What are You Baking the Week of June 25, 2017?

Home Forums Baking — Breads and Rolls What are You Baking the Week of June 25, 2017?

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  • #7960
    BakerAunt
    Participant

      In honor of the Formula 1 race on Sunday morning, I made pancakes to eat as we watched it start. I have a recipe for Oat Pancakes that came from a free paper in Los Angeles years ago. This time, I used half Irish Wholemeal flour for the AP flour, and I used 1/2 cup half and half (need to use up) with 1/2 cup 1% milk. These were very light pancakes, maybe because of those changes. After I saw how light scones that included the Irish flour were, I thought that it would work well in pancakes. I'm sure that the half and half helped also.

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      #7963
      BakerAunt
      Participant

        On Sunday evening, I baked a new recipe, "Spelt Raisin Pecan Bread" (but I used walnuts), that came from the back of a package of spelt flour that KAF sold. The recipe, which is not on their website, took a pound of spelt flour, or a little over 4 cups (so I think that I no longer have any in the freezer). I used golden raisins and 2 tsp. gold yeast and 1/2 tsp regular yeast. I considered cutting back on the yeast, but I've not worked with spelt flour in bread, so I decided not to do so; I recall that Wonky had tried to do an all-spelt bread and it came out heavy. However, with a first rise of 45 minutes and a second one of 20 minutes, perhaps I should use less yeast next time. The oven spring was dramatic, with the loaf almost too large for the 8x4 loaf pan. It needed the full 40 minutes baking time. I'll add a note tomorrow, after I sample it for breakfast, about taste and texture.

        Promised Note: I had a couple of slices of the bread this morning for breakfast. It is good. It's substantial enough for slicing thinly. If I make it again, I would definitely try it with only 2 tsp. of yeast, since that might make for a softer texture. It should make good French Toast later in the week.

        • This reply was modified 6 years, 10 months ago by BakerAunt.
        • This reply was modified 6 years, 10 months ago by BakerAunt.
        #7968
        aaronatthedoublef
        Participant

          Hi. I baked off some challah dough I had in the freezer. I put it in in March so I figured it was approaching EoL and I needed to bake it. I made a six strand braid which came out pretty nicely. They really do have a nice, three-dimensional look that three and four strand braids do not have. It was a two and a half pound loaf that my two sons polished off in a matter of hours. It's not my normal recipe and I don't like it as much but apparently my boys did not care.

          I also made another double batch of rye bread and learned a few things. First, I figured out what caused my blowouts. I made two two-and-a-half pound loaves. I put them too close to each other in the oven and they expanded until they were touching. Without room to rise evenly on both sides they each blew out the opposite side.

          I like three slashes better than five but that is an aesthetic decision.

          I did not check my ingredients before I started and ran out of first clear flour half way through. So the loaves were half real clear and half bread flour. I do not like the color as much and I do not like the taste as much as the all-real clear loaves. But it did have a slightly higher rise in the finished product. Cass was right as usual.

          I left one loaf unglazed and brushed egg wash on the second. I like the cornstarch the best (pace Mike). But it is also more of a pain in the neck as the cornstarch glaze involves cooking.

          #7973
          BakerAunt
          Participant

            On Monday, I made up the dough for David Lebovitz's "Salted Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookies," which we talked about a few weeks ago. It used up the rest of the tahini I had in the refrigerator and 2 cups of bittersweet chocolate chips. The dough has to sit overnight, so I'll bake them tomorrow.

            I also made up the dough for Rye Crisps, from a recipe in The Baking Sheet 13.1 (Holiday 2001), pp. 18-19. I made them last year and liked them. This dough, after the first rise, goes into the refrigerator for up to 24 hours, so it too will be baked tomorrow. I've used up almost all the medium rye flour. I'll sneak the remaining 1/2 cup into the dough when I make rolls for our trip.

            • This reply was modified 6 years, 10 months ago by BakerAunt.
            • This reply was modified 6 years, 10 months ago by BakerAunt.
            • This reply was modified 6 years, 10 months ago by BakerAunt.
            #7990
            Mike Nolan
            Keymaster

              We have house guests this week, so we're going through bread pretty fast just at breakfast, so I'm making honey wheat bread tonight.

