Chapter 50 - Bread Riot
The group arrived at the cabin. Following Gail's orders, Misha filled a jar that had been sterilized with filtered water and raisins she had brought, then sealed it with a lid.
In about a week, bubbles should start to appear. I once read in a book long ago that this is how you make natural yeast, which can be used for bread fermentation. If only we had internet here, I could look it up to be more sure.
Gail, Misha, and Dan had stir-fried rabbit meat and onions for lunch. The soup was a simple rabbit bone broth with no other ingredients. Despite this, they thoroughly enjoyed it.
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"Dan, let's stop by the trading company on the way home. There's something I want."
“What do you want?”
“An iron pot, but not an ordinary one. If Pops won't make it, I’ll just buy a lump of iron and make it myself.”
“I see. He’ll probably get mad if you ask him to make a pot.”
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The group arrived at the trading company.
“Pops, there’s something I want you to make. If it’s not possible, just give me some iron and I’ll make it myself.”
“What’s this all of a sudden? Are you saying there’s something I can’t make?”
“It’s not that you can’t make it, but you probably won’t want to.”
“Tell me what it is!”
“An iron pot.”
“Iron pot? You can buy those at the town’s tool shop. Or is it something special that only you would want?”
“It’s not that special, but I don’t think they have it on sale.”
“What kind of pot is it?”
"The size of the pot doesn't really matter, but the material should be this thick.”
Gail described the thickness of the pot with his finger.
“The lid also needs to fit tightly and be just as thick.”
“The lid needs to be that thick too? What are you going to use it for?”
“I want to bake bread in it on a barbecue grill. You can also use it for other things.”
“All right, I’ll make it for you. When do you need it?”
“I want to use it in six or seven days.”
“Then come pick it up in four days. If there’s a problem, I can fix it in a day, so it’ll be ready in time.”
“Pops, are you really going to make the pot?”
Dan was surprised.
"I'm interested in what the kid's planning."
"Young Master always makes people curious."
"That's right."
Dan and Dwan laughed out loud.
It’s just that I can’t say anything yet because I’m not sure if it’ll turn out well.
Gail left the trading company, saying he’d be back in four days.
“You’re going to make bread, Young Master?”
“I’m not sure if it’ll work this time. Ovens seem harder to use, so I want to try making it in an iron pot first.”
“Does it have something to do with soaking those raisins in water?”
"If you soak raisins in water for some time, bubbles should start to form. Those bubbles should contain something that will make bread soft.”
“You really don’t seem confident this time.”
“It’s my first time making yeast from scratch.”
“You talk like you’ve tried other methods before.”
Oops...
"It's the revelation."
Hooray for the all-purpose excuse --- the revelation!
"I see. I hope it goes well."
"You help me too, Dan."
"Of course. I know how to make hard bread, at least.”
“The method’s pretty similar, so I will be counting on you.”
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Four days later, two iron pot prototypes were completed. One was about 30 cm in diameter, and the other about 25 cm.
“Pops, as expected, they’re perfect!”
“Of course. Bring me some of the bread you made later.”
“If I succeed.”
The iron pots were really heavy, so Gail had Dan carry them.
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Inside the cabin, Gail was checking the jar. The raisins were floating and the water was bubbling and smelled like wine.
It's worth the effort of shaking it every day.
I think it's a success.
I didn't bring any ingredients to make bread, so let's try it tomorrow.
“Dan, it looks like it's ready, so let’s buy the ingredients to make bread before coming here tomorrow.”
"I see. Then, let's bring Misha with us tomorrow."
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In the morning of the next day, Gail bought a bag of flour, a sieve, several pieces of cheesecloth, leather gloves, butter (super expensive), olive oil, and so on, then headed to the forest.
First, let's extract the natural yeast.
Gail lined the sieve with cloth and strained the water containing the raisins. He then squeezed the raisins left on the cloth to avoid wasting the remaining juice.
"I thought it would smell bad, but it actually smells good like wine.”
"If it smells bad, that means we failed, but since it smells like wine, that means we succeeded."
"I see."
"Now then, can you put some flour on the table that has been wiped clean?”
"Is this amount of flour enough?"
“Hmm.... Just put out a reasonable amount. Enough to make about ten of the breads we usually eat at home.”
“In that case, maybe around this much.”
Gail made a well on top of the mountain-shaped flour and pour the yeast solution slowly over it. He also added some salt and water.
"Dan, knead this until everything is well mixed."
"Got it."
"Misha, watch carefully and remember all the steps."
"Yes!"
