Learning to fly
Mar. 29th, 2006 07:33 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
daidoji_giseiI've figured out how to muck with the color scheme a little and upload a userpic. Go, me! Now I need to figure out how to get more of such, as I've always admired the tiny works of art that some people decorate their posts with. The userpic I do have (Gisei in her ghost-gift kimono) was a gift by the charming and talented Yoon Ha Lee. Blessings upon her and her house!
On a semi-related topic, this week I made pizza crust for the first time. This might seem a small thing, but I made it for a hundred or so people and I was inventing both recipe and technique as I went along, so I'm feeling pretty proud of myself. (This is a rare state, so I thought I'd mention it.) The pizza-crust-adventure was triggered by the Deli Manager, who had asked back in November if the Bakery could please make pizza crust for them so that the Deli could start offering pizza again. (The Deli used to make its own pizza crust, but that didn't work well for various reasons. I am possibly one of those reasons--long story.)
So, after much delay, a fair amount of reading up on pizza crust dough, some thought, and 28# of organic flour I started in on the project. I was pleased with the result: the flavor was good (if a little on the salty side--but I am sensitive to salt), the crumb was light and tender, and it held its shape well during the par-baking.
The only downside was that since I had to roll and press all the crusts by hand (we lack the spiffy machine real pizzerias have to do this), my arms and shoulders still ache from the work. I suppose this is really an upside though: some people pump iron, I wrestle with pizza crust. Muscle is muscle, right?
On a semi-related topic, this week I made pizza crust for the first time. This might seem a small thing, but I made it for a hundred or so people and I was inventing both recipe and technique as I went along, so I'm feeling pretty proud of myself. (This is a rare state, so I thought I'd mention it.) The pizza-crust-adventure was triggered by the Deli Manager, who had asked back in November if the Bakery could please make pizza crust for them so that the Deli could start offering pizza again. (The Deli used to make its own pizza crust, but that didn't work well for various reasons. I am possibly one of those reasons--long story.)
So, after much delay, a fair amount of reading up on pizza crust dough, some thought, and 28# of organic flour I started in on the project. I was pleased with the result: the flavor was good (if a little on the salty side--but I am sensitive to salt), the crumb was light and tender, and it held its shape well during the par-baking.
The only downside was that since I had to roll and press all the crusts by hand (we lack the spiffy machine real pizzerias have to do this), my arms and shoulders still ache from the work. I suppose this is really an upside though: some people pump iron, I wrestle with pizza crust. Muscle is muscle, right?
