You can have the most amazing adventures without ever leaving your flat

[fpb]

A few days ago I bought a mountain of tomatoes at the local market. They were discounted and very cheap, and I just love tomato salad (olive oil, salt and Worcestershire sauce or ground garlic).

I decided that, in order to lessen the risk of their going moldy (it is summer, and my fridge is rather inefficient), I would cut and garnish them immediately and then place them at the back of the fridge, in the coldest possible spot, in a sealed plastic Tupperware-type container.

It worked - in a way. The tomato salad did not get moldy. Every day I had the pleasure of some cool tomato salad, in the midst of summer, fresh from the fridge.

Yes, the tomatoes did not get moldy. But four or so days after I'd made the giant salad, I found that they had started fermenting. I could actually taste the increasing acidity and the alcohol. Soon the tomatoes that were left would be inedible.

At that point, I had a brainwave. Among my most treasured possession is a breadmaker. My mind associated the concepts of fermentation and alcohol (which are what makes bread rise) with the fermenting tomatoes, and I came to the conclusion that I could use the tomatoes and their liquid instead of ordinary water and salt, to mix in bread dough. And as it turned out, the amount of liquid was just about compatible with the amount of water required in the recipe for bread. So I mixed them all in.

At first all seemed to go well. But an hour or so ago, as I was sitting here reading some website, I started smelling burned bread. I went to check - and I found that the dough had risen miles beyond its usual habit. The fermentation in the tomatoes must have added itself to that of yeast. As a result, the dought had overflowed its tin and fallen right on top of the incandescent tube that heats the breadmaker. I had to turn it off in a hurry and clean all the spillage, because dough on the incandescent tube is a fire hazard. And now I suspect I may have kissed the bread goodbye, because the sudden loss of head and process when I had to turn the breadmaker off seems to have stopped it growing and left it damp and over-soft.

Ah, the things that happen in an ordinary kitchen!

Comments

Another thing you can do

[redcoast.livejournal.com]

Mix plain water and flour together, equal parts, and let it sit out uncovered in a warm place. Eventually it will ferment and then you have a sourdough you can use as leavening in the place of yeast.

Re: Another thing you can do

[fpb.livejournal.com]

I did wonder where the expression "sourdough" came from. Thank you for adding to my understanding of nineteenth-century North American history. 8-)

Re: Another thing you can do

[mindstalk.livejournal.com]

Creative!

But yeah, thus sourdough. Which I think was how most bread was made, until commercial yeast strains. Ethiopian injera is a sourdough.

Re: Another thing you can do

[fpb.livejournal.com]

I, on the other hand, never knew until recently of anything but yeast. Which led me from time to time to vaguely wonder about the countries which have no beer, since yeast is made from beer. (And Marmite is made from yeast, but that has not yet reached as far.)

Re: Another thing you can do

[mentalguy.livejournal.com]

Well, in some respects it is just a question of wild versus domesticated yeast.

In the case of sourdough, lactobacillus and wild yeasts colonize the starter and set up a symbiotic relationship. (The sour taste is the contribution of the bacteria.)

[thefish30.livejournal.com]

This made me smile. For an experienced cook, these brainwaves often work. But sometimes...you get a good story. I once had a very exciting morning involving, among other things, a brainwave that set my toaster oven aflame.

[fpb.livejournal.com]

At least I did not burn the breadmaker (although in the last few minutes of cooking I was standing by with a fire extinguisher - just in case. The last time I set a kitchen on fire I ended up being evicted, and I would rather not try the experience again). On the other hand, I'll bet that you never had a computer catch fire on you.

Kitchen experimentation can be fun.

[affablestranger.livejournal.com]

Never a dull moment. ;)

Re: Kitchen experimentation can be fun.

[fpb.livejournal.com]

Mutant fermentation certainly is not without interest - I thought for a second that I had wandered into a bad sci-fi movie. But as a matter of fact the bread turned out great, soft and fluffy.

[sanscouronne.livejournal.com]

That is hilarious. I wish you had taken a photograph of the overflowing monstrosity. :)

[fpb.livejournal.com]

Frankly, at the time I was more concerned with avoiding it setting the breadmaker on fire. Besides, your imagination would probably produce a livelier picture than the real thing.