On Thursday, I decided to try again my pottery bread baking bowl that I bought from King Arthur about six or so years ago. I used the KAF recipe for Fruited Sourdough Sandwich Bread, as there was a note that it could be baked in the bread baking bowl. I made a few tweaks in the recipe by substituting ½ cup white rye and ¾ cup whole wheat flour for that much AP and reducing the salt to 1 tsp. I added 2 Tbs. special dry milk and 1 Tbs. flax meal. Instead of a Granny Smith, I used an unpeeled York apple (from those we got last December that have been wintering in the garage). I used golden raisins and opted to use 1 Tbs. sugar (recipe stated 2 tsp. up to 4 Tbs.).
I used the bread machine to mix and knead. I was concerned it needed more water, so I added 1 Tbs., which I probably should not have done, as I had waited to add the apple. I wasn’t sure when to put it in, so I did it before the “additions” beeps, and some of the apple was bouncing around, and I ended up adding a bit more white rye. I added the raisins when the machine beeped. I ended up with a somewhat sticky dough, but it rose well both times (an hour on the first rise and 50 minutes on the second).
I spritzed with water before baking. After 20 minutes, I tented it with foil and then checked 25 minutes later. The interior was only 170F, so I put it back in, re-tented, and let it go another 9 minutes, which brought it to 200F (recipe says 190F). It’s cooling on the rack and looks and smells great. The bread bowl baker worked well on the second rack from the bottom, and with the top tented, I did not have the problem of an overdone top and an underdone bottom. I look forward to slicing it tomorrow at breakfast.
We had pork chops on the grill, leftover zucchini-cheese-rice, and tossed salad. One more salad meal, and I will be very short of fresh produce - just 1/4 head of cabbage and 4-5 stalks of celery. I was hoping to go 4 weeks without grocery shopping (I do have a freezer with lots of garden veggies) but looks like I'll only last another week.
Powdered egg shell is a good source of calcium. My grandmother always put a little eggshell in the coffee pot, it is supposed to make coffee less bitter. (I don't drink coffee, so I wouldn't know if it works.) Powdered egg shell also makes a good scrubbing compound mixed with baking soda.
For Tuesday night’s dinner, I roasted nine chicken thighs (big batch cooking). In the countertop convection oven, I roasted some cut-up red potatoes, tossed in olive oil and sprinkled with Penzey’s Bavarian Seasoning. We also had microwaved frozen peas.
The easiest way to measure partial amounts of egg is to beat it then weigh it. A whole large egg will weigh around 50 grams (or 1 3/4 ounces), so 1 1/2 eggs will weigh around 75 grams.
On Tuesday I tried a new recipe for lunch, “Greek Chickpea Patties with Tomato Sauce—Revithosoutzoukakia” from the Olive Tomato website:
Greek Chickpea Patties with Thick Tomato Sauce – Revithosoutzoukakia
I deleted the water in the patties, as there was some juice from my home cooked chickpeas, and the tomato had some juice. I added 2 Tbs. flax meal and used ½ cup white whole wheat rather than AP flour. The mixture was still too loose to make patties, even after sitting a bit. I added 4 Tbs. Panko, and that brought it together. I did not add any salt, as my chickpeas were soaked, then cooked in salted water. I did not coat the patties in flour, and I used a skillet with a bit of grapeseed oil over a medium-low heat,not the 1/4 inch of olive oil specified. I shaped the patties, six at a time, using a Zeroll #30 (2 Tbs.) scoop. My skillet holds six at a time, and they hold together better if flattened right before being put into the skillet. After the first batch, and heat adjustment, they cooked for 1 minute and 30 seconds on each side. I had 25 patties when I finished. I made the sauce as well, but I drizzled it over the six patties that I ate. The sauce does not have much taste on its own, but it works well with the patties. I’ve stored the remaining patties in a flat dish and poured the sauce over them. I would cook this recipe again, but I think that I will forgo the flour and next time just use the panko and the flax meal. These make a tasty lunch. I might try some on a sandwich tomorrow.
Sigh. Yes, that is what my husband, the plant physiologist has been telling me. He used to do an experiment in the labs where cold water was poured over the roots, and the plant showed a negative response.
We had to change out the old windows for structural reasons and to keep from losing heat during winter nights (we do have a heating vent out there that can be opened), but losing the "greenhouse" effect during the day was not in our plans.
I've always been told that heat is what causes seeds to germinate or roots to sprout, but in the absence of light for photosynthesis the plants won't survive. I remember my son doing a test in junior high science planting some seeds in pots in the dark basement using a seed starting pad for heat. They came up, put out their cotyledons (the first leaves), then died for a lack of light.
