Mis-hap

I have the y-chromosome problem: difficulty keeping track of two different processes at the same time. Plans to spend time with old friends mean taking along a supply of bread, so yesterday morning I started two loaves. One was trouble free - baked yesterday evening. The other, I lost track of what ingredients I had added, and found myself with semi-liquid gruel rather than dough. I added flour to restore the balance, over-did it, added water, a little too much, more flour... In the end, I have at least 50% more dough than I would usually put in a loaf

By this morning, it had risen resonably well. I bake this kind of loaf in what I call a "Dutch oven". In reality, it is a cast iron tagine with a ceramic lid - visible in red in the background of this picture. Usually the loaf comes out with a smooth dome top. This one was not only more dough, it also had a very good 'oven spring' - expansion in the oven. Not only did it rise up inside the neck of the tagine, it lifted the lid off the base, leaving it sitting on top of the loaf like a clown's hat. I'm left with a volcano-shaped loaf and some uncertainty whether the extra baking time I gave it will be enough to compensate for the extra volume. Tomorrow's breakfast will be proof positive