[BakerAunt]

I made Maple Granola on Thursday.

[BakerAunt]

Great looking bread, Len!

Our local library is starting a kind of cookbook challenge. One of the librarians will choose a cookbook in March, and patrons are invited to select a recipe from it, which the library will xerox for them. There will be a potluck tasting later in the month, in which people bring the recipe they made. I'm not sure if I will participate. There is a lot of flu and respiratory viruses going around. Too many people skipped the flu shot.

[BakerAunt]

I made chicken broth on Thursday using the bones from Tuesday's roast chicken, and some bones in the freezer from when we had bone-in chicken breasts.

For Thursday's dinner, I made beef stew using meat and potatoes from two different vendors at our local farmers market.

[BakerAunt]

It's a great bread! Here is a picture of the two loaves. I'll try to add one that shows the crumb.

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[BakerAunt]

I saw a recipe for "Honey Buckwheat Sandwich Bread," by Mario the Sourdough Guy, and the flavor combination appealed to me, even though his recipes are rather meticulous (or fussy, depending on one's attitude). I also had to buy two 9-inch Pullman pans. The recipe does not require the lids, but the high sides are necessary to support the bread. Fortunately, King Arthur had a free shipping deal in January and a 20% off deal earlier this month, so I now own two pans. I decided that Wednesday was the day to try the recipe.

The levain is mixed the night before. It only called for 10 g of sourdough starter. As my starter is not as thick as most, I doubled the amount to 20 g. Due to the coolness of the house, it was not ready 12 hours later. I added several more hours for it to get some bubbles. I was not sure that it would work, so I decided to add 1 ½ tsp. yeast, which I proofed in the honey and the water. It was a good decision, as the rising times were still as long as in the recipe--and those are long. I do not have the means to grind fresh white whole wheat, so I used the King Arthur white whole wheat (now called Golden Wheat).

I did not have cracked buckwheat. My attempt to crack it in a small processor yielded buckwheat flour. I had done some Google research about substituting cooked whole buckwheat groats for cracked buckwheat with boiling water poured over it. Google is not knowledgeable on that topic. However, I found one blog where the writer recommended cooking the buckwheat in milk to soften it. So, instead of using the water amount in the recipe, I followed the cooking instructions on the Bob's Red Mill package but used 7 oz. milk and 7 oz. water. I brought it to a boil, then simmered it for almost 15 minutes before cooling it.

The recipe called for two stretch and folds, one after 30 minutes and another 30 minutes later, but it said a third could be added if needed, and I did a third. The final rise in the pans was an hour and 45 minutes. (I did a poke test.) To create steam, when I preheated the oven, I put a cast iron skillet in the bottom (removed bottom baking rack). When I put the loaves in to bake, I threw a tray of ice cubes into the skillet. As directed, I removed it after 20 minutes and turned down the oven. The bread baked for another 35 minutes and was 208 F when I took it out of the oven. I should have checked it a few minutes earlier, as 200 F is the specified internal temperature. The two loaves look great, and I look forward to a slice or two at lunch tomorrow.

[BakerAunt]

On Wednesday, I baked "Honey Buckwheat Sandwich Bread," by Mario the Sourdough Guy. I will post about the details tomorrow on the thread with that name and will also post pictures.

I forgot to mention that my second bonus grandson was born yesterday in Colorado. If all goes according to plan, the family will be visiting us this summer.

[BakerAunt]

I hope that Diane makes a swift recovery, Mike.

We had leftover sourdough pan pizza for dinner on Wednesday.

[BakerAunt]

I'm planning to try this bread tomorrow. I will use my smallest food processor to try to crack the buckwheat groats.

[BakerAunt]

Thanks, Joan!

We had some of the Barley Pumpkin Bread for dessert tonight. It is so good, and it is moist enough and sweet enough without the oil and sugar that I cut.

[BakerAunt]

I had plans for what to cook for dinner, but at the grocery on Tuesday, we found a 4-lb. chicken marked down $2 from $8.10, and as we qualify for a senior discount of 10%, it was too good of a deal to miss. However, the chicken needed to be cooked today. Thus, our dinner tonight was roast chicken. I also roasted sweet potato chunks tossed in olive oil, and we had microwaved peas. Our dog Annie was ecstatic, as chicken is her favorite meal.

I also made yogurt today.

[BakerAunt]

I made sourdough pan pizza for dinner on Monday with the usual topping of sauce, Canadian bacon, mozzarella, mushrooms, red bell pepper, green onion tops (from my husband's pot), Parmesan, and Greek olives on my half.

I also baked Barley Pumpkin Bread, for the second time, from Mother Grains (pages 43-45). As I did last time, I cut the salt in half and reduced both the oil and the sugar by a third. I also leave out the candied kumquat (where would I even find kumquats?) and the golden raisins, as I have never been a fan of raisins in pumpkin bread. I also eliminate the optional barley malt syrup topping. The grease works well for an easy pan release ten minutes after removal from the oven. I used an older 8 x 4-inch non-stick loaf pan because I thought the loaf would bake better in it than in my standard bread pans. I will let it rest overnight before we begin slicing it for dessert tomorrow.

I started the pizza dough while our contractor and his son were installing our new banister for the stairway. One of the two aluminum holders on the previous banister snapped before Thanksgiving as my husband was coming downstairs. Thankfully, he was not depending on it for support. I have never liked how that first banister was done, as it ended before the final two steps, due to some construction oddities. We took the opportunity to move the banister to the other side and to install an end post. It also now has three iron holders. It is slimmer, as well, so we can easily get our hands around it. We have a great contractor. Not every contractor can figure out a way to correct a previous contractor's mistake.

[BakerAunt]

We had some green tomatoes that finally turned red, so I used them to make sauce for pizza on Monday. I added a bit of sugar and some tomato paste from a tube, along with the usual olive oil and garlic.

[BakerAunt]

We really like that bread. Scott's only complaint is that the small loaf will only last us for three days.

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[BakerAunt]

Aaron--Are there any online baking blogs that you trust where the bakers discuss couches??

Mario the Sourdough Guy has a recommendation in this post on his website:

The Ultimate Guide to Proofing Bread Dough

You have to go down the page a ways before he gives the link to the one on Amazon that is his favorite. Unfortunately, he does not say WHY it is his favorite. Perhaps you could ask?

[BakerAunt]

That's a favorite recipe of my husband and me, too, Joan.

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