What are You Baking the Week of October 8, 2017?

[BakerAunt]

On Sunday morning, I made a half recipe of Pumpkin Waffles from Better Homes & Gardens 100 Best Pumpkin Recipes, a special publication I bought last year. My change is to use half whole wheat flour and to substitute buttermilk and adjust the baking powder (and add baking soda) accordingly.

I was having some issues with cooking them, and I wondered if my waffle iron might be going bad. However, I plugged it into a different outlet, and then it worked fine. I will be so glad when we can re-do this kitchen.

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[Mike Nolan]

I made the Thin Crisp ChocoChip Cookies from the Rosie's book late Saturday night, they're a big disappointment. The baking instructions are wrong, 12 minutes at 400 degrees was too long or too high, if not both, the first batch was burned and most of them got thrown out. Of the 3 other batches, the one that I did at 385 for 10 1/2 minutes was probably the best.

There's something odd about the flavor, but that aftertaste seems to be going away as they sit.

They aren't staying crisp, either. Maybe it's just too humid here, with all the rain we've had in the last week.

[aaronatthedoublef]

That's disappointing. That book has been out for a couple of decades. Things like that should have been fixed years ago.

So far this week I've made pizza. I need to make something for book club Thursday night. Not sure what I'll do yet.

I saw a new garlic-free tomato sauce at the store - Rao's sensitive marinara. Rao's is our sauce of choice but I've never tried the garlic free version. It's a bit spendy too at the grocery stores - 32 oz. for $7.99 but at Costco it's 40 oz. for $7.99 but they do not (yet) have the garlic free version.

I buy cases of it on sale at Whole Foods when it drops to $5.99 and then I get a 10% discount per case which brings the price down to about $5.40 a jar.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Mike, just looked in my edition of Rosie's and there is a chocolate chip cookie recipe but not your thin crisp choco chip recipe.

For what it's worth the chocolate chip cookie recipe says 375 for 11-12 minutes until the middle puffs up and the edges crisp up and brown.

[Mike Nolan]

Hunts Traditional Pasta Sauce is what I've been using when I don't make my own, both the Traditional and the Mushroom one are garlic-free and when on sale a 24 ounce can is around $1. I'll probably be using a can of it tonight when I make spaghetti squash with meatballs.

Judy Rosenberg has several similarly titled books, the one I have (Rosie's Bakery All-Butter Cream Filled Sugar Packed Baking Book) was copyrighted in 2011 and this appears to be the first printing. That recipe is on page 154. I have not looked for an online errata list. 375 for 11-12 minutes is more consistent with other chocolate chip recipes I've used. I've now tried 2 recipes from this book, both seemed to me to have issues with the cooking/baking instructions. I'll be much more cautious with the next recipe I try from this book.

[BakerAunt]

I'm baking a new recipe, the KAF Heart of Winter Loaves. (The recipe says "loaf" but it makes two, so it should be loaves.) I've made a few tweaks to the recipe: I used 2 Tbs. honey instead of sugar. I deleted the special dried milk. I used 3/4 cups buttermilk and 1 cup of water. I used 1 tsp. of the gold yeast and 1 tsp. of the regular yeast. I did have to add an additional 2 Tbs. regular KAF flour. I'm using the bread machine to knead it. I may bake it as two loaves in my double "French Bread" pan (the one with all the holes to crisp the bottom). I won't do the seeds, since they are a problem for my husband. I'll add to this post later.

The rise was much faster than the recipe states, although I did use half regular and half special gold yeast. The first rise took only 50 minutes, then I divided the dough, shaped it into ovals and let it rest covered for 10 minutes. I shaped it and put it into the French bread loaves pan. 40 minutes later I put it in the oven, and it only needed 25 minutes baking time.

