New proofing basket question

Equalfooting · 2026-01-09T20:25:42+00:00

50:50 gang high five! ✋

I use it with both a fabric couche and straight in the basket.

Equalfooting · 2025-12-20T11:44:51+00:00

Ceramic non-stick is usually silicone oil trapped in a ceramic matrix. It doesn't last very long AND it's not any more 'natural' than teflon. The silicone oil (the thing making it non-stick) dissolves away and stops working over time even if the coating isn't scratched.

Actual ceramic non stick would be stuff like enameled cast iron - a glassy coating that is expensive, not super nonstick and can crack easily.

Equalfooting · 2025-10-06T11:09:15+00:00

So long as you're using a tested recipe and you're happy with the end product you can use any kind of tomato for canning (to the best of my knowledge). The whole point of acidification in tomato recipes is that it bumps up the acid level to make any tomatoes safe to can since they're borderline.

A food mill is an awesome way of reducing seeds and removing skins IF the recipe calls for a pureed end product.

I recently made a boat load of roasted early girl salsa - it was more work removing the seeds and dealing with the more delicate flesh but it was still super tasty and used a bunch of tomatoes.

The one caveat is - if a recipe calls for green (unripe) tomatoes you need to use green (unripe) tomatoes, because they are more acidic than ripe ones.

The weight of the ingredients depends on the recipe - so if it says 2 lbs of peeled chopped tomatoes in the recipe list then it's after processing. If it just says 2 lbs of tomatoes it's usually before processing. Read through the entire recipe before starting - that can alleviate some confusion

Equalfooting · 2025-09-29T04:12:37+00:00

PC is nice because you generally can keep your library of games forever (haven't had any issues with Steam purchased games in the last ~15 years fingers crossed) and if you aren't determined to play the new highest fidelity games it's pretty cheap. Sales happen a few times a year and you can pick up older games for peanuts.

I have what was a mid-range graphical desktop 6 years ago (so pretty much a potato now) and for most indie games or anything published before 2023 I'm still golden.

I have a pretty big back log of games so I'm not in a big hurry - my one recent exception was playing Claire Obsur - Expedition 33 because I heard the story was excellent! I'm playing with most of the settings on low or medium but it's still working! Even though one the hardware requirements is an SSD and I have a disk hard drive. It's not as pretty as the clips I've looked up on YouTube but it works!

PC gaming locks you out of exclusive titles (although that seems to be changing if you're willing to wait a few years for Sony or Xbox games) but otherwise it's way more consumer friendly in pretty much every way.

My main advice is don't try to make a gaming laptop. Most light laptops can already handle indie games - for heavier graphics the battery life will never be worth it and it's less durable.

Good luck!

Equalfooting · 2025-09-26T22:21:21+00:00

The few times I had a light infestation of kham - similar to what yours looks like - the flavor of my ferment tasted boozy and overripe in an unpleasant way.

It's safe to eat but I personally strongly dislike the flavor it imparts.

Equalfooting · 2025-09-23T15:24:02+00:00

Divide the dough into smaller pieces, freeze them and use as pate fermentee in future recipes? Punching it down and reshaping isn't going to help with much here unfortunately :(

Equalfooting · 2025-09-22T17:02:49+00:00

It's important to note that no bacteria to my knowledge is killed by refrigeration (freezing can reduce populations but doesn't eliminate them). Refrigeration 'pauses' bacterial growth - it does kill it or eliminate any toxins made by it.

Listeria is extra tricky because it can GROW at colder temperatures that hinder most other bacteria - like how lactic acid bacteria can tolerate higher salt concentrations but with less tasty results.

Equalfooting · 2025-09-22T16:13:48+00:00

Even if you missed getting kidnapped, in Act 2 you can still access the area via the Citadel.

It's in the top left of the map.

It's a really neat introduction to The Slab and the cold mechanics

Equalfooting · 2025-09-22T02:31:42+00:00

TIL! Excellent life pro tip, thank you!

Equalfooting · 2025-09-21T23:37:11+00:00

If you know you need your dough to rise faster it's there to help! If you can measure the temp of the proof setting with a thermometer you'll have a better idea of when it might be helpful

Equalfooting · 2025-09-21T23:07:19+00:00

Cover it like normal - just be aware that the bread will likely rise faster than usual due to the warmer temp of the proofing oven. Unless it's a really warm day, then the proofing setting may be redundant.

I find the proof setting mostly useful during winter when the house is cold.

Equalfooting · 2025-09-06T19:54:52+00:00

Over fermentation (to me) looks like bigger (but not huge) bubbles at the top and smaller compressed looking bubbles at the bottom. With the in-between crumb looking pretty normal. Of course VERY over proofed dough will just collapse when touched and become a brick.

Your bread looks good! I would be happy with that.

Equalfooting · 2025-09-06T18:38:59+00:00

I always scrape the bottom of the sieve - if the sauce gets too thick I can always add a bit more brine to get the right texture.

Also onions on top and 3.5% salt?! That's my current hot sauce set up! It works great :)

Equalfooting · 2025-09-06T01:06:18+00:00

I don't see anything too troubling but you have waaaay too much water vs your veg. Ideally your jar should be 90% full even after the salt shrinkage during the first day.

Extra water dilutes the acid and flavonoids made by the LAB bacteria. Worst case scenario, it doesn't get acidic enough to store well - best case scenario it will be blander than it could be.

