Monday. I baked six loaves of bread (pain a l'ancienne) and a focaccia.
The first time I did the pan a l'ancienne I used the 'basic flour 13% protein'. The bread did not brown, but remained a pale white. This time I used the farmer's hard winter wheat flour, and the results were extraordinary. Lovely golden color, good rise, nice crumb. The first batch was stiff; I held back 1 1/2 ozs water. The crumb of that one was good, chewy. The second batch I made very wet, using all the water.The crumb on that one was far more moist, the crust softer. This one, I thought, would appeal more to the Chinese taste.
Toasted, the crust turned a lovely light brown and gave off a sweeter taste.
I gave one of the loaves to Klaus, at the German restaurant. He knows I am courting their business. I handed it to him over the bar and he immediately sped off through the kitchen door to slice and try it, muttering something gleeful. After a couple minutes I went back downstairs, to Web.
I brought a loaf to Web on my day off, to let the students have a try. It was 4:00 when I arrived, having an appointment with the landlady at that time. I didn't see her at first, was focusing on setting up my little impromptu display.
A few minutes after four she arrived. I took her into one of the classrooms. I gave her the money, a half-year's rent, and she wrote me a receipt.
Signing the lease
I lose track of time. My head is spinning, so much going on. It must have been Sunday when the landlady came to see me in the afternoon, while I was working. I had a free hour. I looked around for a translator. In the Social club, at the back wall, all in a row were my three favorite translator. I picked Shirley, who had just returned from a fun ladies-only trip to Yunnan with her old friends. She had a pound of fresh roasted whole-bean Yunnan coffee to give me. But first, business.
The three of us talked about the terms of our rental agreement. Then Shirley went off to my desk and searched for a contract online. She downloaded and printed one, in duplicate. We filled it in, signed it, and it was a done deal. That's when we arranged for her to return Monday at 4 to pick up the deposit.
Demonstrating Bread and Coffee
Rachel was holding a class in the Social Club/English Corner space. Web offers these free group classes to the enrolled students frequently throughout the day, led by the Chinese tutors. The foreign teachers only offer two a day.
I had my bread sliced, I had ground the coffee, I was all ready to pour hot water into the Boudum Press. I waited eagerly for her to finish, or for her to wind up early and give me the floor. She could see I had something up my sleeve.
With just eight minutes left before everyone left for the dinner break, I got her attention and she gladly yielded the floor to me. I poured out the coffee, sliced up the bread, and everyone--students and tutors--were willing guinea pigs. I brought the drier of the loaves. I would bake the wetter loaves in the evening. Never mind, they seemed to love it. I am slowly building my customer base.
I wished I had done the coffee better. I wanted them to try it with milk and sugar. Black coffee is a bit of a shock for them. On my part, I was very pleased with the coffee Shirley had brought me. I thought it held up very well to any American supermarket's bean coffee. The Yunnan bean naturally has a slight cinnamon taste. It is delightfully distinctive.
I had told Rena and the other tutors that fresh ground brewed coffee was not as bitter as the espresso they are used to. But their comments about this coffee was 'bitter'. Sigh. Yes, coffee is bitter. You can soften the bitterness with milk, but it will always be a characteristic of coffee. The young Chinese love coffee, the idea of coffee, so I need to stop selling the 'you won't taste the bitterness' pitch. To me, there is bitter and then there is bitter. Poorly made, stale espresso is unpalatably bitter. That matters to me, but it is a difference unteachable to the Chinese. As their tastes become more accustomed and subtler, they will see it for themselves.
I went home and baked the rest of the dough that had been fermenting, and tried to relax a little. Tomorrow would be the day to finally buy the equipment.
The first time I did the pan a l'ancienne I used the 'basic flour 13% protein'. The bread did not brown, but remained a pale white. This time I used the farmer's hard winter wheat flour, and the results were extraordinary. Lovely golden color, good rise, nice crumb. The first batch was stiff; I held back 1 1/2 ozs water. The crumb of that one was good, chewy. The second batch I made very wet, using all the water.The crumb on that one was far more moist, the crust softer. This one, I thought, would appeal more to the Chinese taste.
Toasted, the crust turned a lovely light brown and gave off a sweeter taste.
I gave one of the loaves to Klaus, at the German restaurant. He knows I am courting their business. I handed it to him over the bar and he immediately sped off through the kitchen door to slice and try it, muttering something gleeful. After a couple minutes I went back downstairs, to Web.
I brought a loaf to Web on my day off, to let the students have a try. It was 4:00 when I arrived, having an appointment with the landlady at that time. I didn't see her at first, was focusing on setting up my little impromptu display.
A few minutes after four she arrived. I took her into one of the classrooms. I gave her the money, a half-year's rent, and she wrote me a receipt.
Signing the lease
I lose track of time. My head is spinning, so much going on. It must have been Sunday when the landlady came to see me in the afternoon, while I was working. I had a free hour. I looked around for a translator. In the Social club, at the back wall, all in a row were my three favorite translator. I picked Shirley, who had just returned from a fun ladies-only trip to Yunnan with her old friends. She had a pound of fresh roasted whole-bean Yunnan coffee to give me. But first, business.
The three of us talked about the terms of our rental agreement. Then Shirley went off to my desk and searched for a contract online. She downloaded and printed one, in duplicate. We filled it in, signed it, and it was a done deal. That's when we arranged for her to return Monday at 4 to pick up the deposit.
Demonstrating Bread and Coffee
Rachel was holding a class in the Social Club/English Corner space. Web offers these free group classes to the enrolled students frequently throughout the day, led by the Chinese tutors. The foreign teachers only offer two a day.
I had my bread sliced, I had ground the coffee, I was all ready to pour hot water into the Boudum Press. I waited eagerly for her to finish, or for her to wind up early and give me the floor. She could see I had something up my sleeve.
With just eight minutes left before everyone left for the dinner break, I got her attention and she gladly yielded the floor to me. I poured out the coffee, sliced up the bread, and everyone--students and tutors--were willing guinea pigs. I brought the drier of the loaves. I would bake the wetter loaves in the evening. Never mind, they seemed to love it. I am slowly building my customer base.
I wished I had done the coffee better. I wanted them to try it with milk and sugar. Black coffee is a bit of a shock for them. On my part, I was very pleased with the coffee Shirley had brought me. I thought it held up very well to any American supermarket's bean coffee. The Yunnan bean naturally has a slight cinnamon taste. It is delightfully distinctive.
I had told Rena and the other tutors that fresh ground brewed coffee was not as bitter as the espresso they are used to. But their comments about this coffee was 'bitter'. Sigh. Yes, coffee is bitter. You can soften the bitterness with milk, but it will always be a characteristic of coffee. The young Chinese love coffee, the idea of coffee, so I need to stop selling the 'you won't taste the bitterness' pitch. To me, there is bitter and then there is bitter. Poorly made, stale espresso is unpalatably bitter. That matters to me, but it is a difference unteachable to the Chinese. As their tastes become more accustomed and subtler, they will see it for themselves.
I went home and baked the rest of the dough that had been fermenting, and tried to relax a little. Tomorrow would be the day to finally buy the equipment.
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