Its cold here today and yesterday. Mid 60's just perfect for baking. I did pumpkin scones on Sunday. They were okay but a little boring since I didn't put cranberries or dates or any other fruit in them. I was thinking that I might want to eat them as an accompaniment for chili or soup so went on the plain side. It isn't bad but would be improved by lots of cream cheese.

On Tuesday, I worked with the sourdough whole wheat bread recipe that started as the Whole Wheat Sourdough Pan Bread recipe in Sunset’s Bread (1st edition). I baked my first variation on May 20, and, as those first loaves were slightly dry, I further altered when I baked it again on September 18. Those loaves were not dry and were delicious. I made one additional change this time by adding 1/3 cup flax meal. It was a bit cool in the house, but my husband warmed it up with the wood stove. When it was time to bake, I had the oven set at 400F, but I reduced it to 375F after putting in the loaves. Doing so gives my sourdough breads better oven spring, and this one is no exception. The two loaves are now cooling, and I look forward to slicing one at lunch tomorrow.

I made two loaves of sourdough sandwich bread. I did block the fan which helped the blow out some. Also I did a lousy job shaping one of the loaves and it shows in the finished product. I guess I was rushing.

I put together another batch of crackers which I'll bake tonight or tomorrow morning I guess.

I sympathize with you CM. One of our ovens is down and the store that sold it does not service them, none of the dealers on the manufacturers website will service it because we did not buy it from them, and the manufacturer won't do anything to help. I even asked if they would have their support line walk me through it but they can only help certified oven technicians. Ugh.

Aaron;
what would happen if you baked the bread in some sort of covered container? Like a turkey roaster that wouldn't have enough thermal mass to make a difference but would keep the hot air from blowing directly across the bread. I'm too lazy to do that experiment on my own and I don't have convection oven. I've had good luck with cloches and dutch ovens but I haven't tried anything like a relatively light weight roasting pan.

I made Joan's 30-Minute Coffee Cake. I added 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon to the dry ingredients. It also has cinnamon in the streusel. I used buttermilk and didn't add a little extra. Normally, when I use buttermilk in place of regular milk, I have to add some extra to avoid a dry batter. But this recipe was plenty moist without any extra. I like the finished product. Thanks for sharing, Joan.

Last night on youtube I saw Chef John of Food Wishes make apple turnovers and I thought I'd make that. Then I thought I'll just make a pie but I only had 3 apples. So I added a cup of frozen blueberries to it and made apple blueberry pie. I used Pillsbury refrigerated pie crust dough, the kind you unroll (they really are a good crust option for when you're feeling a little lazy). For the top crust I cut out circles using a doughnut cutter. It's still cooling off so I don't know how it turned out taste wise.