My husband would mope if I did not frost the cinnamon rolls. I am planning, however, to cut back on the amount of glaze I use.
Skeptic--I started the griddle on a low-medium(?) heat for two minutes, then added some oil and spread it around, let it rest for maybe 30 seconds, then began the pancakes. I had just a bit of sticking on a couple of them. I used a silicone spatula that was good for getting underneath them and dislodging, in most cases, where a bit stuck. I also turned down the heat a bit after adding the second batch to the pan, as I did not want it to get any hotter.
I realized as I was cooking them that I had forgotten to add oil to the batter, but they were ok. I only realized at noon that I had forgotten to add the egg as well! Clearly, I need to organize my workspace better.
I prefer smaller cinnamon rolls, so I can have more than one. 🙂
This is a 15x21 sheet pan (3/4 sized) and most of the rolls weigh between 1.5 and 1.75 ounces. They freeze well. I made this pan in mid-November and there are still 3 or 4 left, so I'll probably make more in the next week. This recipe uses a tangzhong dough and I use a compound butter rather than melted butter and cinnamon sugar, I just find it easier to spread on.
I don't frost them, I've been tempted to put on a light sugar syrup glaze. I did do one batch with some penuche frosting, but in general the frosting just adds carbs but not really much taste (they're plenty sweet), and my wife says it gets in the way of dunking it in chili.
Next time I'll be aiming for a total of 40 (8 rows of 5).
If I was running a bakery, I'd probably have to make them larger for them to sell well, but those dinner plate-sized ones are too big and have WAY too many carbs.
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Brings to mind the Al Stewart album and song from 1976, which was probably written and recorded in another year of the cat, as one ended in early 1976.
(Google says the title was inspired by his girlfriend's interest in astrology.)
Not sure what I will bake this week yet.
I've been buying BRM lately from Vitacost. Prices are good (at least compared to local shops), the shipping is reasonable, and the service is good.
Shortbread with caramel and chocolate sounds more like Twix than KitKat.
Milk is slightly acetic so I suspect milk powder is also slightly acetic, but I think it is the milk sugar (lactose), fat (if not fat-free) and possibly some milk protein that makes the bread softer.
The shortbread bar I want to make is Millionaire shortbread which is shortbread with caramel with chocolate on top. Maybe it was the inspiration for KitKats. When it is good it is great. It's made it over to the US but I had it in Scotland in 1999 (first trip there with my then girlfriend Kate!). Now it's easy to find recipes. I think they used to use it as an enticement to have kids eat their haggis.
Made regular sandwich bread yesterday. I've stopped working on batards and gone back to pan loaves. And I cut the time down from three days to one to try and tame the sour which most of my family doesn't like.
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The KAF Whole Grains cookbook has a Scottish Shortbread recipe that uses 2 1/2 cups of oatmeal ground up in a food processor plus another 1/2 cup of wheat flour. It is very good, I've used it as a base for several apple desserts, it doesn't quite hold together well enough to be a pie crust (it sinks along the sides) but it makes a pretty good base for an apple crisp or an apple tart.
I've also made it as a bar cookie with some chopped pecans, but you have to cut it quickly as it firms up as it cools.
My brother continued to smoke after lung cancer surgery, and my wife's stepmother kept on smoking until the day she died of lung/brain cancer. Neither lived to age 70.
For many people it's nearly impossible to quit smoking, there are apparently some genetic factors that impact nicotine addiction. Vaping is apparently almost as hard to quit and might lead to some medical conditions that are worse than those caused by smoking.
What worries me most about the creeping decriminalization of marijuana is that the research is starting to show marijuana smoke has many of the same toxic substances as tobacco smoke, and that doesn't take into effect what THC does to the body and mind over time. (But the long term effects of alcohol use have been known for a long time, and alcohol has been around for millennia.)
Looking good, Aaron. I wonder if you could switch from bread flour to AP (slightly lower in protein) and leave out the cornstarch?
KidPizza (Cass) would probably recommend you use bleached flour for cookies. I keep some on hand (GM AP) for that purpose, though most of the time I use KAF unbleached AP flour.
