What are you Baking the Week of March 13, 2022?

[Joan Simpson]

Baking buttermilk biscuits to go with supper.

[chocomouse]

This morning I made Maple Sticky Buns, and they came out perfectly sticky on the bottom/top. I don't have any maple sugar, so I subbed brown sugar. And instead of making 12, I made 18 using two 9 x 9 pans. I used Susan Reid's recipe from her blog, the Silver Palate.

[BakerAunt]

Those sound delicious, Chocomouse. Is this the recipe?

https://www.lodgecastiron.com/recipe/maple-pecan-sticky-buns#

[BakerAunt]

On Tuesday, I made Maple Granola, which I have not made in a very long time. I had been able to find a 2-qt. jug of dark maple syrup last November, but I had not opened it because I needed canning lids. I finally found those a couple of months ago. I then decided to wait until our contractor finished remodeling our Annex. Today, I decided what the heck and just did it. (Supposedly the contractor and crew will be here tomorrow and will work on finishing the interior.) I have enough maple syrup now to make granola six times, which at the rate my husband consumes it will not be that long, and then I will need to order from Scruggs Sugar House!

[chocomouse]

Yes, BakerAunt, that is the same recipe. And I posted an incorrect name for Susan's blog -- it is The Well Plated Life. Sorry about that. I'm going to send half the buns to the sugarhouse tomorrow morning for my husband and son to snack on while they boil the sap into syrup. They've made some really nice, light syrup thus far, but I prefer the darker Grade A dark, robust - it has more flavor.

[Italiancook]

I made the allrecipes.com Irresistible Irish Soda Bread. It sits overnight, so it's my nod to St. Patrick's Day. Half will be egg salad lunches tomorrow. I'll freeze the other half. It's a loaf pan bread, not a boule, which is how I'm used to seeing soda bread recipes. No currants in it. Comes together in 15 minutes, if canisters don't need to be refilled. I made it previously but gave it away. Recipients declared it very good.

Later, I baked KABC Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Frosting. I had made them previously, using butter. Today, I subbed all light olive oil. I used 6 tablespoons oil, but didn't add any water. They taste good but are a little dry. BakerAunt, how much water and oil would you have used? Recipe calls for 1/2 cup softened butter.

[BakerAunt]

Italian Cook--1/3 cup oil is the usual substitute for 1/2 cup butter. However, you might use 1/4 cup oil and add buttermilk or milk to make it up to 1/3 cup. That is my current approach to oil replacement in cakes and quick breads. It gives it a little more "water" content.

For a tender cake or quick bread, I suggest first combining the oil mixture with the sugar, then whisking in the eggs, then any other wet ingredient, including bananas. Add the combined other dry ingredients to the wet mixture and mix lightly by hand. (I use a cake whisk, but a spatula will work.) Using a hand mixer at this point with an oil-based cake will make for tough cupcakes or cake

[BakerAunt]

On Wednesday, I baked the Favorite Fudge Birthday Cake (with my changes) from the King Arthur website. However, I halved the recipe and made it in the 6-inch cake pans. I also halved the amount of filling and the glaze. It is a cute little cake. As there will only be two of us to eat it, a smaller cake is best

[rottiedogs]

I made apple pie for Pi Day and I just took a loaf of soda bread out of the oven to go with tonight's corned beef and cabbage.

[Mike Nolan]

My wife isn't fond of corned beef and cabbage, and making a brisket is a lot of work, so our St. Patrick's Day meal the last few years has been bagels with corned beef. 🙂

[aaronatthedoublef]

Violet and I made green cupcakes for St. Patrick's Day. It was another Duff Goldman recipe and the first I've tried that was not very sweet.

The cupcakes used melted butter, something I've never done in a cake before.

I think Iover-mixed and over-baked them. They were a little hard and dry. We added the food coloring after the mix, in several batches until we had a color that Violet liked. I think this is when they became over mixed. Next time I'll mix the coloring into the melted butter & sugar before I add the eggs.

I did not get to try brown butter buttercream because Violet wanted to make the frosting and decorate with Kate so I was kicked from the kitchen (not really I just worked on dinner).

Next time.

[BakerAunt]

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

I also made dough for my version of the King Arthur Gourmet Soda Crackers. It rests in the refrigerator, and I will bake those tomorrow morning. I like the recipe, but after the crackers are done, they have to be left in the turned-off oven overnight to crisp. I will bake them in the morning tomorrow, so that they can rest in the oven and be ready to accompany dinner. That means I will not have the oven to use tomorrow, so I have planned dinner around it.

[aaronatthedoublef]

BA, we were on the same wavelength! I made more of your crackers this morning. Came out much better than the batch earlier this week.

[BakerAunt]

I baked the Gourmet Soda Crackers this morning. They are now cooling on the pan in the oven.

You and your family might enjoy that recipe, Aaron. It does require the King Arthur Italian-Style flour. I leave my crackers plain, but KABC suggests sprinkling seeds or some topping on them. I replace the butter with 3 Tbs. avocado oil (includes the oil the recipe already uses). I also find that rolling it out on Silpat the first time, folding it, then moving the dough to the parchment to roll out for baking is faster and easier. I cut it on the parchment and do not separate; the crackers separate in the oven. The oven rest is the biggest issue, as it means you cannot use the oven for other uses--and you need to make sure no one turns it on accidentally.

I have to be stern with my husband about scarfing these indiscriminately, as they are white flour crackers, so the nutritional profile is low. Their attraction for me is that they are great with healthy dips, such as hummus or guacamole (neither of which he eats), and they go well with the pea soup I will be making tonight.

I also recommend the multi-grain crackers in the King Arthur Whole Grain Baking Book, which I make with an oil substitution and a Tbs. of added milk powder. These are non-yeasted, so they come together and bake fast. You do need cooked steel-cut oats that have cooled to room temperature. I cook 2 Tbs., and that works perfectly. I usually need additional water to bring the dough together. This recipe could easily be doubled.

[Mike Nolan]

I made 96 mini banana nut muffins today, with enough leftover batter for a mini banana nut loaf.

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