BakerAunt

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  • in reply to: What are you Baking the Week of March 24, 2024? #42274
    BakerAunt
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      On Thursday I made and shaped the dough for my wholegrain Hot Cross Buns. The recipe originally came from the Los Angeles Times food section many years ago (back when they had real recipes that people would mostly cook and bake), but I made it mostly whole grain and did so many other tweaks that it is now my own recipe. I will let the dough rise in the pan overnight, then I will bake them on the morning of Good Friday.

      in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of March 24, 2024? #42273
      BakerAunt
      Participant

        On Thursday, we had Crispy Oven Baked Fish and Chips with the remainder of the dill tartar sauce and coleslaw.

        in reply to: WSJ article on hot cross buns #42264
        BakerAunt
        Participant

          Some things are Just Not Done.

          in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of March 24, 2024? #42263
          BakerAunt
          Participant

            On Wednesday, I roasted my last two large butternut squashes (I still have a small one) and made Curried Butternut Squash Soup. I mixed the puree with 3 ½ cups chicken/turkey broth and about 1 ¾ cups apple juice that I froze in December after making applesauce. I used a tablespoon of Penzey's Now Curry. I was able to freeze five 2-cup containers for future lunches, and I had some for lunch today, with enough for two more days.

            For dinner we had more of the pea soup I made earlier this week.

            in reply to: What are you Baking the Week of March 24, 2024? #42262
            BakerAunt
            Participant

              My Honey Spelt Sourdough did not come out as I would have liked. The house was too cool today but not cool enough for the furnace to come on that often, so my usual spot for letting dough rise was not getting the heat from the vent. I perhaps should have allowed more time for the first rise than the 70 minutes that I did, but the recipe suggests that it is the second rise which should be the longest. For the second rise, I did move it, eventually to the stove top where I had made soup to warm it up. I was using the Emile Henry Long Baker. I decided to put it into the oven, then turn on the baking temperature, so that the bread had a cold start, although the oven was already a bit warm from the squash I had roasted earlier. Where I made my error is not slashing the bread, so while it had a nice rise and baked well, it broke across the top in a not attractive way. It's a rookie error. I should have known better, but my mind was preoccupied with other matters. I think it will still be a good loaf. I may repeat the experiment to see if I can perfect this recipe. It's unusual in that it uses 4 cups of spelt flour and just 1 ¼ cups bread flour. I have baked it before, and I kept my changes, but it has been hit or miss on whether I get a loaf that does not sink. This one did not, so I am on the right track. The original recipe is from King Arthur. It uses an Emile Henry covered loaf pan rather than the long baker.

              in reply to: What are you Baking the Week of March 24, 2024? #42255
              BakerAunt
              Participant

                Before going to bed on Tuesday, I stirred up levain for Honey Spelt Sourdough Bread, which I plan to bake tomorrow.

                in reply to: Organization or Waste of Time? #42250
                BakerAunt
                Participant

                  I keep my various beans in glass jars. We used to buy honey in jars with rubber rings and metal clasps. Those are the majority of my storage containers. I also keep various pastas in some of the glass jars. It helps me to be able to see them, and I like how they look on the shelf my husband built for me.

                  I do like containers for flours and sugar and grains. However, it is not an aesthetic choice for me but a pragmatic one. Until I open a bag of flour, it gets stored in the refrigerator or freezer.

                  I shake my head when I see some of those pantry pictures!

                  in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of March 24, 2024? #42249
                  BakerAunt
                  Participant

                    We had leftover pizza and coleslaw for dinner.

                    Navlys--When you are cleaning out the freezer, do you sometimes feel like a contestant on Chopped?

                    in reply to: What are you Baking the Week of March 24, 2024? #42242
                    BakerAunt
                    Participant

                      I baked pumpkin oat muffins for breakfast on Monday from a recipe that I have adapted (a lot). I like my version.

                      I also baked an apple pie, using most of the rest of the Winesaps. I still have five in the garage. They will likely become apple cobbler soon.

                      in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of March 24, 2024? #42241
                      BakerAunt
                      Participant

                        I made pea soup for dinner on Monday, using the last packet of ham pieces from the freezer. Of course, our chilly weather has given wat to highs in the low 60s today. We were hoping for some rain.

                        in reply to: What are you Baking the Week of March 24, 2024? #42234
                        BakerAunt
                        Participant

                          I made sourdough pan pizza for dinner on Sunday. We had it with coleslaw.

                          in reply to: What are you Baking the Week of March 17, 2024? #42228
                          BakerAunt
                          Participant

                            Skeptic--the cake story gets sadder. We did call someone with a key to tell the person he and his family could have it. He never picked it up. When we returned in May, there was a moldy mess sitting in the cake holder. I refused to look at it, although my husband found the mold fascinating. He buried the cake in the back yard. Our garden is now on top of the spot. He also cleaned the cake holder and plate.

                            in reply to: What are you Baking the Week of March 17, 2024? #42225
                            BakerAunt
                            Participant

                              Report on the Honey, Anise, and Almond Biscotti: The biscotti are crunchy but not hard. The honey is the foremost flavor with the aniseed in the background. The lemon peel is not obvious. These biscotti go well with tea and would work well with coffee.

                              My husband ate some with his tea. He said that they are not his favorite, but they may grow on him. (He had claimed not to care for the spices in my Pfeffernusse, which include anise extract, but I realized a couple of Christmases ago, as they started disappearing rather quickly, that he had started to enjoy them. That might be the powdered sugar coating....)

                              in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of March 17, 2024? #42224
                              BakerAunt
                              Participant

                                Dinner on Saturday was Crispy Oven Baked Fish and Chips with Dill Tartar Sauce and coleslaw.

                                in reply to: What are you Baking the Week of March 17, 2024? #42220
                                BakerAunt
                                Participant

                                  When I was sorting through recipes a few weeks ago, I came upon a March 2000 recipe from Bon Appetit for Honey, Anise, and Almond Biscotti (pp. 1`38-140). I decided to bake it on Friday. I made just two changes: I used half white whole wheat flour and added 1 Tbs. milk powder. The dough is very sticky. The recipe calls for refrigeration for three hours after it is mixed. Due to time constraints, mine was refrigerated for seven before I baked it. The recipe makes the very flat dough, so these are the thin biscotti. The directions were a bit vague as to how long each of the three logs should be. Just stating 2-inch wide by 1-inch high is not helpful, since the dough flattens out. I ended up cutting the first baking time from 20 to 18 minutes. For the second bake, I baked the slices from the two rolls for 14 minutes and the slices from the single roll (three rolls would not fit on a single pan) for 12 minutes. While the recipe said it makes 48, I ended up with 76. They smell good, so I will try a couple tomorrow with tea. My husband is not a fan of anise, so I do not know if he will eat them.

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