Dave Miller on Baking with 100% Whole Wheat

January 21, 2014

...le wheat flour soaks up a lot of water. The recipes we used called for over 100% hydration. Miller bakes in a hot oven to get loaves that are very dark. With the exception of the rye bread Miller made, the wheat breads had a similar method: Starter was added to flour and water to build up a levain. This was allowed to ferment for three hours. Miller likes a long autolyse. Flour and water for the final dough were mixed and allowed to sit for at lea...

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The Elf and Ethics

Mr. Homegrown

April 22, 2014

Bikes, Transportation

9 Comments

...ents exist for and against this type of transportation. On the one hand it uses far fewer resources than an automobile. But one could also argue, as does the owner of a bike shop in this video, that we’d all be better off with a far simpler and less expensive bicycle. I can see both sides of the argument. Perhaps younger folks should take to bicycles and older people or those with disabilities or heavy cargo could use something like an Elf. Plus t...

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What’s the Best Solar Food Dryer?

Mr. Homegrown

June 10, 2014

Food, Food Preservation, Solar, Water and Power

15 Comments

...works great. You do need to remember to bring in the food at night to prevent rehydration and spoilage (for some reason I often flake out and forget to bring in the food). For awhile I had an electric Excalibur Dehydrator on loan and it’s a lot more convenient. But, of course, it uses electricity and makes a lot of noise. Since I built my Appalachian Dryer Scanlin has decided that it’s not necessary to use insulation. This makes the project even s...

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Saturday Linkages: Basil Downy Mildew, Bees and Grow Lights

Mr. Homegrown

June 21, 2014

Saturday Linkages

2 Comments

...s.html … Old fencing blades as tomato stakes: http://www.fencing.net/14758/uses-old-fencing-blades-tomato-stakes/ … Interesting new wind turbine design–it’s shaped like a nautilus: http://www.treehugger.com/wind-technology/silent-wind-turbines-could-generate-half-household-energy.html … A bacteria that helps produce stay fresh AND saves the bats AND saves the bees??? http://magazine.gsu.edu/article/future-food/ … Fascinating food history–the histo...

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Nasturtium Powder

Mr. Homegrown

January 29, 2013

Food, Food Preservation, Foraging

20 Comments

...a kind of massive monocrop in our yard. We’re always trying to figure out uses for it. Of course it does well in salads, both the greens and the flowers, and we’ve made capers of the pods. Also, the flowers make a particularly beautiful pesto. But this year, inspired by the culinary experiments of forager Pascal Baudar and his partner Mia Wasilevich (friend them in Facebook if you want a daily dose of foraging greatness) I decided to make a nastu...

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