With my changes, it's a lovely, soft wholegrain bread. I will definitely bake the recipe again.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 2 months ago by BakerAunt.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 2 months ago by BakerAunt.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 2 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BevM]

Today I baked my Hershey's Best Brownies to go with our ice cream. They only take 30 minutes in the oven. I am looking forward to some cool weather soon so I can bake more often. It has been so hot and muggy this summer and these hurricanes have not helped at all.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Mike, I have the same one - All-Butter Cream Filled Baking Book but it must be a different edition as it's from 1991 and it appears to have some different recipes (it does have the honeypots, for example). 154 has whitecaps which is a kind of bar. Her blog is here but after regular updates through 2013 it has one entry from Passover 2014 and then another for Sep 1 2017. And that is just a pointer to an article of someone who loves Rosie's and discovered it 35 years ago. Not sure what happened.

Rosie's has been around for a long time as it was already well known and well established with multiple locations when I moved to Boston in 1980. I probably haven't been there since 1994 which is when I left Boston but her products always looked great and tasted even better.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Just looked at her "About Rosie's" page and it says she opened in 1974.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 2 months ago by aaronatthedoublef.

[Mike Nolan]

According to Amazon, her 1991 book was "All-Butter, Fresh Cream, Sugar-Packed Baking"
2011 was "All-Butter, Cream-Filled, Sugar-Packed Baking". Might have been similar sets of recipes, just a slightly different title for an updated edition. Susan Purdy retitled two of her books when she revised them.

The cookies from all but the first batch went in to my wife's office today and went over fairly well. I may give that recipe a second shot some time, and I should have watched that first batch more closely, I know better than to trust the timing on any new recipe.

[BakerAunt]

For breakfast Wednesday morning, I baked my usual bran muffin recipe but used dried cranberries rather than raisins.

[Joan Simpson]

Baked 2 small loaves of Banana nut bread yesterday.Last night I made a loaf of KA sandwich bread but subbed a cup of wheat and it was so good.I think it's the best bread I've ever made.Rose up one and a half inch over my 9x5 pan and rose more in the oven.Very light crumb.I slipped it into a used bread bag after it cooled last night and I had to work to get it to fit.My husband only eats Natures Own Honey Wheat and that's what this tastes like.I had some this morning and was happy.My husband doesn't care for bread much that's why I give so much away.I just like doing it.Now let me tell you about my pie crusts I made today.Made them just like always but when I cut in the shortening it was just like a clump of lard,I use Crisco and it was fresh but it would not crumble up in pea size pieces.Finally added in a little more flour and divided up and wrapped to chill for an apple pie.Tried rolling out one crust had the biggest damn mess you ever saw.Trashed one crust then I remembered how BakerAunt rolls hers in between wax paper and Saran wrap and that's the way I finally got the crust in the pan.Pie is baked I made with Honey crisp apples and it looks OK,it broke in a few places when it baked but if it tastes ok that's all that matters.

[Mike Nolan]

Don't know what went wrong with your pie crust, maybe the Crisco got overheated in the can at some point. I wonder if Crisco has a hot line you can call to ask them?

I use an all-butter recipe for a standard (dessert) pie crust, but I've been known to use Crisco in a hot water crust for things like chicken pot pie.

I think Honeycrisp is a large-cell apple and those generally don't make the best pies, they get too mushy.

I went out to a local u-pick orchard this afternoon and picked about 28 pounds of Winesap apples, I'll be processing them for pie filling over the weekend, I should get enough for about 8 pies.

[Joan Simpson]

Thanks Mike, the only thing different was the flour was bleached.

[KIDPIZZA]

Joan Simpson wrote:

Thanks Mike, the only thing different was the flour was bleached.

Good evening Joan:
Yes CRISCO does have a hot line. The toll~free # is listed on the can. I did just that about 4, years ago.

You say you employed a bleached flour...well in a pie it really would not matter as our member ZEN would tell you...although if you have a choice, you did employ the correct flour.

My opinion is it wasn't the flour per se, it is most likely "STALE" flour (RANCID) that was employed Check the shelf~life date on the flour bag package. Joan, keep the flour in your freezer if possible. it is best used cold when doing pie dough in conjunction with butter or shortening or lard.

Good luck & enjoy the rest of the day my friend.

~KIDPIZZA.

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