44- Chapter 40

They had made batches of rolls from each dough, and Sa Bina wanted to not only see how it had worked out, but she also wanted feedback from everyone who had worked on it. She asked someone to fetch Lou Sie, Dian Fu and Be Net. With the kitchen staff and including herself that would be seven people to taste her attempt. It was not the right target group, but it was what she had on short notice.

Also Sa Bina was still not sure how well the rolls had turned out. The look and crispiness of the crust was there, but the different flours had reacted differently to the yeast. So they ranged in size, and therefore density. The combination of the flour and density would impact that taste significantly. There was also a lot of guesswork in the attempt, so until she tasted it she could not be sure how close they were to the real thing. At least they had all come out looking like rolls, that in itself was a blessing. The fact that they had been forced to keep a constant watch on the rolls as they baked helped with that. Had Sa Bina been using a modern oven with temperature control and a timer, she had no doubt several batches would have been totally ruined.

The best part was that the smell of the baking bread was what she remembered, it made her nostalgic for a moment. As Sa Bina was comparing the rolls, checking the base, the sound and the weight her retainers joined her.

“Thank you all for coming so late,” said Sa Bina. “I have called you down to help me taste and assess the first batch of bread made using a new method. It is the first batch, and there are likely to be some issues, so please bear that in mind.”

“That is certainly an interesting shape,” said Be Net. “Won’t it be too hard to eat?” He was used to the normal flat bread and fired bread varieties that were made. Anyone trying to make a bread so large and round would find it hard to cook it through properly.

“This is a different type of bread,” said Sa Bina. “Yes, a few of the smaller ones will be harder than I was aiming for, but the larger ones should be ok. Lou Sie, can you please make some notes so we can compare them later.”

Lou Sie rushed off to get some parchment to make notes. Once she returned, the tasting began. They all started with the same batch of rolls to make it easier for Lou Sie to take notes on the feedback.

“The smell from the bread is wonderful,” said Dian Fu.

“Yes, if nothing else, just having the smell waft through the dining room would awaken people’s appetites,” said Be Net.

Sa Bina had arranged the batches of rolls from the largest to the smallest. She wanted to start with the ones most likely to be successful and work her way down. Coincidentally, the largest rolls were also the ones that were not multigrain. Sa Bine wondered if the starter yeast being made from the same flour made that much of a difference or if that flour was just best suited for bread.

They each took a roll, and broke them open, while Sa Bina choose to cut hers. The inside was fluffy, though there was some clumping of the dough. It looked like the fermentation had not been as even as she had hoped for. Still it looked cooked through, with no raw dough in sight. She tentatively took a bite and chewed on the fresh bread. The taste and texture were off to her sensibilities. She felt that she needed to somehow improve the quality of the milling and sifting, as well as improve the yeast. This would take more work.

“How is the bread so fluffy?” asked the cook. “Is this because of that starter we mixed in?”

“This is truly something different,” said Be Net. He had been expecting a hard bread and was pleasantly surprised by the crust being the only hard part. The texture was very different to any bread that he had seen or tasted before.

Everyone provided feedback on the rolls, with the end result being that the crust was liked by everyone. The inside was a different matter, it was so different to what they were used to that the sensations were strange to most. Still it was a pleasant sensation. The general consensus was that there would be interest in the rolls, just because they would be a novelty.

From there the same process was repeated as they checked and tasted each batch of rolls. As Sa Bina had thought, as they went down the batch of rolls, they bread grew denser and denser. They also found a few that had not cooked all the way through and still contained raw dough. Those would need to be cooked at lower temperatures for longer.

Only four of the twelve batches could have been said to be somewhat successful. The others all had problems that would require refining. None met Sa Bina’s exacting standards. She would need to do a lot more testing to see how to get closure to the taste and texture she remembered.

Her retainers were more enamoured with the new bread, wanting to add it to the menu.

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“I have no issues with adding these rolls to our menu, it will help us get better at making them, and also improve our processes,” said Sa Bina. “However, that will mean making a large amount of the starter yeast, and then keeping the batches going. We are going to need at least a hundred jin and that is just to start. We are going to need a lot more if we want to make this a regular thing.”

“We are also going to need a lot more flour,” said the cook. “We will need to get it milled and sifted.”

