Sleepless in San Anselmo

Pey-Marin's Textbook Label...Yummy!

Well last night at three am, not being able to sleep, I got up and spent at least half an hour writing a new, lengthy post, only to loose it in the split second of a wrong click.  No command Z could fix it.  Urgh.... Back to bed where I should've been all along!

Suffice it to say, it was a very lovely post about wine tastings, and health department frustrations, printers and procrastinating engineers.  A fittingly frustrated post to a frusting couple of days.  I went to bed thinking, Forget it!  You have so much to be grateful for and you're almost there.  Think positive and get some rest.

What I will say now, is that I'm so encouraged and excited!  (What a difference some sleep makes).  We're going to have some awesome wines on the list, thanks to my brilliant brother, Sean Crowley.  Really unique wines from small, passionate, mostly bio-dynamic  producers both locally and from handpicked regions of Italy.   All will all have a charming story to tell, and I'm making new winemaker friends and distributor friends, people who are a pleasure to work with and have the same love for what they do as I do.  That right there is something to be grateful for!

We did get our health department issue worked out.  You've just got to get as creative about circumventing their rules as they are about creating them.  Its absolutely ridiculous how they've got you, and nobody will stand up to them because they all just need to get open!  I'd fight about it because I hate to see hard working people done wrong, but just like them, it costs more to fight than it does to get creative and work around things. 

My architect also dropped off the plan check revisions today to the Town of San Anselmo.  I'm hopping for a quick turn around, and a final go ahead! 

Please God.....

Reunions

Graduation cake by Emily Luchetti/Terri Wu

It's been a big week, a reunion week of sorts.  Tuesday was another continuation of the graduation celebrations, this time a reunion of elementary/high school friends and family at Farallon.  A repeat of their high school graduation party.  I'm so blessed to have this circle of friends and family!  As one of the mothers Nancy Culhane said in her speech, "You never know when you'll need someone, cherish these friendships." This group of friends and families have been a great support through my process of starting a restaurant, and I am truly grateful!

Thursday was The Stars Dinner Realigned at Epic Roasthouse.  You can read about it in this link  http://sanfrancisco.grubstreet.com/2012/06/stars-reunion-sf-jeremiah-tower-epic-roasthouse.html#photo=1x00002   The hype about the dinner had been building for weeks, and everyone was so excited.  To say it was a memorable evening is an understatement, the food and wine were absolutely stunning!  The room was filled with SF restaurateurs, luminaries, old Stars employees, purveyors, regulars, friends, patrons, press; and you could feel the night pulsing, just as any bustling night at Stars ever did!

I was taking pictures in the kitchen when someone said, "Your food is getting cold."   That being the last thing on my mind, I realized, this is where I'm most comfortable!  This is the excitement!  These are my friends & colleagues!  This is why I'm opening a restaurant!  It was such a moment of affirmation.  I went back to my seat to savor the most incredible course of the night, Mark's sturgeon.  Aged, lobster-stuffed sturgeon, so infused with tender flavor it seemed to have swam onto the plate on its own accord.  To dress it in a simple butter sauce with caviar, is like putting a silk chemise on Sophia Loren.  And then to pair it with Chassagne-Montrachet 1st cru, I'll be thinking of that dish forever!

Every dish was incredible, and the pairings of wines spared no expense to measure up.  Some of the greatest culinary hands in San Francisco lovingly and proudly made this menu come alive.  And with the brilliant and always charming, Jeremiah Tower at the helm, the spirit of Stars past wafted through the dinning room as infectious as it always was.  Being a part of this kind of sophistication in food has been my life and my education, its in my blood. Thank you God of Grace for aligning me with such spectacular people!

On the Pizzalina front, we did get our plan-check comments back from the Town of San Anselmo Building Department last Wednesday.  The architects are all over it and we should be resubmitted by Monday or Tuesday.  I'm praying for a quick approval!  I'm now scrambling to get everything lined up for our green light..... subtitled, put lots of money in the bank......

Nothing ventured, nothing gained......

My First Born

Well this weekend has been full and wonderful, not of the pursuit of restaurateuring, but of the pursuit of happiness.... joy immeasurable.... my baby graduated this weekend (on my birthday)!  And let me tell you this Momma couldn't be any prouder.  Twenty two years of hard work, devotion and perseverance has awarded him a degree in Mechanical Engineering.  Out of that has come an honors award for his senior project, second place in the National AMES Senior Design Awards Competition, an LLC with a patented design and interested VCs, and an excellent job with Union Pacific Railroad!  Ok, I'm sorry, I had to gloat a little......

