neilestrick

Pumpkin bread was yesterday.  I am going to try and Irish Soda bread today.  The pumpkin bread recipe was from my mother in law.  I use it as a base for banana bread or whatever.  It's almost fool proof and reminds me of winter and holidays and family.  And thanks @neilestrick for a great thread.  I am definitely going to try Mea's shoo fly pie.  I don't have starter for sour dough, but I love your photos!
Pumpkin Bread
1 cup raisins, 1 cup water, 4 eggs,3 cups sugar, 1 cup veg oil, 1 tsp cloves, 1 tsp nutmeg, 1 tsp cinnamon,1 tsp baking powder, 2 tsps. salt,2 tsp baking soda,1 cup chopped nuts,3 1/2 cups flour, 1 small can pumpkin (1.5 cups)  Combine all, and mix well, bake in 2 greased loaf pans at 350 for 1 hr. 
The platter was a gift and it was made by Catie Miller.  Perfect for Bread!
Roberta
 

With everyone stuck in their homes, people are spending a lot of time in the kitchen. We thought it would be fun to share what we've been cooking, and the pots that are part of the process. Please share the culinary delights you've been creating during lockdown, and the recipe!
I'll go first: I've been making sourdough bread for quite a while, but have only just become confident and competent with it in the last couple of years, thanks to Instagram and Youtube, and the wealth of information that has been shared. I make a loaf almost every week on Sunday or Monday (my days off), that I mostly use for sandwiches and panini, and on Sunday mornings I make French toast with the week old leftovers.
The loaf pictured below I just made yesterday, and it's one of the best I've ever done. I used 550 grams of flour (30% whole wheat and 70% organic white flour), 10g sea salt, 72% hydration, and 100g of 50/50 starter. I only use whole wheat in my starter. I cook my bread in a cast iron Dutch oven, preheated for 45 minutes at 450F before putting the bread in. The first 20 minutes of the bake are with the lid on, then I drop the temp to 430F until it's done, about 25 minutes more.
Most of the sourdough breads you see on Instagram are high hydration (80% or more) and have a really open crumb, which makes for great photos. But it's terrible for sandwiches because the mayo or butter or Italian dressing or whatever you like to put on your sandwich tends to go right through and get all over your hands. At lower hydration I get a tighter crumb that's still light and soft, but closed enough to make a decent sandwich.
The bowl I use to mix my bread dough is a cone 10 reduction porcelain bowl I made about 12 years ago. It has a  water etched swirl pattern and a true celadon glaze- reduced iron, not a green stain. It's slightly flawed, like many of my pots that I've kept for my own use, with a small hole in the wall from an impurity that burned out of the clay. It's a good sized bowl, big enough to be used as a popcorn bowl, and probably bigger than I need for making bread, but it's nice to have the extra space when mixing.
 
 
 

With everyone stuck in their homes, people are spending a lot of time in the kitchen. We thought it would be fun to share what we've been cooking, and the pots that are part of the process. Please share the culinary delights you've been creating during lockdown, and the recipe!
I'll go first: I've been making sourdough bread for quite a while, but have only just become confident and competent with it in the last couple of years, thanks to Instagram and Youtube, and the wealth of information that has been shared. I make a loaf almost every week on Sunday or Monday (my days off), that I mostly use for sandwiches and panini, and on Sunday mornings I make French toast with the week old leftovers.
The loaf pictured below I just made yesterday, and it's one of the best I've ever done. I used 550 grams of flour (30% whole wheat and 70% organic white flour), 10g sea salt, 72% hydration, and 100g of 50/50 starter. I only use whole wheat in my starter. I cook my bread in a cast iron Dutch oven, preheated for 45 minutes at 450F before putting the bread in. The first 20 minutes of the bake are with the lid on, then I drop the temp to 430F until it's done, about 25 minutes more.
Most of the sourdough breads you see on Instagram are high hydration (80% or more) and have a really open crumb, which makes for great photos. But it's terrible for sandwiches because the mayo or butter or Italian dressing or whatever you like to put on your sandwich tends to go right through and get all over your hands. At lower hydration I get a tighter crumb that's still light and soft, but closed enough to make a decent sandwich.
The bowl I use to mix my bread dough is a cone 10 reduction porcelain bowl I made about 12 years ago. It has a  water etched swirl pattern and a true celadon glaze- reduced iron, not a green stain. It's slightly flawed, like many of my pots that I've kept for my own use, with a small hole in the wall from an impurity that burned out of the clay. It's a good sized bowl, big enough to be used as a popcorn bowl, and probably bigger than I need for making bread, but it's nice to have the extra space when mixing.
 
