The time line suggested on the main recipe page is ridiculous-- for America. In Barcelona, yes, the restaurants open at 9 p m. I remember one night at 10:30 (after nearly two weeks in Spain) suggesting to my wife that we think about dinner. But in the US? No, you don't want these coming out of the oven at 8:45. I've driven into small towns in New England at 9:00 at night and thought there was a power failure--but no, everyone had simply gone to bed. Of course, they were all up at 5:00 the next morning, chainsawing the next winter's firewood by the sound of it. Point is, think about when you want the slightly cooled but still warm loaves ready and then ratchet the timeline backwards, leaving sufficient cushion to allow for needing a bit more time at several of the steps along the way.
By the way, this is one of KA's best recipes. The first time I made it, even my 83-year-old mother-in-law, somewhat grumpy from moving across the country to stay with us (for 54 weeks) during pre-vaccine covid was moved to gush approval.
March 24, 2022 at 10:18am
The time line suggested on the main recipe page is ridiculous-- for America. In Barcelona, yes, the restaurants open at 9 p m. I remember one night at 10:30 (after nearly two weeks in Spain) suggesting to my wife that we think about dinner. But in the US? No, you don't want these coming out of the oven at 8:45. I've driven into small towns in New England at 9:00 at night and thought there was a power failure--but no, everyone had simply gone to bed. Of course, they were all up at 5:00 the next morning, chainsawing the next winter's firewood by the sound of it. Point is, think about when you want the slightly cooled but still warm loaves ready and then ratchet the timeline backwards, leaving sufficient cushion to allow for needing a bit more time at several of the steps along the way.
By the way, this is one of KA's best recipes. The first time I made it, even my 83-year-old mother-in-law, somewhat grumpy from moving across the country to stay with us (for 54 weeks) during pre-vaccine covid was moved to gush approval.