It's summer in Texas when the best parking spot is determined by shade instead of distance, and you discover that a car seat buckle can double as a branding iron. It's also summer in Texas when the love-hate relationship with baking sets in for me.
I love to bake, but in the summer, anything with yeast makes me thrilled. It rises at supersonic speeds, and if I'm a little behind on my timing, a few minutes out on the patio makes up for it. This morning before church, I baked 5 dozen rolls. The yeast start practically climbed out of the bowl, and I had to rearrange my other activities because instead of an hour to rise, the rolls were ready to go in the oven after 20 minutes on the counter. A few days ago, I made oatmeal bread, which is generally kind of hit or miss for me because the dough is so heavy and the yeast start is unusual. Nevertheless, a few minutes outside, and everything turned out fine.
The only problem with everything being the temperature of a warm oven is that turning on the actual oven is not so appealing. Although, I might just be able to get around turning the oven on - I'm pretty sure that it was close to 350 degrees in the attic the last time I went up, maybe I can just bake up there.
I wouldn't doubt that your attic is close to baking temperatures. Ours always feels like a death trap. Do people really store things in their attics or even sleep in there? I bet your rolls were heaven.
ReplyDeleteI've got that same love/hate thing going on too. Although I'd rather use my oven during the summer than the range. I've got a gas one, and the heat off those burners is killer. Enjoy the bread!
ReplyDeleteI have this same problem. I love how easy it is for the bread to rise, but the heated kitchen does me in. I bet attics in TX do get that hot. They did in NC!
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