[aaronatthedoublef]

Happy Pi Day!

BA - "I baked Len's bun..." I'm still laughing at that. Sorry, in an immature mood.

I made ciabatta. I will probably make cookies tonight or tomorrow. Sam is coming home and I have emergency cookie dough.

Henry made an interesting cookie from the KAF cookie book - Golden Diamonds. They are sort of like a shortbread dough with yeast. Instead of adding the sugar into the dough you spread it on the counter and roll the dough over it. Nice flaky texture. We all think Henry baked them a little too long but he liked them.

Interesting happened with the mixer - Henry was using the paddle and the bowl kept coming loose. We switched it to the dough hook since it was a yeasted dough and it smoothed out the mixing.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Look good. We aren't at substituting carbs yet but it is good to know there are options.

I asked my runner son about carbo loading and his response was that they don't do special loading rather they just eat more carbs than the average person and probably more than athletes in other sports. He even knew what other runners eat to maintain their carb levels. He is a funny kid.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Hi Skeptic,

For me, buns are flatter and useful for sandwiches. Rolls are more like dinner rolls. I know there are things like sub rolls. I have been adding a pre-shape where I would roll my dough into nice, tight little balls and then a final shape where I tried to get it to spread. It never worked. I realized that if I just skip the pre-shaping I can get a better sandwich roll.

Toasted sugar has some caramelization to it from baking. I toasted it for about a half hour and could probably have gone a little longer.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Hi Mike,

Good luck to you and Diane.

These days the runners I know try to eat a pretty balanced diet. My oldest runs between 75 and 100 miles a week. I can ask him about carbo loading. When he is home he just eats A LOT - fruits, vegetables, proteins, carbs - as I said, balanced. His typical Sunday run is about 15 miles.
 
Protein doesn't have to be meat. There was a story a while back about basketball teams loading up on peanut butter sandwiches and the various spreads of different teams. The story made it seem as if it were spreading from player to player and then from team to team.

And what about steak and eggs for breakfast?

[aaronatthedoublef]

It's been a while. I've been lurking and reading but not posting. Was busy at work but I realize now I was working too fast. I finished my two-year contract in nine months. Oh well... something will turn up.

Len - I like your idea of health food! Your cake looks great.

A while back I asked you all about making buns as my buns kept turning into rolls. I realized they were turning into rolls because... I was making rolls. I made ciabatta a couple weeks ago and instead of doing my usual loose shaping, for some reason I rolled them into nice, tight little balls. While I could flatten them some they just popped up into nice rolls with a tight crumb - not very ciabatta like at all. Duh... I'm tempted to make a batch of natural starter and see if the same thing works.

I am kind of off starter. Mine is sitting in its home in the freezer now. I sort of want to see if I can revive it. What I've been doing with pizza dough is saving a couple hundred grams from batch and then using it in the next recipe. It will give me a nice, funky, fermented flavor without starter and in under five days. It also is softer than the sharp flavor I tend to get from sourdough. I may try that with my ciabatta.

I've made a few batches of brown butter/toasted sugar shortbread. I think I like toasted sugar better than brown sugar at least for now. I was reading the KAB brown butter chocolate chip cookie recipe and they take the brown bits out. I like to leave them in as it gives a nuttier flavor. Is there any reason I should be taking them out or is that just a preference?

Have any of you ever made your own white chocolate? I want to try this to make a less sweet white chocolate.

Hope everyone is doing well. Condolences to BA's mixer!

[aaronatthedoublef]

I made 14 1lb challot. They are becoming less wonky and adding a thermometer to the oven helped keep them from overbaking. Amazon had a 4 probe Thermopro for $25 so I bought it.

I was going to bring home two but a nice lady who was rehearsing for an organ recital smelled the bread and came back to the kitchen and asked if she could buy one. I told her "no" and gave her one. I brought one home and the other dozen are being delivered Friday morning.

We need to recruit some more drivers.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Speaking of expiration dates, how long will brown butter last in the fridge?

I think what I'll start doing is browning a bunch, using some and freezing the rest.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Choco -Tang! Cool. I haven't seen that in years.

I over-proofed my ciabatta rolls so they are very flat. It will be hard to use them for sandwiches but I'll figure out something.