On to restaurants.  Last Thursday and Friday, we got a little excitement about the building permit, but as of today, still no word!  Thursday Bill calls me and says, "Louise, we've got to meet with the landlord!  I've talked with building, there's just a few simple comments, the fire department has some issues that can be cleared up with an extra exit.  We need approval from the landlord."  So in a flurry of phone calls and meetings with the landlord, his superintendent, and the Fire Marshall, I think, ok we should get this thing wrapped up way sooner than I was expecting after my conversations with two other local restaurateurs with horror stories. 

Here's the catch, the architect's already to redraw it up and resubmit, but we haven't even gotten the official comments back.  I'm afraid they'll all change and we'll have to redraw them again.  That my friends cost more money. Ka-ching!  Now I know I went into this with my eyes wide open, and everyone I chose for the team, architect, kitchen designer, and contractor all have years of restaurant experience, and you get what you pay for.  But, there's no preparation for dealing with the idiosyncrasies of small, local municipalities who'll run you around on a wild goose chase.  There's all these rules, codes, ordinances within each department and they're all open to interpretation and preference as to how they're dealt with.  How can the hand talk to the foot?!  The ABC, CEHD, RVSD1, ADA, SABD, RVFD, please!  And yet, each one of them is charging me some hefty permit fees, what a racket! Please people, let me get open so I can make a living.

It costs a lot of money to be a small business owner.  Shop local and support the businesses you love, especially those that give back to the communities you live in. 

Still no comments back from building and/or fire......

Ah, but I have faith!

Eureka, I've Found It!

Yesterday was a great day!  Lot's accomplished.  And even though its nothing tangible right now, I found some resources I've been looking for for some time.  One is a great antique store in the city called Big Daddy......GO!  They're where Restoration Hardward shops and then knocks it off!  They have a store in LA and one here.  I found some beautiful accent pieces, chairs and custom tables made from recycled woods and antique bases from old industrial findings, very cool!  Beau was my sales person who helped me and while he was trying on a new chain mail piece in the store I clicked a photo.  Now his name is Sir Beauregard Lance-O-Lot.  He made my shopping day way fun!  Don't you love this wall of baskets!  I'm thinking a wall of old pizza peels.....


Then it was on to Charyn Restaurant Auction House.  They sell used, recycled, refurbished equipment of all kinds.  I think I'll be able to find some really great deals there when I'm ready to start buying.

A quick stop for lunch at Salumeria, the new hot spot from the folks at Flour & Water.  Great salumi, great sandwiches, great space.  I was totally inspired.  It would be the perfect place to go in next to Pizzalina; a little charcuterie/cheese/wine/sandwich place.  They had some very nice touches that didn't escape my ever increasing sponge brain.

Then I went by the soon to be open, Lincoln Park by my friends Stephen Simmons and wife Jennifer.  They filled me in on all the horrors of the local powers that be, gave me some coaching and forewarnings, a tour, menu tidbits and a wonderful glass of, I think reisling (ah, should'a got the info).  It was great to reconnect with Stephen, its been years, and finally meet Jennifer.  I wish them great success and I know they're going to knock it out of the park!  The place is cozy and beautifully designed and Stephen is an amazing chef.  So don't delay, the minute you see them open, please support them.  San Anselmo needs to re-establish itself as a vibrant, destination town with great food and night life.  We've lost it and we need to get it back!

amen little sister........

Take A Break, Enjoy Your Life

No earth shattering news this week.  Met with more vendors and sellers of "stuff".   Friday was my fun day.  Starting with my nieces graduation in San Francisco and moving on up to Napa to meet my brother for an educational meeting with Tim at the Kitchen Door in Oxbow Market.  He so kindly showed us the wine on tap system they have there.  He explained some of the pitfalls and problems they've had to learn the hard way, gave us some tips as to wineries that do their own program and numerous other, helpful little things you never find out until you're working with the system and what you've got is all wrong!

 From there it was on to the Annual Paradigm Wine Buyers Club Party, where I got to be my brothers guest.  Amazing!  What a beautiful evening.  Plenty of incredible Paradigm wines, Hog Island Oysters, yummy food, dancing and all around merriment.  Just what the doctor ordered, a night of fun!  I was starting to get bogged down and overwhelmed.  Now I feel so much better, I can face this week more productively.

