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I made Spaghetti Squash Casserole for dinner on Saturday. As my husband's digestive system does not agree with Italian spices, I used 2 tsp. of Penzey's Bouquet Garni and some freshly ground black pepper. The tomato sauce, from our tomatoes, came from the freezer. My husband liked it, so I will use that spice combination in the future when I make it for both of us.
On Saturday, I took the dough out of the refrigerator at around 11:30 a.m., as the recipe says to remove it about three hours before planning to bake. My dough was actually pushing at the lid of the 4-quart container. I may use a 6-quart one next time. From what I can tell, the dough is shaped cold after removing it. I found it easy to shape the cold dough, although I used a different shaping method from Reinhart. (The description and pictures on how to shape loaves for pans did not seem to align.) I flatten the dough to a rectangle, then fold in the long sides, then the short ends, before rolling it from the long side.
The dough needs 2-3 hours to rise. I checked it after two hours, but it was ready at 2 hours and 35 minutes. The house temperature is about 67 F. The loaves required 40 minutes to bake. I followed the directions to rotate the pans after 20 minutes, which is not something I usually do. Both my husband and I noticed the wonderful aroma, which differed from the usual wonderful aroma of baking bread.
Mike--The recipe is for two loaves.
February 14, 2025 at 10:26 pm in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of February 9, 2025? #45583We had more of the black-eyed peas with brown rice and ham.
I started my chosen recipe today, "Everyday 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread," from Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day (pp. 83-85). He says it is a simplified version of a recipe in his Whole Grains Book.
I was surprised that the recipe called for mixing the dry ingredients and putting them into the mixing bowl first, but the ingredients combined easily, and the bowl did not have dough stuck all over it. The vegetable oil (I used canola) is whisked into the egg. I chose the honey option, and I have active rather than instant yeast, so I proofed the yeast in the water to which I added the honey before adding the buttermilk. (The recipe says milk of any kind.) I followed the stand mixer directions and was amazed at how well the dough came together. With my Cuisinart 7-qt mixer, I used the second speed for the low, and the third speed for the medium low. I used speed 5 for the last 20 seconds. The recipe requires three stretch-folds. I did them on a small Silpat mat, dusted with about 1 Tbs. of whole wheat flour, covering the dough with a large, inverted metal bowl between folds. I put it into a 4-qt. lightly oiled dough bucket and stuck it in the refrigerator. I plan to bake it tomorrow. When I last checked, the dough had more than doubled and was at the top.
Today, Friday, is Valentine's Day. I baked a Blueberry Coffee Cake with streusel topping in a red heart-shaped pan that I bought some years ago from King Arthur. I used a doubled recipe from Recipes from the Old Mill (p. 143) that we like. I used three cups of blueberries that we picked in the summer of 2023 that had gotten lost amid the 2024 berries in the freezer. I followed the recipe, other than cutting the salt a bit and adding 2 Tbs. each o milk powder and flax meal. I also used buttermilk. For the topping, I replaced 4 Tbs. melted butter with 1 Tbs plus 3 Tbs. avocado oil, and I used ½ cup pecan meal in place of the 2/3 cup nuts. This pecan meal is of a finer consistency than what King Arthur used to sell, so next time, I would cut it to ¼ cup. My husband was very pleased with this edible valentine.
My other baking project was making the dough for my February 2025 challenge recipe. See the details there!
I've chosen Peter Reinhart's Artisan Bread Every Day as my cookbook. The recipe is "Everyday 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread" (83--85). I will follow it without making any changes, but I will use the honey rather than the sugar option.
Joan--We only had 2 inches of snow overnight, which is not bad. We've been dealing with ice the past couple of days, and with temperatures dropping--this evening it is 12 F at 8:23 p.m., it will be even more of an issue.
For dinner tonight, I made black-eyed peas with sauteed yellow bell pepper, celery, and kale, with ham from the freezer and brown rice cooked in the rice cooker. I season with 1/4 tsp. thyme and some freshly ground black pepper.
That's a great idea, Chocomouse. I'm going to set up a thread where we can post what cookbook and recipe we pick and then write about it. February 21 works for me, but maybe we could call it the February 2025 Cookbook Challenge.
Len, having foresight has already completed his February recipe!
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As it turns out, a survey of my cookbooks reveals that I do not own BBA. Instead, I have Whole Grain Bread, Artisan Breads Every Day, and Bread Revolution. I've tried exactly one recipe from the three: Crispy Rye and Seed Crackers from ABED and was not impressed with the so-so taste. I regretted buying Bread Revolution, sight unseen, as it mostly called for sprouted flours, which would be hard for me to obtain. I have a hazy memory of trying a graham cracker recipe and being disappointed, although I'm not sure from what book. I also have two pizza books by Reinhart that I have never used.
I have Jeffrey Hamelman's Bread and have not baked from it
Sigh. I recall that we were going to challenge ourselves to try recipes out of the cookbooks on our shelves. I should start doing so.
I like the ceramic skillets (Green Pan) that I bought at either TJ Maxx or the Home Store for eggs. They work well for other foods, too.
It's good to hear that you are feeling better, Mike, but don't overdo it, as some people boomerang back for a time after feeling better. I hope that your taste buds will recover.
We finished the pecan-crusted pork chops (warm up well in the microwave) and the pasta with spinach and Greek cheese tonight, so I will be cooking tomorrow. We have gotten some snow, perhaps going on two inches and may get more tonight and tomorrow.
I have that cookbook but to my shame have never opened it. I need to do so.
That is a lovely loaf, Len!
That is a lovely braid, Chocomouse. I like the idea of a dinner bread!
My first bread machine came from an estate sale when we lived in Texas. My second bread machine came from a moving sale here about six years ago. I agree that thrift stores are not great places to look, but you never know.
I made yogurt on Tuesday.
For dinner, I cooked half a box of wholegrain rotini pasta, which I mixed with a 4 oz. log of Greek cheese and a 12 oz. bag of cooked frozen spinach, with a dash of lemon and freshly ground pepper. Next time, I would use just half a bag of spinach, as it overwhelmed the rest of the ingredients. We had it with two of the leftover pork chops from last night.
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