What are you Baking the Week of February 18, 2024?

[Mike Nolan]

My keto-friendly flour should be here today, I need to start thinking what to make with it.

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[BakerAunt]

I made Cornmeal Pumpernickel Waffles, one of our favorites, for breakfast on Sunday. I inadvertently left out the sugar. We each tried a double Belgium waffle without it, then I stirred 3 Tbs. of sugar into the remaining batter. They do need the sugar, even with maple syrup.

To go with pea soup for Sunday dinner, I baked my Scottish Scones that use 1 Tbs. avocado oil, ¾ cup buttermilk, and one egg but no butter. This time I made them with half pastry flour and half whole wheat pastry flour. The dough was a bit stickier than when I made them last time with half barley flour and half AP. The other day, I found a large cutter I have that makes six hexagonal biscuits at one time, so I used it to make six, then a seventh single one, and the last a hand shaped circle. I bought that cutter from King Arthur some years ago (back when they sold interesting baking equipment) and used to use it for biscuits all the time. Now that I know where it is, I will be using it more frequently.

[Joan Simpson]

I made 2 batches of brownies today and they were both good.I found this recipe on one of the sites I visit on Facebook Mom's Recipe Collection it's for making ahead of times placing in ziplock bags then just adding the oil, vanilla and eggs when you make it up. I just made it regular but I also tried it with self rising flour to see if it'd work for my sister-in- law (she doesn't use regular ap flour for anything)She's not a baker and doesn't like to cook but loves brownies.They have been a go for me , pretty tasty.

Brownie mix

1-cup sugar
1/2-cup ap flour
1/3-cup cocoa powder
1/4-tsp.salt
1/4-tsp.baking powder
Add
2-eggs
1/2-cup oil
1-tsp. vanilla
Mix together pour in 8x8 pan bake 350* for 25- 30 minutes.

[BakerAunt]

While we're on the subject of cookie baking, the Big Nate Comic strip has the start of a cookie baking war:

https://www.gocomics.com/bignate/2024/02/20

[Joan Simpson]

Loved it BakerAunt!

[chocomouse]

Today I made two loaves of oatmeal-whole wheat sandwich bread and 8 rolls. I sprayed them with water and dipped/rolled the shaped dough in The Works bread topping which I bought yesterday at KAF. We ate 2 of the rolls with our pasta dinner, and they are excellent. Soon, I will try the topping on focaccia. It has some seeds and is a bit spicy, but not hot or overpowering

[BakerAunt]

The batch of applesauce I made on Sunday is not particularly flavorful, so I decided that it would work better as a baking ingredient. I froze 1 ½ cups for a muffin recipe and another cup for a second muffin recipe, and I used a cup to bake Quaker Oatmeal Muffins. The recipe comes from a Quaker Oats box, but the identical recipe appears in the cookbook from Murphy's Bed and Breakfast in Narragansett, Rhode Island, although the latter uses a maple glaze instead of the Quaker crumb topping. I alter it by using whole wheat flour, adding 3 Tbs. milk powder, cutting the brown sugar from ½ to 1/3 cup (my maximum for a muffin), and using a whole egg in place of just the egg white. I changed the mixing instructions by using old-fashioned oats and letting them soak in the applesauce and milk for 15 minutes before adding the sugar, egg, and oil, then the dry ingredients. I replaced 1 Tbs. of butter in the topping with avocado oil and used quick oats. The muffins are delicious.

[BakerAunt]

Thursday was a day for a baking experiment. I have had two containers of almond pulp (2/3 cup and 1/3 cup) from making almond milk last year in my freezer. I had one recipe for using them to make crackers, but I was not going to bake them at 135 F for 20 hours until crunchy. I found another recipe, "1-Bowl Vegan Gluten-Free Crackers," at the website Minimalist Baker that was a promising base recipe that offered an option for using spelt or another flour in place of the gluten-free flour. It used 2/3 cup almond meal but allowed for using leftover almond pulp from making almond milk. I did not find that I needed to dry it out in the oven, as it dries out nicely in the freezer.

Here is the link to the original recipe:

1-Bowl Vegan Gluten-Free Crackers

I set out to make 1 ½ of the recipe and made some changes, such as adding 2 Tbs. Bob's Red Mill milk powder, using just 5 Tbs. avocado oil, and adding 3 Tbs. Penzey's Buttermilk Dressing mix in place of salt and rosemary and garlic powder. I needed just ¼ cup plus 1 Tbs. of water to bring the dough together. I rolled it out to 1/8 inch thick, then cut it into 4 x 4 cm squares, which gave me 80 crackers. I was able to slightly separate them on a large, no sides baking sheet lined with a large piece of parchment. I baked for 20 minutes at 325 F, turning the sheet halfway through the time. I then gave them another 2 minutes. I removed the parchment and let them cool on the hot baking sheet.
Verdict on the next day when sampled: they are a tasty, slightly chewy cracker. This recipe has potential, especially with leftover almond pulp, although almond meal could be used. It is a bit too salty from the Buttermilk dressing mix, but I like the spices. I would cut back to 2 Tbs. next time.

[BakerAunt]

I baked a new cookie recipe on Friday, "Chocolate Salted Rye Cookies," from a 2013 email from Tasting Table, a site which may no longer be in existence. I did a half recipe because the cookies are rich and I wanted to be sure they are worth the chocolate. The half recipe took 8 oz. bittersweet chocolate. While the recipe said preferably Valrhona, I used 60% Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate. I replaced the butter in the half recipe with a scant 2 Tbs. avocado oil. My only other change was to add ½ tsp. of espresso powder. For this recipe, I ordered muscovado sugar the last time I ordered from Vitacost. As the recipe calls for using the whisk attachment (6 minutes at high speed), I had to use my 7-qt. Cuisinart. It did ok on the half recipe, but a smaller mixer would work better. I also made the mistake of not changing to the paddle before adding the flour. The recipe did not mention that, and I should have ignored it and gone with my instincts. I spent far too much time, cleaning the dough out of the whisk, and I ended up kneading in the rest of the flour by hand. The dough or batter was not "loose," perhaps due to a difference in their dark rye flour and mine (Bob's Red Mill). I did not need to refrigerate it, but I did allow it to rest in the bowl for about 15 minutes so that the rye could hydrate completely. I used a 1 Tbs. scoop (Zeroll #40) and ended up with 25 cookies, which is the number I could expect from a halved recipe. I did not put the bit of flaked salt on the cookies, but I pressed the cookies down a bit. I baked the first sheet for 10 minutes, and the second for 9 minutes. We will wait to sample one until tomorrow, since I think the flavor will improve with an overnight rest.

[Mike Nolan]

I am testing a low-carb mini muffin recipe today.

[Mike Nolan]

Well, they're out and kind of a mixed review. I think they taste too salty and they probably need more butter, vanilla, and maybe blueberries instead of banana extract. Possibly fewer or no nuts.

They're better with some cream cheese, but what isn't!

They've got a good muffin-like texture, though, so I think there's plenty of room for improvement.

[BakerAunt]

Here is the chocolate cookie recipe that I baked yesterday. It originated with the Tartine Bakery, but there are numerous iterations of it on the internet. Here is one:

Salted Chocolate Rye Cookies

My husband had one at tea time, and he--who watched my whisk mishap and helped clean up--proclaimed: These are SO WORTH IT. I'll add my review after I have one for dessert tonight.

My Review: WOW!

[BakerAunt]

On Saturday, I made dough for my Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers. I will bake them next week.

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