The Harris' are the most wonderful people!  I don't know of any other wine clubs that host such an incredible event for their members for free, at their own home.  I should've taken more photos, but I was too busy having a good time.  So many nice people.  I adore my brother, Sean Crowley who really has become such a integral part of the Paradigm family.  Go Team Paradigm!  Great job and thank you!

This has really stuck with me, and I'm thinking of implementing the idea at Pizzalina.  If we have some kind of dinner club, then every year we can throw a thank you party for all the members.  Maybe not at my dinky house, but somewhere cool.  Hmmmmmm..... Want to be a member?  I'll have to think that one through a bit.  It's in my thinking cap for now.

Just sold off my glass studio. And I'm a bit sad about it.   It wasn't an easy choice to make.  I've been putting it off for months, but its time.   I need the money for Pizzalina and that will have to be my art form for now.

Remember, take a break... enjoy your life!

Wine Tasting

So...... Last week ended on a good note, we got our Building Permit application in and I got a tentative approval for my beer & wine license, dependent on the final build out.... Woo-Hoo!

This week started off with a bang!  Had our first wine tasting last night to start building the wine list with my brother, wine extraordinaire, Sean Crowley and Elizabeth Downing owner of Springboard Wine Company in San Rafael.  Chef Douglas accompanied, and my friends, Kate and Barry Rose came over to help critique all the food and wine!  It was a great evening and wonderful kick-off to building a phenomenal wine list.

We tasted some incredible wines that will really compliment our menu!  Springboard has a unique and passionate catalog of wines.  Almost all of the selections are organic and/or sustainable, small vineyards produced by vintners who love, love, love what they do.  I got a huge education and can't wait to taste more, and be witness to the design of a well balanced list of local, Italian, unique, well priced, yummy, drinkable wines that go great with our food!

Mark's Amazing Salumi!

Some of the stand-outs and must haves that we tasted were a very elegant Prosecco, from a single vineyard, sustainable winery from Northern Italy.  A strikingly luscious, Ceago Sauvignon Blanc from one of the leaders of bio-dynamic vineyards.  An exceptionally, pizza friendly, Uvaggio Vermentino Italian varietal, grown in Lodi by the man who started the Cal/Ital fad.  Another Italian pizza stand out, Giovanni Rosso 2009 Barbera d'Alba, too easy to drink!  And a Hendry 2009 Estate Zinfandel, where stony soils and a moderate climate produce a most curvaceous food wine. Of course there were many other wonderful wines we tasted, but a well designed wine list is a gracious mix, like a good dinner party, or so says my darling brother, who I am forever indebted to!

Coming soon......

Kale, red onion, Mark's smoked bacon & egg

Douglas' Fennel Mussels

Roll My Eyes And Have A Drink!

Ok, I was going to write about Cotogna last night, but I was too tired.  This has been happening to me a lot lately.  I get exhausted around 9, fall asleep on the couch, but the minute I get up and go to bed, I'm wide awoke!  Then I don't go to sleep till late, get up early and start the whole routine again!  I'd say its stress..... bring it on!

Bill At The Building Department

We got the plans into the Town Of San Anselmo yesterday, though they want two more sets of plans (4 full sets @ $200 a pop!).  $2,000 later and lots of paper work, we wait again.... 3-6 weeks we were told.  This is just plan check fees, we'll see what the final bill is when I have the permit in hand.....bring it on!

I was complaining to my contractor who juggles 4 or 5 restaurant projects at a time in several counties and towns, about all the bureaucracy and how long it takes to deal with these agencies and he said, "Louise, I've finally just learned to roll my eyes and have a drink!"  So that's my new mantra..... roll my eyes and have a drink!

We did have a wonderful meal at Cotogna the other night.  We sat at the bar in front of their beautiful imported Italian wood oven and pizza oven.  It was the best seat in the house, little warm though.  We got to watch everything being prepared and ask a million questions of the chefs.  The pizza was great, though I think my dough is better.  They had some stellar dishes, my favorite being the Green Garlic Sformato with snap, snow peas & pea tendrils.  It was served on a bed of Parmesan & goat cheese fonduta.  It left spring singing on my palate!  I loved the fact that many things on the menu are one price for any selection, for example, all first courses are $17.  Especially the wine, all wine by the glass is $10, all bottles are $40.  I'm sure this all works out in the long run.  It less confusing on the menu, but for those trying to find a deal not so great.
What do you all think, do you think generic pricing is beneficial, fair, less confusing, desirable?

