What are You Baking the Week of May 14, 2017?

[aaronatthedoublef]

BA, I could not find hearth pans on the KAF site but there were some large bread pans - 10x5. So I'll look at the local kitchen shop, then the restaurant supply store.

Mike, I should know more about this. I worked on Photoshop and Illustrator but that was also back in the late 80s. I just have not had much call for it since then. I have a Linux system so maybe I'll try what you suggest. My kids should know some software I can use.

[Mike Nolan]

ImageMagick is (mostly) command-line based, but really simple to use for many things, to convert a file from my camera's high setting (6000 x 4000) to 600 x 400 I use something like:

image infilename.jpg -resize 600x400 outfilename.jpg

I used Pagemaker many years ago when i was the editor of our state chess magazine, but I never got into tools like Photoshop and Illustrator, though many folks on the Ugly Hedgehog photo site swear by it.

My Canon T6i came with a Canon tool for manipulating photo images, I've used it a few times, I doubt it has even half the options Photoshop has, but it has many more options than I know how to use. The local community college runs classes on how to use Photoshop, it's around $300 per course and they have two or three levels of courses on it.

[BakerAunt]

The last set of papers and exams I will ever have to grade are finished, so Friday evening found me back in the kitchen. I tried a new recipe, "Lemon-Poppy Seed Bread," from the KAF Whole Grain Baking (p49-50). I made two substitution, by using buttermilk in place of lemon yogurt and using Penzey's dried lemon peel in place of the fresh zest. I baked it in three mini-loaf pans (remember Baker's Secret pans?) rather than a 9x5, so that I can freeze two of them. I chose this recipe because it used up 1/2 cup of lemon juice from the freezer, and 1/4 cup of poppy seed, which I also need to use up.

I then baked the Four Leaf Clover Rolls from the KAF website, but I made them as eight rolls on a baking sheet. This was a way to use some of the Irish Wholemeal flour in my freezer and some golden raisins and walnuts. I will freeze some of these as well. I used half regular yeast, and half gold yeast, because I am running out of regular yeast and I have a lot of the gold yeast.

Addendum: I made it as 9 rolls, because after I weighed the dough, the math was easier (101 grams each). This time, I also brushed them with 1 Tbs. of melted butter when I took them out of the oven. Oh, it was so good for Saturday morning breakfast, that I had to forbid myself to eat two.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 11 months ago by BakerAunt.
• This reply was modified 6 years, 11 months ago by BakerAunt.
• This reply was modified 6 years, 11 months ago by BakerAunt.

[RiversideLen]

I'm making hot and hamburger buns again.

BakerAunt, I use the Gold yeast for everything. I've been using it for several years now.

[BakerAunt]

Thanks, Len. I was going to post a question about the gold yeast, so that helps tremendously.

[Mike Nolan]

I made a 10x10 (1/2 recipe) Texas Chocolate Sheet Cake for a party we're hosting.

[BakerAunt]

I did not bake either of these two items that I ate at a party yesterday, but they deserve a mention.

My husband's last doctoral student baked some wonderful Earl Grey cookies.

My husband's colleague made his pretzels--the big kind that get the lye treatment. It almost makes me think that I should try baking them one of these days, if I can get over my fear of using lye!

[aaronatthedoublef]

Okay... re-read the instructions. Let's see if this works.

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[Mike Nolan]

That's a very nice looking loaf, nice shape, great height and I don't think it needs to be darker.

[Mike Nolan]

I keep meaning to bake some baking soda into sodium carbonate and try that for pretzels or bagels. Finding food-grade lye locally might be difficult, baking soda is easy to find, and according to the NY Times it takes about an hour to turn it into sodium carbonate. (I don't know what I'd use as a pan, I'd be concerned it would damage my baking pans.)

It isn't quite as alkali as a lye solution, so you might not need to use gloves and eye protection. What I remember about working with sodium hydroxide from chemistry class is that you have to be very careful mixing it, it'll spatter.

Lye (sodium hydroxide) has a pH of 12.88 (at a concentration of 100 mmol/liter), sodium bicarbonate has a pH of 8.31, sodium carbonate has a pH of 11.26

(Source: http://www.aqion.de/site/191)

I suspect the lye solution that is used for making pretzels and bagels is a lower concentration.

I'm not sure what's in the stuff that I use to raise the pH in our hot tub, but it may be mixed with something that's not food-safe.

[Author]

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