 
 

With everyone stuck in their homes, people are spending a lot of time in the kitchen. We thought it would be fun to share what we've been cooking, and the pots that are part of the process. Please share the culinary delights you've been creating during lockdown, and the recipe!
I'll go first: I've been making sourdough bread for quite a while, but have only just become confident and competent with it in the last couple of years, thanks to Instagram and Youtube, and the wealth of information that has been shared. I make a loaf almost every week on Sunday or Monday (my days off), that I mostly use for sandwiches and panini, and on Sunday mornings I make French toast with the week old leftovers.
The loaf pictured below I just made yesterday, and it's one of the best I've ever done. I used 550 grams of flour (30% whole wheat and 70% organic white flour), 10g sea salt, 72% hydration, and 100g of 50/50 starter. I only use whole wheat in my starter. I cook my bread in a cast iron Dutch oven, preheated for 45 minutes at 450F before putting the bread in. The first 20 minutes of the bake are with the lid on, then I drop the temp to 430F until it's done, about 25 minutes more.
Most of the sourdough breads you see on Instagram are high hydration (80% or more) and have a really open crumb, which makes for great photos. But it's terrible for sandwiches because the mayo or butter or Italian dressing or whatever you like to put on your sandwich tends to go right through and get all over your hands. At lower hydration I get a tighter crumb that's still light and soft, but closed enough to make a decent sandwich.
The bowl I use to mix my bread dough is a cone 10 reduction porcelain bowl I made about 12 years ago. It has a  water etched swirl pattern and a true celadon glaze- reduced iron, not a green stain. It's slightly flawed, like many of my pots that I've kept for my own use, with a small hole in the wall from an impurity that burned out of the clay. It's a good sized bowl, big enough to be used as a popcorn bowl, and probably bigger than I need for making bread, but it's nice to have the extra space when mixing.
 
 
 

With everyone stuck in their homes, people are spending a lot of time in the kitchen. We thought it would be fun to share what we've been cooking, and the pots that are part of the process. Please share the culinary delights you've been creating during lockdown, and the recipe!
I'll go first: I've been making sourdough bread for quite a while, but have only just become confident and competent with it in the last couple of years, thanks to Instagram and Youtube, and the wealth of information that has been shared. I make a loaf almost every week on Sunday or Monday (my days off), that I mostly use for sandwiches and panini, and on Sunday mornings I make French toast with the week old leftovers.
The loaf pictured below I just made yesterday, and it's one of the best I've ever done. I used 550 grams of flour (30% whole wheat and 70% organic white flour), 10g sea salt, 72% hydration, and 100g of 50/50 starter. I only use whole wheat in my starter. I cook my bread in a cast iron Dutch oven, preheated for 45 minutes at 450F before putting the bread in. The first 20 minutes of the bake are with the lid on, then I drop the temp to 430F until it's done, about 25 minutes more.
Most of the sourdough breads you see on Instagram are high hydration (80% or more) and have a really open crumb, which makes for great photos. But it's terrible for sandwiches because the mayo or butter or Italian dressing or whatever you like to put on your sandwich tends to go right through and get all over your hands. At lower hydration I get a tighter crumb that's still light and soft, but closed enough to make a decent sandwich.
The bowl I use to mix my bread dough is a cone 10 reduction porcelain bowl I made about 12 years ago. It has a  water etched swirl pattern and a true celadon glaze- reduced iron, not a green stain. It's slightly flawed, like many of my pots that I've kept for my own use, with a small hole in the wall from an impurity that burned out of the clay. It's a good sized bowl, big enough to be used as a popcorn bowl, and probably bigger than I need for making bread, but it's nice to have the extra space when mixing.
 
