The Painter Living in the Cream-Colored Van; Making Bread

[pollaczek]

Last night I had a random experience with a man living in a van. On the way back to our house from Cantwell's market, key-lime pie in hand, Emma and I were accosted by a long-tailed middle aged man requesting a jump. Initially, I politely declined, my selfish/protective instincts kicking in about old hippies living in vans asking me for favors,

Comments

[babaluma]

Are you using the Fleischman or Starr yeast packets from the store? It shouldn't matter if it is open for a while, as long as it is bread yeast and not nutritional yeast. Were your liquids warm? I'll bring in the recipe book tomorrow

[pollaczek]

Ouch, that sounds like the textbook case of the "bad hitchhiker". When I asked for stories, I think that's what I was asking for- some deflation of my romantic view. I imagine an experience like that makes it very hard to justify picking up anyone

Hmm, I'm positive it's the bread yeast (probably Fleishman). Maybe it's the water temp that I've got wrong. I don't have a thermometer, so I've been hand-balling it at around 70 degrees. Maybe I should put water that's a little hotter in there? I'd be curious to see if your recipes call for more- more of anything I suppose.