Every time I go to other restaurants I learn something new.  Good and bad, I learn what to do and not to do!   I love to see what other new ideas people are employing, whether for food, service or decor.  It never ceases to amaze me how creative people are, how ingenious, and the extent to which one will push the envelope.  There is something out there for everyone.  Dining has become such a show, its experiential theater for one of life's most basic necessities...nourishment!
A whole blog could be written on nourishment.

bring it on...... 

Ah, look at that porchetta!

Inside Scoop SF - Carey Sweet

Inside Scoop SF » Behind the scenes at Pizzalina and the frustrations of restaurant permits 

Hahaha check this out..... a blog about my blog!  Or should I say "The Blog" about my restaurant opening!  ...... thank you Ms. Sweet.

So tonight after GOOD news from the Health Department, I came home from a spectacular dinner at Cotogna with my bookkeeper and friend Chef Ian, popped open my RSS feed to read through my Inside Scoops, and low and behold I'm staring at a picture of me.  It takes a minute to register, then I see "Pizzalina" and crack up!  Wow, I made the Inside Scoop.  You'll have to pardon me for a minute, but after years of seeing Mark and everyone else I know and have worked with in print, and being star-struck and in awe of those I don't know, this is totally surreal!

But on to the Health Department.... So, my architects Bill Craig and George Federighi, bless their hearts, ran interference for me today and got the whole thing straightened out.  It seemed to be a minor miscalculation that could have turned into a major fiasco, but they caught it, and Bill walked in the new calculations and a hand drawn revision and presto!  Stamped, approved, complete with a signed letter.  I told Priscilla I was going to frame it, she said, "Oh, your not through yet".  I laughed, but I knew it.

Just when things seem the most frustrating, something breaks.  Patience & faith, I keep telling myself.

Tomorrow morning Bill and I take the approved plans into the City of San Anselmo for our Building Permit Application!  Major monument.  Hopefully we'll have our Building Permit in hand in 2-4 weeks.  Now I just have to figure out how to get some more money in the bank quick, seeing as I've already blown over budget on the architect/permit fees!  Lord, encamp your angels all around me.....

More on Cotogna tomorrow......

Health Department

I think I need a Pizzalina license plate and a cute little car like that for delivery!  So I'm thinking, what other cute little retro cars might have the same affect?  Any ideas......

This week was frustrating!  It seems I was working at a lot of little details with nothing to show.  Biding time, research, appointments, awaiting word from the Health Department.  Checking the mail everyday.  I really expected to get a go ahead within the week!  Hahaha.... the letter came last Friday, two weeks from our resubmittal.....

First of all, why can't they email like everyone else? 

No stamp of approval.  It's taken me days to cool out and not be pissed off about it.  I really feel like a rant session.  So they had three more points to revise.  Actually two were the same, it seems someone on my team was trying to push something through that's been done in the past, but maybe not doable now.  One was the hood above the wood oven, the other was a floor sink at the dish washing station.  Its all very technical, which is why I've hired professionals.  My guess is they were trying to save me money, but the fact is, it is costing me more time and money.  Now the plans need to be redrawn, resubmitted, and re-reviewed.  So, note to self, don't argue with the Marin County Health Department, just give them what they ask for.

These are the little things you don't see coming.  You can hope for the best, hire the best, be the best, but fate will intervene and humble you.  Hopefully these challenges come to make me stronger, more determined and wiser in the end.   They're certainly teaching me patience.  I'm learning to surrender to the journey!

Happy Memorial Day....
Happy 75th Golden Gate Bridge....

Pizza Day

48 Hours in Fridge & 2 Hours @ Room Temp

Pizza day!  The dough was really good.  I'm very happy with the results.  I would've liked more bubbles to rise in the oven, but all in all the flavor was good, a balance of sour & yeasty, and the crumb texture was great.  I do think I like the results of a 24 hour bulk fermentation with 3 days in the ball stage, it gives it longer for the yeast to develop in the balls.  That's what causes bigger bubbles to form in the oven that crisp up and char,  giving it that beautiful leoparding. 

So Chef Douglas and his wife came over tonight.  We had a lovely evening cooking together.  Cooking and eating together is a great way to get to know someone!  But once again, in the excitement and focus of cooking I didn't get a chance to take many photos.  I've got to get better at that!  We braised some artichokes, made a salad from my first crop of spring greens and radicchio & sausage from Jane's farm raised pig.  By the time we got to the pizza we were so full we only made 3 pizzas and even then there was lots left over!  Margherita, tomato sauce with the sausage, fresh garden chard, pickled red onions, black olives, mozz, & grana, and roasted eggplant, sausage, castelvetrano olives, calabrian chilies, mozz & grana. 