 
 

With everyone stuck in their homes, people are spending a lot of time in the kitchen. We thought it would be fun to share what we've been cooking, and the pots that are part of the process. Please share the culinary delights you've been creating during lockdown, and the recipe!
I'll go first: I've been making sourdough bread for quite a while, but have only just become confident and competent with it in the last couple of years, thanks to Instagram and Youtube, and the wealth of information that has been shared. I make a loaf almost every week on Sunday or Monday (my days off), that I mostly use for sandwiches and panini, and on Sunday mornings I make French toast with the week old leftovers.
The loaf pictured below I just made yesterday, and it's one of the best I've ever done. I used 550 grams of flour (30% whole wheat and 70% organic white flour), 10g sea salt, 72% hydration, and 100g of 50/50 starter. I only use whole wheat in my starter. I cook my bread in a cast iron Dutch oven, preheated for 45 minutes at 450F before putting the bread in. The first 20 minutes of the bake are with the lid on, then I drop the temp to 430F until it's done, about 25 minutes more.
Most of the sourdough breads you see on Instagram are high hydration (80% or more) and have a really open crumb, which makes for great photos. But it's terrible for sandwiches because the mayo or butter or Italian dressing or whatever you like to put on your sandwich tends to go right through and get all over your hands. At lower hydration I get a tighter crumb that's still light and soft, but closed enough to make a decent sandwich.
The bowl I use to mix my bread dough is a cone 10 reduction porcelain bowl I made about 12 years ago. It has a  water etched swirl pattern and a true celadon glaze- reduced iron, not a green stain. It's slightly flawed, like many of my pots that I've kept for my own use, with a small hole in the wall from an impurity that burned out of the clay. It's a good sized bowl, big enough to be used as a popcorn bowl, and probably bigger than I need for making bread, but it's nice to have the extra space when mixing.
 
 
 

I found enough ingredients in my kitchen to make a Shoo Fly Pie. This is one of my favorite pies, so simple and down to earth, easy to make. I’m down to my last slice. Plate by Christy Knox. Photograph by Laura DeNardo.

1 9-inch pie crust
1 cup molasses
3/4 cup hot water
3/4 tsp baking soda
1 egg beaten
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 tbsp butter or shortening
 
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
Combine molasses, hot water, and baking soda. Stir well. Whisk in beaten egg. Pour mixture into pie shell.
In a medium bowl, combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter/shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Sprinkle on top of molasses layer.
Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes. Lower temp to 350 degrees and bake an additional 30-40 minutes. 

With everyone stuck in their homes, people are spending a lot of time in the kitchen. We thought it would be fun to share what we've been cooking, and the pots that are part of the process. Please share the culinary delights you've been creating during lockdown, and the recipe!
I'll go first: I've been making sourdough bread for quite a while, but have only just become confident and competent with it in the last couple of years, thanks to Instagram and Youtube, and the wealth of information that has been shared. I make a loaf almost every week on Sunday or Monday (my days off), that I mostly use for sandwiches and panini, and on Sunday mornings I make French toast with the week old leftovers.
The loaf pictured below I just made yesterday, and it's one of the best I've ever done. I used 550 grams of flour (30% whole wheat and 70% organic white flour), 10g sea salt, 72% hydration, and 100g of 50/50 starter. I only use whole wheat in my starter. I cook my bread in a cast iron Dutch oven, preheated for 45 minutes at 450F before putting the bread in. The first 20 minutes of the bake are with the lid on, then I drop the temp to 430F until it's done, about 25 minutes more.
Most of the sourdough breads you see on Instagram are high hydration (80% or more) and have a really open crumb, which makes for great photos. But it's terrible for sandwiches because the mayo or butter or Italian dressing or whatever you like to put on your sandwich tends to go right through and get all over your hands. At lower hydration I get a tighter crumb that's still light and soft, but closed enough to make a decent sandwich.
The bowl I use to mix my bread dough is a cone 10 reduction porcelain bowl I made about 12 years ago. It has a  water etched swirl pattern and a true celadon glaze- reduced iron, not a green stain. It's slightly flawed, like many of my pots that I've kept for my own use, with a small hole in the wall from an impurity that burned out of the clay. It's a good sized bowl, big enough to be used as a popcorn bowl, and probably bigger than I need for making bread, but it's nice to have the extra space when mixing.
 
