I had a busy Saturday afternoon of baking. I started with Orange Marmalade Oatmeal Crunch Bars, a recipe that I adapted from one of those little Pillsbury cooking booklets (#51) that used to be for sale at grocery checkouts. I have now nailed a version without butter that uses avocado oil. I realized that without the butter, I should lower the temperature to 375 from 400 F degrees and bake for 20 minutes rather than 18. I noticed that I have the original butter recipe posted here at Nebraska Kitchen. I will add the oil-based one when I get the chance.
I then baked a double recipe of my adaptation of Soft Oatmeal Cookies from Jennie Can Cook.
My final project was to bake Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers from the dough I made on Tuesday.
Glad to hear that the loaves came out looking great, CWCdesign.
I still have Cara Cara oranges, so on Sunday, I am trying a new recipe, "Glazed Orange Sweet Rolls," by Kristen Hartke, that appeared in The Washington Post recipe section a couple of years ago. I also printed off detailed commentary by "Jack_in_CT about his experience with the recipe. He said that it needed an additional cup of flour. I found that I needed another half cup of flour, but I also used 2 cups of whole wheat flour and added ¼ cup milk powder and 3 Tbs. flax meal. The recipe used almond milk but said regular or low-fat milk would be fine. I used buttermilk. I do not usually proof yeast in buttermilk, but I did this time, and it worked fine. I replaced 1 tsp. Kosher salt with ½ tsp. regular, replaced ¼ cup butter with 4 Tbs. avocado oil. I also used special gold yeast in place of regular active yeast. The filling called for 2 Tbs. orange marmalade combined with 1 Tbs. of butter, but my husband is not that fond of orange marmalade, so I took the author's suggestion of substituting jam. She recommended raspberry, but I used 2 Tbs. of my blackberry jam. After the jam is spread over the dough, it is sprinkled with a mixture of 2 tsp. sugar and ½ tsp. each of cinnamon and nutmeg. I increased the sugar to 2 Tbs. and the cinnamon to 2 tsp. but left the nutmeg alone. I used the 13 x 9 pan option as opposed to the other one of two 8-inch round pans. Instead of 14-16, I made 12 rolls. I covered the glass dish with saran, and I will let it do the second rise overnight in the refrigerator.
I made Cornmeal Pumpernickel Waffles for a later breakfast on Sunday. While my waffles are a delightful holiday treat, I also made them because we are celebrating ten years since we drove to a place outside Detroit and returned with Annie, our Australian Cattle Dog. She is very fond of waffle edges.
Sunday was also a day for a baking experiment. I had a jar of orange marmalade in the pantry, so I decided to make another try at a butter-free version of my Orange Marmalade Oatmeal Crunch Bars, a recipe I adapted from a little Pillsbury booklet (#51), which I used to buy at the grocery years ago. I have posted the recipe at Nebraska Kitchen in its first butter and coconut glory. My first attempt to bake it without butter a couple of years ago was ok but not great. This time I used ½ cup avocado oil plus 2 Tbs. water. I also reduced the shredded coconut to 30g and added ¼ cup each of powdered milk and flax meal. I will try cutting some for dessert tonight.
Update: the bars came out very well, with just the right amount of sweetness, and chewy in texture. To cut them, I had to start each row with a knife on the edge, but then I could use a pizza wheel to cut strips to the other side, where I again employed a knife to finish the cut. I cut the strips easily with a knife.
Today I made cinnamon chip scones, brushed with maple syrup when they came out of the oven. Good for breakfast or a snack!
Top of my list, maybe I'll make on Friday, is BakerAunt's oatmeal bars. I'm planning to use some of my homemade orange marmalade.
Today I tried adapting my recipe for "Orange Marmalade Oatmeal Crunch Bars," which I posted here at Nebraska Kitchen in 2017. The amount of butter is prohibitive for me now, but I had about 6 Tbs. of orange marmalade in a jar that I wanted to finish, not to mention the need for some cookies around here that accord with how we now eat.