When we remodeled, the idea was to use the sun porch as a place to have plants. Before renovation, with "Florida" windows, it was nicely warm on sunny days in the winter. For that side, we did not use the double hung windows that block sunlight entering. (The front has them. That's a long story from the first phase of the reno.) However, these side windows, while letting in more light, still block the heat, so the enclosed sun porch never warms up the way it did in the winter, and it's not warm enough for plants. So, starting plants early will not be easy for us. My husband says it is not a matter of light but heat. It's not just the vegetables. My husband starts trees as well, and they can't be out there either.
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This reply was modified 6 years, 1 month ago by
BakerAunt.
On Monday, I began to miss cookies in earnest. I had one more blood orange that needed to be used, so I surfed the internet for biscotti ideas and found “Triple-Orange Pecan Biscotti”:
https://www.finecooking.com/recipe/triple-orange-pecan-biscotti
I didn’t have enough juice for the entire recipe, so I halved it, using the two smallest eggs in the carton, as I didn’t want to mess with trying to figure out 1 ½ eggs. I used white whole wheat flour, which is my go-to for cookies these days (and I have two unopened bags in the apt. refrigerator). I used just ¼ tsp. salt and added 1 Tbs. of Bob’s Red Mill milk powder. I had about 4 tsp. of juice from the blood orange. I do not, alas, have Grand Marnier, so I just used the tsp. more of juice, which would make the recipe only “Double-Orange Pecan Biscotti.”. I figured that the two eggs would make up for any loss in liquid.
I shaped into two thin logs on a parchment-lined cookie sheet, using damp hands, which is much easier than using floured hands. I sprayed a piece of saran with cooking spray, laid it on top, then refrigerated for an hour. I do that with my lemon-pecan biscotti that also use oil. I got the idea from my oil pie crust recipe that calls for refrigerating the crust in the pie plate for an hour in order to “relax the gluten.”
After the rest, I sprinkled with KAF’s sparkling white sugar. I baked for 20 minutes, turning the baking sheet halfway through the time, then let cool for 25 minutes. These are a rather flat biscotti, as there was a lot of spread. I sliced each ½-inch thick, then stood them up on the baking sheet (original recipe puts them cut side down and turns them over). I baked for 12 minutes at 325F (original recipe was 350F), checked, then gave them an additional 3 minutes. They are a delicate, light biscotti, with just the faintest hint of the blood orange. I will definitely bake these again.
I looked up Aaron's question in Fika: The Art of the Swedish Coffee Break, by Anna Brones and Johanna Kindvall. It actually does not have a crispbread recipe. Here is what is said in the headnote to Knackekex (think of the two dots over the "a."
"Knackebrod [Crispbread--double dots over the a and the o] is right up there with meatballs and herring in terms of iconic Swedish food. The crispbread that is served with almost every meal is a staple in most Swedish households. Baking traditional Knackebrod is an involved process, and it's so readily available in Sweden that few people venture to make it themselves. This crecker version, however, is a simpler way to try your hand at making this culinary cornerstone. If your don't have caraway seeds on hand, rosemary, crushed fennel, or anise seeds are also excellent toppings. These crackers are delicious served with little chevre and Fig preserves or a typical Swedish smorgas with sliced cucumber" (p. 152)
The only differences I see, based on the three crispbread recipes I have tried, is that the cracker recipe does not include any fat, and it does not have a second rise. It also has a six hour or overnight rise before the dough is rolled out.
It's an interesting recipe that would work for my dietary parameters. I need to try it. I had given up on this book, as almost every recipe is heavy on butter. So, Aaron's question has given me a new recipe to try!
I made pizza too. No mushrooms because we were out. 🙁 But we had cheese, olive, sausage, and veggie which included olives, orange peppers, and red onions.
I want to make bread again this week. See if I can do it without overflowing the food processor.
Looks like everyone in our condo is going or gone back home so I had better use up the food in my freezer because there will be no one to give it to. I made spaghetti with meat sauce and reused the leftover sauce on sausage ravioli 3 days later. I still have steak (tenderloin), chicken breasts, sausage, turkey meatballs eggs and chicken thighs to last us until 4/20.
Crispbread is great with cheese, with meats, with soups, or just as a snack. I have kept a batch around for about 2 weeks, but only if I have cheese crackers to divert my husband, who is a born snacker. It makes a great trip food also, not that any of us will be doing any traveling for a while.
I'll have to think about how I could substitute oil in the Ginsberg recipe for at least part of the butter. I have rye chops (from King Arthur) that I bought for a bread recipe, so it would be great if I could also use them in crispbread.
I try to stay below 11g of saturated fat per day, so there is not a lot of room, particularly since I want to get 75% of my calcium from dairy food. I loved Beatrice Ojakangas' crispbread, but it was close to 2g of saturated fat per piece, and they were only part wholegrain because I made them so.
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This reply was modified 6 years, 1 month ago by BakerAunt.
