Ciabatta

   I would like to offer a few bags of dinner rolls at market so I started with a ciabatta recipe - from the Bread Bible of course. It required a starter of yeast, water, flour, salt and a drop of honey. A variation listed that I could choose to use bread flour for a "chewier crust and bread". I personally like chewy bread so I opted for that.
   Next day: The dough hardly rose at all in the two hours after I mixed the starter sponge with more flour and dry ingredients. I was using it to make 4 small dinner rolls so I just cut the small piece into 4 smaller pieces and let it rise another hour. Not much rising :o/   20 minutes in the oven at 375 and they were hard as a rock. I was kind of disappointed but I tried a little trick I've learned. I put them in a plastic storage bag while they were still piping hot to steam them into softness. Although that did work, I still wasn't crazy about the outcome. They were too dense for ciabatta and really chewy. Too chewy.
   I'm going to try it with A/P flour next time instead of the bread flour chewy option and see how that comes out. If I'm still not happy with it, I'll find another recipe.

   Conclusion: No ciabatta rolls for market this week. But I will have herb focaccia bread - great for paninis!

Garlic Herb Focaccia

Market People

   I'd be lying if I said I don't enjoy people watching in places like the mall and the airport. So the farmer's market is no different. A lot of my day at market is spent observing the various styles and personas of the consumers bustling along the sidewalk. If you have been to a farmer's market, perhaps you have seen these folks too.

Medusa - With her untamed reddish brown locks bobbing as she goes, she prances from vendor to vendor in no particular pattern. She is wearing a hot pink shirt that slightly shows her 45 year old midriff. Her jeans have rhinstones on the butt and her electric pink kitten heel sandals clickety clack under her towering body. She almost dances as she walks. Her fingernails are long and unkept. When she visits my booth, she inquires about "what my bread is made of and where do I make it and why do I have it in plastic bags that hold moisture and create mold?" Sheesh lady. She eventually parked herself on a bench and had a lengthy conversation with an invisible gnome while she thumbed through the things in her tin can purse before marching off into the city.

Dog lovers anonymous - Many patrons bring their dogs to market. Why shouldn't they?! A place where dogs are welcome and it's a great way to socialize them and even pick up a treat or two. There are several vendors just for dogs like Maddie's Backyard, who offers free snacks and a drinking station for your pup! I picked up a stuffed monkey toy for Willow there this weekend. Another pup vendor has tutus for dogs. Literally a frilly skirt for dogs - they come in all colors, even for Gator lovers! Some market-goers share their purchases with their dogs like Kernel and Kettle's kettle corn or Sugar and Spice's delicious cupcakes.

The Unfortunate - The sad truth is that Ocala is home to many homeless people. Some of them visit market looking for free samples (I gladly offer) or scraps from vendors and patrons alike. My first day at market, two officers from Ocala PD woke up a man sleeping under the gazebo. They told him he had to leave so I gave him a muffin for his travels. Saturday I saw a woman pulling a rolling basket with all of her belongings inside. She was wearing a purple velvet adults' Halloween costume that she likely bought at a thrift store. Something about her grownup princess costume was kind of charming.

Big Accessories - Several young mothers attend market each Saturday with their toddlers in tote. For some of them, I feel that this outing may be the only public outing they experience all week long, only because they rock every large and flashy accessory they own at once. Big floppy hat, giant purse with bling, a five-piece set of costume jewelry, giant flower headband on baby, oversized Vera Bradley tote with matching diaper bag. They have to be hot and miserable carrying/pushing all that stuff around in 95 degrees with virtually no wind factor.

Husband Helpers - Quite a few of the market vendors are women entrepreneurs. Jewelry makers, bakers, crafty ladies with painted scarves and bags, lotion and soap chemists and gardeners. But setting up for market day is really hard to do alone. (Possible because I do, but it's very difficult and stressful) So, many of them enlist their husbands to come early and help. Sugar and Spice is run by two stay at home moms and they alternate weeks running their cupcake shop at market. But it never fails, every week, at least one husband is there at 7 a.m. dragging tables across the lawn and fluffing tablecloths. He passes, she arranges. They make an adorable team. One young baker who also sells Amish butters, jellies and dips gets help from her spouse who gladly brings her supplies in their pink, 1968 VW mystery van. She kisses his scruffy beard before bidding him adieu for the day.

   That's one of the great things about market. It's so flavorful. Not just the tasty items for sale...but the people too!

A Giant Production

   My baking production has gotten so big, I've called in backup. My mom has come over for the last two Fridays to help with market day preperations. She serves as zucchini chopper, dish washer, counter cleaner and wine glass filler upper :) I was actually done with 30 loaves of bread by 10pm Friday night. That's insanity and I couldn't have done it without her. We were even able to attend a birthday bash that evening because I was done so early. Thank you Mary Fisher!!

   I've definately nailed down the routine. At 5:20 on Friday afternoon, my home kitchen transforms into a commercial bakery. I prepare 12 recipes of carrot cranberry in two seperate batches (six recipes per batch) in my giant aluminium mixing bowls. I use the same recipe for carrot cranberry as I do for zucchini, I just substitute the carrots for zucchini and cranberries for walnuts. Zucchini bread is one of my newest additions following multiple requests. I wish I had made it earlier in the summer, because now the price of zucchini is climbing and I can't afford to make it much longer. It's definately a seasonal recipe.

