True or false: Yeast activity in bread dough stops at about 135 degrees (F).
[See the full post at: Daily Quiz for October 28, 2019]
On Monday morning, I baked Fig Muffins, from Dimetra Makris’s Delicious Quick Breads and Muffins (New York: Fawcett Columbine: 1986), p. 44. It is lovely having my cookbooks close at hand. These are an oat muffin, and I used old-fashioned oats, as the recipe did not specify. I switched regular AP flour for white whole wheat and substituted buttermilk for regular milk, and so reduced the baking powder to 2 tsp. and added ¼ tsp. baking soda. I reduced the salt from 1/2 to 1/4 tsp. I used Halloween paper liners (with a bit of nonstick spray) and sprinkled orange and black sugar on top. I chose the recipe because I have some dried figs—bought for a homemade fig newton recipe that I can no longer try, since the butter is prohibitive. I like the taste of the figs in the muffins. [Note: I baked them for 18 minutes, using the rack I use for cookies and crackers.]
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This reply was modified 6 years, 6 months ago by
BakerAunt.
On Saturday afternoon, I baked an apple pie—my first of the season—using Jonathan apples that we picked at an orchard on Wednesday. I’m refining my oil-buttermilk crust. This time I used whole wheat pastry flour rather than white whole wheat flour, and it made an amazing difference in the dough, which came together so well that I could have rolled it out rather than pressing it into the pan. I did my usual blind bake with it, after an hour in the refrigerator, and once again cooked the apples, sugar, tapioca, and spices in a skillet for a bit, before putting them into the hot (first sprinkled lightly with Panko to prevent sogginess) crust. I tried cutting the apples in chunks rather than slices this time, and I left the peel. I used a light streusel crust (2 Tbs. butter). We will cut into it for dessert tonight, but a taste of spilled juices and an apple piece that fell off promise a scrumptious treat.
On Friday, I baked Skeptic’s Pumpkin Biscotti recipe with a few tweaks. I use white whole wheat flour and add 3 Tbs. Bob’s Red Mill milk powder. I reduce the cloves to 1/8th tsp. and delete the vanilla. To celebrate the season, I used a mix of black and orange sugar which I sprinkled on top of the log before the first bake. I remembered to add a rack to the oven, just above the one I use for bread, since cookies and crackers bake more evenly on the slightly higher rack in my oven.
Note: I used a little over 5 oz. of a peanut pumpkin (probably left over last year from when I divided up the rest). I think that the extra pumpkin made for a good texture.
The rye bread sounds delicious, Aaron. With your plans for the deli, you can probably afford refrigerator space for a standing rye starter. I have some rye recipes that I'd like to try, but they call for standing starters, and I'd just not bake with it enough to justify having it. As we get into winter, I'll need to see if I can use some of my regular sourdough starter to create a one-time use rye starter for when I want to try rye bread. (I am more fond of rye bread than my husband, in part because it is sometimes hard on his digestive system.)
Might the blow outs in the rye bread perhaps be due to changing to a mixer? I didn't have much of a blow out issue until I began using a stand mixer. I do better with my shaping now if I form the dough into an oval, let it rest, then flip it over (so the smooth side is on the bottom), then fold it lengthwise. I flatten it slightly with the palm of my hand, then use the side of my hand to press it down around the edges. I then roll it, and smooth out the bottom seam and the sides. Usually there are no blowouts with that method, although I do occasionally get small holes within the bread if I am not careful with the flattening part.
The public schools in Lincoln have served cinnamon rolls with chili for as far back as anyone can remember. Of course the kids dip the roll in the chili. Their rolls are not very sweet and either aren't frosted or don't have much frosting on them.
In any event, nearly every restaurant in Lincoln that serves chili will bring a cinnamon roll with it, because everyone expects that.
I also took a couple of tips from the Epicurious cinnamon roll episode that was in a recent thread:
I made a compound butter with softened butter, brown sugar and cinnamon and spread it on the rolled out dough.
I also used a 24" carpenter's straight edge to make sure I had a nice rectangle (a tool we used in chocolate school), and then used that same straight edge to cut the dough before I rolled it up. That went surprisingly well. They're still rising, I'll post some pictures after they're baked.
The large lima beans--that I'll be cooking this afternoon, and which have been soaking overnight--have a different taste from the frozen green lima beans. I'm making the "Tomato and Gigante Bean Bake/Pizza Beans" recipe from Smitten Kitchen Every Day. (It's also on Deb Perelman's Smitten Kitchen website.) According to her notes, these beans are called fagioli corona in Italy and gigante/gigandes in Greece. I use the Bob's Red Mill large lima beans (starting with 2 1/2 cups dry).
The recipe is supposed to be vegetarian, but the first time I made it, my husband said, "It would be good with some meat in it." So much for a meatless meal! I brown ground turkey and add it, and that works for him.
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This reply was modified 6 years, 6 months ago by BakerAunt.
