So basically they'll go home with a braided loaf that is ready to be baked NOW (and needs to be handled carefully in transit to keep from deflating) plus dough that is about ready to be braided? Yeah, that is kinda weird and may be a formula for a home bread baking failure. Hopefully they won't have far to go and will be aware that they need to turn the oven on as soon as they get home.
Aaron--yes, an emptier nest can curtail the baking. I hope the project to get people to bake their own challah is successful, but I agree that when one is an expert, it is irritating to have one's expertise ignored. One possible problem with the current plan is that a lot of people need help with the actual baking.
We used the last of the bread today. Given the cooler temperatures, I baked my variation of the Pompanoosuc Porridge Bread from an old King Arthur recipe. (It's no longer on their site, as they stopped selling the porridge.) I bake it in a 12 x 4 x 2 ½-inch Kitchen Aid loaf pan, which makes for narrower but taller slices. It is too much dough for the King Arthur bread bowl, but not quite enough to fill the Emile Henry long baker.
I used maple syrup for the sweetener this time.
My baking is way down (sort of) because my boys are gone.
I'm baking more for other people. I've been making chocolate chip cookies lately for mostly other people (I always keep some at home). I'm using brown butter, toasted sugar, and brown sugar. Kate took a batch to Ireland when she went to visit Henry, our middle.
I have to make a bunch of challah this week. Our rabbis want to teach people to make challah. They've asked people to volunteer to make a double batch so I said I would do that. They also want people to bring in samples of their challahs with the recipe so I volunteered to do that as well.
It should all come together next Sunday. The plan is to give people pre-made dough to braid and then have them make their own dough while the braided dough rises. Then they'll send people home with the dough they braided and the dough they made but no actual bread. I'm trying to keep quiet because they asked me to do this. I said yes and then they kept telling me I didn't know what I was talking about so I said they should do it without me. I'm hoping for the best.
I also have scones and cookies to make!
This is a fairly easy recipe. It calls for mini chocolate chips but feel free to experiment, I like to reduce the amount of chips and add in raisins. Chopped walnuts or pecans are also good. This recipe also works well if you reduce the sugar. I always cut the sugar by one cup, using 1 1/2 cups.
Ingredients
2 1/2 cups SUGAR
1 cup OIL
3 EGGS
3 cups AP FLOUR
2 tsp BAKING SODA
1 tsp CINNAMON
1 tsp NUTMEG
1/2 tsp SALT
1/4 tsp CLOVE
optional 1 tsp VANILLA
1 15 ounce can solid pack PUMPKIN
1 cup MINI CHOCOLATE CHIPS (or raisins/nuts)
Procedure
Pre heat oven to 350 degrees with rack set at second lowest position. Grease and flour a Bundt pan.
In a bowl, add sugar, eggs and oil, mix well. (also add vanilla if using it)
Combine dry ingredients in a separate bowl and whisk to combine.
Add dry ingredients and pumpkin to the wet ingredients, about a third at a time mixing well, repeat until all the dry ingredients and pumpkin is added.
Add in chocolate chips, raisins or any other additions.
Let's Bake!
Put batter in prepared Bundt pan, place in oven and bake until a tester comes out clean, about 60 - 65 minutes.
After the cake is cool, you can either glaze it or dust it with powdered sugar.
The pic below is a half recipe I made in a 6 cup Bundt pan and finished with a rum glaze.
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On Thursday I was hungry when I came across a flyer for a nearby Italian restaurant, so I ordered a breaded chicken dinner (2 pieces of boneless breast, limp fries and slaw that wasn't worth the effort) and a cheese pizza. I had two dinners, one breakfast and one lunch from it.
Tonight will be rotisserie chicken from the freezer, a salad and either potato or pasta.
There was a half bag of peanut butter chips in the refrigerator with an expiration date of 2015. I tasted one, and they are fine. To use them up, I went internet recipe hunting for a no-butter peanut butter chip cookie. I found "Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (Without Butter or Margarine" from Miriam Pascal at OvertimeCook.com which I thought had possibilities.
