KISS Rule

If you haven't heard about the KISS rule, then here it is:

Keep It Simple, Stupid

If you're wondering why I would come up with a blog post on Christmas Eve about the KISS rule, it's because I had forgotten it.

For my daughter's birthday sleepover, I made my Cinnamon Rolls for the next morning. But a small disaster struck and the dough didn't rise like I wanted it to. It rose, but it took twice as long and it wasn't as poofy. The kids didn't care. Hubby didn't care.

But I cared.

I had used a new flour. Could that be the problem?

I freeze my 1-pound block of yeast. Could that be the problem, too many freezing/thawing cycles?

I didn't know what the deal was, but I had other stuff to think about--family coming, Thanksgiving, candy-making, etc, so I didn't try to figure it out until I made cinnamon rolls again--TODAY.

I had forgotten the number one rule in all things--KISS.

Why don't yeast rise when making bread? It's because they're dead. They're dead for two primary reasons. 1) no source of energy for growth, 2) I killed them.

I found out today that I had murdered those poor little yeasty bugs. How?

By not checking the temperature of my half-n-half.

My water, at it's hottest, is below 120 degrees F, but I have to take the chill of the half-n-half by microwaving it. If I had warmed it on the stove, I probably would have caught the problem, but I didn't.

Today I over nuked my half-n-half to 150 degrees. OUCH! No wonder the yeast died. So, I cooled it off in the fridge and then processed my dough.

The dough have been in its first proofing for less than 20 minutes and it's growing like a science experiment, doubling in size.

Here's my advice for today . . . I hope I'll remember it in the future . . . Keep It Simple, Stupid!

95% of all the stuff that goes wrong is due to very simple reason. Don't stress over it, but look for the stupid stuff first.

Later, Peeps!