“Yes, and we need to try and get to an even finer quality than we reached for this batch,” said Sa Bina. “Be Net, can you work with the artisans to see what we can do about this issue? We are going to need to be able to process large amounts of flour. We should start looking at how to address it from now.”

“I will speak to them tomorrow and see what options we have,” replied Be Net.

“Also please ask them to be very careful,” said Sa Bina. “The finer the flour, the more chance it will catch fire or explode from heat.”

“Explode?” asked a shocked Be Net.

“Yes,” replied Sa Bina. She looked to see that the oven was still hot. “Let me show you.” She threw a small amount of finely milled flour into the oven and the heat was enough for it to catch fire. “The milling will cause the flour to heat, but the finer the flour, the more easily it will catch fire. I am sure the artificers will be aware of the issue already, but just in case they were not, I didn’t want anyone to get injured.”

Lou Sie, Dain Fu and Be Net were surprised by the demonstration, but the kitchen staff were not.

“That is normal,” said the cook. “We have to be careful of all sorts of things in the kitchen. Don’t worry Miss, we know how to be careful around flour. While we wait for the artificers, we will do what we can by hand.”

“Thank you,” said Sa Bina. “We will also need the starter yeast to be made from the same finely milled flour. You will have to do a lot of hard work.”

“We are used to it, Miss,” replied the cook, while the other kitchen hands snickered at Sa Bina calling it hard work.

“I am sure Be Net can provide a few hard working people to help you,” said Sa Bina. “If any have already started cultivating, then even better.”

“I will make the arrangements, Miss,” said Be Net.

“Thank you all,” said Sa Bina. “I think we can make our next proper attempt in three or four days. As it will take at least that long to get the starter ready. I will also spend time to train you all in the basic arts of bread making so you can make rolls without me.”

With that Sa Bina left everyone to return to her room. She had gotten extremely lucky that some of the batches of rolls had turned out alright. She also knew that they would face multiple failed batches before they refined the process. It was already very late and she still had school the next day. She hoped she would be able to get enough rest. Dian Fu was sure to wake her up early to get her ready again.

In the kitchen her retainers continued to discuss the new bread and what it would mean.

“The rolls, as the young miss called them, took the same amount of flour to make as a normal flat bread,” said the cook. “So it’s not like we will need more flour than we use now.”

“Yes, but to get it ready will take a lot longer,” said one of the kitchen girls who had been quiet till now.

“But we can get it ready and store it right?” chimed in another. “That way we only need to do the prep like Miss did today.”

“Yes, though that process took hours,” said the cook. “We will need to plan ahead and prepare the dough hours in advance. Be Net, I think we will need people we have trained just for bread making.”

“Yes, the young Miss has already asked me to recruit more,” said Be Net. “If we are going to be making a lot more of this type of bread, enough to sell to, we will need a lot more people to do the work. Also to cover anyone taking time off. I will add it to my list.”

“We are also going to need to train them up,” said Lou Sie to the cook. “That is going to take time too. We need them sooner rather than later. Will you be able to train them all yourself?”

“I am going to need help,” said the cook after thinking it through. “I won’t be able to manage the kitchen and train all the new people too. It will be far too much.”

And so they all discussed another expansion to staff numbers to support Sa Bina’s ambitions.

Sa Bina was drifting off to sleep, unaware that her trusted retainers were working on expanding her estate once again. She was woken early by Dian Fu. Thankfully she felt fully refreshed. She was surprised for a moment as she had expected to feel tired, yet that moment passed when Dian Fu chided her to get out of bed. Sa Bina smiled to herself as she did as she was bid. She liked the fact that Dian Fu was no longer as subservient around her.

Sa Bina went through her new morning routine. That included the removal and reapplication of her nail lacquer. Apparently for noble women it was considered the height of impropriety to be seen with the same design two days in a row. Sa Bina groaned internally when she heard that. It was even more time that she would need to devote every day to just getting ready. If she actually had to attend any other formal events, then she would need to go through the process multiple times in the same day.

The next was having her hair done. The hair dos were getting more and more elaborate as her little helpers got into the swing of things. That also meant it was taking more and more time. Yet Sa Bina knew that complaining would do no good. She had to present the right image. She also wondered what the consequences would be of her not having done so in front of others. She was not expecting to get away without some sort of effect. Still what was done was done, she would just need to deal with whatever happened. Now it was time for another day of school.