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I had three peaches left from yesterday’s jam session, so on Thursday afternoon, I scoured various recipes and settled upon Peach Apricot Crumb Crostata from Ken Haedrich’s The Harvest Baker (p. 277). For the crust, however, I used my buckwheat flour adaptation of Dorie Greenspan’s crust that I used for the galette on Monday. I also substituted peach jam for the apricot jam that is spread over the center of the crust before the peaches are arranged on top (with a bit more put onto the peaches), since I had some left over from canning yesterday, and I do not have apricot jam. Although the recipe called for 1 to 1 1/4 cups of jam, I just used the scant half cup that I had available. I only made half of Haedrich’s streusel recipe (and substituted in 2 Tbs. of whole wheat flour), and I only used half of that reduced amount of streusel on the crostata. (I’ll save the rest for muffins or coffee cake.) We each had a slice for dessert tonight, with a bit of vanilla ice cream. I will certainly bake this recipe again.
Topic: Glyphosate (Roundup)
Italiancook emailed me to let me know that several news sources are reporting a 'recall' on dozens of oat products because of glyphosate (Roundup) contamination.
As far as I can tell there is no official recall yet, there is a report from an environmental group calling for one that appears to be what the news media are basing their reports on.
After dinner on Tuesday, I put together a new recipe, Blueberry-Barley Pinwheel Scones, from Bob's Red Mill:
https://www.bobsredmill.com/recipes/how-to-make/blueberry-barley-pinwheel-scones/
These sit unbaked overnight in the refrigerator, then are to be baked in the morning. Having come this far, I found the recipe has some issues. The first one was with the website. When I printed the recipe, part of the section at the end of #1, until #4, was omitted. (I felt, in a much lesser sense, that I was in the technical challenge of the Great British Bake Off, but unlike those contestants, I was able to go to the computer, copy the portion that would not print, paste it into a word document and print it.)
The dough was very sticky--little wonder that the instructions say to make liberal use of flour. I think that 3/4 cup half and half is too much, although perhaps the barley flour will absorb more of the liquid? I've used barley flour in other scone recipes, and I can't say that it seemed to absorb an unusual amount. If I make the recipe again, I might cut the half and half, and only add more as needed. I was able to get the filled dough rolled up, by using my bowl scraper to help it along, but the sticking caused a couple of tears.
I used some of my three-berry jam (blackberry, strawberry, blueberry) for the filling. I did not coat the rolled-up dough in poppy seeds because my husband has issues with poppy seed. I used KAF sparkling sugar, in part because I thought it needs something on the outside to form a "skin". I was able to cut the rolled-up dough with dental floss, as I do with yeast rolls. I ended up cutting the roll into 16 pieces that stayed together reasonably well when transferred to a parchment-lined baking sheet. I've covered it with saran and refrigerated it. I will bake it tomorrow morning and add a note.
NOTE: These baked into wonderfully light little “biscuits” with jam swirled inside. After seeing the result, I would probably use only a smidge less half and half—perhaps 2/3 cup instead of 3/4 cup. I also wonder if letting the dough rest in the refrigerator, after forming it into a rectangle but before putting the jam on it, would give the barley flour time to absorb the liquid and make it a bit easier to roll up the filled dough.
Additional disclaimer: I did the mixing by hand rather than using a food processor.
Topic: Cinnamon Rolls and Chili
I've often mentioned that Lincoln public schools have paired cinnamon rolls with chili for decades.
Gastro Obscura has taken note of this tendency, which is apparently more than just a Nebraska phenomenon.
In a baking post the week of August 12, I made a side comment on the changes in Bon Appetit. Maybe there is interest in a more expansive discussion? I've not looked at the magazine for ages. I did go through some issues from the late 1990s and early 2000s before I moved, and I still have a stack that I've been saving for after the endlessly postponed house remodel. Even in its glory days, I had a problematic relationship with Bon Appetit, especially after the editor whose columns I enjoyed, passed away. Over the years, I had gift subscriptions and even renewals by me. The stories about the multigenerational families getting together for holidays, with the complex scrumptious menus and accompanying exquisite china and table decorations, did appeal to me, particularly in my graduate student days. I also liked the RSVP column where readers could ask the magazine to request recipes from various restaurants, and there was even a section for simpler recipes. I loved the Thanksgiving and December issues. The magazine introduced me to Dorie Greenspan, Ken Haedrich, and even King Arthur flour. I stopped subscribing sometime around 2006 because I was mostly interested in baking, and they seemed to be moving away from it. The magazine was originally headquartered in Los Angeles, but the editor began to speak about flying to New York, so I've assumed the original publishing group was bought out. These days, it is definitely a New York magazine.