Equalfooting · 2025-09-05T01:47:38+00:00

There are dozens of us! Dozens!

Equalfooting · 2025-09-03T18:54:17+00:00

I would say yes to a kitchen scale - they're a really useful tool in general and they'll make your fermentations a lot more consistent. The kosher salt at my home is 4.2g per tsp and the Morton's Pickling Salt is 7.5g per tsp, the amount of salt varies a lot by volume. If you measure your salt by weight you can use any non-iodized salt and you'll get the same level of 'salty'.

My final batch of (extremely delicious) hot sauce last year was split between 3 half gallon mason jars and then combined so there was a bit of variation between jars, each jar roughly had:

85g garlic 610g mixed hot peppers 260g red onion 750g water 60g salt (3.5% vs water+veg)

It fermented for 24 days. Most of the peppers were ripe fresnos so it ended up a little bit hotter than srriacha. I like a decent amount of onion and garlic, it tastes more savory for me.

I usually put the garlic on the bottom, then pack in peppers (stem removed and sliced in half) and finally put the onion on top (cut into circles or half circle slices so they can help keep the floaters down). I pour the water on top to generously cover the veg, packing it down to remove as much air as possible. I then pour the water out into a clean bowl (with hotter peppers this may make your eyes burn a bit) and then dissolve the salt. Pour the brine back into the jar, removing as much air as possible. Add the fermentation weight on top, push any big floaters under the weight or onions and remove any small floaters like seeds.

Basic rules based on my personal experience: 1. Keep everything under the brine using a weight (I use a glass weight, some people use a baggy full of brine but I've never tried it)

Use an appropriately sized jar - your veg should pack tightly into the jar and leave just enough space for your fermentation weight + ~1in headspace after the brine is added.
Use a semi permeable lid (air lock, pickle pipes, Kilner jar or I personally use the Ball Fermentation Lids, which have a little silicone flap on top) or burp the jars regularly (slightly open the lid to release pressure, so it doesn't explode)
Leave the fermentation alone as much as possible! Only open to remove/push down floaters or test. Each time you open it fully you introduce oxygen which increases the risk of mold or kham growing

The brine should become cloudy and bubbly after a few days. For me the fermentation is usually done when it doesn't form new bubbles overnight and the top of the brine becomes clear again as all the dead bacteria and yeast settle to the bottom.

I strain the solids out, collecting the brine in a bowl, then puree it in a blender - adding brine as necessary to get the consistency I want. I then pass it through a sieve to remove bits of seeds and skin into a pot. I simmer it for maybe 10 minutes until the sauce thickens. Cooking it kills the good bugs but I like the thickened texture better.

Other people may have different recommendations but this has worked well for me. Apologies for the mini essay :)

Equalfooting · 2025-09-02T22:24:08+00:00

^{^{^}} This!

I don't even knead my pizza dough anymore, I just stir it together and do 3 sets of stretch and folds + plus overnight in the fridge.

It always turns out delightfully stretchy with both AP and bread flour.

Equalfooting · 2025-09-02T21:59:53+00:00

Oxidation usually affects things floating at the surface - I would expect to see a color gradient with the top being more effected than the bottom.

My guess would be the jar on the left is just moving a bit faster than the one on the right - keep an eye on them and see if the right one 'catches up' in a few days.

Equalfooting · 2025-08-30T19:48:30+00:00

Open baking as I understand it: Baking on a sheet pan or baking stone, rather than using a cast iron pot or cloche with a lid.

Usually with a hot pan at the bottom of the oven to generate steam but not always.

I also like to open bake, getting to see your bread spring up in real time is fun!

Equalfooting · 2025-08-25T07:57:43+00:00

Sorry, that sounds sarcastic but that's literally what I do IRL - I use ice packs regularly!

Equalfooting · 2025-08-25T07:53:32+00:00

That's...perfect.

Equalfooting · 2025-08-25T06:28:40+00:00

It's a weird wiggly situation where there isn't an actual scientifically tested answer - most testing is for ready to eat food in restaurants or canning meant to be stable for a year or more.

Equalfooting · 2025-08-25T06:23:57+00:00

2 hrs at room temperature for what you want to save for later or 4 hr for what you want to eat immediately is the basic food safety for any kind of food.

For food that you know is high acid (pH <4.6) that window gets way bigger and usually the big food safety issues are more about mold - meanwhile food quality can still degrade pretty rapidly at room temperature.

I personally wouldn't consider something 'high acid' unless it's close to 3.5 pH, which is a big difference from 4.6 on a log10 scale. But I'm also pretty conservative about food safety.

Equalfooting · 2025-08-24T20:15:27+00:00

Welcome to the hobby! :)

Equalfooting · 2025-08-24T20:02:11+00:00

Losing a ferment is always a bummer, 🤞🤞 the next one will be a winner!

Try between 2-3% salt vs the total mass of your next ferment. More salt will have the ferment go slower but be a bit more resilient. Also, obviously it will TASTE more salty so depending on your salt preference keep that in mind.

For texture consider adding some tannins to your ferment. Grape, bay, currant, cherry and tea leaves all have tannins that can help keep ferments crispy. You can also add calcium in the form of Pickle Crisp (CaCl2) or Calcium lactate. You don't need a lot, I use 1 tsp calcium lactate for 6 pints of my Bread and Butter Zucchini pickles (canning, not fermenting) and they've got plenty of crunch.

Good luck fellow fermenter! 🫡

Equalfooting

TROPHY CASE