I'm looking forward to working with Chef Douglas, I like the way he thinks about food, he's spontaneous, fastidiously clean, thoughtful and completely in love with his wife!  I like that.  I'm confident he'll be able to head up the kitchen at Pizzalina!

Now if we could just get our go ahead from the Health Department, we'd be one step closer to being open!

Bring it on.....

Preparation Day

24 Hours Later

Dough balls are growing!  24 hours in the fridge, they've doubled in size and are starting to show signs of bubbles trapped within.  A good sign.  Should be perfect by tomorrow. 

Also making up a batch of sausage from my friends small and loving farm in Penngrove, Split Rail Farm.  It's a beautifully marbled cut of pork butt, butchered from one of her pigs that are raised in a large pasture with room to root around and play. They are fed kitchen scraps that are cooked into slop along with there regular piggy food. I almost don't want to use such an incredible piece of meat for sausage, but why not the best?!  Anyway Jane and her husband are farmers, chefs and their farm is 100% sustainable and organic.  Jane was my neighbor and my sons babysitter back in the day, so I'm so happy to support her.  We'll certainly be featuring some of their products at the restaurant.  You can check out their website and visit them at the Saturday Larkspur Landing Farmers Market

 http://www.splitrailfamilyfarms.com/iWeb/Split%20Rail%20Family%20Farms%20/Home.html

Ready for another week, hoping to hear back from the Health Department!

Cheers!

Phase Two

2 Days Later

 It's ALIVE!  48 hours later, as you can see, its forming beautiful bubbles.  That's the war between yeast and bacteria, but more important, its what makes those glorious bubbles that rise in the crown of the pizza crust, char on the outside, and remain chewy and flavorful on the inside.... Oooo, yummy!

So anyway, out onto the table it goes, it gets cut up into portions, approximately 9.5 oz each and then they are hand kneaded into nice tight little balls and placed into the dough proofing box.

The box is now back in the fridge where they will proof another 2 days.  Monday is pizza day.  I'm a little curious about how this 2 & 2 day proof will turn out.  The dough is an art and a science and I can't help myself, its all in the experimentation that you learn the essence of its nature. There are so many other factors that go into the dough, but that may be a posting for another day!

Bet you can't wait to see those little dough balls tomorrow.... I can't!  So, here is the million dollar question..... What is your favorite pizza topping?

Ciao!

Its Alive!

9.5 oz

Hand Kneaded Into A Tight Ball

Back Into Fridge Till Monday

Long Fermentation

24 Hours in the Fridge

So, I've tried giving my bulk rise a 24 hour rise, then balling for the remaining 3 days and I've tried giving my bulk rise the full 3 days, and balling 24 hours before making pies.  This time I'm going to do a 50/50.  All this talk of rising and balling is making me hungry.... LOL!  But here is a picture of the dough 24 hours into its refrigerated bulk fermentation.  The beauty of the long cold rise is it retards the over development of the yeast and gives the flavors a chance to develop.

With all the flack wheat and gluten is getting these days I thought it was important to talk about the benefits of naturally leavened bread.  I know for myself there is a huge difference in how I feel afterwards if I eat pizza that has a dough with a quick rise, commercial yeast, as apposed to a long fermented, natural yeast dough.  My stomach is getting real good at telling the difference.  Check out this article on the  subject.  Don't forgo pizza, just eat GOOD pizza!

Bread was first leavened by the Egyptians around 2300 BC.  They discovered that a mixture of flour and water left uncovered for several days bubbled and expanded. If mixed into unleavened dough and allowed to stand for a few hours before baking, it yields a light sweet bread. This kind of natural leavening remained the basis of Western bread baking until the 20th century when bread made from commercially prepared yeast was introduced.

Naturally leavened breads rise over time (6 to 8 hours or more) by the action of wild yeast spores drawn into the sourdough starter from the air. Mixing the starter with more flour and water and a little salt forms bread dough. As the unique and complex family of friendly bacteria thrives on the nutrient-rich whole grain flour and mineral-rich sea salt, they produce carbon dioxide gas. Fermentation continues, and the leavening or expansion of the bread dough creates a fine-grained, moist texture.




In the process of making sourdough bread, during the rising time (called proofing, or fermentation), bran in the flour is broken down, releasing nutrients into the dough. In particular, the phytic acid (phytin) in grain needs to be 90% neutralized in order for the minerals, concentrated in the bran, to be absorbed by the human body. According to experiments done in Belgium, phytin can be neutralized by natural bacterial action and to a lesser extent, by baking. In naturally leavened bread, the combination eliminates all phytin, while in commercially yeasted breads about 90% remains.

