What are You Baking the Week of September 1, 2019?

[BakerAunt]

I have an English Muffin splitter that I bought from King Arthur. It's a small plastic contraption that has the tines of a fork. It requires compressing the handle when you stick it in, then releasing it. I work my way around the muffin until I have two halves.

I think that buttermilk makes a particularly great muffin, which is why I replaced the milk. I've had to switch out the butter in my recipe with canola oil to accommodate my need to reduce saturated fat. Inn this recipe, I can get away with doing that.

[Mike Nolan]

I've used a knife to split both home made and commercial (Wolferman) English muffins, it didn't destroy the holes. However, a fork produces a less smooth surface, so IMHO that's why there are more holes visible.

[chocomouse]

Paddy, on the obc, posted her English muffin recipe using her sourdough starter, if anyone is interested. I've made it, and wrote on it that it is "good, use it".

Baker Aunt, I have that same splitter tool. Or, "had" it. Don't know where it is, probably threw it away!! A regular fork works as good for me. I also always use buttermilk, and sometimes use oil instead of butter.

Mike, I agree with you. I think a knife just ruins the surface.

[BakerAunt]

I needed a quick dessert for Wednesday, so I used the Apricot Oatmeal Bar recipe on this site, with my substitution of white whole wheat flour and reduction to ½ cup brown sugar and 1/8th tsp. salt. For the fruit spread, I used a 10 oz. jar of all-fruit blueberry jam.

Chocomouse--Please do post the recipe. It would be nice to have a sourdough English muffin recipe from Paddy. I would try it with my starter.

[Mike Nolan]

I made a large Texas Chocolate Sheet Pan today to celebrate my birthday. We ate some of it and the rest will go in to my wife's office in the morning. I made a batch-and-a-half of batter and a quadruple batch of frosting to go in my new 2" deep half sheet pan. My wife thinks the frosting might have been a bit of overkill, I think it'll be better after it hardens up overnight.

[skeptic7]

On English Muffins, I try to divide the dough evenly. I normally start by forming into a log and try to subdivide into 9 pieces, but it never works out perfectly. I always have several muffins over size and several undersize.

I baked currant - candied orange peel quick bread in my slw cooker. It took 2 1/2 hours.

[Mike Nolan]

I can't bench divide evenly, either, so I always use a scale.

[Joan Simpson]

Happy Birthday Mike!Wishing you a great day and all your wishes come true!

[skeptic7]

Happy Birthday Mike.
I bake my English Muffins and the dough is about as firm as a normal bread dough, definately firmer than a focaccio dough. I don't get the big holes and I really don't miss them. How much butter do you need on an English Muffin anyway? A smooth surface makes it easier to spread jelly.

[chocomouse]

I just posted the Sourdough Buttermilk Bread recipe that PaddyL (Lanctot) posted on the OBC many years ago. It begins with a detailed description of starting her "famous" starter "Brigid". She also describes making the dough into a raisin-cinnamon bread that her sister Sheila was so fond of.

Happy Birthday Mike!

[aaronatthedoublef]

Happy Birthday Mike!

Okay, next starter question - my rye bread has a starter with rye flour in it. Can I use this as a generic starter for other sourdoughs? I supposed I can test it and see how much it changes the flavor. But the rye in the starter would be a pretty small part of any non-rye recipe.

Thanks!

[Mike Nolan]

Opinions vary on whether rye starters are better than wheat starters, one expert recommends feeding a wheat starter with rye flour every few weeks and others recommend a mixture of wheat and rye.

Having a little rye flour in a wheat bread isn't a bad thing in general. 🙂

[aaronatthedoublef]

Cool! And then I can claim any bread I bake is "multi-grain" which is obviously better for you! 🙂

[chocomouse]

Yes, Len! Great thinking!! And I've read that if your starter has been sitting for a while or is having a hard time waking up, to use some rye flour to get it moving.

[BakerAunt]

Len--I think that your Rye/Whole Wheat/Semolina innovation got lost amidst the English Muffin discussion. I have read about hydrating flour before it is time to mix the bread, so I'll need to make a note of that.

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