BakerAunt
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My husband says that the alkaline level is ok. He says it clearly is an iron deficiency that can be from too much water and/or not enough iron. You might want to check what kind of iron is in the nutrient solution you used.
You can buy chelated iron if it isn't in the nutrient solution.
Mike--I zoomed in on your picture for my husband so that the leaves could be seen. He says the green veins on the young leaves suggest severe iron deficiency. That can come from waterlogged soil, but you might want to see what the pH of the water is. If it is alkaline, the iron will not be readily available.
Be sure the iron provided is given in a chelated form, which would be pH insensitive.
He still suggests that there be no standing water in the pan.
Some of those Cookie Companion recipes were decadent. I do not open that cookbook anymore because almost every recipe has copious amounts of butter, and I had to cut saturated fat in my diet. Sigh. Those soft barley cookies were one of our favorites--or maybe that recipe is in the wholegrain baking book.
I have gotten pretty good at finding oil-based desserts or adapting recipes to use less saturated fat and more whole grains.
Older recipes are interesting. A blog that I read occasionally is Cooking in the Archives:
I discovered it after King Arthur's Sift did a story on it and published a cookie recipe the author had modernized. I baked them but was not impressed. Although I enjoy reading her blog occasionally, I have not been inspired to try any more of the recipes.
Mike, I asked my husband about your tomato plants. He said it's not heat, as the leaves would have dead spots on them. It would not be too much fertilizer, or they would wilt. It could be too little fertilizer but unlikely since only some are showing the symptoms. He thinks it might be too much water around the roots. Too much water means not enough oxygen, and the root cells cannot take up enough of the nutrients if there is not much oxygen for the cells to survive.
For dinner on Tuesday, my husband finished up the lima beans with brown rice and ham, as there was only a single serving. That gave me the opportunity to try a Penzey’s recipe, Spanish Chickpea and Spinach Stew, which is on their website and featured in a recent email. I replaced the 28 oz. can of crushed tomatoes with 3 cups of tomato sauce with olive oil and garlic that I made from our garden late last fall and froze. I used olive oil rather than avocado oil to saute the onion. I deleted the additional garlic powder. I like moderate spiciness, so I reduced the ground cumin to ¼ tsp. and the cayenne pepper to a dash. I increased the smoked paprika to 1 ¼ tsp. I used 15 oz. of the chickpeas I cooked last week and a 12 oz. package of chopped frozen spinach. The recipe specifies serving over cooked grains. I chose to cook ½ cup bulgur (to make 1 ¼ cups cooked), which I mixed into the stew. It is delicious. I was able to use the spices, onion tomatoes, and chickpeas since my husband was not eating it. I now have lunches for into the week, as well as a recipe to serve someone who is vegan.
I will start looking through my numerous baking books and comparing pita recipes. I liked the puff and the flavor of these. I'm wondering if technique would give a more even thickness on sides.
Yes, some breads are supporting cast to the filling rather than accentuating it. When we first got married, my husband didn't want to "waste" the bread I baked on sandwiches and initially continued to buy a 100% whole wheat one for his sandwiches, a bread that I thought rather bland. It took some convincing for him to realize that a great bread flavor can complement the flavor of the sandwich filling. It also helped that the price of the bread shot up. Within a year, my trusty stand mixer (bought mostly with wedding gift cards) and I had put him on the path to home baked.
Thanks for the reports on the Ginsberg recipes, Mike!
I wonder how long it would take us to travel to Georgia....
Welcome Janiebakes! I remember you from the Baking Circle. In particular, I recall some posts where you and others were baking your way through the King Arthur Cookie baking book, although I'm unsure how many recipes were baked before people got busy with other projects.
On Monday, I baked the KABC Gourmet Soda Crackers again. They are definitely better when I do not put too much water in the dough! 🙁
I used the same technique as last time in setting the oven at 400F convection. I turned it off with a minute to spare because they seemed golden enough. I will probably cut the time to 9 minutes next time, or 4 min. 30 seconds before turning the baking sheet around. As I did last time, I allowed them to cool in oven after I turned it off, and since my oven vents excess heat after being turned off, I did not have to worry about overbrowning, and I did not need to leave the oven door open. I did taste a warm one, and these are tastier than that first batch and brown more nicely. It may be worthwhile to keep the Italian-style flour on hand just for these crackers.
I mixed dough on Sunday night for the KABC Gourmet Soda Crackers. In making the recipe this time, I realized that last time I added 5 oz. of water rather than 3 oz. No wonder the dough was goopy! I'm embarrassed to have made that error. I've added a note to last week's thread admitting it.
The dough rests overnight in the refrigerator, so I will bake the crackers tomorrow.
I deleted the post, as I put it in the wrong week. Sigh.
Chocomouse--I usually soak the Grape Nuts in the buttermilk for about an hour before I start. I think that also helps figure out the hydration. I have made a few changes since I posted the recipe, mostly by increasing the whole wheat flour and the liquid by a bit. I also have been using a combination of special gold and regular yeast, but it would probably be fine with just the regular.
I will add a note to the end of the recipe I posted with how I currently bake it.
Our dinner is leftover lima beans with brown rice and ham--no complaints!
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