Furthermore, with sourdough bread, complex carbohydrates are broken down into more digestible simple sugars and protein is broken down into amino acids. Enzymes develop during proofing which are not lost in baking since the center of the loaf remains at a lower temperature than the crust.

It’s the fermentation, partly from lactobacillus, that makes eating good quality bread an aid to digestion of all complex carbohydrate foods, in this case grains, in the way fermented vegetables like kimchee and sauerkraut help aid digestion in the bacterial formation of probiotics. It helps restore the functioning of the digestive tract, resulting in proper assimilation and elimination. These beneficial bacteria help control candida albicans, whereas baker’s yeast is a pro-candida organism. Naturally yeasted bread, made in the old world traditions, truly is "the staff of life" as it actually enhances the immune system.  Taken from: Sourdough Bread and Health by, Mark Sircus AC., OMD





 
This book is an amazing book on naturally fermented dough.  And the restaurant is fabulous and the photographs inspiring.  I recommend it highly if you'd like to pursue making healthy bread at home.



Diggin' the Hipstamatic app!


Nighty-night.....

Dough Days

Feeding The Washed Starter

Ah ha, making dough!  For the next couple of days I'll take you through the process.  There will be lots of pictures so you can see the beautiful yeasts developing.  This recipe is always a work in progress because yeast is such a living thing.  Everything effects it, probably even my mood, which was good today so I'm hoping for awesome dough.  I'm having my new chef and some other chef friends over for pizza next week so I hope for a great batch of dough.  I always experiment a little.

Freshly Mixed

Here is my 4 day process:  I start with a sour dough yeast that is a combination of 2 yeast strains, one from Sicily and one from the Naples region of Italy.  I keep it in the fridge and revive it when I'm going to make dough.  So on Monday I gave it a good washing (added half again water, gave it a good stir & poured out all but 1 cup), then I proceeded to start feeding it.  1/3 cup of rye flour, 1/3 cup 00 Caputo flour & 2/3 cup water.  Thereafter, until today, I fed it every morning the same way, pouring off all but 1 cup of starter, and adding the flour mix & water in equal amounts. You can always substitute fresh yeast like you buy in the store, which is best.  Use about a 1/4 cake for this amount of dough.

2 Hours

Today, Thursday, I made the dough.  You start by measuring out 3lbs 12oz of Caputo 00 flour in a mixing bowl.  Then get 1 liter of 79 degree water.  Today I mixed into the water 3/4 cup of the natural, sour dough yeast with 1/2 teaspoon of dry yeast because I couldn't get any fresh yeast at the store.  I prefer just a pinch of fresh yeast to give the dough a more yeasty taste and it also gives the dough reliability that the sometimes unpredictable sour dough lacks.  I love the sour dough flavor, but too much can mask the yeasty flavor of the Neapolitan style pizza dough I've fallen in love with.  So I've settled on this 50/50 combination.

4 Hours - Ready To Use!

Putting the water & yeast combination in the bowl of a mixer, add 1/2 the flour and mix on the lowest setting for 5 minutes.  It helps to hand mix it some at first if you're using an electric mixer.  Then add the salt and the rest of the flour.  It's always good to hold back a cup or so of flour to see how wet the mixture is.  You can always add more flour but you can't take it back.  Too much flour or too much mixing will make your dough tough, hard to handle, and chewy.  Not good, the wetter you can work it the better.  Mix it again for 10 minutes at the lowest speed.  Today my mixer overloaded after 5 minutes so I just took it out of the mixer and hand kneaded it for another 5 minutes.  You just want the gluten to start forming but not over work it.  The magic happens over the 4 days where the flavor and gluten continue to develope! 

Water and Yeast

So then it goes into the large container you see here and is left out at room temperature, which today was 71 degrees.  You can see how much it grew in 5 hours.  This proofing time is a changing target, what you want is for it to at least double in size and the time it takes to do so will depend on temperature, humidity, yeast type and freshness, so get a personal relationship with your dough! 

Off it went into the fridge, and off I went to choir rehearsal!  Singing to your dough may or may not help.  Like plants and pets, its controversial, but for me its therapy, and all life goes better with songs and praise!

To be continued.......

5 Minutes Mixed

Hand Kneaded

Done, Ready To Proof

Ready To Rise

5 Hours Doubled - Into Fridge