What are you Baking the week of March 17, 2019?

[Mike Nolan]

Irish Soda Bread, anyone? With or without fruit?

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[Italiancook]

I made Irish Soda Bread a few decades ago. I don't think I had the best recipe. My husband is a big bread-eater, and he didn't ask me to make it again. I'm sure there are now better ones on the Internet, probably at KAF.

[Mike Nolan]

The soda bread we had in Ireland (at a bed and breakfast near Kilkenny) was fairly dark, a little on the sweet side and had raisins in it.

I took several recipes and combined them, I'm using raisins, walnuts, whole wheat flour, oatmeal, AP flour, baking soda, baking powder, sugar, salt, buttermilk and a little orange juice.

Some recipes bake it free-form, others in a 9" skillet, I'm trying it free-form, we'll see how much it spreads. Smells good so far.

Followup: Tastes pretty good, too. A little crumbly, but that's normal with a soda bread, because you don't mix it enough to form much gluten. I'll post my recipe shortly.

[BakerAunt]

On Monday, I baked the two varieties of whole wheat sourdough crackers—a cheese and a buttermilk ranch—from the dough I made last week.

I skipped the soda bread this year, although in the past I've made it as a breakfast food. So far, my favorite recipe was from KAF and used the Irish Wholemeal flour. I prefer raisins in it.

[RiversideLen]

I like Irish Soda Bread. I've only made it a few times and was not real happy with it.

[Mike Nolan]

Irish soda bread covers a wide range of breads. Some are sweet, some are not. Some have fruit and/or nuts in them, some do not. Some are light in color, some are quite dark. I've even seen some dusted with powdered sugar or a light glaze.

You can make them with a gluten-free flour, too. (Although I haven't tried that myself, I've made other GF chemically leavened breads, so I suspect they'd work well.)

[chocomouse]

Today I made a raspberry coffeecake, based loosely on Moomie's recipe. I increased the ingredients, except for the sugar, and added 2 cups of shredded zucchini from the freezer and 2 tablespoons of vanilla. I used jam for the filling which I made from last summer's raspberries from the freezer and Certo. I had discovered a container of lemon streusel in the freezer, so I put that on the top. I needed to bake it for 50 minutes. It is delicious, not too sweet but very flavorful, and I don't need to make any further adjustments.

[Italiancook]

Chocomouse, when freeze zucchini, do you squeeze it dry first? If not, when you thaw it, do you add the thawed zucchini water to the recipe? I've never frozen zucchini, because I know it thaws out watery, & I wasn't sure what to do with the water. I quit freezing peeled bananas for the same reason. Thanks!

[RiversideLen]

I made burger buns today.

[chocomouse]

ItalianCook, I'm never sure how to freeze zucchini, or how to use it in baked goods - I just wing it every time! I shred it fresh, let it sit in a colander (no salt, no squeezing) for an hour or so and freeze it in 2 cup amounts. When I thaw it, it is a mass of zucchini shreds plus a LOT of liquid. I drain and use the shreds but save the liquid. If the batter looks a bit thick and dry, I add some liquid, until it looks/feels right. Not very precise, but it works. And info I have found on the internet is very conflicting - so I don't know what works best. I know - I should keep records of my results. I keep using zucchini in my baking because I grow so much of it, and it makes the baked goods healthier. Maybe someday. How do you use it?

[BakerAunt]

I baked the KAF Baker’s Grain Sourdough Bread on Thursday. I’ve baked it before but this time I stayed closer to the recipe. Instead of ½ cup Ancient Grains Flour, which I do not buy, I used ¼ cup dark rye flour and ½ cup spelt. (I increase flour in KAF’s sourdough recipes by about ¼ cup per cup of sourdough, as my starter is not as thick as theirs.) I also added 1 Tbs. flax meal and cut the salt to 1 ½ tsp. from 2 tsp. I used 1 tsp. regular yeast and 1 tsp. special gold which I’m trying to use up.

KAF’s directions on wholegrain breads seem to me to set home bakers up for failure. First, I doubt that a recipe that uses high gluten flour will work well in a bread machine--and this is a thick dough. I don't think it would get kneaded enough. I used my stand mixer. Second, after proofing the yeast in the water with the honey (my personal preference). I added the sourdough starter, the Harvest Grains blends and the combined wholegrain flours and potato flour. I mixed these in, then let them sit for 20 minutes, so that the wholegrains could absorb the liquid. I then mixed in the 2 Tbs. oil before mixing in the combined high-gluten flour and salt. After switching to the bread hook, I found that I needed about 8 minutes of kneading on speed 3 of my Cuisinart stand mixer to get the windowpane. The first rise took an hour and the second 50 minutes before I slashed the loaf. I baked it in the Emile Henry long covered baker, following the given baking instructions. I always grease the bottom with Crisco and coat it with farina (cream of wheat). I took the lid off after 35 minutes and baked another 10 when it registered 198F. (I think 190F is too low.) The bread had nice oven spring.

We cut into the loaf for sandwiches the next day. It is delicious and of a lovely light texture inside. I think it’s better than what KAF has pictured.

[Mike Nolan]

Whole grain recipes are always challenging. The 100% whole wheat recipe that you make in the food processor is probably the most successful one I've ever tried. That's a part of the repertoire here now, we're on either our 3rd or 4th loaf of it.

I'm tempted to try the techniques of that recipe (a 2 1/2 hour autolyse and using the food processor instead of the mixer) on some of the other whole grain recipes I've tried unsuccessfully over the years.

[BakerAunt]

I need to try that recipe, especially since you have had such success with it.

[Italiancook]

Chocomouse, I use grated zucchini only for zucchini bread. I'm not accomplished enough as a baker to try it in other baked goods. Thanks for sharing how you deal with the liquid from frozen zucchini. I guess I'll give frozen bananas another try, because I could also use that liquid to eyeball the batter. Thanks!

[BakerAunt]

On Friday afternoon, I baked “Fresh Apple Cake,” from Recipes from the Old Mill: Baking with Whole Grains, p. 213. I used four of our dwindling supply of traditional Winesap apples that we have stored in the garage. I baked this cake last fall for the first time, and I made the same changes. I substitute ¼ cup barley flour for that much of the AP flour, add a tablespoon of flax meal, and ¼ cup powdered milk, and use buttermilk instead of yogurt. I used pecans in the topping.

It was still slightly warm when we cut into it--a nice dessert for these still cold days.

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