Chapter 168: Noodles And Yeast
The next morning, Serena prepared a bigger batch of flat bread. Some were meant for breakfast seeing how stuffing it with meat made it a more filling meal. Meanwhile, the rest were for the Council to try out.
She made vegetable versions for them. Half were made with roasted vegetables and the other half with fresh vegetables. Serena also kept a few extras to the side in case they wanted to try it on their own.
Once she was down making the flat bread and had eaten breakfast, Serena quickly headed over to Emma’s hut while Theo cleaned up and went to check on the coop.
When she got to the hut, the rabbit beastwomen tried to get her to stay for a bit, but she had to refuse. The Council was coming by some time in the morning and she wanted to get some things done before then.
However, she did promise to bring them something new to try. That way it could spread among the village and become a new food the rabbit beastmen commonly ate.
The rabbit beastwomen finally agreed to let her go then, all excited to see what she had come up with now. They had all enjoyed the mixed vegetable dish with herbs and were eager to add something new to it.
When Serena got back, she found Theo checking up on the coop and let him be, heading for the hut. Once inside, she entered her subspace and grabbed the wheat berries and flour.
She then exited the subspace, Liz appearing on her upper arm. "Making the yeast?"
"Yes." Serena nodded her head.
After enjoying the flat bread yesterday, Serena had gotten Liz to research more recipes which used flour and ways to improve the flat bread. It did come out a little dry, so it would be good to find a way to make it easier to eat.
Sauces were currently a little hard to do seeing how many needed some kind of oil or dairy product. Or they had ingredients she currently had no access to.
Still one good thing that came out of it was she got a recipe for noodles and pasta. The former used water while the latter used eggs. Both of which she had. They also followed similar styles of preparations, so she was eager to try out both variations.
Additionally, she discovered that she needed to make yeast which would allow her to make better bread that lasted longer. It seemed simple enough with equal parts water and flour used.
The only thing was that it took a couple of days to make and she had to constantly ’feed’ it and check on it. However, there was also an option to dry it until she needed it, so she planned to dry half of it once prepared and keep the other half active for daily use.
Serena then added, "And I’m going to try that noodles recipe. See if I can get them dry by lunchtime."
That way she could try making another dish by cooking noodles in a vegetable or even meat broth. Perhaps even share some with the rabbit beastwomen. Although she did originally want to stick to the flat bread.
However, it would probably be a good idea to also showcase the different foods one could make with flour. That way it could easily be eaten every day without anyone getting sick of it.
Perhaps I can offer them both... Serena mused as she gathered everything to make the yeast. Though they may not be able to make any for some time.
Because by now most of the wheat that she didn’t harvest had probably died and was only going to return in the rainy season. She could give them some flour since she had quite a bit of it.
But there was also a limit to it.
They would also need to keep some of the wheat berries to the side, so they could plant them during the rainy season for their large-scale farming. Of course, that was if everything was approved on time.
She really needed to get moving with that because she had less than three months to get everything sorted out. They needed to at least have the farms prepared. Building the rest could come later.
Serena measured out the flour and water using a small bowl, her only method of keeping things as accurate as possible. Once she had measured out both into a bigger bowl, Serena mixed it together until Liz told her to stop.
By then the mixture had become smooth and Serena partly covered the bowl with a small, thin fur. That way air could get into the bowl and allow bacteria to eat at the mixture to cause the fermentation process.
And from that she would get her yeast.
After putting it to the side, Serena got to work on her next project - making noodles. Theo came back with a few eggs and put them away for lunch. Serena was tempted to try making pasta, but also didn’t want to waste the eggs.
Once she got the dough right by using water, Serena would test the recipe out with eggs. She used her last remaining bowl to add the flour and a pinch of salt.
"Do you need some help?" Theo asked after putting the eggs away for later.
"Might need you to add some water for me." Serena said.
She had learnt her lesson from yesterday and knew that once she started mixing the dough with her hands, she would need someone else to add any more water or flour as needed.
Liz did say that adding flour to her hands could help make them less sticky, but Serena was too scared to do that. The flour was quite limited and she didn’t want to be wasteful. Especially when considering the effort it took to make.
"Got it." Theo nodded his head in understanding.
Serena then added the measured out water before she got to mixing up the dough. She had added too little water to the flour, making it crumbly and had to ask Theo to add a bit more water.
Eventually though, she managed to make a round ball and began kneading the dough for about five minutes. As she was finishing up, Theo alerted her that the Council members had come by.
Serena quickly covered the dough, letting it rest for a bit while she went out to greet the Council. She could come back later and cut the dough into strips.
The Council members were all quite excited about the grinder and how it worked. Serena showed them the wheat berries and the flour, explaining the uses of the flour.
She then brought out the flat bread, giving them a chance to taste the results of making flour. And while they all didn’t eat much because they already had something to eat for breakfast, they were still quite pleased with the results.
So much so, all of them were taking the rest of their flat breads home for lunch. Emelia and Elder Samuel even offered to exchange some vegetables for the flour and recipe.
After settling things with the Council, Theo and Finn showed them how the grinder worked. While they did that, Serena slipped away to finish up the dough.
She used a cup to roll the dough thin, making a mental note to make a rolling pin and perhaps a few more mixing bowls. She then quickly cut the flat dough into strips and let it out to dry.
By the time she returned, Serena found the Council members discussing the grinder with Finn. It seemed they were interested in having more made for the village. Which was a good thing.
Theo headed back to the hut soon, wanting to get started on a broth for lunch. When he was gone, Serena decided to talk to the Council about more confidential matters.
"Would it be okay if I came by tomorrow to discuss some matters with the Council." Serena asked Elder Samuel quietly while the others distracted Finn with questions about the grinder. "Now that the flour was a success, I think we should look into growing it on a large-scale.... I have plans for everything else also prepared."
Plus she wanted to ask the Council for permission to discuss things openly with Theo. Because going behind his back on this was leaving a bad taste in her mouth.
"I believe we can make that work." Elder Samuel nodded his head in agreement. "It would be good to get some things done now that we have the time for it."
"Mhmm..." Serena murmured. "I’ll come by in the afternoon then?"
"That should be fine. I’ll send Finn over if the time changes." Elder Samuel stated.
The two fell silent for a moment before Serena asked in a hushed tone, "And Merinda..."
"She’s well now." Elder Samuel gave her a small smile in response. "Resting in bed, but the fever is fully gone now."
"That’s good to hear." Serena mused. "I’m glad to see she’s well."
"As am I."