Biga!

It's bread baking time again!  I love baking bread and have been doing it for 35 years.  This summer was too hot to put on the oven, so I baked the bread in the bread machine.  Not bad, but not great, either. (I use the bread machine to knead the dough; it does a much better job that I ever can, plus it doesn't hurt my cranky wrist.)   I missed handling the dough and shaping it and slashing it and all that other good doughy stuff.  But now that it's chilly again, I love having the oven on, and I'm back to baking with a vengeance.

I just put up a biga, which is an Italian starter.  I mix it in the machine for about 10 minutes, stop the machine and let it hang out there for 5-6 hours until it has done a lovely rise.  Then it gets stored in the refrigerator and I use it as I want to.  It lasts about 7-10 days, and each time I use it, it is more fermented than the last time.  Mmmm, fermented dough.  What a nice flavor it adds to the bread, and I don't have to futz around with sourdough.  Then, when it's either died, or used up, I just make another batch.  Since I bake bread 3-4 times/week, my kitchen is alive with lots of yeasty organisms, and all that, plus the biga, makes for a tasty loaf.

This is the biga 10 minutes ago.  A nice round ball, somewhat kneaded and about to happily rise. 

I've been baking all sorts of bread, from my caraway rye to crispy bagels to tejes kolacs (a Hungarian babka).  The bagels are little guys, very very crispy with very little doughiness inside, not like store-bought bagels at all.  They are beyond addictive, even better than potato chips, and I adore chips.  Next time I make them, I'll show you pics.  I think I should change their name to crispels, rather than bagels.

I ended up making a boule of rosemary bread.  Tossed in about 1/4 cup of biga into my regular dough, added lots of rosemary, and now I'm consuming it nonstop.

Here's what I toss in for my regular bread:  water, salt, flour (bread or all-purpose if I'm doing a sweet bread), yeast.  That's it.  Then I add whatever I'm in the mood for, in this case it was rosemary.  Sometimes I substitute with other flours, as in caraway rye bread, where I use some rye and tons of caraway seeds.

And now that I have biga, it will get put into everything I bake.  Just before the biga is all used up, I'll pull off about a walnut size piece and add that to the new biga.

Me - Yep, I did that all last year.  This year I seem to be back into biga and other modes.  Isn't making bread fun?

Ruth's Basic Ribby Socks

Ruth's Basic Ribby Socks

No fancy, schmancy socks for me.  I'm into ribbed socks in a big way.  Right now I'm into showcasing the dyeing, not the patterning, so ribs work very well for me.  And, I know they fit perfectly.  This is true auto-pilot knitting, perfect for TV moments.  Complicated stuff gets done in the afternoon when it's quiet and no one is around to distract me.

This is yarn from my stash, bought way before I started dyeing.  It's a skinny something or other (the label went missing), and I love the way it flashes.  Sometimes you just have to go with what the yarn wants to do, and not try to impose complexity on a forceful colorway.  I tried it every which way in crochet, and it was a disaster, but here, on ribby socks, it's rather pretty.

My basic rib pattern:  k5, p2.  That's it.  I make a 56 stitch sock, use 2 circs, and 4 repeats on each needle works perfectly. 

Here's the basic pattern for you.

Ruth’s Basic Ribby Socks

Auto-pilot knitting at its best!

Size: Small, for medium – large sizes, add pattern repeats and/or use a larger needle.

Style:  Cuff to toe

Gauge:  7.75 sts over stockinette

Needles: size 2.50mm (size 1.5); 2 circulars, or whatever you’re comfortable with

Yarn:  350-400 yds of sock weight yarn

Pattern repeat:  7 stitches  

Cast On:

Cast on 56 stitches loosely.  Divide your sts up as follows:  28 on needle one, and 28 on needle two. 

Work pattern until leg is as long as you wish.

Heel: 

Heel flap is worked on 28 sts on needle two. 

At the end of needle two, turn work so that the wrong side is facing you. 

           

Row 1.  Sl 1 purlwise, purl to end of row.

Row 2.  *Sl I purlwise, k1*.  Repeat from * to end.

Repeat these two rows until 27 rows are completed.  You are now on the right side of the heel flap.

Turn heel:

Note:  Sl 1 = sl 1 purlwise

                Row 1:  (Right side) K 15, ssk, k1. Turn

                Row 2:  Sl 1, p3, p2tog, p1.  Turn.

                Row 3:  Sl 1, k4, ssk, k1.  Turn.

                Row 4:  Sl 1, p5, p2tog, p1.  Turn.

                Row 5:  Sl 1, k6, ssk, k1.  Turn.

                Row 6:  Sl 1, p7, p2tog, p1.  Turn.

                Row 7:  Sl 1, k8, ssk, k1.  Turn.

                Row 8:  Sl 1, p9, p2tog, p1.  Turn.

                Row 9:  Sl 1, k10, ssk, k1.  Turn.

                Row 10:  Sl 1, p11, p2tog, p1.  Turn.

Row 11:  Sl 1, k12, ssk, k1.  Turn.

                Row 12:  Sl 1, p13, p2tog, p1.  Turn.  You will have 16 sts on your needle.

Heel Gusset:

Work across the heel flap sts on Needle two.  With the tip of Needle two, pick up 14 sts along the side of the heel.  Pick up a stitch from the row below the first instep stitch to prevent a hole:  15 stitches picked up.

Needle one:  Work across the 28 instep stitches in pattern.  From now on, the instep only will be worked in pattern.  The sole will be worked in stockinette.  You will have 28 sts on needle one and 28 sts on needle two.

With the point of needle two, pick up a stitch from the row below the first heel st to prevent a hole.

Pick up 14 sts along the right side of the heel: 15 sts picked up.  Place a marker half way across the foot sts.  This will help you count your decreases accurately.

Work across the foot sts and the instep sts.  You are now ready to begin decreasing for the gusset.

Shape Gusset:

Dec. round:  At beginning of needle two (foot sts), k1, ssk, work to 3 sts before the end of needle two, k2tog, k1.

Work the instep in pattern.  Do not decrease here.

Work the next round without decreases on the sole.

Continue to decrease on alternate rounds on the foot sts.  Work until 28 sts on the sole remain.

Foot:

Needle one:  instep

Needle two:  bottom of foot.

Continue working in rounds in until the sock is about 1.5 inches from the end.  Decrease one stitch on instep at the end so that you have 28 sts on each needle.

Shape Toe:

Round 1: On needle one, k1, ssk, knit until 3 sts before the end of the needle, k2tog, k1.  Repeat on needle two.

Work the next round plain.

Work these 2 rounds until a total of 20 sts, remain.  10 stitches on each needle.

Finishing:

Holding needles one and two together, graft sts on them together using the Kitchener st.

Weave in ends on inside of sock.

Work the second sock.

Henya - Yep, it's my kind of knitting these days.  Pretty, simple and fun.

DJNL - This one is even more mindless than the k3, p2 one.  More knitting, I guess.  Can't wait to see one of those browns turned into socks!