 
 

I've been told it isn't really snow until you have to shovel it 

@Bill Kielb I just did a smoke test, and not only is there not backdraft between the two 4" line, there's actually draft  from each line when the other is on. So that's all good. We'll see if that changes at all when the big fan is installed. If it is, I can just install a 45 degree takeoff higher up ad keep the 6" with the cap as a cleanout.

Thank Bill! I'll keep that in mind. My 6" fan will be here next week, and I'll post the results.

Simple hand building project if anyone is looking for something different to try for a change of pace. My soft slab (olive) boat, it's an easy project, would be good for kids to make too. Turn it into a viking ship or ? I don't have any glazed right now but a couple bisqued ones in the last image.
Supplies needed:
Soft clay
Rolling pin 
1 1/4 - 2 1/2” diameter dowel wrapped in newspaper (or long thin rolling pin, diameter isn’t critical)
Pony roller or piece of plastic
Cornstarch (optional)
Supports if you use soft clay
1 - Template is 19” overall length, 4 1/4” wide. Each side measures 15 1/2”. Soft slab, cut out the pattern. Don’t worry about getting the ends exactly as I have them, you can just use one gentle curve from the point to the opposite side. If you want texture on the outside of the boat do it now.
2 - On the long edges use a pony roller and soften the edge. If you don’t have a pony roller just use a piece of thin plastic, hold it taunt and run your finger along the edge. (2a)
2a- Flip the piece over, if you want texture on the inside do it now. Soften the long edges on this side too.
3 - Cover up the ends and lightly dust the clay with cornstarch. Since my clay is very wet I don’t like to use a pounce, I just load a brush with cornstarch and tap the brush over, but not touching, the clay.
4 - Lift the slab and lay it cornstarch side down over the dowel wrapped in newsprint. 
5 - Press the clay around the dowel then flatten the bottom with a small rolling pin or pony roller. The dowel I use is a bit narrow so I lift one end up while doing this so I don’t crush the long edges of the slab.
6 - Moisten the ends with just a few drops of water if you are using soft clay. If you use firmer clay then use a tiny bit of slip. Bring the long edges together at the ends of the slab and pinch the lower edges together. I keep a slight overlap so I can fold the overlap over and work it in with a rib so the boat doesn’t leak. 
7 - Roll the top pointed ends into spirals, covering the join.  One ends rolls to the left, the other to the right. Transfer the boat to a drying board.
8 - Straighten out the rim, flute the edges if you like. I use bendable hair rollers to support the sides while drying. Clay coils would work too. I’ve found with my clay I need to dry these slowly or they lift up in the centre. You could also put a small weight in the centre to help prevent it lifting. 
Would love to see some other projects here!
(Sorry but I can't get the numbers to show up on the images, read left to right 1-8)


 

I see what you're saying. I hadn't though of that. I'll see how this goes and make changes later if needed. The big fan will only be running when both vent fans are on, so backdraft will only be an issue when the small kiln is running solo.

@Bill Kielb I just did a smoke test, and not only is there not backdraft between the two 4" line, there's actually draft  from each line when the other is on. So that's all good. We'll see if that changes at all when the big fan is installed. If it is, I can just install a 45 degree takeoff higher up ad keep the 6" with the cap as a cleanout.