 

   

 I also added a wheat multigrain to my menu. It sold very well and I think I will continue to rotate it with the potato oatmeal so my "Oat Lovers" always have an option. I had trouble in the past finding wheat flour in bulk (Publix only carries a 5 lb. bag and Sam's doesn't carry it at all) but last week I found it at Cheney Brothers in a 50 lb. bag! I'm set for a while :)

   I'm in great need of more counter space. For now I am improvising by stacking my rising dough in bowls using my wire cooling racks.

   We are taking a weekend trip to the Georgia Mountains to spend some time with my parents so no market this weekend. I'll be back on the square August 27, possibly with ciabatta and/or focaccia herb bread. You'll have to come by to find out!







Wheat Multigrain

   Although my potato oatmeal bread was doing very well at market, I've had several requests for a wheat bread or something with more grains in it. I found a cracked wheat recipe in my Bread Bible and tweeked it to include other grains like oats and flaxseed. My goal was to make a trial loaf and if it came out well, I would make four for market. This bread requires a sponge (starter) and I let it rest overnight on Wednesday - the longer the sponge ferments, the tastier the outcome. Thursday afternoon, I added the dry ingredients and formed a rough dough. The Bread Bible outlined an extensive rise and knead, rise and knead process that would have taken me well into the early morning, so I cut a few hours out. After letting the rough dough rest for 20 minutes, I did two sets of knead and rise for an hour per rise. By 9:30pm it was ready for the oven.

   Using a sharp knife, I slit two openings on the top and glazed it with egg whites before sprinkling rolled oats. Brushing egg whites on a loaf before baking results in a golden brown glow - It makes for a very nice presentation.

   I free formed the loaf and baked it at 350 for about 45 minutes. The crust came out nice and crispy, but I was too tired to wait for it to cool and then put it in a container. So by placing it in a container while still hot, the loaf steamed itself and softened the crust (A great trick for anyone who does not prefer a firm crust). I cut the first slice this morning. It was soft and moist with a chewy crust. The grains added a really nice texture and flavor. Folks at work thought it was tasty and I already received an order from someone who tasted it this morning :) I will definately have it at market this weekend!

Market Day 4

   After taking two weekends off for a vacation in the Keys, I hit market day head-on. While on vacay, I received a call from a customer who wanted to preorder four loaves of carrot cranberry bread to pick up at the market. A few days before market, that customer called back and added two loaves of banana walnut to his order. I also made four extra loaves of potato oatmeal bread since it was in such high demand at the last market. So, I made a whopping 30 loaves of bread, plus 8 mini loaves and a dozen muffins. Yikes.
   I got started the moment I got home from work at 5:15pm and didn't quit until about midnight. My Aunt Jeane (who had come to town as a surprise) and my mom came over Friday night to help. It was a little hectic because they didn't know my routine, but the help was MUCH appreciated. I usually start with the potato bread and let it rise while I work on the carrot bread. After I bake both of those, I move on to whatever else is left besides the sourdough, which is baked Saturday morning for ultimate freshness :)
   The morning of market, I sold eight loaves by 8:30am. Sounds like a great day, right? Well, between 9-11am, the foot traffic was extremely slow. I was scared I was taking home half of what I brought. But around 11, it picked up a little and slowly but surely, the loaves started to sell again. Some customers bought more than one because they couldn't decide which kind sounded more yummy! The lady who runs the kettle corn stand came over to get a loaf of sourdough. She asked me to cut a few slices so her and her husband could nibble on it for lunch. Gladly, I did. About 20 minutes later, she came back over with the loaf in her hand. I was terrified that she was unhappy with her bread and was coming back to complain about it. So I was really pleased to hear "Can you cut a few more slices for me - it's just so delicious". Wheew! She also mentioned she wanted to try the potato oatmeal, so at the end of the day I bartered a loaf for some kettle corn :) I only took home one loaf of sourdough - which we sent home with Ian's brother and wife - and three muffins, much to Ian's delight.
  
   Lessons learned:
1. My banana nut recipe only makes half of what I thought it did. I multiplied it by 6 and only got 3 loaves out of it. So next time, I have to double it for each recipe.
2. I need more loaf pans. I simply cannot do what I need to in the time I have with what I've got right now!
3. I calculated the cost of my carrot cranberry bread ingredients. I invest $3.30 in each loaf, so I raised the price to $6 to make it worth my time. It seems to be the most popular and no one minded the price increase.

   Quotes of the Day:
"I'll take two more muffins. My three year old told me she 'had to have more of it'. I love how you're hiding vegetables in your muffins!"
Woman to her husband: "Honey, do you want sourdough or potato oatmeal?" Husband: "I don't know. They both look great. Um, I think potato oatmeal." Wife: "Really? I was thinking sourdough." Exchanged looks of disagreement. Wife: "We'll take one of each," with a big smile on her face. Talk about conflict resolution!
  
   I have received a request for zucchini bread and also a wheat multigrain. I will attempt one or both of those this week and have something new to offer at market next week. Stay tuned!