[BakerAunt]

We need a Challah thread!

[BakerAunt]

I roasted a chicken for Sunday dinner and also roasted sweet potato chunks. We had it with microwaved frozen peas.

[BakerAunt]

Over proofed dough can sometimes be punched down and allowed to rise another time (not as long), but as Mike notes, it will not rise as high. I have done this with a set of loaves when we did not get back from a walk in time.

I usually get my lame wet when slashing breads. It seems to help.

Skeptic--I will post the oat cake recipe. They do require Bob's Red Mill Scottish oatmeal, which has a different texture from rolled or steel-cut oats. I adapted the recipe from one on the bag to avoid the butter. These are only faintly sweet, and people biting into one the first time usually expect more sweet. They are somewhat like a cracker. They would do well with cheese, and I also like a smear of jam on them, but plain is fine as well.

[BakerAunt]

For breakfast on Sunday, I made Cornmeal-Pumpernickel Waffles. I froze the leftovers for quick breakfasts.

[BakerAunt]

I agree that the braiding looks good.

[BakerAunt]

We were running out of bread, so on Friday I baked two loaves of my Buttermilk, Whole Wheat, and Grape Nuts Bread, which is probably my husband's favorite. I cut the salt a bit more and used a 1/2 cup more whole grain flour. The house was cool, so the first rise took 90 minutes, and the second about 75 minutes.

While the dough was rising, I baked my Oatcake recipe. Instead of circles, I cut them into small hearts, which resulted in 29 heart-shaped cookies and one leftover blob, whereas I usually get about 16. I baked them for 20 minutes instead of the usual 25 minutes.

[BakerAunt]

I still have two spaghetti squashes from the fall. For lunch on Friday, and for the next few days, I roasted one to make Spaghetti Squash Turkey Lasagna/Casserole, in which the pasta is replaced by spaghetti squash. I made a half recipe, since my husband cannot eat the tomato-based sauce, and it would be just for me. I used ground chicken rather than turkey, and I improvised a sauce with onion, celery, sliced mushrooms, garlic, a can of no-salt chopped tomatoes, parsley, a bit of fresh spinach, some tomato paste, Penzey's Tuscan seasoning, and pepper. I also add some flax meal to it. It was too little for a 9-inch square deep dish, and my next deep dish was about 7-inch square. I ended up with a bit of overflow in the oven, which I had to clean up, but the faux-lasagna turned out well. I will have to keep my eye out for an 8x8, 3-inch deep, ceramic baker--one not made in China.

We had more Lima Beans, Ham, and Rice for dinner.

[BakerAunt]

As a break from our Lima Beans, Ham, and Rice, for dinner on Thursday, I made Salmon and Couscous and Greek Seasoning, which we had with a salad and Buttermilk Ranch Dressing made from the Penzey's seasoning.

[BakerAunt]

Thanks, Mike and CWCdesign for the recommendation. I have ordered a ChefAlarm in yellow!

[BakerAunt]

I baked my Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers on Wednesday from dough I made last week. If I am lucky, these will last my husband for 10-14 days, with me eating only a few of them.

[BakerAunt]

I made my "Every Six Days" batch of yogurt on Wednesday.

I use a candy thermometer for the temperature of the milk. I have to bring it to between 112-120F and keep it there for ten minutes in the first step of the process. The markings are coming off of the candy thermometer, which I clip to the side. Does anyone have a suggestion of a thermometer that would not have these issues, and that I could leave in the milk while heating it and for the ten minutes of keeping it at temperature?

[BakerAunt]

I baked the Apple, Barley, and Olive Oil Cake again on Tuesday, with the same changes as a couple of weeks ago. The recipe has been adapted to the point that it is now truly mine. This time, I baked it in a 6-cup heart Bundt pan (I could not resist the new one from Nordic Ware) and a 3-cup Kaiser Backform mini-Bundt pan. The 3-cup pan took about 35 minutes to bake. The 6-cup heart required 45 minutes. Both released perfectly from the pan (love The Grease). I will freeze the small one for Dessert Emergencies, and we will begin eating the other one tomorrow. It will fit nicely on a heart-shaped plate that I bought some years ago from King Arthur--back when they had more interesting offerings.

The 3-cup small Bundt came in a set of two and was called Kaiserguss, with the box stating "original Kaiser Backform." However, it had a "made in China" sticker on it that I only saw after I bought it some years ago at T.J. Maxx. Otherwise, the box looks just like the German ones. I do not know if that means Kaiser Backform moved stuff overseas. However, the pan performed admirably, so I am glad that I bought it. In a two-person household, smaller cakes are the way to go.

[BakerAunt]

Dinner on Tuesday was large lima beans cooked with a meaty ham bone from the freezer. I added 1 Tbs. dried onion and 1 tsp. thyme, along with some black pepper after the beans were done. I removed the bone, cut off the meat and put it back in with the beans. I cooked brown rice separately, and I sauteed separately chopped orange bell pepper and celery in olive oil, then added kale and a little bit of turnip greens, along with more olive oil. I mixed it all together in the pot with the beans. I added 2 tsp. of cider vinegar to balance the greens. We have at least four more dinners from tonight's meal.

[BakerAunt]

Eggs, anyone??

https://www.gocomics.com/nonsequitur/2023/02/21

[BakerAunt]

You could always call the loaf "Artisan," Mike. 🙂

On Monday, I baked "Authentic Italian Lemon and Ricotta Cookies (no butter)" from Elena Paravartes' blog, Olive Tomato. I always replace half of the flour with white whole wheat flour. Today, I further experimented to see if I could reduce the ricotta from 8 oz. to 5 oz., which is what I had left after baking the Turkey, Spinach, and Mushroom Lasagna on Saturday and reducing the ricotta in it to 10 oz. As an additional, unplanned, experiment, my husband reminded me as I was baking the first tray that we were due at the CPA's office to go over our return forms. I had to leave the second tray unbaked for the half hour we were gone, then bake them upon our return. The gap in time did not affect the cookies. I taste tested one from each batch for dessert tonight, and the second batch is identical to the first. The reduced ricotta makes them a bit firmer, but we do not mind it.

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