King Arthur Flour has announced $20 off two 16 oz. bottles of vanilla. The sale price is $159.90.
I'm glad that I still have my stock-up supply from before the steep rise in vanilla prices due to weather and environmental conditions. When we were in Michigan City, a couple of weeks ago, I was in T.J. Maxx and saw a 4 oz. bottle of Nielsen-Massey vanilla for $11,99 (expiration date July 2022). "Isn't that expensive," asked my husband, who had tagged along. I smiled.
My wife's office (Agronomy and Horticulture at the University of Nebraska) has had pot lucks on Halloween, but isn't having one this year, otherwise I'd seriously think about sending that in.
When I make Peter Reinhart's marbled rye bread (I use 40% rye/pumpernickel flour), I find I have to stretch the dough repeatedly to get it to the right shape for stacking, it keeps snapping back, so the elasticity is fairly high.
Because this dough is different, I think you may have to take that into account in your handling procedures.
Thanks for your thoughts, Mike. My first instinct was to "blame" the pumpernickel. Rye bread doughs are so much more "rubbery" than doughs made with AP or bread flour (although this dough included 1.5 cups of AP too). I'm planning to try this again, but using only 1/2 cup of pumpernickel instead of 1 cup. I will also make it without the rye sour, although I suspecting that will take away some of the flavor (and I will make only one change at a time!) I think letting it relax and then rerolling would not change it; I handled it exactly the same way I always do when making thins. As for carb content, I've been buying thins for many years, and the carb count does vary from 26 to around 40. I never purchased any that had 30 or more carbs. At one point, I did calculate the carb count, but have forgotten what it was. I just know that it was a reasonable amount for me, since I am a diabetic.
On Tuesday afternoon, I baked a half recipe of “Toffee-Pumpkin Snack Cake,” from Better Homes & Gardens “Fall Baking” (p.28), a special issue magazine that I bought a couple of years ago. It’s a nice whole grain recipe, with buckwheat, spelt, and chia seed, and I used pumpkin frozen from last year. I reduced the toffee pieces, so that I only sprinkled 2 Tbs. on top (and that is 5g saturated fat!), then I put on some Halloween sprinkles from my stash. I also substituted buttermilk for half the oil, and I added 1 Tbs. Bob’s Red Mill milk powder. The cake needed to bake 35 minutes for the center to be done. It’s delicious.
I also baked my buttermilk version of Len’s Rye/Semolina/Whole Wheat Buns as ten buns. We plan to go apple picking tomorrow, then have a picnic lunch in a nearby park before hiking and enjoying the fall colors.
For Tuesday night dinner, I roasted two little butternut squashes—a new variety that produces small, sweet ones—after tossing them in a bit of olive oil and maple syrup. While the squash roasted in my countertop oven, I cooked one cup of farro in two cups chicken/turkey broth. I sautéed some finely chopped onion in a bit of olive oil, then added the cooked farro, leftover browned ground turkey (from last week’s pizza), then stirred in the roasted squash. This combination is very tasty. We had microwaved broccoli as a side dish.
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This reply was modified 6 years, 6 months ago by BakerAunt.
I suspect they rose more because they shrunk in diameter. That suggests your dough had too much elasticity, you probably need to let it relax and then stretch it out some more.
Rye has some gluten in it, technically its called a secalin, but I don't know whether it contributes more to elasticity (like glutenin) or to extensibility (like gliadin).
I wonder if adding some semolina would help, it has a higher ratio of gliadin to glutenin in it, which is why it is good for pasta, where you want to be able to extrude it.
I've looked at the sandwich thins at the store, they tend to have more carbs than hamburger buns.
Today I made DIY Sandwich Thins. This is a flat, rolled out thin, about 5-6 inches in diameter. I wanted a rye version, instead of my usual whole wheat - AP combo. I subbed one cup of pumpernickel for one cup of the whole wheat, and used pickle juice for half of the water, added one tablespoons of Deli Rye Flavor, and added caraway, dill, and mustard seeds. These little rounds shrunk, down to about 4 inches in diameter, and rose very high, lots of oven spring, and when they came out of the oven were about an inch thick. Usually they stay the about the same diameter as after I roll them out with a rolling pin, and although they get puffy, they don't really rise. I like to use these, sliced in half horizontally, in place of a hot dog bun (we were having grilled sausage, peppers, and onions in buns for dinner). I'm wondering what made these thins behave so differently. I know that acid is a catalyst for the yeast; do you suppose I had too much yeast, in both the pickle juice and the rye sour? (the rye flavor contains acetic acid and lactic acid). Pumpernickel and whole wheat are both "strong" flours. Any thoughts? I spoke to a "master baker" when I was at KAF this afternoon (buying more pumpernickel!) and she wasn't sure what the difference might be. I think that next time I make more rye flavored thins, I will eliminate or reduce one ingredient each time time I make them, starting with the rye flavor. The flavor and texture of these were great (although at least one was almost hollow). I'd love any comments and suggestions!
