadmaker book.  The 
current recipe for a 1.5 lb loaf is:

1.75 cups water
3.33 cups + 2.5 Tbsp whole wheat flour
1.25 tsp salt
1.5 tsp bread machine yeast, or 2 tsp regular yeast.

The odd measurements are due to trying to get the dough to the right 
consistency.  For some reason, this seems to be much more senstive to 
atmospheric moisture that regular bread dough, so I nearly always have to 
adjust something.

I usually make them either the Tuesday or Wednesday before a weekend event, 
and let them sit on the counter until we are ready to pack, at which point 
they go into a muslin bag, tied shut.  We have learned that it is best to cut 
them after only a day or two of drying; a saw would work better than a bread 
knife if you leave it till the last minute.  I have been making them in the 
bread machine (normal loaf shape, not round), so we slice them into 3 or four 
sections from the top down, and usually discard the top because it tends to 
be very lumpy.  We have used two side by side for most feasts, and have not 
needed to use the "spare".  Of course, anything really soupy goes in the 
wooden bowl anyway ;-)  We have not had any problems with them getting too 
saturated, or falling apart; they mostly just tend to leave crumbs everywhere!

Brangwayna Morgan