*knead* *knead* *knead*
Maybe it needs a little more water? Let's just add just a bit.
*knead* *knead* *knead*
It's starting to look like bread dough.
*knead* *knead* *knead*
“Dan, roll it into a ball and put it in this bowl.”
Dan dropped the dough into a wooden bowl and covered it with a damp cloth.
“If it doubles in size, the first stage is a success.”
"Is this going to get bigger?"
"That's right."
Then, after about an hour, Gail removed the cloth.
"Whoa, it became a lot bigger than before!”
Misha exclaimed.
“Dan, knead this dough again to remove the air.”
*knead* *knead* *knead*
"Is this enough?"
The dough feels about as soft as an earlobe now. This should be good enough, right?
"Divide the dough in half, add melted butter to one half, and knead it again."
The buttered dough was rolled into two balls, covered with a damp cloth, and left to rest again.
Let's wrap the remaining dough (without butter) in a damp cloth and put it inside the cooler I made the other day. Fill a small jar with ice and put it inside the cooler, too. This will serve like a refrigerator.
Next, let's light the firewood. If the fire is too strong, the bread will be burnt on the outside but raw on the inside. Let's wait until the firewood becomes embers before putting the pots on.
Gail applied olive oil to the large leaves that Dan got from somewhere and placed them in the bottom of the iron pots. The dough finished its second rise while the fire and pots were being prepared. Dan carefully moved the bread dough to the pots, put the lids on, and then placed them on the grill. Gail told him to put some embers on the lids so that the heat spread evenly.
"Now all we need to do is wait for the bread to bake."
I should have leave some yeast in case of failure, but it's already too late. I think 15-20 minutes are enough for the bread to bake perfectly. There's no timer or clock here, so I'll have to rely on my feeling. If I were cooking rice, I would know that the rice is cooked when it stopped bubbling, but bread doesn't bubble.
"Dan, take the smaller pot off the grill and open the lid."
"Leave it to me."
When the lid was opened, an indescribably sweet aroma wafted out.
"I think it's perfectly baked. Now, take the bigger pot off the grill, too."
The bread inside the bigger pot was also perfectly baked.
"It smells so good!"
Misha closed her eyes while sniffing the air
Misha, you're acting like a dog now.
"Young Master, let's hurry up and try it!"
Dan urged Gail.
Dan is acting like a bear at the zoo begging for food.
"I got it, I got it. Pull the leaves to take the bread out. If it's hard, just flip over the pot."
The slightly burnt leaves looked like they might fall apart, but the scent of the leaves was a nice touch. Dan managed to take out the bread by pulling the leaves. He then peeled off the leaves, tore a piece of bread, and put it into his mouth.
"It's so soft!"
"It's fluffy and delicious!"
Yes, it's a big success!
Gail also tried the bread.
It's not as tasty as the bread from my previous life, but it's still far tastier than this world's bread. This should work.
"Dan, it's early, but let's go home and stop by the trading company. I also want Brick to try this bread."
"Will we be able to eat this bread at the mansion too?"
"That's what this experiment is for."
"Okay, let's go!"
Hearing that they'd be able to eat this bread anytime, the two suddenly became full of motivation. The group stopped by the trading company and shared some bread with Dwan.
"Is this the bread?"
"That's right, I baked it in the pot you made."
"What the hell is this!? You can bake such soft and delicious bread with an iron pot? We’ll mass-produce it!"
"It's not the pot that makes this bread soft. I'll teach you how to make it next time."
"What?! Hey, wait, we're not finished talking yet...."
Gail and the others left the trading company in a hurry as if fleeing.
I don’t have time to teach him how to make it right now.
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Upon arriving at the mansion, the group immediately went to the kitchen to look for Brick the chef.
"Hey, Brick, are you there?"
"What's wrong, Dan? Dinner's not ready yet..., Misha and Young Master are with you too. Did something happen?"
"Yeah, try this."
"Is this bread? It's so soft and smells wonderful...."
"Just eat it quickly!"
He is a chef, after all. Unlike Dan and the others who immediately gobble it down, he carefully examines the bread before taking a bite.
"Shut up, don't rush me! *much* This is.... bread!?"
"How is it? Delicious, right? You're going to make this bread from now on."
"Who made this bread!? Surely not you, right...? Eh!? I'm going to make this bread?"
Brick was confused.
"Brick, I want you to make this bread and some new dishes."
"Did Young Master make this bread...?"
Brick got even more confused.
"You might not know, but our Young Master is amazing."
It's been a while since I heard 'Young Master is amazing.' as a reasoning.