What are You Baking the Week of June 28, 2020?

[chocomouse]

Baker Aunt, is your recipe for the sunflower bread posted here? I searched, but probably am not calling it by the complete correct name. I'd love to try it if you have shared. Thanks!

[RiversideLen]

I made a chocolate cake, an oil based cake that uses cocoa powder. I replaced 1/2 cup of oil with Greek yogurt. Topped it with a little ganache. I heated up 100 grams (by weight) of milk and stirred in 200 grams of chocolate chips. After the chocolate melted I poured it over the still warm cake and spread it with a spatula. Other than just dusting it with powdered sugar, that has got to be the easiest way to finish a cake.

Attachments:

You must be logged in to view attached files.

[BakerAunt]

Chocomouse: I'll post the "Sunflower Oat Wheat Bread" Recipe. If today's experiment turns out well, then I'll post that as a variation.

[BakerAunt]

We had bananas that were turning fast, so Monday afternoon I went online to find a recipe for banana cake that does not use butter. I finally came upon a website Cooking Made Healthy:

https://cookingmadehealthy.com/healthy-banana-cake/

I followed the recipe except that I used 2 cups Whole Wheat pastry flour and 1 cup KAF AP flour in place of 3 cups of whole wheat. I reduced the vanilla from 1 Tbs. to 2 tsp., and I used buttermilk rather than water. I baked it in two 8-inch round pans for about 33 minutes. (I coated them with The Grease and lined with parchment, which I also coated.) I had planned to freeze one, but they came out so well that I decided to make them into a two-layer cake. I did not have lowfat cream cheese or Greek yogurt, but I did have a Greek Yogurt Cream Cheese spread that needs to be used up, so I combined it with ¾ cup powdered sugar, ½ tsp. vanilla, and a Tbs. of milk. (That was too much milk, so I ended up adding powdered sugar to get the consistency corrected). My husband and I both like the cake, which is not overly sweet and pairs nicely with the frosting. The recipe is a keeper.

[kimbob]

Cream cheese pound cake for berries and whipped cream.

[RiversideLen]

I have some semolina flour that I'd like to use so today I made King Arthur Semolina Sandwich bread . I made some changes to it, some out of necessity and some out of preference. I didn't have corn meal so I subbed white whole wheat, I don't have powdered milk so used 2% milk instead of water, I subbed 1 tablespoon of honey for the sugar, cut the salt in half and finally, 2 tablespoons of olive oil for the butter. That's a lot of changes but it worked. One thing I could have done was to reduce the yeast but since this was my first time making this I used the 2 teaspoons called for. Next time I'll cut the yeast to 1 1/4 tsp. The recipe says it might not double in the one hour rise time but mine more than doubled in a half hour. I formed it into a braided loaf and then turned the oven on. The oven was minimally preheated by the time the loaf was ready to go in. I baked it for 35 minutes at 350 which gave me readings of more than 190 degrees.

I sliced it and made a grilled cheese sandwich. It makes a lot of crumbs when slicing. It has a tender but chewy texture. Overall, I'd rate this a 4 on a scale of one to five.

Attachments:

You must be logged in to view attached files.

[Mike Nolan]

I've never baked a braided loaf in a pan, the top almost looks like a brioche.

I've been having pretty good luck with Jeffrey Hamelman's semolina bread (the 'sponge' one, not the sourdough one), most recently I used equal parts durum, semolina and KAF AP flour and barley malt syrup instead of sugar. (If you have the first edition of his book, the home recipe has the right weight but the wrong dry measure amount for the sugar.)

I wound up with too much barley malt because it was pretty thick and a big glop of it came out, which may have impacted how much it rose and the color, but otherwise it is a good bread.

I used a mixture of honey and water to help glue the sesame seeds on, it seems to be working fairly well. I did it at the start of the final proof. Several people in BBGA recommend putting the shaped bread on a wet towel then dipping it in seeds, but I think that works better if you're making lots of loaves, not just one or two.

Semolina and durum seem to have a lower glycemic index than other wheat flours, which works well for type II diabetics.

[Joan Simpson]

RiversideLen your bread and cake look awesome.

[BakerAunt]

It's a lovely loaf, Len. Enjoy!

[aaronatthedoublef]

Mike and Len, both your breads are beautiful. I've made braided challahs in pans because I wanted/needed the braid but wanted to be able to slice it for sandwiches too.

[RiversideLen]

Thanks everyone!

I like braided loaves because I like how the slices pull apart when eating it. I like to pan them because I like tall loaves, it gives me standard size slices. It makes it easier for sandwiches and grilled cheese etc. A non panned braid does make for a better presentation, though.

[Mike Nolan]

Len, the ganache on your cake almost looks like a mirror glaze. I hope it tastes as good as it looks.

[BakerAunt]

I made sourdough pan pizza for Wednesday dinner with homemade sauce from the freezer, Canadian bacon, mozzarella, mushrooms, red bell pepper, green onion, grated Parmesan, and black olives on my half. We have enough for dinner tomorrow as well.

[RiversideLen]

Mike, it tastes very good. I used Ghirardelli bittersweet chocolate chips.

BA, that pizza sounds delicious.

[BakerAunt]

When we were at the grocery store on Tuesday, there was a grocery basket full of marked down bananas (29 cents per pound). I have a feeling that locally people are over banana bread. I selected four, and on Thursday, I baked the Buckwheat Banana Cake, of which we have become so fond, in a 6 cup Bundt pan. I further reduced the salt to ¼ tsp. regular salt and the olive oil from ½ to 1/3 cup. It baked in 45 minutes. As we are still eating the banana cake that I baked earlier this week, this one is destined for the freezer.

[Author]

Posts