What are You Baking the Week of May 24, 2020?

[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks BA. My starter is whole wheat and a little medium rye. I tried that to see the difference it might make.

I was thinking of subbing a little pastry flour for some of the bread flour because I don't have AP. I wouldn't replace it all - maybe a half cup. I'll have to figure out the math to bring the bread flour down to AP level. I might be able to pickup some KAF AP but I'm not sure if I will get to the store this week.

[aaronatthedoublef]

I made BA's version of KAF sourdough crackers last night. I think I could have made them a little thinner and last night the olive oil I subbed for the butter was a little too assertive (whatever happened to "strong"). I'll have to try them again later today. Also, they may be too sour for my wife and daughter. But they are very easy. I can make some adjustments based on tastes. Cutting it with a pizza wheel gave me wonky shapes so I may use a biscuit cutter next time. I had some rulers but rulers, pencils, and Sharpies have a very short life here before they join the missing socks in the ether.

[BakerAunt]

Aaron--I tried olive oil in the crackers and also did not care for the flavor, even when I was doing an Italian Seasoning in place of the cheese powder. I switched to canola oil and add 2 Tbs. BRM milk powder to each recipe, which with the cheese powder gives a more cheesy flavor.

I also didn't like the crackers brushed with olive oil or canola oil. I switched to grapeseed oil, and that allows the cheese flavor to come through.

Of course, each starter has its own character, and mine is milk based. Experimentation will help you work out the sourness issue.

I have a ruler that is marked English on one side and metric on the other. It's 16 inches long and lives in the drawer with my scale and scrapers. Of course, there are no children to grab it here, and my husband does not venture into the baking drawer. It makes it easy to use the pizza wheel to do 3x3 cm crackers.

[aaronatthedoublef]

BA, I had a yardstick that disappeared. Three feet long and some bright color that looked purple to me and it is gone. We had a spray bottle with cleaner for the kitchen counters and table - GONE! My wife cannot find it and she can find anything.

My daughter thinks they tasted like cheese which may be the sour taste. Anyway, I'll play around with it some more. It is very easy to make and your substitutions make it healthier. It does use a lot of starter though. I may try to reduce the starter and increase the flour and water or add some milk in place of the water to mellow it out.

[kimbob]

Haven't made ciabatta in a long time. Tomorrow is the day. This guy is a hoot!

[BakerAunt]

Aaron: If only we could chain our kitchen implements to the kitchen (as Medieval churches used to do with Bibles), they would actually be there when needed and not in the possession of Ida Know and Not Me (characters who show up occasionally in the Family Circus comic strip).

[BakerAunt]

I pulled out the electric Krumkake maker on Friday, and after perusing the recipes, decided that the German recipe, which uses a lot less butter and eggs had possibilities for converting into one lower in saturated fat. I replaced 4 Tbs. butter with 1 Tbs. butter, 2 Tbs. canola oil, and 1 Tbs. 1% milk. There was an option of ½ or 1 tsp. vanilla, so I went with the lesser amount. These turned out very well and fill my need for a crunchy sweet cookie. I went ahead and rolled them into cones, but they would also work well as very thin flat cookies. I will not be filling them with whipped cream, but the next time we have frozen vanilla yogurt in the house, I might try making cones or even shaping bowls. Until then, they are great with tea!

[kimbob]

Made those ciabatta rolls this morning with the 00 flour I bought from nuts.com. They are very good and crisp, tender inside. I like that the recipe makes a small amount, was easy, fast with no overnight biga when you don't have the time. I would make it again.

[skeptic7]

Yesterday I took the honey walnuts from this recipe.
https://thetakeout.com/recipe-how-to-make-honey-walnut-shrimp-chinese-takeou-1841899939

and added them to a batch of buttermilk scones. It was great. I don't know if I will do it again soon as the walnut pieces were sticky and messy when I nibbled on them -- not all the candied walnuts made it into the scones. However the walnuts made the scones much more interesting and I cheerfully ate them with the rest of the strawberries over two days, and by themselves for snacks and a light lunch.

Has anyone made buttermilk raisin bread with white flour? I have found this doesn't work with all whole wheat flour. The buttermilk whole wheat bread is fine and tasty and light, but adding currants or other fruit makes it heavy. It took me three or four tries to figure out what went wrong.

[Italiancook]

kimbob, thanks for posting the ciabatta video. I enjoyed watching it. I have a KAF recipe for ciabatta, but it appears such a long endeavor that I've never baked it. Overall, I don't like bread, although I enjoy the excitement of baking it. And, the only bread I claim to like to eat is ciabatta.

[kimbob]

Italian cook, sometimes I wish I didn't like bread! I could eat a whole loaf with butter and honey. You should try the ciabatta recipe. Quick, easy, delicious. 😊 I mean, what the heck else is there to do during the lockdown.😖

[BakerAunt]

Back in March, I baked a Chocolate Olive Oil Blood Orange Cake, dividing it between two of the half-size Bundt pans. We ate one, and I froze the other, along with enough juice to make glaze. I decided tonight was the night to have it for the dessert, so I pulled it out of the freezer last night and let it thaw on the counter in its wrappings overnight. The cake is as wonderful as it was the day that I baked it. The flavor of the blood orange may even have intensified. I used the juice to make the beautiful and delicious pink icing.

I will keep my eye out next February/March for blood oranges again.

[Mike Nolan]

We made candied nuts in chocolate school, we boiled them in simple syrup for several minutes then dried them out in the oven. They aren't sticky and they last a long time. I've done it with almond slices and with pecans, I haven't tried it with (English) walnuts yet.

[Mike Nolan]

A local store had an 8 pound flat of strawberries for $8 today, so we're making Cardinal Preserves, and that means making the Austrian Malt Bread to go with it.

[RiversideLen]

I made my usual sandwich buns today.

[Author]

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