BakerAunt
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Today, I made the dough for my Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers for the third time using the Ankarsrum. I am getting better at judging where to adjust the arm. I do not seem to be able to incorporate the last little bit of the flour with the mixer, so I do that with a little bit of hand kneading. I might hold back 2 Tbs. of flour, but I am reluctant to do so because crackers are not supposed to be like bread, and I think all the flour is necessary. I mix on the first speed for a longer amount of time than with my former stand mixer, but the dough comes out well. The Ankarsrum is also a lot easier and faster to clean up than the mixing paddle that the Cuisinart used.
On Thursday, I made dough for Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers. I will bake the crackers next week.
For dinner on Thursday, I roasted sweet potato chunks tossed in olive oil in the convection oven at 350 F for 55 minutes, which was perfect. In the big oven I roasted two thick boneless pork slices with pecan, paprika, and Dijon mustard coating. We cut one of the pork slices in half for tonight, and the other will be for another dinner this week. We finished up the last of our frozen mixed vegetables and peas. We have delayed a big grocery run to the county seat because we keep having more snow. This afternoon we got another centimeter (about 3/8") of snow, with more predicted for tomorrow. Scott is the snow driver, but he really hates getting all that salt on the car. However, we still have a small grocery store in our town, and we are well stocked, as I have a siege mentality, fine-tuned from living through earthquakes, civil unrest, Covid, and major electrical outages.
It was one of those days when I wanted cookies with tea, but none were made, and I did not have much enthusiasm for what to bake. I pulled out my cookie recipe binder and paged through until I came to my Healthier Oatmeal Scotchies recipe. Suddenly, I knew what I wanted, and two hours later, I had my tea with two of the cookies I had baked. Scott snagged a cookie for his teatime as well.
CWCdesign--they have also stopped carrying the malted wheat flakes. I'm beginning to wonder if there are supply issues. I, too, have been waiting to place an order.
Now, if King Arthur would just get the special dry milk back in stock. They have been out of it for over two months.
Chocomouse--I have Secrets of a Jewish Baker. There is a rye bread that I particularly like in it, which King Arthur featured in one of its email recipes a long time ago. I need to pull it out and see what else I might bake from it.
I baked my oil-based Cranberry Scones on Tuesday afternoon, adding grated orange peel and pecans. I had a scone with tea this afternoon, froze four for quick breakfasts, and left out three to eat later in the week. Scott is not fond of cranberries, so these will be for me. I still have cranberries to use up from the autumn.
I roasted a small, bone-in chicken breast for dinner on Tuesday. I made more rice, this time an equal mix of brown rice and a wild rice blend. I sauteed some more mushrooms and added them to the cider-mushroom braising sauce left over from a previous meal. We had more of this sauce over the rice with the chicken, along with microwaved frozen peas.
After dinner, I cut up the rest of the chicken, mixed it with the sauce, then mixed that with the leftover rice. It will reappear as dinner tomorrow.
CWCdesign--When I make my black-eyed peas with rice, I always cook the rice separately, then add it. I agree that it is much better that way.
On Monday, I baked Sugar Crusted Apple Cobbler, a recipe from King Arthur that is a favorite of ours. I reduced the sugar a bit, added powdered milk to the dry ingredients, and used Winesap apples.
We had a dusting of more snow very early this morning. Temperatures stayed in the 20s, which is fine, because when the snow starts to melt, the ice will form on the pavement.
We had oven fish and chips with tartar sauce for dinner on Monday, along with a nice side salad.
Wow! Almost everyone was baking bread of one kind or another today.
On Sunday, I baked Pompanoosuc Porridge Bread, a recipe from King Arthur (back when they sold Pompanoosuc porridge), which I have modified. The original recipe was baked in their bread bowl, but I found the dough was too much, and it was hard to get the center baked. I next tried the bottom of my Emile Henry long baker, but it was too long to allow for a higher rise. I then turned to a 12 x 4 x 2 ½-inch Kitchen Aid loaf pan, but I felt the sides were too low for adequate support. Last December, King Arthur featured a cream-colored Emile Henry loaf pan with scalloped edges that is 11 x 4 ¾ x 3 ½ inches. That seemed the right size, so I bought it. This loaf pan is perfect for this amount of dough, and a loaf with lovely rise. However, it stuck in a couple of places when I turned the loaf out of the pan. I think that is due to the ceramic being thinner than most of the Emile Henry that I own. Also, this recipe has higher hydration (one of the reasons more side support is important), and those breads can stick to ceramic no matter how well a pan is greased. Next time, I will grease, then coat the interior with farina before putting in the dough.
The Ankarsram has an arm that can be positioned from the side of the bowl to the center, so there is nothing to tilt, which takes up less room when in use. I loosen the arm and allow it to rest back from the bowl when the mixer is not in use.
The largest batch of bread dough I have done so far is the Whole Wheat Oat Bran Bread, and that has about 8 cups flour plus 2 cups oat bran and 1/2 cup flax meal.
I used the mixer today to make Pompanoosuc Porridge Bread. (I'm not sure the recipe is still at King Arthur, as they no longer sell the Pompanoosuc porridge, although they may have the recipe made with steel-cut oats. This bread has about 4 cups of flour and 1/2 cup of the porridge, which is cooked up to one cup. The Ankarsrum did an excellent job with the smaller amount of dough--something my 7-qt. Cuisinart could not handle well. I did not need to hold back any flour; indeed, I needed to add 2 Tbs. Kneading time is longer at about 12 minutes, but I do not mind that.
I will write up the recipe with my changes and post it sometime in the next couple of days.
Last night I cut up the remaining "seconds" apples, mixed them with sugar and spices in my two crock pots and allowed them to cook on low overnight. Sunday afternoon, I canned two more pints of apple butter and seven half pints. I will check the seals tomorrow.
I made a simple clam chowder for Sunday lunch, which I can eat for a couple of days. The recipe comes from a Betty Crocker cookbook that I have had for nearly fifty years. My only change is to add ½ tsp. celery seed, a trick I learned from my college roommate.
We had leftovers from last night's dinner of braised chicken thighs and rice.
Temperatures actually hit the low 20s today!
I made yogurt on Saturday. I also made chicken broth using the bones in the freezer from the chicken we had for dinner on New Year's Day.
For dinner, I made Cider Braised Chicken with Mushrooms and Spinach, which I developed from a Washington Post recipe; I mostly kept the method and changed almost everything else. I had frozen the 2 cups of cider from the farmers market in the autumn. The spinach came from today's farmers market. We had it with mixed brown and black rice that I cooked in some of the chicken broth. We had another 2 ½ inches of snow overnight, so it made for a comforting meal. Except for a brief period one day, temperatures have not been above freezing for nearly two weeks, and the highs have only been in the teens.
Skeptic--Taste is one reason I like using barley flour, but I also find that its lower gluten content can make more tender scones and cakes. In some ways, it is a great replacement for cake flour which has a lower nutritional profile. When Bob's Red Mill stopped selling barley flour, I needed to order it, and it comes in an 8 lb. bag, so I like to use it when I can.
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