I made a half recipe, as there was a jar of orange marmalade in the refrigerator that I wanted to finish. For 5 Tbs. melted butter, I used 1 Tbs. plus 3 Tbs. canola oil and 1 Tbs. water. I also deleted the coconut (my husband does not do well with it, and it is high in saturated fat, so I should be eating it only in extreme moderation--if there is such a thing). I used an 8 ½ x 11 ¾-inch jelly roll type pan (measuring the bottom) that I lined with parchment. I would have liked a slightly smaller one I baked 15 minutes. I should have cut them immediately, but I let them cool for about 20 minutes. Fortunately, a large knife, pressed down onto the line, worked well, although I had some crumbling. I suspect my husband will sneak one tonight. I had a crumbly piece that tasted fine, and they have a nice crisp bite.
I knew this one as orange marmalade was my Dad's favorite.
Today I baked orange cinnamon buns. I used candied orange peel, which I made from oranges I had used, in the filling. They are OK - the dough is great and was very easy to work with, but the filling needs more cinnamon, nutmeg, etc. The icing is simply orange juice and powdered sugar. My inspiration was the Tick Tock Orange rolls from Dachshound Lady on the OBC, but I didn't want to use orange marmalade called for in the recipe.
Although my husband says that coconut disagrees with his digestive system, he happily ate my orange marmalade bars, knowing they contain some coconut, and he has eaten most of the granola I've made, which also includes coconut. In neither case did it seem to cause him any problems. He seems to do fine where coconut is not the major ingredient.
Today I made Baker Aunt's Orange Marmalade Oatmeal Crunch bars. Thank you for the recipe! Delicious and the perfect consistency; I've struggled to find a granola bar with the right texture, not to hard, not too sweet. I used strawberry preserves that needed to used up, and white chocolate chips. I think they'd be even better with raspberry jam and chocolate chips.
I also made the KAF recipe for Soft Wraps. We used them instead of hot dog buns for our Cheddar Wurst sausages, and it worked well. They are easy to make but a little time consuming. I need to learn to roll the dough even thinner. I also overcooked (dry-fried) some of them. The flavor is still good, but they are too crunchy to wrap around a hot dog.
I enjoyed the article. Thanks for posting the link, Mike.
I am a bit puzzled by the author's claim that oats require more salt. She gives the example of morning oatmeal, but I never add salt to my steel-cut oats. There is some sodium in the 1/4 cup of milk that I add.
I baked oat bars yesterday, and as I did, I realized the recipe does not have salt, but that is likely because I replaced the margarine with unsalted butter. However, the recipe does contain coconut, which would have sodium, as well as orange marmalade.
Certainly I know that my shortbread and my sugar cookies are better with at least 1/4 tsp. salt per stick of unsalted butter, and sometimes a bit more. I once made a recipe without realizing that it should use salted butter, and those cookies were not worth the eating.
So, when should we reduce salt, and when should we not?
Great save, Joan! You could have said it is "pull-apart" bread! Seriously, I've seen recipes where you do cut the bread in slices, then pack it into the bread pan.
This morning I baked Orange Marmalade Oatmeal Crunch Bars and threw in a cup of mini-chocolate chips. (Recipe is posted on this site.) These make a kind of granola bar, some of which I'll send in my younger stepson's care package.
I baked a new recipe this evening, Rye Soda Bread, from the KAF baking site. It's unusual in that it uses equal parts of pumpernickel, Irish wholemeal flour and AP KAF flour, as well as the Harvest Grains blend:
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/rye-soda-bread-recipe
I made two changes. I soaked the Harvest grains in 1 cup of the buttermilk for an hour before adding it and the rest of the liquid ingredients to the dry ones. I also cut the salt from 1 tsp. to 3/4 tsp. I baked it in a 9x4x4 inch pan because I wanted a taller, less wide loaf. It smells wonderful, and I'm looking forward to trying it for breakfast tomorrow. I chose to use currents and to add the optional 2 tsp. caraway.
Addendum: The recipe makes a tasty, crumbly (typical of soda bread), not particularly sweet bread. It will be great for the days leading up to Easter. There is still a bit of crunchiness--probably from the seeds--but I am glad that I soaked the Harvest Grains for an hour in half the buttermilk before I started.
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This reply was modified 8 years, 2 months ago by
BakerAunt.
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This reply was modified 8 years, 2 months ago by BakerAunt.
