[BakerAunt]

To my surprise, the local grocery had Gold Medal unbleached flour for $2.59 per bag, so I was able to get an additional bag. I wonder why unbleached flour has been so hard to find.

[BakerAunt]

Thanks, Skeptic. I'll report on the voting experience once the location opens in my town (only for two Saturdays in October). I, too, liked the feeling of being part of a great day and until the last election always voted on election day.

We did our big grocery run to the next town this morning. We included Walmart--only the third time we've been to Walmart since the first weekend in March. That meant stocking up on extras. The local store charged me $4.99 for mayonnaise a couple of weeks ago. I paid half of that at Walmart and so bought two. At Kroger, I was able to snag a bag of blue label Pepperidge Farm Dressing mix. I'm not taking any chances of not having it for Thanksgiving.

Has anyone else noted a shortage of unbleached flour--Gold Medal or Pillsbury? Neither Walmart nor Kroger had it. They did have King Arthur, but sometimes I want the lower protein. There was plenty of bleached flour and even White Lily self-rising flour, as well as whole wheat (KABC and BRM). I did buy another small bag of Arrowhead Mills spelt flour.

Other than the unbleached flour, I came home with everything on my list.

Note: post is corrected to say Gold Medal.

[BakerAunt]

I'm baking a pumpkin pie this Monday evening. While it might seem that I am copying Joan, the occasion is my husband's cousins' reunion, happening tomorrow night via Zoom. We all agreed to cancel the usual fall reunion, because, hey, in the time of Covid-19, what possibly could go wrong with people traveling from Florida, California, Michigan, Virginia, and Indiana?

One of the highlights of the reunion is an early Thanksgiving dinner with all the trimmings. So, for the Zoom call, people are choosing pie, wine, or turkey leg to get into the spirit. My husband is pleased that he is getting pumpkin pie, which is his second favorite pie.

[BakerAunt]

For dinner on Monday, I roasted a chicken with cut-up potatoes and small carrots, tossed in olive oil and sprinkled with Penzey’s Buttermilk Ranch Dressing mix. I also rubbed the dressing mix on the chicken. I put the chicken up on a silicone rack and distributed the vegetables around it, since the vegetables under the chicken do not roast as well. The result was excellent, and I will employ it again. We had the chicken and vegetables with the last of the green beans from the garden, or so my husband tells me, but he has said so before, and yet we end up getting more. With the weather getting colder and less sun, however, it may truly be the end of the green beans. We have leftovers for the next few days.

[BakerAunt]

Your pie looks delicious, Len.

To go with leftover soup on Sunday, I baked my Scottish Style Scones (Barley).

[BakerAunt]

Italian Cook--also, depending on the size of the pan and your microwave, you can heat up a cup of water in the microwave, then put the pan inside and close it. That makes a good rising chamber. Just don't let anyone hit the controls while the rolls rise.

[BakerAunt]

I was relieved that Bob's Red Mill has its milk powder back in stock (or did when I ordered it). It is vital for my yogurt, so I've had to hold back on adding as much or any to granola, muffins, quick breads.

Cases in my state are rising, since our governor, in his not so great wisdom, moved us on to stage five from stage 4.5. We should probably still be in stage 2 or 3. My state is one where vote-by-mail is only allowed for about five reasons, so I have to vote in person. There is also a shortage of poll workers. (By the way, the primary did allow vote-by-mail without incident.) I will take advantage of early voting, put my license in a baggy, take my own pen, and consider wearing disposable gloves.

[BakerAunt]

Italian Cook--I usually slice my bread the next day because we mostly eat bread at lunch. This particular bread is not meant to be a soft bread but a chewy one. I let breads cool for about four hours, then wrap them or put them in Tupperware.

I ran into the same cold kitchen issue when I made my sourdough pan pizza this week. I was lucky in that I had started early enough that I could wait it out. In the case of the spelt bread, the cold was a blessing, given the electrical disruption.

You could put the pan of rolls on a rack over a pan of hot water next time. You would still have to wait on the second rise, but they would rise. Another option might be to just refrigerate them and let them rise overnight, then bake the next day.

[BakerAunt]

On Saturday, I baked Pumpkin Espresso Bundt Cake from the KAF site. I had to forgo the espresso in the cinnamon filling because my espresso powder was caked and cemented to the bottom of the jar. I could not pry it out or make a dent into it. Last time, I had been able to put the caked espresso in my grinder and pulverize it but not this time. It went into the trash still in the jar. I bake this cake with white whole wheat flour, and I add 1/4 cup of powdered milk. I replace ¼ cup of the oil with buttermilk. I also reduced the granulated sugar in the cake from 1 cup to ¾ cup and the brown sugar from ¾ to 2/3 cup. There is an additional 1/3 cup brown sugar in the filling. I baked it in my Nordic Ware autumn wreath Bundt pan rather than a deep Bundt pan, so I put half the batter into the pan, then all of the filling on top, then the rest of the batter. I baked for 50 minutes on the third shelf up in my oven.

[BakerAunt]

My bread is a delicious, chewy bread. I'll keep the changes I made to the recipe.

On Friday afternoon, I baked another batch of Maple Granola. My husband, who daily snacks on raisins, had eaten all the raisins in the house, so I used 2 cups of a bag of KAF’s Bakers Blend of dried fruit that I had on hand. I have made a note to hide a package of raisins after we go shopping again.

[BakerAunt]

Here's a take on using a lower protein flour for biscuits:

https://www.foodandwine.com/bread-dough/rolls-buns/biscuits/kelly-fields-biscuits-trick

I don't know where the author of the article shops, but I've NEVER seen 00 flour in a grocery store.

[BakerAunt]

Friday afternoon I'm making another batch of yogurt.

[BakerAunt]

We have a frost warning. We did get some rain yesterday, along with thunder. (Of course we did: there was an all day electrical project going on outside our house and in the garage and shed.)

I have been reading about an eggplant dip that sounds interesting.

I wish that I could make ratatouille, but my husband is not on board with eating it. I love it with brown rice and chicken.

[BakerAunt]

I find Subway bread squshy and not particularly satisfying. However, when we are traveling (back when we could!), Subway is our fast food choice when we do not have our own with us. Although we both get the whole grain, I'm somewhat dubious about the whole grain content.

[BakerAunt]

Time for ratatouille?

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