Oatmeal Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies {Without Butter or Margarine}
Although she says not to use natural peanut butter, I used Santa Cruz naturally crunchy and reduced the oil from 2/4 to 2/3 cups to compensate. I also used white whole wheat flour and added 2 Tbs. Bob's Red Mill milk powder. She used ¾ each of chocolate chips and peanut butter chips but notes that just one type of chips could be used. I used the scan 1 cup that I had on hand. The recipe said to use a "medium" scoop, which is not helpful. I used a Zeroll #30, which is probably larger than that medium, as I ended up with 32 rather than four dozen, so she probably used a smaller scoop. Of course, we love larger cookies. I baked the first tray of a dozen for 12 minutes, and they were perfect. I baked the second tray, also a dozen, for 10 minutes, and they were slightly overdone. I baked the third tray of nine for 9 minutes, and they were perfect. Scott had a warm one from the second batch and gave them a thumbs up. I had one at teatime, and seconded his vote. I will be baking these again. They would be delicious without any peanut butter or chocolate chips.
I'll make a note about the honeybells, Joan. I've seen them when we vacationed in Florida.
On Wednesday, I baked my adaptation of the King Arthur recipe for Butterscotch Apple Sweet Rolls. I made the filling last year and froze it. I let it thaw for a few days in the refrigerator, then put the sweet rolls together this afternoon. We each had one for dessert tonight. My recipe cuts the saturated fat by replacing butter with avocado oil and sour cream with nonfat Greek yogurt (I cannot find low-fat nearby). I continued to tweak the recipe this time by increasing the 2 Tbs. of avocado oil that I substituted for butter in the rolls to 3 Tbs. I also added an additional tablespoon of water. I reduced the sugar from ½ cup to 1/3 cup but added 2 Tbs. honey. I tried replacing some of the sugar with honey in my cinnamon rolls, and it seems to keep them softer longer. I also make the rolls half whole wheat flour, so that is probably why I needed a bit more water. I reduced the glaze by using just ¾ cup of powdered sugar rather than 1 cup. With that filling the glaze needs to be kept to a minimum.
Happy Anniversary Mike. My husband and I were married in New Hampshire on the 16th ( 46 yrs. ago). For some reason I was thinking fall and my bridesmaids wore burgundy velour gowns. We had one bartender for 110 people and the temperature was in the high 80's....very warm. Oh well too late to do anything about it now.
I had a smoked cheddar cheeseburger (tomorrow is National Cheeseburger Day) with grilled onions, fried potatoes and a salad.
Dill flavor takes a few days to develop, so I'm not surprised.
Tonight's veal Zurich and spaetzle was great. I made the spaetzle using Carbalose, so it's about a third the carbs of spaetzle made with AP flour, about 10 net carbs/serving (the veal Zurich is only around 4 carbs/serving.)
And it tasted pretty good with the veal.
When we grocery shopped this morning, I found a package of three bone-in large chicken breasts that were marked down for quick sale. I roasted those for Tuesday night dinner, which will give us plenty of leftovers. I also thawed some chicken broth and made another farro stir-fry using green onion, red bell peppers, mushrooms, and half-cut squash (the zucchini-type one that has the seeds in a bulb at the end). I had two tomatoes that needed to be used quickly, so I cut those up and threw them in, along with some of the kale from the pot my husband still has on the porch, although it is getting tougher. There is enough for one or two more nights.
Today is our 52nd wedding anniversary. It was quite warm that day, in the mid-90's, might get to 90 today but there's intermittent rain in the forecast.
Supper tonight will be veal Zurich on a (hopefully) keto-friendly spaetzle and either a salad or broccoli. I'm also making a batch of banana nut mini-muffins and an experimental batch of 'forgotten' chocolate meringue cookies that should be lower carbs.
We had tuna melts (without the bread) again.
Fresh mozzarella has a short shelf life once opened (I've had it go bad in a week), so I stick with the shredded stuff. I've been buying it at Costco recently (because our Sams Club no longer carries the whole-milk version), and freezing it in roughly 6 ounce baggies, because it will go bad in 2-3 weeks once opened.
Today, at the local thrift store, I bought an oval Rival Crock Pot (model 38601), probably 6 quarts, for $9. The apple butter that I made in my Montgomery Wards 3 1/2-qt crock pot last year has been popular with family, so I need the capacity to make more than three 8 oz. and one 4 oz. jar at a time. I would have preferred an older one, not this "programmable one," but I figure for $9, I'm not out much money if it does not work for this purpose, and the thrift store supports local charities.
If anyone has this model, I'd appreciate hearing about your experience with it. I've looked up the manual online for the basics.