Bon Appetit moved into the electronic age a couple of years ago, and I signed up for their emails, which show up daily. Most are deleted after a cursory look. I occasionally print and try a recipe or get an idea for looking for a different recipe. As Navlys commented, there seems to be a desire for "fusion" food (is that what you were getting at?) when it comes to the ingredients--the more unusual, or trendier, the better. Some of their flavor combinations puzzle me. While new combinations are not necessarily unappetizing, the developers seem to be combining ingredients for the sake of doing so. Most of the main dishes are "throw together" dinners, and while we all need such recipes, and we can learn about flavor combinations, there is a lack of recipes that seem actually to REQUIRE a recipe. The emails also speak to people following the latest trendy ingredients, some of which are not easily available to people not in urban areas. And then there are the "rent week" emails about stretching food, and I wonder about their planning. Most of these do not really need recipes. I suspect that Bon Appetit's audience is people who do not do a lot of cooking and baking but occasionally wander into a kitchen, people who never learned much about cooking and baking, and peole who want their cooking and baking to be as fast as possible. They are cultivating a certain kind of millennial audience, but I'm not convinced that the majority of millennials even fit into that narrow idea of what a millennial is. Not everyone lives in New York.
Maybe that is the way it has to be in the cut-throat modern world of magazine publishing with its electronic component. However, their emails do not make me want to go pick up a copy of the magazine.
I baked Whole Wheat Sourdough Crackers on Sunday afternoon, from the dough I made a week ago Saturday. They should have been baked on Wednesday or Thursday, but life intervened. These have a stronger sourdough flavor, so I’m surprised that my husband, who says he does not like sourdough, has commented on their tastiness.
I also baked a Blueberry Galette. I had a Fruit Galette with Buckwheat Crust that came into my mail box from Bon Appetit. The BA staff member used blueberries instead of the given strawberry-rhubarb filling, but did not say how the filling needed to be changed for blueberries. Then when I read that the person, a rookie baker, used waxed paper instead of parchment paper, I lost confidence in approaching that recipe. I have suspected for some time, based on their email recipes, that Bon Appetit, in its quest for the "Millennial” audience, has been focusing on trend foods, and perhaps they thought illustrating the human error of this baker was a good thing. I’ve not seen an issue of the magazine for years, so I do not know if it reflects their emails.
I went back online and found a Blueberry Galette recipe at Everyday Dorrie, which is Dorrie Greenspan’s website. The recipe is from her 2014 Baking Chez Moi:
Of course, I used her recipe! The doughs were almost the same, except hers used all AP flour. I substituted in ¼ cup of buckwheat flour, so consider my galette rustic! Her recipe is also designed for blueberries. I made up the galette dough in the morning. While she uses a food processor, I did mine by hand. She instructs you to roll out the dough after it has come together, instead of leaving it in a disc, and then having to bring it to temperature and roll it out later. I made a 12-inch circle (although she does not give a thickness, 1/8th-inch thick is perfect), then stuck it in the refrigerator for several hours. My husband is not a fan of ginger, so I substituted 1/8th tsp. allspice and a couple of scrapes of freshly grated nutmeg. I used Panko for the bread crumbs. After assembling the galette, I brushed the crust with heavy cream and sprinkled it with sugar.
I just took it out of this old avocado green oven, which is increasingly hard to set to a specific temperature. [If you are wondering about the kitchen remodel, so am I. The contractor keeps putting us off.] The galette did have some juices leak out, which I've read is typical and the reason why the baker should always use a rimmed pan, which I did. I'll add a note tonight after we sample the galette for dessert.
Promised Note: Delicious! The pastry is nice and flaky and the filling is slightly tart, which is fine with us. We had it with a bit of vanilla ice cream on the side.
On Saturday, I again baked Bernard Clayton’s Dark Grains Bread. This time, I used 3 ¾ tsp. yeast and 2 ¼ tsp. salt. I again used 1 ½ cups buttermilk. I tried soaking the wheat germ and buckwheat in the buttermilk while I proofed the yeast with a bit of the honey. I then added the rest of the honey and the buttermilk mixture, mixing with the flat beater of my 7-quart Cuisinart. One cup at a time, I beat in the 3 cups of whole wheat flour. I removed the paddle and allowed the dough to sit for 15 minutes. I then added 2 Tbs. melted butter around the edges of the dough in the bowl, before adding 1 ½ cups of bread flour with the salt—half at a time—using the kneading hook on speed 2, and stopping to use the scraper into all the flour was incorporated. I then kneaded at speed 3 for 5 minutes. It looked risen at 55 minutes, so I de-gassed it and pre-shaped two loaves, then let rest 5 minutes before final shaping and panning. I preheated the oven after 15 minutes, as the rise was going quickly. After 35 minutes, I put the bread into the oven. I checked it at 45 minutes (5 minutes earlier than the recipe states), and it registered 205F. There is a bit of “dimpling” on the top, but less pronounced than last time. It may be that is a feature in a 75% whole grain bread. I'll add a note on taste and texture after we cut into it tomorrow. As soon as I am satisfied with my version of this recipe, I will post it at Nebraska Kitchen.
