Happy late Father’s Day. Did you know that Father’s Day is not the same around the world? I did not know this until this month. In Switzerland, Father’s Day was 6 June. However, in a many other European countries the day is celebrated in 19 March. That day lines with St Joseph’s Day in the the Catholic Church. Julie and I were able to spend a few minutes talking to the kids. They are together for at least part of this week.
Every two years the Sorrells Family spends a week on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina. This has been happening for either 24 or 26 years. I honestly do not remember, if we started this before George was born, or not. I do remember the very first time he went the room was not big enough for the portable crib we brought; so our son had to sleep in a drawer. It actually worked out pretty well!
This makes the second time Julie and I have had to miss. Two years ago we were involved in moving, and simply could not take the time off. This year of course we did not even think about making plane reservations as things were so up in the air in regards to travel until the last couple of weeks. We are glad, though, that our kids are able to go spend time with the family and each other.
We had another quiet weekend here. Though I have to admit we did a bad thing…. We are learning to live without air conditioning. The secret is adjusting the blinds in the house as the sun moves. However, Saturday about noon we felt like we were roasting; so we hopped in the car to enjoy a little A/C. Somehow we found ourselves in Interlaken which is about 120 KM away. We did have a very nice lunch, and a stroll through the town before heading back home. The drive through the mountains took me a little by surprise, though. On the map, in the car, it looked like a highway. Well, I guess technically it was a highway, but for about 5 miles it was a true mountain road. I don’t think my speed got over 20 MPH, and I have never been so thankful that we did not come across any bicycles on the hair pin turns. Normally the turns are not so bad, but in this case, we are on the mountain side of the road; so every corner was blind. You had no idea what you were going to come across after you made the turn.
If you remember from a couple of weeks ago, I wrote about going across the lake and riding the Swiss Wheel. Well the wheel disappeared. We found it on Saturday. It has been moved to Interlaken. The ride would have been scenic, It was set up on a big field that looks at the Jungfrau off in the distance.
The Jungfrau is not the highest peak in Switzerland, but it is arguably the second or third best known behind the Matterhorn and maybe Pilatus. I say arguably, for the simple reason it is so easily viewed from Interlaken; as Interlaken is one of the most visited cities in Switzerland.
Last June, Julie and I spent a week in the vicinity of the Jungfrau. When George and Gabby come to visit us in August, we are planning on taking them down there for a weekend as well. The canton just built a high speed gondola that takes you about 1/2 way up the mountain, and then you take a cogwheel the rest of the way. Julie was fascinated last summer watching the helicopters carry parts up the mountain while they were building the gondola; so we are looking forward to riding it this year. Kaylee is not being forgotten. When she comes to visit, we are going to Mt Titlis. At Mt Titlis you ride up a spinning gondola, and then they have Europe’s highest suspension bridge to cross. I can hardly wait for the video of that!!!!
I am still having fun baking bread. The good thing is that I have not made anything inedible, yet. Though some have been better than others. I am experimenting with some different recipes, and different timings of letting rise, etc.. I tried making a cranberry/walnut breakfast bread and it tastes great, but man it was dense. Here is a picture of the loaf I made today.
I am not sure I am saving a lot of money, but I am having lots of fun, and the afternoons I bake the apartment smells amazing!
So bread bakers I would appreciate one piece of advice. How do I stop the big crack on the top from forming. I have tried scoring the top with a knife, but whether I score it or not, I get a big crack like in the picture. Is it something to do with temperature? Please leave me some feedback!
Saturday, Julie and I are traveling back to Zermatt. If the weather is good, I will probably post once. If the weather is bad, you might get a lot of posts next week. Talk to you soon!
Sorry that I do not have a lot of pictures to post. I left some from Kaylee’s experiment in here. Kaylee started working in a UW Biology lab last year. She is working on a project where they are studying how bacteria move through food plants. The lab is studying one bacteria in particular, and the hope is to find out how they modify the plant to resist the bacteria. Her part of the project is genetically modifying the bacteria to make it glow; so they can follow the bacteria’s progress through the plant. The glowing pictures are from her work. I thought they were pretty cool so I am sharing them as well as the ones I took last week:
Just before baking, the baker introduces water in the form of steam into the oven.
This operation has several objectives:
to give a nice shiny and golden aspect to the bread.
to improve the “grignes” (ears). (the ears, the blows of blades)
to improve the thinness of the crust,
to promote the development of the dough by softening it (delaying the formation of the crust)
to limit the evaporation of the water contained in the dough, (the bread keeps longer)
To know :
If there is not enough steam in the oven :
The bread tears at the blade, the crust is duller and thicker.
If there is too much steam in the oven:
The blade cuts stick and the nibs can’t develop.
SCARIFICATION:
Also known as blade cutting, scarification is the incision of a blade on the bread.
The scarification allows us to obtain the “grigne” that is to say the ridges on the bread.
The scarification has a double interest:
It allows the carbonic gas to escape,
It gives an aesthetic aspect to the bread.
😉
I will try that the next loaf.