21 Technique
Tamsyn
In terms of storytelling, all this genre-jumping technique effectively pulls the viewer out of the distanced, intellectual space into which we are initially lulled and thrusts us instead into a more visceral mindset.
The Pomodoro Technique is a time management method developed by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s.[1] It uses a kitchen timer to break work into intervals, typically 25 minutes in length, separated by short breaks. Each interval is known as a pomodoro, from the Italian word for tomato, after the tomato-shaped kitchen timer Cirillo used as a university student.[2][1]
Apps and websites providing timers and instructions have widely popularized the technique. Closely related to concepts such as timeboxing and iterative and incremental development used in software design, the method has been adopted in pair programming contexts.[3]
The stages of planning, tracking, recording, processing and visualizing are fundamental to the technique.[1] In the planning phase, tasks are prioritized by recording them in a "To Do Today" list, enabling users to estimate the effort they will require. As pomodoros are completed, they are recorded, adding to a sense of accomplishment and providing raw data for subsequent self-observation and improvement.[1]
The creator and his proponents encourage a low-tech approach, using a mechanical timer, paper, and pencil. The physical act of winding the timer confirms the user's determination to start the task; ticking externalises the desire to complete the task; ringing announces a break. Flow and focus become associated with these physical stimuli.[1][8]
A tip to keep your hands and counter clean: wet your hands often with water, pausing periodically through the kneading process. Keeping them mostly nonstick will help avoid excessive dough tearing. Additionally, use a plastic scraper to occasionally stop and scrape the counter clean, reincorporating any stuck bits back into the mass (you can see me do this in the video below).
The slap and fold kneading technique, also called French fold, is a method for strengthening bread dough (and, more specifically, the gluten in bread dough) during the mixing phase before the start of bulk fermentation.
You can slap and fold for a few minutes after incorporating just the flour, water, and sourdough, then add the salt and withheld water and do another slap and fold until strengthened to the desired amount. Or, you can slap and fold only once before the salt or after everything is incorporated. This is up to you and your preference.
Excessive dough hydration can make the slap and fold process a little messier and sometimes even very difficult. If your dough is highly hydrated, it can help to split mixing up into stages or even do a bassinage type mix, slowly adding water through the mix to avoid a very sloppy dough in the beginning.
For instance, hold back some of the mixing water and begin slap and fold without the reserved water. Once the dough builds some strength, add a little more to the dough in the mixing bowl and continue strengthening in a second slap and fold session on the counter.
In the image above, you can see the quick fold over after the slap and stretch. This motion folds the dough into a tight little package, picked up again at the right side with the pincher grip, repeating the process.
The technique is simple enough: set a timer (tomato shape not required) for some amount of time, usually twenty-five minutes, and work on one specific task until the timer beeps. Hear the beep, take a five-minute break. Rinse, repeat. After four blocks of time, or four so-called pomodoros, take an extended break lasting fifteen to thirty minutes.
Before, my work time resembled a meandering path: a dozen or so minutes spent transcribing a nineteenth-century text in Zotero, another dozen flipping back and forth between the text and a recent news article, a few following an unexpected lead from my source, and a couple here and there replying to emails. After thirty minutes had passed, I would notice that I had written more words in my emails than I had transcribed in my notes. With this new technique, I feel better equipped to prioritize my time. Less urgent tasks, emails in particular, receive their own time slots later in the day, when I feel the least productive.
Once infrequent, breaks now feature prominently in my schedule. While five minutes may not feel like much, that time allows me to decompress and readjust. Longer breaks, say a half-hour, provide welcome opportunities to stretch my legs. Perhaps more importantly, these breaks let me spend time with my dog, Lulu, who firmly believes that all breaks should include leisurely walks. She just might be right.
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To answer this question, I have collected a list of all of the most common ways to knead a bread dough along with instructions for the method as well as the pros and cons and ideas on when to apply them.
When dough is mixed, the proteins in the flour combine with water to form longer chains, called gluten. Kneading the dough enables the gluten the form a network of chains and sheets. This network of gluten is strong and elastic.
Remember: the goal in working the dough is to create strength into the dough by aligning the gluten network and making sure the flour and water are evenly distributed. And there are other, more effective ways to do it that are both gentler and more appreciative to the dough and easier and more enjoyable for you.
This one is a big leap forward if you compare it to the first method of kneading dough. Now, instead of randomly attacking the dough, you are doing a series of deliberate moves or actions meant to build strength into the dough.
Keep repeating these steps until the dough feels smooth and elastic. Usually, that will happen at around 10 minutes. If the dough rips and feels really tight, leave it aside for a few minutes so that it can relax a little bit. Then continue.
When you work your dough at step 3 using any of the methods one to three, you will notice that the dough is very smooth and elastic right from the beginning. After just a few minutes, the dough is ready for the next step.
A similar method can be used with longer fermenting doughs where you have a lot of time at your disposal: After the first 30 minute autolyse, mix in the remaining ingredients, then keep folding the dough gently every half an hour or so, until the dough is ready to be shaped. Notice that the folds should get gentler as time passes so that you preserve as much as possible of the gases that have developed in the dough in the fermentation.
That said, as a general rule of thumb, when mixing with a machine, be careful to not over knead the dough. And also, make use of the time: there is no reason for not to doing an autolyse with a KitchenAid.
Looking at the methods above, you will notice that most of them are simply variations of stretching the dough. As the goal is to align the gluten network, that makes a lot of sense. Therefore, any technique that includes stretching and then folding will work: taking the dough in your hands and stretching it in the air is one example that comes to mind.
Rowing is a natural motion and most people pick it up quickly with instruction and/or spending time focusing on technique. Have someone watch you row, comparing your body positions to those shown in the video below. Don't pull too hard until you are comfortable with the technique fundamentals.
How it works: The drive is the work portion of the stroke; the recovery is the rest portion that prepares you for the next drive. The body movements of the recovery are essentially the reverse of the drive. Blend these movements into a smooth continuum to create the rowing stroke.
The SCAT approach uses standardized terminology to document shoreline oiling conditions. SCAT is designed to support decision-making for shoreline cleanup. It is flexible in its scale of surveys and in the detail of datasets collected.
SCAT teams include people trained in the techniques, procedures, and terminology of shoreline assessment. Teams should include people with knowledge and experience in oil and oil cleanup techniques, geomorphology, ecology, and in some cases, archeology. Members of a SCAT team may include federal representatives (usually from the NOAA Scientific Support Team or U.S. Coast Guard), state representatives, a representative of the responsible party, and possibly the landowner or other stakeholders. A SCAT coordinator directs the activities of the SCAT teams from the command post and coordinates with people working on other aspects of the response.
SCAT teams use a collaborative, consensus-building approach to collect data. SCAT team members also prepare field maps and forms detailing the area surveyed and make specific cleanup recommendations designed to meet cleanup goals and objectives. Later, SCAT teams verify cleanup effectiveness, modifying guidelines as needed if conditions change. Although they coordinate with division supervisors in the area, they do not direct cleanup workers.
SCAT teams collect the data needed to develop a shoreline cleanup plan that maximizes the recovery of oiled habitats and resources, while minimizing the risk of injury from cleanup efforts. The team's responsibilities include the following:
Shoreline Assessment Job Aid: This job aid was developed for use in the field and to supplement the manual, providing a visual guide to many of the terms used and conditions found during shoreline assessments.
Shoreline Assessment Forms: These are standard forms you can download, print out, and then use to record your observations during a shoreline survey following an oil spill. Different forms have been developed for different habitats and types of oiling (e.g., coastal, river, wetland, tarball oiling, etc.).
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