We do not have quite enough of that wonderful rye bread for tomorrow. As I was working on the rabbit and egg cake, I pulled out the Zo bread machine and my standard bread machine recipe that uses 1 ½ cup bread flour, 1 ½ cup whole wheat, and 1 cup of some rolled grain. I decided to use white whole wheat flour and ¾ cup 5-rolled grain cereal (BRM) and ¼ cup of KAF’s malted rolled wheat. I added 2 Tbs. of oat bran and 2 Tbs. fine cornmeal. It's now in the oven.
I have a Nordic Ware large square pan that has wells for two eggs and two halves of a bunny. I have never used it, and since the Easter season extends to Pentecost, I thought, Why not? So, on Saturday, I used my lime Bundt cake recipe and used The Grease on the pan. I had seen in a review for a different square Nordic Ware bunny pan that the person put a cookie sheet on top and weighted it down with a cast iron skillet. I did that and tried to grease the surface of the pan. I baked the cake for 50 minutes at 350F (on the third rack from the bottom). That was a bit too long, but no real harm done. I’d check at 40-45 minutes next time. I did have a bit of sticking to the cookie sheet, with one of the eggs, and on the body of one bunny, but I scraped it off and stuck it back on. It will be in the center of the bunny and the bottom of the egg, so it will not show. The ears of the bunny are a bit shallow, so they got overly browned. I’d put a little more batter in that section next time. Now, I need to figure out what I will use to stick the two halves together tomorrow.
Two days after having the biggest snowfall of the season (5-6 inches), we're supposed to hit the mid-70's this afternoon, so I'm doing burgers on the outdoor grill tonight.
Our grill is about 24 years old and is starting to show signs of age, the knob for the left set of burners won't turn (it was sticky last fall.) I'm not sure I've got the skills and tools to replace the control and I don't know if the place we bought it from is even doing repairs any more. It is wearing out in other places and probably should have new burners as well.
Right now spending money on a new grill isn't in the plans, though I did do some shopping around last fall to see what's out there. Our current grill has a separate rotisserie burner at the back, and I like using that for things like chickens and turkeys. I've done gyros meat on it a few times, too. Most of the grills don't have that feature, though Weber has an add-on kit.
If I was buying a new grill, I'd probably look for one that has better facilities for smoking meats, too.
I made soup for lunch on Saturday, using leftover water from the potatoes I cooked on Sunday, and the rest of the drippings (with some meat) from the turkey we had. I started by sautéing some onion in a little olive oil, then added chopped carrots and celery. I added in the drippings, and some rosemary, before adding 1 cup of rinsed brown lentils, then the potato water, and finishing with minced parsley. I brought to a low boil, then simmered for 30 minutes. I added freshly ground pepper at the end. It still seemed to need something, so I added 1 tsp. cider vinegar, which balanced the flavors. The soup will provide me lunches that will last into next week.
I made another batch of yogurt on Friday. I usually use 170g of Stonyfield full-fat yogurt, but I am now out of it, and we are not driving to the next town to try and get it or anything else. I found Chobani Greek yogurt at the local grocery (it was even on sale), so I substituted it. My rule is to use a yogurt that has the live cultures and that doesn’t use additives to thicken the yogurt.
For Friday’s dinner, I made stir-fry using leftover turkey, soba noodles, celery, carrots, red bell pepper, broccoli, mushrooms, and a bit of drippings left over from the turkey. We have enough for dinner tomorrow as well.
Flour and yeast is selling unbelievably fast. Sold out before I even made it to the site.
They were only selling five lb bags of AP flour. But I also know the owner. I can ask for some whole wheat flour. Happy to do it.
Nash in Sequim (pronounced Squim) has hard red and white whole wheat listed on their site as does One Mighty Mill. I have not tried either of their flours. One Mighty Mill is pretty expensive. Their pretzels are good. Their bagels are bread doughnuts.
Let me know and I'll see what I can find.
Italiancook--I think that I posted about the eggs on a different thread, so I'll repeat it here. If you have flax meal, you can substitute 1 Tbs. flax meal plus 2 Tbs. water (let is sit for 10 minutes or so) for one of the eggs.
I do nearly all my baking free-form, unless you're making a huge boule (like a 3-4 pound miche), it is difficult to get more than about 3 1/2 inches of height. For tall loaves you really need a bread pan to force the dough to rise up rather than spread out.
I don't have a banneton, but the reports are that it does help increase height, you just have to be delicate when turning the dough out of the banneton to bake it so you don't lose the shape.
