Ongoing Adventures with George

I realised it's been quite some time since I updated people on my life with George (my little box of living yeast that I feed and keep happy) so here, is a little mini update for those of you desperate to know (yes, there are plenty of you out there, I know).  I've made quite a few loaves over the past months, some good, some not so good (a recent experimentation with a corn free teff and chestnut flour loaf was rather odd and dense).  But, I have more or less perfected getting it right, well, at least initially :

A nice white bread, a good thick crunchy crust and a nice pleasing flavour (as George gets older, he's mellowed out a little and isn't so instant that you HAVE to taste his sourness in every bite).  Happiness indeed.  The trick in getting the bread to be airy and light is whisking, as it's gluten free bread you can't knead it like you would a normal bread, so you have to find another way to get the air into it.  So, as the mix is generally wetter than your usual dough, a whisk does the job perfectly.  Alas the only downside I haven't figured out yet (and to be fair to myself, I haven't tried) is shelf life. The bread is great, but it only stays that way for a couple of days, after which it becomes a rather dry crumbling affair.  It can be saved with a little grilling though, so it's close enough for me for the time being, and is certainly a gazillion times better than anything you can buy in a supermarket here.

Long Live George!