Knockout Gear — about me

Well, hello you. This is my face. Nice to meet you.

I consider updating my “About” section to be part of my bread baking gear. Why? Because you wouldn’t trust me if you didn’t know me better. And if you didn’t trust me you wouldn’t be baking what I bake. So, now that you do, you should get to making bread.

But seriously, I was encouraged by a few other blogs I often read to make a more extensive, more personal mini-bio of myself and how I got here. It’s like a handshake through a computer screen (someday that will be REAL).

So enjoy. And glad tidings to you, dear reader.

Knockout Gear — yeast spoon

A good chunk of the useful devices I own in my bread-baking kitchen collection were gifted to me by my lovely sister-in-law and fellow blogger, Natalie. Using her extensive background of baking knowledge, she was kind enough to bestow upon me several baking-related gifts for Christmas. I am now the beneficiary of artisan seed topping from King Arthur Flour; a pretty wooden scoop; and this.

No, it’s not a simple tablespoon or teaspoon. It’s 2 1/4 teaspoons, to be exact, the proper measurement of yeast for a typical loaf if you aren’t using the pre-measured packages. For those like me who bake a lot of bread, it’s easiest to buy yeast in bulk containers and measure them out per recipe. Until December, I was naive and dimwitted; now, thanks to this yeast spoon, I worry not about correct measurements for my loaves.

“Where can I get one of these?” you may ask. Many specialty baking/cooking stores, like King Arthur Flour, have them, and they’re far from expensive and yet so very handy. Though it hardly ever appears as the star player, it’s certainly an integral part of the team. It’s as useful to a bread baker as a casserole dish is to a Minnesotan. Sorry — “hot dish.” Look for appearances here, and here.