[aaronatthedoublef]

I made sourdough on Friday. I made a two pound loaf which seems to be the right amount for my pans and then five 3 oz rolls. But the rolls came out rounder and I would rather they be flatter like sandwich rolls so the shaping will take more work.

Then I went to feed my starter today and both jars were moldy on top. 🙁 I dumped about 20 ounces of starter out, pulled out a clean jar and am starting from scratch. Not sure why it molded. Maybe I need to start refrigerating it. I put it in a clean jar twice a week. I wonder how fast I can build up a new starter. I started with two ounces of whole wheat flour and two ounces of water.

Looks like I'll be making whole wheat bread for a while until I build up my starter.

[aaronatthedoublef]

It;s funny. Someone just sent me a recipe like this this week. I think it's Bob's Red Mill. I can definitely see the attraction of popping a sheet pan into the oven instead of standing in front of the griddle. I may try this next week.

[aaronatthedoublef]

The crackers were gone by early afternoon. I left them out on a sheet pan and both my boys liked them. Plus my wife kept eating them even though she didn't like them. I liked the biscuit cutter crackers to the pizza cutter crackers so I'll do that for the whole batch next time. Also thanks for the tip on oils BA. While they were still sour the neutral oil mellowed them. And they are a quick, easy way to use up some starter when I have discard.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Interesting. Powdered buttermilk is my one standard ingredient I cannot find now. I use Saco and have not seen it or any other variety around. I'll probably have to switch to the liquid stuff. Powdered is more convenient and cost effective.

But, Ms. Parks said she reconstituted it which is not what Saco calls for. Saco says to add the powder to the dried ingredients and then add the liquid to the dry.

It does give me nice, fluffy pancakes and high rise scones. It works well in my English muffins too. But I am not sure how they will compare to buttermilk since I have not done her testing. But now is the time to test.

[aaronatthedoublef]

I made sourdough bread Sunday

I also tried to make a 'smores pizza. That was a mess but I learned a lot and will try again. First my pizzas have almost no lip on the crust edge. I need that to keep the marshmallows on the crust.

I need to par-bake the crust first.

I put marshmallows on the edge and then in. I need to start at the center and add them out leaving a lot of room for expansion.

Most of the mess was contained on the parchment but I did have to clean my stone and peel a little.

This morning I made sourdough crackers.

With the crackers I used a mix of butter and canola oil. They still have a strong sour taste so it must be my starter. I will either need to come up with a milder starter or a cracker without it.

I cut one set with a pizza cutter and one with a square biscuit cutter. I like the biscuit cutter look better.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Interesting article. It's good that KAF can keep their flour so consistent with seven different mills making the flour.

It was also interesting to read that there was never a wheat shortage because I remember (mis-remember?) reading an article that said that the upsurge in buying happened during the shoulder season between winter and summer wheats so inventories were low.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Those do look good. And probably easier for people to master as they do not have do cut in butter.

I give my scones a couple of turns as it helps them develop layers.

Like the recipe I pat them into a circle and cut the circles into wedges and push the wedges together. This prevents dried out scones.

[aaronatthedoublef]

CT was just talking about the number of cases and, according to CDC guidelines it is not an increase in cases that should be concerning so much as an increase in cases in relation to the number of those tested. Our testing here has ramped up dramatically so of course the number of cases we find has risen. But the CDC's guidance is that 5% or less testing positive is acceptable for reopening.

Of course the percentage will go down some too because in March and even April tests were only available here to people who had good reason to be tested so most were coming back positive.

For example, our neighbor is an anesthesiologist at a local hospital and they now test EVERYONE before a procedure. They've setup their own testing lab and typically have results in four hours or less. And they are now performing elective procedures again. So they are testing more and seeing more infected people but as a percentage of the total tested the number is down.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Scones are funny. I have my modified recipe that my family knows and loves (it has been modified again to sub the raisins with chocolate chips - I prefer the raisins). When we took our boys to Scotland (before Violet was born) the boys were eager to try scones there and did not like them. Then they put lots of stuff on them and did.

I tried to avoid making them for Kate's grandmother because she grew up in Scotland but I had to one Thanksgiving and she became a big fan. Not that Granny would have said they were bad. She just wouldn't have eaten them.

Wish I had her teach me how to make her biscuits.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks BA. Not sure if I could use a 50 lb bag of first clear but their 5 lb is about the same as three lbs from KAF.

My bakery books - and some are new - say the same as yours Mike. First clear used to be a by-product according to them. I was working with a distributor here who worked with "dozens of artisan bakeries in CT and NY" and he had never heard of it. He was shocked and it became a mission for him. I can order a 50 lb bag from him but unless it is batched in with other, bigger deliveries the shipping is prohibitive.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Mike, what do you use first clear for? I've only used it for deli rye and I feel like it makes a difference from bread flour. But buying it from KAF is too expensive. I'd purchased it from NY Bakers but they appear to have stopped selling it.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Not all scones have butter. There are cream scones. Granted they have dairy (and high fat dairy) but they don't contain butter.

Unless you want to draw attention to the fact that they have oil and not butter just call them scones.

Skeptic would probably loan you a frying pan for people who want to argue.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Things are usually eaten before they go bad in my house. I had a loaf of whole wheat bread go moldy because my boys like the sourdough better. But then we were out of sourdough and the whole wheat went in two days - it was a 2+ lb loaf.

I make pancakes on Sundays. My middle usually eats six - two batches of three - and eats half a pancake at a time. I am slowly increasing the diameter because I want to see how big a piece of pancake he will put in his mouth. His nickname in the family is Snake Jaws.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Meant to reply about English muffins vs bread. I've seen two types of recipes - batter and dough. I have a friend who swears by his batter recipe. And they are great but too messy for me - pouring the batter into rings on the griddle.

I like my dough recipe. I've never made a loaf of bread from it but I've used it to make dinner rolls which were well received.

You can probably use either to make either.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Happy birthday Cass!

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