[BakerAunt]

I was looking through some "to try" recipes last week and found Mrs. Cindy's "White Chocolate Cherry Almond Bread." On Monday, I baked it. I made some changes--most of them intentional. I used regular almonds, as I do not have Macona almonds. I used 1 1/2 cups white whole wheat flour to replace that much bread flour. I reduced the salt to 3/4 tsp. I replaced the 2 Tbs. butter with avocado oil. I used special gold yeast, which I thought would work better with a sweet dough and reduced it to 2 tsp. I have some white chocolate chunks, rather than chips, so I used 60 grams (a little over 1/3 cup). I meant to use 2 Tbs. potato flour instead of the 1/4 cup potato flakes; unfortunately, I forgot and put in 1/4 cup potato flour. I replaced a cup of water with buttermilk. However, when I started the machine, I realized that I had added 1/2 cup water rather than 1/4 cup. That meant a frantic effort to add more flour as the machine was running. I added another1/4 cup bread flour and 1/4 cup regular whole wheat flour. (In my desperation, I forgot that I was using white whole wheat.)

After the first rise, the dough was slack, so I kneaded just a bit more flour into it, then pre-shaped, let rest 5 minutes, then pre-shaped again, and panned it into an 8-inch round, 2-inch-deep cake pan. I let it rise for 50 minutes, then baked at 375F. It was not done after 30 minutes and needed an additional 6 minutes. It did have great oven spring.

We had some of the bread as dessert tonight. It is soft and sweet. The cherries did not stay in large pieces, and most of the white chocolate melted into the bread, although occasionally there is a little nugget. The crust got very dark, but it does not taste burned. It is a good bread to have with tea, or even for breakfast. I plan to bake it again, at some point with the correct amount of liquid.

I believe that the recipe is here at Nebraska Kitchen.

[BakerAunt]

The weather in our area has been great this year for strawberries, after two years when there were none or just a few. We ate our way through two quarts last week. At $6 a quart, they are not inexpensive, but the flavor is so wonderful that I consider it a worthy indulgence. (I refuse to buy commercial strawberries in the grocery anymore, although if desperate, I will buy frozen ones.) I bought two more quarts last Saturday. With the weather turning hot this week, I may not get any more. On Monday afternoon, I made strawberry jam and canned it. I got four 1-cup jars and one half-cup jar. These will be welcomed in the winter.

[BakerAunt]

Oops. Moved my entry to the correct thread.

[BakerAunt]

Alas, CWCdesign--the recipe still includes a stick of butter. However, I have found an oil-based lemon cookie that I plan to try.

[BakerAunt]

I baked my Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers from dough that I made last Sunday. My husband finished off the last batch yesterday.

[BakerAunt]

Beautiful loaves, Aaron!

[BakerAunt]

I baked cornbread on Friday to go with leftover beef stew for dinner.

[BakerAunt]

Thanks, Mike. That does not seem to have helped. I will have my stepson look at it and see if I did it correctly. I recently installed a new malware product after a malware attack that went right past Norton and the minimal Edge defender. Since doing so, I note that ads are getting blocked, which does not bother me, but I wonder if it interprets the comments on the recipes as ads.

[BakerAunt]

Like Joan, I needed a chocolate fix!

I was in the mood for chocolate, but the only recipe for oil-based Chocolate Crinkle Cookies that I could find was at the Lehman's website, and I thought there was one that I had liked better that had more chocolate. I looked in the King Arthur Cookie Companion and found a Chocolate Crinkle Cookie recipe that calls for 6 Tbs. melted butter. I decided to try modifying it. I used 75% white whole wheat, since I still had a mixture left over from last week that I wanted to use up. I cut the salt by a third, and I added a teaspoon of espresso powder. In place of the butter, I used 4 Tbs. olive oil and 2 Tbs. buttermilk. The dough was somewhat slack, but I was able to use a #30 Zeroll scoop. I put each ball into powdered sugar to coat, then used my hand to move each one to the baking sheet. I ended up with 20 large cookies. I baked each sheet on the third rack up for 14 minutes, turning halfway through. These are flat, soft cookies with intense chocolate flavor.

[BakerAunt]

Ah, I love creative cooking, Joan! Your dinner sounds good.

Thursday night's dinner was Garden-Style Turkey Meatloaf with Oats [and Spinach]; My stepson and I had more of the Asparagus, Goat Cheese, and Lemon Pasta. For my husband, I roasted some potatoes, and he microwaved himself some broccoli.

[BakerAunt]

For some reason, the reviews are not showing up when I go to the recipes. If I click on "reviews," I still do not get them. I had tried to review those for "Rustic Sourdough Bread," but nothing came up for me. That happened with other recipes as well.

I don't know if it is worth it to contact King Arthur, as this appears to be a technical issue.

[BakerAunt]

Well, we have heard no more about KABC bringing back any form of the Baking Circle. I also have noticed that when I go to a recipe at the KABC site now, the written reviews are no longer accessible. That is disappointing, as other bakers' experiences often alert me to issues that may arise BEFORE I try the recipe.

[BakerAunt]

We had a cooler day, with thunderstorms and some heavy rain in the afternoon, so Wednesday was a perfect day for beef stew

[BakerAunt]

Tuesday's dinner was salmon and couscous with Penzey's Greek Seasoning. We also had a microwaved mix of frozen broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower.

[BakerAunt]

Aaron--I found this video useful, including tips on how not to get burned while dropping in the loaf:

Clay Baker Usage Tips

While I haven't tried working with a heated baker, I did find their shaping instructions helpful. We shall see if I ever get the nerve to try the hot, pre-heated baker or Dutch oven.

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