02
Oven Space!
I never knew that oven space would prove important in my life.
The kitchen in the house I grew up in had 2 ovens. That is, after the big re-do in the mid 80′s That’s when we got a wall-mounted microwave (popcorn!!) over the new wall-mounted oven. I think we ate Wendy’s for dinner every night for 2 weeks while the renovations were in progress. It was the only fast food place near home.
Of the 2 ovens, the wall oven only got used for Thanksgiving, while the turkey was crowding the “regular” oven, and on days when I wanted to bake cookies while mom had a meatloaf and baked potatoes or some other dinner taking up the usual baking spot.
I took those ovens for granted, in a big, bad way. You see, now I have one (state-certified) oven to use to bake dozens of biscotti a week. One oven with 2 shelves- so I can bake 2 half-sheet pans at a time. One whole sheet pan. sigh
And baking biscotti means baking it twice. It’s all in the Latin translation from “biscoctus” meaning twice-cooked/baked. What was I thinking?
So you’ll understand my quest for more oven space. Unfortunately, it’s not easy to have someone share their awesome, commercial oven space. I’ve heard the word “liability” more times than I care to share with you.
Last week I toured a kitchen I can rent by the hour. They have an oven like I’ve only ever seen in my dreams (and on the Food Network). It has room for SIXTEEN full sheet pans at a time and it revolves like a ferris wheel.
What does this mean, you ask? More biscotti for all! More flour and butter and sugar mixed with yummy things like toasted almonds, crystallized ginger and fresh lemon zest, chocolate chips and toffee bits. More places to find my fantastic biscotti!
Now to pound the pavement, and the internet and find places to deliver all those unbaked dozens of biscotti goodness!
Watch me grow!
