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It was 72F this Wednesday morning, but then a thunderstorm with rain came through and nicely cooled our area as well as watering our garden. We got an inch of rain. I made my turkey, lentil, vegetable soup for dinner, using chicken broth, water from cooked potatoes, carrots, celery, red bell pepper, mushrooms, garlic, ground turkey, Bob's Red Mill Vegi-Soup assortment (red and brown lentils, green and yellow split peas; barley letters), dehydrated onion, Penzey's Ozark Seasoning, and the last of some kale.
I decided to try an experiment for a rustic sourdough bread I wanted to bake. I worked off of the King Arthur recipe that appeared in the Spring 2016 issue of Sift (p. 65), but I made an overnight levain using a cup of my thick, milk-based starter, 1 cup King Arthur AP and 1/2 cup water. The next day, I mixed it with a cup of water to which I had added 1 Tbs. honey and proofed 1 3/4 tsp. active yeast, then added a mixture of 3 cups whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup mostly pumpernickel flour, and 2 Tbs. special dry milk. After mixing, I allowed it to rest covered for 15 minutes, before adding 1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill Artisan bread flour, mixed with 1 1/2 tsp. salt. (The original recipe calls for 2 1/2 tsp.!) I mixed in 2 Tbs. olive oil, then kneaded. I had to add a bit more of the bread flour to bring the dough together. I let it rise for 45 minutes, which was more than enough time. After turning it out onto the mat, I pre-shaped into a boule, waited 5 minutes, then repeated the shaping, using a technique I saw online. In the past, I have tried to shape boules from the top, pulling the dough in; now I work from the bottom.
I baked the bread in a round Romertopf bread baking bowl that I bought from King Arthur some years ago but had never used. I did not know at the time that most Romeertopfs have lids. I have a small King Arthur bread baking bowl, and it can be a challenge getting the bread cooked through without the top getting over browned and having to be covered with foil. I found that the cloche cover, from the cloche set I bought from Skeptic, rests nicely on the rim of the bowl. So, I greased the glazed bowl, sprinkled with farina, and put the shaped dough inside to rise, covered with the cloche top. Given the speed of the first rise, and the warmth of the house, left over from yesterday's heat, I anticipated a quick second rise and checked it at 35 minutes, slashed the top, then put it into the cold oven and set the temperature for 425F.
I checked at 40 minutes, and the temperature was 165, although the top had browned nicely, so I re-covered and let it go another ten minutes, at which time it reached 200F. It came out of the bowl beautifully. It ended up a bit lopsided, no doubt a shaping error, but at the highest, it is three inches tall. I will cut it tonight to go with soup at dinner, at which time, it would have at least five and a half hours to cool.
I might replace all the AP flour next time with the Bob's Red Mill Artisan bread flour.
Note: The bread has great flavor and texture.
It was a hot day, with temperatures in the upper 80s. That made it a good day for leftover hamburgers and potato salad. I also made yogurt.
Navlys--It is always great when one of those just in case kitchen items turns out to be just what you need.
I baked my version of Ellen's buns this Memorial Day, making ten lovely hamburger buns for the burgers my husband is grilling, with support from the son.
For Memorial Day, I made our favorite All American Potato Salad from Cooks Country, replacing the sour cream with Greek yogurt.
My husband, with moral support from the son, is grilling the hamburgers. We use a little grill and charcoal, and since grilling is a rarity, it is not clear what the results will be. The ground beef is local, from a place that sells at the farmers' market. On the rare occasions we eat beef, I like to buy from them.
We're having leftover pizza for Sunday dinner at our house.
On Sunday, I baked a "sprinkles cake, using the recipe for "Patriotic Sprinkle Cake," from Bake from Scratch Magazine. I follow the basic recipe but reduce the sugar slightly (from 1 2/3 cups to 1 1/2 cups) and use half the salt, since they use kosher salt, and I use a regular sea salt. The recipe calls for red and blue sprinkles, but I do not have red ones, so I used multi-colored, larger rainbow nonpareils. Some of these do stick to the pan, but the Grease allowed me to get a clean removal. I like the look of the nonpareils on the outside of the cake!
The original recipe includes scooping out the bottom of the cake, filling it with raspberry sorbet, replacing the cake that was removed, and putting it into the freezer. I have no such grand designs. Instead, I will let it rest until tomorrow, then glaze it and sprinkle some smaller nonpareils on the glaze.
We're saving our burgers for Memorial Day.
For dinner on Saturday, I made our favorite sourdough pan pizza with the usual homemade tomato sauce (using canned tomatoes, since I've exhausted my supply of frozen ones), Canadian bacon, red bell pepper, mushrooms, green olives, mozzarella, Parmesan, and on my half, the addition of black olives.
As I was reading on Friday, I developed a strong desire for butterscotch bars. I pulled out the Blonde Brownies recipe that Weedsnstitches posted on the Baking Circle for Mrs. Cindy to bake for her niece Claire. I made a few changes in that I replaced 1/4 cup of butter, melted, with 3 Tbs. avocado oil plus 1 Tbs. buttermilk, halved the salt, and used white whole wheat flour. I also added a tablespoon of Bob's Red Mill milk powder. With a packed cup of light brown sugar, these bars are not health food, but my changes give them some nutritional value. I'm not sure why, but butterscotch brownies are a comfort food for me.
Did you have a good birthday, Sara?
I cannot recall the brand, but I had a great one that used a blue liquid to show the temperature. I found it more accurate than those metal stand ones that I assume use some interior mechanism. Unfortunately, it got knocked onto the floor of the oven and broke some years back when my then oven was pre-heating. (It had fallen on the stove element.). I had bought it at Tuesday Morning, so I do not know where one might be found.
I baked my Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers on Thursday, using dough that I made last week.
We are thinking somewhat alike, again, Joan. 🙂
Thursday night dinner was roasted chicken thighs, leftover roasted sweet potatoes, and microwaved frozen peas and carrots
I made maple granola on Wednesday.
I made yogurt on Wednesday.
For dinner, I made a stir-fry using cooked farro, leftover pork from last night, and celery, carrots, red bell pepper, green onion, mushrooms, kale, and the deglazing from when the pork was cooked last night.
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