What are you Baking the Week of June 14, 2026?

[Mike Nolan]

Happy Flag Day!

Spread the word

      

  

  

[kimbob]

Apple kuchen

[BakerAunt]

I always think of Cass on Flag Day, as it is his birthday.

I love apple kuchen, Kimbob, although I have never baked it myself. When I was in high school, our German club, with our German born teacher, would make it every year for a fundraiser Apple Strudel Social. I still think of Frau Hodjera.

A cool front came in, along with additional rain, so Sunday was perfect for baking and cooking. I baked maple granola, then after roasting a chicken, three loaves of what I am calling Lake Maxinkuckee Multigrain Bread went into the oven. I have been working on this bread recipe for a while now. With these loaves, because the farmers market eggs I got were small (many were 50 or 52 g when weighed), I used three instead of two. I ended up adding some additional whole wheat and bread flour. The loaves baked beautifully. Two are higher and fuller than the third, although I weighed all three and used the same amount of dough. We will slice a loaf for lunch (or maybe even at breakfast) tomorrow, and I will freeze the other two.

[skeptic7]

The weather in Lexington, Ky is wonderfully cool and pleasant today. So much so that I will do some cooking. I want to make scones, and chocolate cherry bread for fun; and Ma Po Bean curd for supper. It feels like such an indulgence to do any cooking after the heat of the previous days.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Lots of challah baking. Violet's bat mitzvah is July 11 and she has decided I will make the challah for it. I haven't decided on how many strands in the braid or how big it needs to be. I need to try some 6 strand braids. I have a nice 4 strand going. It looks a bit like a ladder.

Violet has also decided I should make the treats we serve after Friday night services. We do the best we can but unfortunately security costs have mushroomed and so we've cut back in other areas. So I'll bake. I can do better than what the synagogue buys. It's going to require some experimentation and Violet has numerous suggestions. Her latest is macrons which I have only done a couple times long ago and babka which I've never made. So far I have brown butter chocolate chip cookies, molasses cookies, Persian shortbread (made with chickpea flour so GF). Not sure what else to add.

I do have access to the synagogue kitchen which is good for scale but it has no AC so it can be very hot!

[Mike Nolan]

Babka is pretty easy to make. Peter Reinhart's recipe in BBA is reliable, but there are lots of others. You can braid it, you can twist and fold it, you can break it up into small chunks and stuff it in the pan, they all work.

[aaronatthedoublef]

So a sort of babka monkey bread! Cool. Thanks

[BakerAunt]

You will have a lot of fun experimenting with the baking, Aaron. Keep us posted!

On Tuesday, I pulled out of the freezer a container of Blueberry Chia Seed jam that I made last year when the older bonus son left commercial blueberries that had first thawed in transit in the freezer. I baked Rye Blueberry Chia Seed Jam Bars, which is my reworking of a King Arthur recipe that was so-so, but is now healthier and excellent with my changes. With berry season starting, I am working to get items out of the freezer, so that there will be plenty of room.

[skeptic7]

I did lemon-vanilla scones yesterday with dried lemon; and Chocolate Cherry rolls. The rolls first needed extra buttermilk and then extra flour but turned out very well. I'm very happy to have a Kitchen Aid Mixer now. My right shoulder is a bit sore from shoveling ice last winter and I couldn't have kneaded this by hand.
Dried lemon as a spice sounds wierd. I had bought it at a Halal Grocery and think its Middle Eastern. I put a generous tablespoon in the scones. The scones also contain a teaspoon of vanilla which I rarely add to scones and something has added a distinct flavor.

Aaron; I look forward to hearing about your cooking adventures at your synagogue. Have you ever made mandelbrot? I was discussing this with a friend and she told me that it should be less dry than a biscotti. I had previously thought these were nearly identical cookies only one was made with oil instead of butter.

[BakerAunt]

On Wednesday, I baked Whole Wheat Rye Semolina Buns to use as sandwiches for dinner. I had to use the bread machine because a problem developed with the paddle on my Ankarsrum. I wrote to the company yesterday, and they put a replacement in the mail for me today, which is excellent customer service. I baked an asparagus goat cheese quiche in the afternoon, which I will start having for lunch tomorrow.

Skeptic--a good friend of mine passed on to me recipes that she baked for occasions at her synagogue (and also baked for my wedding reception). For her mandelbrot, she would sometimes use butter and sometimes peanut oil. Oh, and her last name was Mandel. She passed away several years ago, and I still miss her

[BakerAunt]

I baked Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers on Friday. I was pleased that the replacement paddle for my Ankarsrum arrived today, so I am back in action with my mixer.

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