[Lichen Software]

Last year I went to the Good Food Festival with my wife. At the Ontario Home Economics Booth they had a book "Canada's Best Bread Machine Baking Recipes" by Donna Waswhburn and Heather Butt. The publisher is Robert Rose.

These two ladies have litterally written the books on bread machines. They started out testing machines for Black and Decker in Prescott. I think they act as consultants for a lot of the companies now.

What makes this book really impressive to me is I always substitute olive oil for any of the grease in the recipe. I spite of this, I still have not made any 1 1/2 pound stones.

There is a large variety inslcuding some hearth breads where the machine is used as a mixer and the actual baking is done in an oven.

 

[Lichen Software]

Nothing.

Apparently there are still people who fail to understand the joy of winter sandals

 

[Lichen Software]

there is lots to bread

Personally, I found GA's post quite educational. One has to read and absorb to gain further knowledge on the art of making bread. And it IS an art, never duplicated by a machine. The part that rang true for me was memories of my Mother misting water into the hot oven to "set" the crust as she put it to me those many years ago.

There are those of us who appreciated your efforts GA. Thanks.

If you start reading a history of food, it is not only an art but in the past was a protected trade.

Roman bakers were entered into the trade for life with vows of secrecy and the whole bit ... Under pain of death

In Medieval Europe, the normal person absolutely could not afford either to purchase or to run an oven. People made up their loaves and then brought them to the baker to bake.

It is right in our day to day sayings. Loaves were burned on the bottom and golden on the top many times. The bread was not sliced, it was split separating out the top and the bottom into upper and lower crust. The upper crust was reserved for important guests.

I believe that Wonder Bread was the first mechanically sliced bread. All of a sudden, there was little or no waste in the loaf and fair portions were easy to serve. This is why we have the expression "The greatest thing since sliced bread". It really was a big deal.

We have all heard of Trench Mouth. There were no such things as plates. There were trenchers. These were either wooden boards or a bottom crust of stale bread. The meal was served on this. Trench Mouth came from eating off dirty wooden trenchers.

There is lots more to bread than just a bag of slices. It is right through our culture.

That all being said, I still like my bread machine bread. It uses technology I can access. Using olive oil instead of other fats gives a crispy crust. It makes a great change from the same old same old.

 

[Lichen Software]

All of Canada is not tropical

It's grounds for execution in many countries.

Perfectly allowable in any climate zone less than zone 5. Preferred method of sandal deployment below climate zone 3

 

[Lichen Software]

Climate Zone Climate Zone

I hope I can speak with some authority on this issue, as I live in a hemp wearing, granola eating, last (and unfortunately, no longer lost) hippie backwater rapidly becoming inundated with lifestyle challenged commuters and recent retirees who want to 'get away from it all', but have actually 'brought it all with them'.

Fact: Socks become wet when worn with sandals and it rains.

The issue is not the fact that people wear socks and sandals, it's if they express surprise when their feet get cold and damp during the rainy season. Gum boots were invented for a reason.

Now, secondly, it is not the 'socks with sandals' thing that really sets one apart as being clothing challenged. It's SHORTS with socks and sandals. BAD FORM.

I see that you are in BC. Willing to bet you are in at least climate zone 5, certainly higher than zone 2. In zone 2 - they are worn for warmth, but it is OK because it is a "dry cold".

I confess that I have to agree with you on socks, sandals and shorts.