I do keep pastry flour on hand for pie crusts, lower protein/gluten content flour has a noticeably impact on the tenderness of the pie crust.
I have always just used them interchangeably.
But based on what Mr. Reinhart says below you might need a little more Active Dry than Instant because more of the Instant yeast is alive. The conversion you found sounds more like AD to fresh.
My searches say you need about 1/4 to 1/2 tsp more of AD.
Peter Reinhart quoted in Epicurious:
Active dry yeast consists of dehydrated granules that must be rehydrated and activated in warm liquid prior to being used--that's called proofing. Peter Reinhart, author of Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day, says, "Active dry yeast has about 6 to 7 percent moisture, and about 25 percent of the yeast cells are inactive (dead) due to processing during drying." This yeast is unstable and inconsistent, so you should always proof it to ensure it's still alive before using. If the yeast is alive it will begin to foam after a few minutes in water--if not, throw it out. On the upside, active dry is the most common type of commercial yeast--and when it is alive, it works great in almost any recipe that requires yeast.
Instant yeast consists of superfine granules, and is the "most concentrated and driest of the yeast varieties, containing about 3 percent moisture," says Reinhart. Because of the way it's processed, all of the yeast cells are alive and viable--so there's no need to proof prior to using. Additionally, the fine grain size means it easily dissolves and does not need to be rehydrated; you can add it directly to your dry ingredients. This yeast is stable and has a shelf life of at least six months when kept dry, or even longer if kept in the freezer. (Note: Fleischmann's RapidRise is a common brand of instant yeast; you might also see this yeast with a label saying it's for bread machines.)
Hello bakers, I am baking honey oat whole wheat bread today and the recipe calls for 2.5 ounces (7 grams) of instant yeast. I don't have instant, only active dry. I looked up the conversion online and it said to use twice the amount of active dry as you would use instant. I've never heard of a recipe using 5 ounces of active dry yeast. What is a better conversion? Thank you! (Due to my being easily confused with technology as I get older, I somehow signed up with two user names: blanche and chandos. Mike very kindly got me straightened out and now blanche is gone and chandos has taken her place. Sorry for the confusion.)
Progress!
250g bread flour (instead of 130)
040g cornstarch
228g unsalted butter
140g brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt
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I find the lower fat ground beef (85-95%) falls apart more, maybe the stuff you have that's labeled 80% is actually lower in fat. (I don't think there's any penalty for having less fat than what it is labeled at.)
Other factors that could affect it are the cuts it was made from, how finely it was ground, possibly even grass-fed vs grain-fed.
Not sure why freezing it would make that much difference, I suspect that the chubs of ground beef that I prefer to the trays have sometimes been frozen during shipping.
When making a meatloaf, chilling it for an hour or so seems to improve how well it stays together both before and after it has been baked.
The brine does retain some dill flavor, but I've also used the juice from Gherkins when that's all I had. And since I had dill seed (not weed, I think the seed has a stronger flavor), mustard seed, onion, and caraway seed to the dough, that increases the flavor. I made a dill brine about a month ago, with no cucumbers, but I did add garlic. I let it "marinate" in the fridge several weeks, and it worked as well as the commercial dill pickle juice when I used it in rye bread.
Mike, when I used to make several kinds of pickles every summer, I used alum in all the recipes. I recall it is used to help keep the cucumbers crisp, but I'm not sure.
I have read, cannot cite where, in several places about using acids in breads. It supposedly helps with the rise. Since rye needs a lot of help, I suppose that may be why it is recommended for rye breads?
IMO, Aaron, it has to be what is the right pickle juice for the baker--the flavors you like in your rye bread. We buy jars of these German dill pickles, usually from Best Buy or, more expensively, Tuesday Morning. I like no other pickle in my potato salad or tartar sauce. The juice retains that flavor, due to the spices (dill, mustard seed, onion, and maybe something else). I strain the juice, so the whole spices do not go into the bread.
I cut the salt to 1 tsp. this time, since I know that the juice is salty. I increased the yeast a previous time to 2 1/2 tsp., in order to use more wholegrains, and that seems to be what is needed. I also use Bob's Red Mill Bread flour, which I find gives better results with a more wholegrain loaf.
