Batch No.740

Being the last batch of January. Snapped here after two and a half hours' worth of first rise in a warm airing cupboard. The rising dough did not get to lift the lid, which it usually does in the summer, when the dough starts rather warmer than it does at this time of year.

Sturdy bowl from an operating theatre in one of the hospitals in the Exe Vale group, probably closed down if not demolished. Best not to inquire about what has been in it over the years.

At the start of what turned out to be more than two and a half hour's worth of second rise in a cool front room - but in front of the fake gas fire which did provide a bit of radiant heat. In the summer, I have the front door down - just visible at the top of the snap - and don't bother with the fire. The south east facing room gets quite enough sun when there is some.

Loose bottomed baking tins from Silverwood via an old-fashioned hardware & kitchen goods store in Tavistock. They have done very well.

Very possibly the Lawsons at reference 2 and snapped above. Turned up by gmaps.

The finished product, some of one of which went down very well a couple of hours later. The other was frozen - not what one really wants to do, but the frequency of bake gets a bit much without it.

Batch elapsed time on this occasion seven hours. One does not have to stay in for the first rise, but it is as well to keep an eye on the second as it is all to easy to leave it a few minutes too long - as little as five can be enough - and get huge bubbles in the loaves, or worse still a collapse. The sort of thing noticed at reference 4, near two hundred batches ago.

Bread done, out for a short stroll, to find this herald of spring coming up in a verge near us.

With 'Herald of Spring' once being a family fun day held at roughly this time of year at Bourne Hall, in Ewell Village. Not sure if they still do it, what with the plague, austerity and one thing and another. I suspect not.

With this rather bigger display, just a few days later. Not very photogenic though, with the delicately coloured crocuses not holding out against the strong noonday sun.

PS 1: search of the archive confirms Lawsons at reference 3, although on a forced choice, I would have gone for well before 2019. But then, I have commented before on the vagaries of my episodic memory.

PS 2: and despite the remarks at reference 3, Robert Dyas is still holding in there. We still have one in Epsom and I think they are still to be found up in town.

References

Reference 1: https://www.silverwood-bakeware.com/.

Reference 2: https://www.lawsonshop.co.uk/.

Reference 3: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2019/05/shopping.html.

Reference 4: https://psmv4.blogspot.com/2020/06/disaster-567.html. The taper of the tins from Hong Kong mentioned at reference 3 above is visible in the second of the two snaps here.