FYI They do make plastic counterweight dryer duty dampers. I don’t really like them either though.  
As long as there is no bird screen on the exhaust, your chances of obstruction are minimal and you might be able to sequential stack two 45 degree take offs (on the same vertical axis) to minimize the chance of this. At that point the bottom of the eight inch becomes a clean out. This is common  in multi family and community dryer installations.
Just a thought for future.

Yeah, I though about that but figured I could add backdraft dampers later if needed. It was never an issue on the old system, but we'll see what happens once the big fan is installed. I don't love the idea of using them because I'm sure they'll get corroded and stop working pretty easily. The cap on the 6" is a standard cap but it's really old and rusty! There are just toggle switches on the power cords.

neil, did you notice how much your ductwork looks like a sculpture?   just add arms to reach the snow shovel.

Not on my workbench, but next to my workbench. Yesterday I finished up redoing my kiln venting system, and cleaned out the kiln area. What a mess it was! The old duct was in bad shape, and the motors were shot. Back when I moved into this space in 2008, I had them put in an 8" duct in the roof, which would give me plenty of options for the future. An 8" duct can go down to two 6" ducts, which can each go down to two 4" ducts. So for this setup I've got two new downdraft vent motors mounted to the wall. They can each run up to 20 cubic feet of kilns, so I've got both attached to my big kiln, and the medium kiln shares one of them. The black ducts are Blo-R-Vac hose, which you can get at McMaster Carr. It's got a metal coil in it so it can't be easily crushed, and it's pretty much impervious to corrosion. It's rated to 250F, about 100F above the temp of the air going through it. The extra 6" duct at the top will be getting an inline 400cfm fan to pull some heat out of the space. I've never had a fan in there before, but I thought it would be nice in the summer to pull some of the heat out of there. I'm still waiting for the fan to arrive from Amazon.
 

Not on my workbench, but next to my workbench. Yesterday I finished up redoing my kiln venting system, and cleaned out the kiln area. What a mess it was! The old duct was in bad shape, and the motors were shot. Back when I moved into this space in 2008, I had them put in an 8" duct in the roof, which would give me plenty of options for the future. An 8" duct can go down to two 6" ducts, which can each go down to two 4" ducts. So for this setup I've got two new downdraft vent motors mounted to the wall. They can each run up to 20 cubic feet of kilns, so I've got both attached to my big kiln, and the medium kiln shares one of them. The black ducts are Blo-R-Vac hose, which you can get at McMaster Carr. It's got a metal coil in it so it can't be easily crushed, and it's pretty much impervious to corrosion. It's rated to 250F, about 100F above the temp of the air going through it. The extra 6" duct at the top will be getting an inline 400cfm fan to pull some heat out of the space. I've never had a fan in there before, but I thought it would be nice in the summer to pull some of the heat out of there. I'm still waiting for the fan to arrive from Amazon.
 

Not on my workbench, but next to my workbench. Yesterday I finished up redoing my kiln venting system, and cleaned out the kiln area. What a mess it was! The old duct was in bad shape, and the motors were shot. Back when I moved into this space in 2008, I had them put in an 8" duct in the roof, which would give me plenty of options for the future. An 8" duct can go down to two 6" ducts, which can each go down to two 4" ducts. So for this setup I've got two new downdraft vent motors mounted to the wall. They can each run up to 20 cubic feet of kilns, so I've got both attached to my big kiln, and the medium kiln shares one of them. The black ducts are Blo-R-Vac hose, which you can get at McMaster Carr. It's got a metal coil in it so it can't be easily crushed, and it's pretty much impervious to corrosion. It's rated to 250F, about 100F above the temp of the air going through it. The extra 6" duct at the top will be getting an inline 400cfm fan to pull some heat out of the space. I've never had a fan in there before, but I thought it would be nice in the summer to pull some of the heat out of there. I'm still waiting for the fan to arrive from Amazon.
 

