Shivering Night Owl

[kimsophia]

Hoot! And brrr! Although it is cold here I'm glad we're not getting snow, ice, or flooding rains. I hope everyone is okay. Stationarymom, drop a line to your fellow night owls!

I went to all the trouble of making cinnamon raisin bread to have it not cook in the center. It said to plump the raisins by boiling them, but doing that must have made the dough too wet...or I didn't bake it long enough. Lately my bread is burned on the outside but cooked in the center, or a nice brown color on the outside and raw in the center. Phooey.

No sewing today! Just didn't feel like it. How is it in your nest?

[LauraP]

Re: Shivering Night Owl

remember, the weather can have a BIG effect on breadmaking.

[Judy, USMC]

Re: Shivering Night Owl

Very rarely do we get below freezing at night - and it's only 19 degrees now. The homes here in the mid-south don't have thick wall insulation. Add to that the fact that I live in a house built on a slab and it is cooler than normal inside the house. I have a heat pump - not a furnace - and you just don't get a warm heat. Definitely a 2 quilt night tonight!

And the weather forecast for Wednesday is back into the 70's ... I can't wait. How's every one else doing?

[auntiemern]

Re: Shivering Night Owl

It is so cold here. When DD got home from work tonight, I made her go out and start my van to warm up. The DH does not like me breathing cold air for any length of time because of my lungs. So I have been bundling up big time to take the kids home. They all managed to get me something warm for Christmas. I wear the heavy vest that DH got me, the scarf that DGD got me, the gloves that DD got me, and the wool socks that DGS got me. If I had on any more, I would look like Randy, in 'A Christmas Story' after his mom got through bundling him up. I feel very claustrophobic in all of that. On a positive note though, it is supposed to get above freezing this coming week.

[Andrea F]

Re: Shivering Night Owl

We had a couple of really cold days and nights with up to -10°C. Snow and ice and traffic chaos yesterday, mostly in the south of Germany. It has warmed up to around zero degrees or even a little in the plus degrees and the sun melted our 2" of snow. I have to find my gloves and a warm scarf. Stay safe and warm everybody!

[LynneLeavell]

Re: Shivering Night Owl

Last night was the coldest night for us in Georgia in two years. The high today is only going to be above freezing. So I will go to the grocery store and all during the daylight hours. It is only 14 degrees at my house today. We still have a little ice and stuff on the road.

Everyone stay safe, warm and dry.

[Simply Quilting]

Re: Shivering Night Owl

I went to all the trouble of making cinnamon raisin bread to have it not cook in the center. It said to plump the raisins by boiling them, but doing that must have made the dough too wet...or I didn't bake it long enough. Lately my bread is burned on the outside but cooked in the center, or a nice brown color on the outside and raw in the center. Phooey.

When I plump the raisins for a recipe, I always squeeze out the extra water by hand so the raisins are soft but not a lot of extra water in the mix. Some other things you might look at is to check the temperature of your oven with a thermometer - sometimes as ovens age (anymore it doesn't seem to take long with ovens nowadays, the thermostat can become off. And of course, as Laura said, the weather can make a huge difference. I think weather is the one that drives me nuts more than anything when baking in the Midwest as the weather is always changing. So one time something may bake perfectly and the next time, it is a flop.

[kimsophia]

Re: Shivering Night Owl

When I plump the raisins for a recipe, I always squeeze out the extra water by hand so the raisins are soft but not a lot of extra water in the mix. Some other things you might look at is to check the temperature of your oven with a thermometer - sometimes as ovens age (anymore it doesn't seem to take long with ovens nowadays, the thermostat can become off. And of course, as Laura said, the weather can make a huge difference. I think weather is the one that drives me nuts more than anything when baking in the Midwest as the weather is always changing. So one time something may bake perfectly and the next time, it is a flop.

I'll have to wring out those hot wet raisins in a towel next time! I nuked the loaves for a couple of minutes and they are done enough to eat. One had developed a cavern in the middle so I guess that helped as there was no center there to be raw. I do think you are right that our over temperature is messed up. Anyway, I'm just really glad that they're edible!