A lot of my loaves are about 5 inches wide and about 3 1/2 inches high, and usually 10-12 inches long. We think that's a good cross-section size for sandwiches.
I've seen raw eggplant on a crudite tray with dips (it goes well with curry dip), but most people wouldn't eat a lot of it that way. A few pieces wouldn't be a problem for most people, just like a little raw potato.
Mike--I was doing the pre-shaping but some of my breads don't seem to do so well with the pre-shape. It may be my technique, or lack of technique. With the pumpkin-rye bread, once I put it onto the floured (with white rye) mat, a second shaping is difficult. I could try pre-shaping it on just the Silpat, then putting it onto the white rye flour.
The bread tastes as wonderful as always. My husband likes it but would like higher slices for sandwiches.
I made KAF coconut macaroons but I used too much coconut (recipe called for 12 ounces I would back it down to 10) and too much sugar. I also baked the first batch with the convection on so they browned too quickly. If I make them again I will reduce the coconut, sugar, and temp and turn off the convection.
Last night I made matzah caramel crunch.
Passover is over so I'll make pizza dough tonight for this weekend. I'll make Stella Park's whole wheat bread this weekend. My yeast (SAF Red instant) never foams anymore it may be because out kitchen is cold - usually around 65 or 66. Now the days are a little warmer at 67. My family liked it when I made bread the last time because I "cranked" the heat to 68 to shorten the rise time.
Joan--Good innovation with the cheese! I have a feeling we are all going to become more creative before this health crisis ends.
We have been happily eating turkey since Sunday. On Monday and Tuesday, we still had mashed potatoes and gravy, but we varied the vegetables, with microwaved fresh broccoli the first night and mixed vegetables again the next. Tonight we again had turkey and the rest of the gravy and microwaved peas, but we had pierogis with them. Why pierogis? There was a large freezer case of bags of them at the local grocery, probably originally intended for commercial use. Monday was "Dyngus Day," a celebration on the day after Easter of Polish-American heritage, and it is a big deal in South Bend. Celebrations had to be canceled this year, so that is a lot of pierogis. I was pleased that a serving of four regular cheese has only 0.5g saturated fat. (We bypassed the 3-cheese one which is double, and the onion one because of my husband's current issue with onion). I haven't had pierogis in a long time, so it is a nice treat, and we have enough for a few more meals.
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This reply was modified 6 years ago by
BakerAunt.
Skeptic--I don't make the round circles with the holes in the center--too much work for no real reason these days. I also have a fair amount of plastic containers, although lids on the Tupperware seem to be cracking and breaking. I particularly like crispbread for trips, but is great to have as a munchie just sitting at home. My husband is consuming the Barley Crispbread (actually has more rye flour in it) a bit fast, but due to its density and size, it slows him down a bit.
I'm going to try a more oil-based version (possibly keeping a bit of the butter) of Ginsberg's rye crispbread at some point. We'll see how well the KAF Rye Chops do in it.
How much protein is there in 3 ounces (85 grams) of 85% lean ground beef?
[See the full post at: Daily Quiz for April 15, 2020]
On Tuesday, I baked Spiced Pumpkin Bread, which is a whole wheat, rye, pumpkin yeast bread that is on Stanley Ginsberg’s blog at The Rye Baker (Nov. 1, 2016). I had this pumpkin frozen just for this bread, which I baked for the fourth time.
I always proof the yeast with a tiny bit of sugar. (I love to see it foam.) I then mixed in the pumpkin with the paddle attachment. I added the combined dry ingredients and mixed, then let them rest for ten minutes. I added the oil, then mixed with the paddle. I switched to the dough hook. It was still difficult to knead in my 7-quart mixer, but at least it came together faster. I also decided to knead on my Cuisinart mixer’s second speed, and I did have to keep stopping the mixer and re-adjusting the dough. Near the end of 8 minutes, I added an additional tablespoon of whole wheat flour, and then another. I added one more tablespoon and kneaded for an additional 2 minutes. (Pumpkin can vary in terms of water content,)
My husband had started the wood stove, so I put the mixer bowl (covered with saran) in the front room for its 75-minute rise. When it was time to de-gas, I followed his direction to use the dough hook and knead at lowest speed, but I cut that to 1 minute. My shaping was better this time—more of an oval, although one end turned out a little low. After 20 minutes, I slashed it and put it into the oven for 55 minutes. It’s a lovely looking loaf, and I am looking forward to cutting into it tomorrow for lunch.