I made a double batch of my molasses cookies to take to my volunteer gig on Wednesday. This was a solo effort and it reminded me, again, of why I hate KitchenAid. My mixer, which was rated by KA for nine cups of flour, was almost overflowing. I had to "utz" it as my mom would have said. I had four cups of flour, two cups of sugar, one cup of butter and two eggs. COME ON!

This is a challah week so I'll make the dough Wednesday and the loaves Thursday.

I need to make pizza dough and more ciabatta too.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Something with a 6\27 expiration date is still good. Some of this depends on how it was stored, too. Storing things in the refrigerator or, better, the freezer, extends expiration.

See Len's bake with his expired SAF Gold.

[aaronatthedoublef]

I made ciabatta rolls again. The kids like them but I don't think Kate has even tried them. I doubled the yeast to see if it made a difference but it is still a tiny amount - the standard recipe called for .3% and I doubled it to .6. This is becoming my go-to. I like my sourdough but Violet and Kate won't even try it. I am still playing with roll shape to find what is best.

The kids and I made molasses cookies. I mixed them and they both came in and offered to help so I had them shape them and put them on the sheet pans and into the oven. I tried very hard not to freak out at the shapes. I never realized how fussy I've become. But I didn't say anything to the kids, just thanks for helping.

Kate told the kids they were topping the cookies with too much sugar to which they replied "this is what Dad does." They listened to their mom (which they should!) and then I added a bunch more sugar before they went into the oven.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Best prices I've found for BRM are at Vitacost. They have a cyber week sale for 20% off right now. Use the code CYBER20.

BRM Semolina before the sale is $3.99 for three pounds.

BRM bread read flour is $5.09. Not as cheap as KAB bread flour at Costco but better than any place else. KAB is 10 lbs. for $7.99 at Costco.

I was gifted some KAB vanilla last year and I just used up the last of it. I was going to buy a new bottle but WOW, $80 for 16 oz. I just bought that at Costco for $11.98. KAB is better, less alcohol smell, but not that much better and not noticeable to people in my finished product.

[aaronatthedoublef]

I have used them to buy a dough hook. They were good but that was before shipping costs went through the roof.

Violet and I made Henry's birthday cake. I followed BA's advice (thanks BA) and made a buttermilk cake from the Cake Bible. I've decided I don't like the book because too many recipes call for either egg yolks or egg whites. Hen's cake called for four yolks.

I feel like I either have to make a second thing that uses up the remaining part of the eggs or I am wasting them. I supposed I could have made a meringue buttercream but time was short and, besides, my family likes the easy buttercream better than the real stuff.

I added a couple small lemons worth of zest and juice. It could have used more but everyone ate it and no one complained.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks Mike. Thanks BA.

I may make the Cake Bible white cake and add a couple of lemons worth of zest and lemon juice.

That is everyone's favorite cake with added lemon. The Cake Bible also has a lemon buttercream so I can use that too.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Last week was good. Sam came home on Tuesday instead of Wednesday. My in-laws came in Monday night which stressed out Kate some. But her dad cannot make the long drive for now, at least.

I made the crust for the pumpkin and pecan pies. Violet rolled out the crust, mixed, poured and baked the pumpkin pie all on her own! And her crust looked better than mine. I think I am trimming it too much.

Now I need to get her making the pie crust dough and melting the chocolate for the chocolate, hazelnut pie.

I made baked doughnuts, scones, and coffee cake for breakfasts. Sam took the last of the scones when he and his buddy drove back to NYC yesterday. They drove in a soft-top Jeep with no windows and mesh doors. It was in the 30s so I can only imagine how cold it was at highway speeds.

I have to make a birthday cake for Henry this week. He keeps asking for a citric acid cake. I am going to make a lemon cake. I have the frosting and filling figured but do you think I can just add some lemon juice and lemon peel to a yellow or white cake?

[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks Mike. Thanks BA.

Mike - I used to us a pinch of sugar in my pizza dough for the yeast. I've stopped and haven't noticed a difference. That may also be partly from shifting from ADY to instant. Challah has sugar in the recipe so adding a pinch wouldn't make a difference I suspect.

BA - One of the good things of the sourdough movement is slower, longer rises. My ciabatta from Jim Lahey uses .3% yeast. The rise is refrigerated for 18 or so hours. The rise after shaping really needs two or more hours. I'm not usually that patient but I still have a good, open crumb just not huge holes (which I don't like anyway).

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