[aaronatthedoublef]

Wow Len! Those are beautiful!

[aaronatthedoublef]

I made chocolate chip cookies on Sunday. It was a last minute request from my daughter so I did not have time to let the butter soften. I did soften some in the microwave but the cookies did not spread in the oven. Kind of interesting.

Not sure if I'll go into the restaurant to bake this week. My wife is going out of town so going in at 3 am won't work.

[aaronatthedoublef]

We redecorated our kitchen and now it has NO CLOCKS except the tiny one of the microwave that is usually too dark to read. A minor nit compared to what you're raising but it drives me nuts.

How do you all feel about marble counters? I wanted one once and my contractor said it was too soft for a counter and he would happily supply me with a slab of marble to put on the counter and use instead.

[aaronatthedoublef]

I adapted my brownie recipe from my mom's old recipe and Rosie's recipe from Rosie's bakery which was in Chestnut Hill outside of Boston when I lived there. Rosie would put her chocolate frosting on these - pretty rich made with semi sweet chocolate, evaporated milk, and sugar. I made these for a friend for her birthday and then for her family for various occasions. I even adapted it into a wedding cake for her wedding. The wedding cake had whipped cream instead of frosting. I tend to make them without frosting as my wife thinks that puts them too over the top. And speaking of Rosie's I found an old blog post about her whole grain, olive oil, chocolate chip cookiesblog post about her whole grain, olive oil, chocolate chip cookiesblog post about her whole grain, olive oil, chocolate chip cookies. They sound good but unfortunately there is no recipe. Still I thought it might inspire BA as she is always looking for recipes with whole grains and without butter.

I was also thinking a little more about mixes and thought about all the discussions we've had about finding ingredients and how it is becoming harder and more expensive every day to keep my pantry stocked without breaking the bank. It would be so much easier and probably less expensive to buy a box of something when I want to bake it.

• This reply was modified 5 years ago by aaronatthedoublef.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Would this work on the top crust on a pie?

[aaronatthedoublef]

Nothing wrong with a mix, especially if you're short on ingredients and short on time. I have everything I need for most of what I want to so who needs a mix. But if your pantry is not stocked it's simpler, cheaper, and faster to buy a box.

But canned frosting... 😉

My English muffins make very nice rolls they just aren't English muffins. It's a soft dough but they definitely don't need rings. I bet I could have kept them flat if I'd put a sheet pan on top but the texture would still be different.

I had a great icing recipe for brownies but I'll have to see if I can find it.

[aaronatthedoublef]

I can give away most breads but rye is hard for some reason. Yes, it would be nice if I could ship you all stuff to taste.

I baked the English muffins I made dough for yesterday but without griddling them first (is griddling a verb?) they turned into rolls. I will talk to the chef and see if they have a griddle I can use. Or has anyone ever baked English muffins without cooking them on the griddle first.

I made brownies but burned them. Didn't account for the speed of a convection oven. So I tossed the brownies. I might go in tomorrow morning to bake some more.

I was going to make pizza dough but I didn't feel like cleaning up again so I'll make it now.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Good idea. I need to find people to give it away to until I start selling it (going to start selling bread locally, online). It will help me to have feedback.

Thanks

[aaronatthedoublef]

I'll throw turbinado into the mix. It's just spun and dried and much cheaper than demerara in Hartford.

Martha could also mean cane as opposed to beet.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Joan, you also do not need to punch the pizza dough back down. I do a long rise on my pizza dough and it always doubles in size then falls back a bit. This happens with most of my yeast doughs when I let them rise for 12 or more hours. If I knead them the yeast seems to come back and I get good second rise if I need it and good oven spring as well.

My son - the only one beside me who eats rye bread - finally tasted the rye bread I made last week. He prefers the bread flour/clear flour mix to the all clear flour. It was "less dense". And it's still not stale so that's good to. I have to find someone to take some loaves off my hands.

This morning I put up dough for English muffins. They are currently rising in the garage and I'll take them back in and bake them tomorrow. I usually griddle them and finish them in the oven but this place does not have a griddle and I cannot figure out how to make the induction cook top work and I am not sure if it would work with a sheet pan even if I figured it out. Last week I was trying to use it to melt chocolate and I couldn't boil water. I stuck the chocolate in the oven which worked fine.

I haven't decided what I will make while I wait for the English muffins during their second rise I may make brownies again but it's also time to start making my mom's molasses cookies so I may do that.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks. Looked up Baystate and they are in Quincy MA, closer than KAF but way more traffic-y as I would need to go through Boston traffic. I sent them a request for info and I'll see where they sell the flour.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Charlotte Rutledge is the test kitchen manager and sends out Sunday Recipes and I think she took over for PJ. Where I am flour is a bit out of fashion now. Most people are going gluten free or Keto and they use mixes to support this. Plus the people at the grocery stores don't know enough about the flours they do sell to help people pick the right product they need for baking.

Most magazines are going for glitz. Saveur used to be great and now it's a glorified travel magazine that uses food as an excuse to travel. They keep sending it to me even though I haven't subscribed in years. And it used to be fantastic. It was something every chef and pastry chef I knew recommended which is why I subscribed in the first place.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks for the batard tips!

First clear is funny. KAF has it at $8.95 for a 3 lb. bag and at NY Bakers it is the same for 5 lbs.

I just spoke to the wholesaler my chef friend recommended who sells to lots of NYC bakeries and he had never heard of it. They don't even have it in their catalogue and they are known for their flours.

I could drive up to KAF. It's a few hours drive if I cannot find it any place closer. NY Bakers is in CA.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks for the tips. The pre-shaping will probably help. I was also reading in "Secrets" and it says steam and brushing either with a cornstarch solution or water pre-baking help prevent blowouts so I'll try those too. I may not get to rye again next week depending on when my next first clear comes in. "Secrets" and the Rye Baker both say it use to be cheaper but it certainly is not any more.

I used to make baguettes at the bakery and the first night was challenging but after a dozen or so snakes I started to get the hang of it. We didn't make batards when I was there, sadly, only boules, baguettes, and loaf pan loaves.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Mike, neat bug story. I still love solitaire and it is the only computer game I play.

BA - I tend to do the scoop/level method because that is what my mom taught me. The few times I've used KAF weights instead of volumes, they felt light to me so maybe I'll go with the USDA to start as I convert my recipes

Thanks!

• This reply was modified 5 years ago by aaronatthedoublef.

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