There are several good apps for checking out digital books from your library. I use Overdrive and Hoopla. Find the apps in the Amazon app store on your Kindle and download them. Overdrive has an app called Libby that can be used on other devices like Android and Apple, but for somer reason they don't have it for Kindle devices, so you have to use the old Overdrive app, which isn't nearly as friendly but still functional. You'll need your library card number to create an account in either app. Sometimes you'll need a PIN for your account, and with my library that's the last 4 digits of your phone number. Once you're set up you can borrow books to your Kindle. With Overdrive, there is a limited number of copies of each book available, just like real books, so you can be put a hold on it just like real books. With Hoopla the books are always available, although they don't have as big a selection as Overdrive.

My biggest concern is the health of my family. None of us is in a high risk category, but that's no guarantee. I also really worry about how one person in our house getting sick could theoretically snowball into someone dealing with 8 weeks of isolation if it takes 2 weeks for each person to show symptoms. It would not be fun for me, but my business expenses are pretty low and I don't have any employees to worry about. I could get through being closed for 2 months if I had to. For my wife's veterinary clinic it would be a different story. She's got two full time employees, and much higher costs to cover. Plus her clinic is only 8 months old, so she's still building clientele. Losing 8 weeks of business would be expensive and slow down growth. So at this point we're being as as safe as we can. We're stocked up on food, and the kids are home, my studio is empty, my wife is taking extra precautions to minimize contact at the clinic, and we've got our fingers crossed. So far there are only a couple of cases in our county, but there's also a sever lack of testing being done nationwide, so I'm sure the numbers are a lot worse than what's being reported.

My biggest concern is the health of my family. None of us is in a high risk category, but that's no guarantee. I also really worry about how one person in our house getting sick could theoretically snowball into someone dealing with 8 weeks of isolation if it takes 2 weeks for each person to show symptoms. It would not be fun for me, but my business expenses are pretty low and I don't have any employees to worry about. I could get through being closed for 2 months if I had to. For my wife's veterinary clinic it would be a different story. She's got two full time employees, and much higher costs to cover. Plus her clinic is only 8 months old, so she's still building clientele. Losing 8 weeks of business would be expensive and slow down growth. So at this point we're being as as safe as we can. We're stocked up on food, and the kids are home, my studio is empty, my wife is taking extra precautions to minimize contact at the clinic, and we've got our fingers crossed. So far there are only a couple of cases in our county, but there's also a sever lack of testing being done nationwide, so I'm sure the numbers are a lot worse than what's being reported.

My biggest concern is the health of my family. None of us is in a high risk category, but that's no guarantee. I also really worry about how one person in our house getting sick could theoretically snowball into someone dealing with 8 weeks of isolation if it takes 2 weeks for each person to show symptoms. It would not be fun for me, but my business expenses are pretty low and I don't have any employees to worry about. I could get through being closed for 2 months if I had to. For my wife's veterinary clinic it would be a different story. She's got two full time employees, and much higher costs to cover. Plus her clinic is only 8 months old, so she's still building clientele. Losing 8 weeks of business would be expensive and slow down growth. So at this point we're being as as safe as we can. We're stocked up on food, and the kids are home, my studio is empty, my wife is taking extra precautions to minimize contact at the clinic, and we've got our fingers crossed. So far there are only a couple of cases in our county, but there's also a sever lack of testing being done nationwide, so I'm sure the numbers are a lot worse than what's being reported.

My biggest concern is the health of my family. None of us is in a high risk category, but that's no guarantee. I also really worry about how one person in our house getting sick could theoretically snowball into someone dealing with 8 weeks of isolation if it takes 2 weeks for each person to show symptoms. It would not be fun for me, but my business expenses are pretty low and I don't have any employees to worry about. I could get through being closed for 2 months if I had to. For my wife's veterinary clinic it would be a different story. She's got two full time employees, and much higher costs to cover. Plus her clinic is only 8 months old, so she's still building clientele. Losing 8 weeks of business would be expensive and slow down growth. So at this point we're being as as safe as we can. We're stocked up on food, and the kids are home, my studio is empty, my wife is taking extra precautions to minimize contact at the clinic, and we've got our fingers crossed. So far there are only a couple of cases in our county, but there's also a sever lack of testing being done nationwide, so I'm sure the numbers are a lot worse than what's being reported.