Here is what the nutrition label says:
Serving size: 1 Tbsp
Servings per container: 22
I already see a problem, since it is a pint, which should be 2 cups, and there are 16 Tbs. in a cup.
Calories: 50
Calories from Fat: 50
Total Fat: 8%
Saturated Fat 3.5 g: 17% (percentages are % Daily Value)
Trans Fat: 0%
Cholesterol: 20 mg 7%
Sodium 5 mg 0%
Total Carbohydrate: 1 g 0%
Dietary Fiber 0g 0%
Sugars 0%
Protein 0 g
Vitanin A 4%
Calcium 0%
Vitamin C 0%
Iron 0%
Yes--completely unhelpful.
When people can drive to Walmart, small town grocery stores close. There were once three grocery stores here, according to my husband, and there were two in the 1950s. There are two gas stations still going strong (both also convenience stores, and one has a Subway), probably because of the summer people and the private high school, with mostly boarding students, on the edge of town. I am grateful that an Ace Hardware opened after the independent one closed when the elderly owner retired, and no one wanted to buy the business. There is a CVS. A handful of restaurants, a seasonal Root Beer stand (food not as good as it once was), an excellent independent coffee shop, an ice cream shop, and a Dollar store, and two independent clothing/other stuff stores, and two "shabby chic"/antique places.
We were in Champaign-Urbana last weekend, so I stocked up on our favorite German honey at T.J. Maxx, as well as imported orange marmalade and my favorite German pickles at Tuesday Morning.
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This reply was modified 8 years, 9 months ago by BakerAunt.
Orange Marmalade Oatmeal Crunch Bars
This recipe was adapted from a Pillsbury booklet series (#51) that came out in the 1980s. I deleted a tsp. of salt, since coconut has sodium. I also use unsalted butter not margarine and reduce it from 3/ cups. I reduced the sugar from 1 cup.
4 cups quick oats
1 1/2 cups walnuts
2/3-3/4 cups packed light brown sugar
1 cup coconut
10 Tbs. unsalted butter, melted
3/4 cups orange marmalade
Optional: 1 cup mini-chocolate chips
Line bottom and sides of a 15x10 inch jelly roll pan with parchment. (You can grease it instead, but I like to be able to lift the baked cookie out and then cut them without worrying about damaging my pan.)
In large bowl, combine oats, nuts, brown sugar, and coconuts. Stir orange marmalade into melted butter. Add to oat mixture and mix well. Press mixture into prepared pan.
Bake at 400F for 18-22 minutes. (The time will depend on your oven and your pan. Check before the 18 minutes.) Cool thoroughly.
Lift out parchment onto a cutting board. cut with knife or pizza wheel. Wrap bars individually in saran.
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This topic was modified 8 years, 10 months ago by BakerAunt.
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This topic was modified 8 years, 2 months ago by BakerAunt. Reason: corrected title
Saturday evening, I pulled out an old recipe, "Oatmeal Crunch Bars," that came from A Pillsbury cookbooklet (#51) that I probably bought about 30 years ago. It used up the rest of a jar of orange marmalade, as well as some coconut and walnuts. I also threw in some mini-chocolate chips. I reduced the butter by 2 Tbs. and the brown sugar by about 1-2 Tbs. When they cool, I'll cut them and wrap them as single serving "granola" bars.
I also baked "Lattice-Top Cherry Pie," from Baking Illustrated (pp. 194-195), but I used my own buttermilk crust recipe. I decided to use pastry flour rather than Gold Medal, although I still used a bit of whole wheat pastry flour as well. The dough rolled out beautifully. This recipe used up three jars of Trader Joe's Morello cherries. I would have waited to bake it for Independence Day, but the weather is going to get hot again, and we are also busy preparing for another moving run.
For dinner on Saturday, I made Chicken Valencia, which is a recipe from a Calphalon cookbook. I use sliced chicken breast, which is dredged in flour and cooked in olive oil. The pan is then deglazed with white wine and a bit of lemon juice, with the sauce reduced by half before adding orange marmalade and a little pepper. I like it served over angel hair pasta, but I used whole wheat pasta, since that is what I have in the house.