              #7992
              BakerAunt
              Participant

                This evening, I baked the two doughs I made last night--Chocolate Chip Tahini Cookies (see thread) and Rye Crisps. I'd made the Rye Crisps before, using the bread machine, but this time I used my stand mixer with the paddle, and the dough came together quickly. As I did last time, I substituted 1/2 cup buttermilk for that much water, and reduced the baking powder from 2 tsp to 1 1/2 tsp. and added 1/8 tsp. baking soda. Instead of trying to roll out and bake all the crackers at once--which last time resulted in some burning on the edges, this time I divided the dough in half and made the crackers in two batches. I did not have any problems with burning, and the crackers baked evenly, so I will do this from now on. If anyone is interested, I will post the recipe with my changes.

                #8002
                Joan Simpson
                Participant

                  I made a loaf of Cinnamon Raisin bread from an Amish bread recipe it turned out really good and held up well,didn't sink when I turned it out,baked in 8x4 pan.

                  #8004
                  BakerAunt
                  Participant

                    I just baked the Lemon Cake variation of the "Basic 1-2-3-4 Cake" in Susan Purdy's The Perfect Cake (pp. 84-85. I am lazy, and so I did not separate the eggs; denser cake is fine when there will be a lemon curd filling. I did substitute Bob's Red Mill Unbleached Super-Fine Cake flour for the regular flour. I would have used extra-fine sugar if I'd had it around or had not packed what I could have used to grind it down. This cake rises so high that I think next time I will use 9-inch cake pans.

                    The cake is for an "Un-Birthday Party" at work. I always baked the birthday cakes for the office parties. I'm retiring after next week, so I promised the staff one more lemon cake. I will assemble and frost it this evening.

                    #8030
                    BakerAunt
                    Participant

                      The Bob's Red Mill Unbleached Super-Fine Cake Flour produced the lightest of these cakes that I have yet baked. The ones in the past have been a wee bit dry, but needed to bake the 35 minutes to be done in the center. This one had exactly the right moistness. As usual with this recipe, I did have a slight dip in the center, even with the cake straps and building up the sides slightly. Next time, I will use the more finely ground sugar or grind it fine myself. I might also wait 15 rather than 10 minutes before removing the cake from the pan. It was delicate and required careful handling, and it got a bit ragged around the edges where I'd run a knife around.

                      Everyone loved the cake. It was a good way to culminate my cake baking for staff parties over the past four years.

                      • This reply was modified 6 years, 10 months ago by BakerAunt.
                      #8049
                      Joan Simpson
                      Participant

                        I made an Apple Crisp Wednesday and it was good but a tad sweet to me,we had it with vanilla ice cream while it was warm.The topping was only flour,brown and white sugar and a stick of butter crumbled up and spread on top.My sister had a birthday today and her favorite cake is pound cake,so I made the Cream Cheese Cold Oven pound cake it was really good and so moist,that's my favorite too.

                        #8050
                        BakerAunt
                        Participant

                          Saturday evening, I pulled out an old recipe, "Oatmeal Crunch Bars," that came from A Pillsbury cookbooklet (#51) that I probably bought about 30 years ago. It used up the rest of a jar of orange marmalade, as well as some coconut and walnuts. I also threw in some mini-chocolate chips. I reduced the butter by 2 Tbs. and the brown sugar by about 1-2 Tbs. When they cool, I'll cut them and wrap them as single serving "granola" bars.

                          I also baked "Lattice-Top Cherry Pie," from Baking Illustrated (pp. 194-195), but I used my own buttermilk crust recipe. I decided to use pastry flour rather than Gold Medal, although I still used a bit of whole wheat pastry flour as well. The dough rolled out beautifully. This recipe used up three jars of Trader Joe's Morello cherries. I would have waited to bake it for Independence Day, but the weather is going to get hot again, and we are also busy preparing for another moving run.

                          #8053
                          Rascals1
                          Participant

                            Love to see what you bake BakerAunt and how you make them your own. Would love to have the oatmeal bar recipe.
                            I baked a carrot cake and a cheese cake and layered them together and frosted with cream cheese icing and topped with pecans. A friend saw one on computer and told me about it you just use your own recipes to make both. Its very good that way.

                            • This reply was modified 6 years, 10 months ago by Rascals1.
                            #8282
                            BakerAunt
                            Participant

                              Hi, Rascals1. I had a little time this evening, so I put the recipe for the oatmeal bars in the recipe section. Enjoy!

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