[BakerAunt]

I roasted and processed two pie pumpkins on Sunday. I set aside pumpkin to make Ginsberg’s Pumpkin Rye bread and froze the rest.

[BakerAunt]

On Sunday, I fed my starter and made dough for another batch of my Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers. I will bake them after Thanksgiving.

[BakerAunt]

On Saturday, I made another batch of applesauce with the Gold Rush and Winesap “seconds” we bought. I was going to freeze it all, but my husband wanted some with dinner, so I put some in a bowl for the next couple of days and froze the rest. I have enough apples for at least two more batches. With the turkey in the refrigerator to start thawing, I have room for it in the freezer.

For dinner on Saturday, I made green pea soup with carrots, celery, and ham; I season it at the end with dried thyme and marjoram. We have enough for several more meals.

[BakerAunt]

Sigh. I edited the first post, and it disappeared. I unchecked the "save a copy" box, so I'm not sure what happened.

[BakerAunt]

On Friday, I roasted a peanut pumpkin, made puree, and froze it for later use. I made sure to have five 1/2 cup containers, as I particularly like it in Skeptic's pumpkin biscotti recipe.

[BakerAunt]

I've not had any issues with rising time using the dough bucket.

[BakerAunt]

On Wednesday, I baked Pumpkin Ginger Braid, a King Arthur recipe, using my own homemade pumpkin puree. I replaced 3 cups of the bread flour with whole wheat and increased the bread flour to 3 cups, which is needed since my pumpkin has more liquid than canned pumpkin. I increased the ginger, as I thought it did not have enough last time I baked it, from 1/3 to ½ cup and rehydrated it with a Tbs. of water in the microwave (then left covered). I added 1/3 cup milk powder (BRM) and ¼ cup flax meal to increase nutrition and replaced the 4 Tbs. butter with 4 Tbs. canola oil. I used golden raisins.

I was able to mix and knead it in the bread machine. It rose in a little over an hour in the dough bucket. I have the King Arthur mat with the braiding directions, so I was able to braid it on the first try, although I still need to work on where I join the pieces at the top. I let the second rise go for an hour. I brushed the loaf with beaten egg left over from when I baked crispbread, although I added 1 tsp. water. I baked on the second rack for 30 minutes, but it needed an additional 8 minutes to reach 190F. I covered it with foil for the last eight minutes, as it was overbrowning. Next time, I will cover it a little sooner.

The loaf was a little overdone on the bottom, not bad, but not desirable. I might use a double cookie sheet next time (this is my heavy one) or perhaps the third rack for baking. Another option might be to reduce the oven temperature. The flavor is excellent.

[BakerAunt]

I used leftovers on Thursday to make lunch for today and tomorrow. I sauteed onion in olive oil, then added mushrooms, next garlic, the leftover maple glazed roasted sweet potatoes, the leftover bulgur, then a small can of white chicken. I added some torn kale leaves—which I should have added before the warmed bulgur, but I added a bit of chicken broth so it would wilt.

I made another batch of yogurt.

For Thursday dinner, I made stir-fry using soba noodles, leftover pork and the drippings from deglazing the pan. For vegetables, I used carrots, celery, the last of the red bell pepper from our garden, green onion tops from a pot my husband has been growing, broccoli, and mushrooms.

Note: Day of the week corrected.

[BakerAunt]

Yes, it is sturdy. I lightly oil the dough bucket before I put the dough in it to rise. The dough comes out cleanly--at least so far--even with a higher hydration dough. To wash it, I usually put a bit of dish soap in it, then rub it around to cut the grease before adding warm water and washing it. Hand washing is fast.

[BakerAunt]

It's good to see you posting, Joan.

On Tuesday, I made applesauce, using “seconds” that are a combination of Gold Rush and old-fashioned Winesaps. I froze two containers—one for Thanksgiving, and one perhaps for Christmas. We bought a half bushel of the seconds, and this was a test run to see how well they cooked (excellent) and taste (excellent). I used 5 lbs. and probably have another 10-15 lbs. I may can applesauce to save refrigerator space. We also bought a peck of Melrose, which we are already eating, and a peck of Ever Crisp to eat later (last very well). We bought a peck of the old-fashioned Winesaps which I will use for baked goods.

For dinner on Tuesday, we had leftover pork microwaved frozen peas, and sweet potatoes, cut up, tossed with olive oil, put on a baking sheet, and drizzled with maple syrup. I baked in the little convection oven for 1 hour at 375F. The sweet potatoes stuck a bit to the parchment, probably due to the maple syrup, so next time, I’ll spray it.

[BakerAunt]

Len--Apple juice works too.

[BakerAunt]

Len--I've found that the KAF (or KABC) dried fruit blends work best in baking if rehydrated first. I usually put the fruit in a bowl with a Tbs. of water, cover with saran, and microwave for 30 seconds, then allow it to rest. The fruit absorbs most of the water, and thus does not pull it from the baked item.

[BakerAunt]

Kroger only had the King Arthur AP on sale, so that is an excellent price for whole wheat flour, Skeptic. I just ordered two bags of whole wheat flour from Bob's Red Mill. Due to demand, they are not selling it by the case, so it is more than I usually pay, but the price was still a bit less than what I've seen in the store.

[BakerAunt]

On Monday, I baked Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers from dough I had in the refrigerator.

On Monday, I also adapted a recipe for “Pear-Walnut Coffee Cake.” The original is probably from a cooking magazine or booklet from years ago. It was a great favorite of mine, but it calls for ½ cup butter, plus 2 Tbs. in the topping. I replaced the butter with 1/3 cup canola oil and used low-fat sour cream. I used half whole wheat flour and added 2 Tbs. flax meal and 2 Tbs. milk powder (BRM). I also cut the salt to ¼ tsp. I reduced the sugar in the cake to 1/3 cup and the brown sugar in the topping to 1/3 cup, and the butter in the topping to 1 Tbs. I forgot to include ½ tsp. vanilla (lots of interruptions with my husband and the dog), but the cake is still delicious. We had some for dessert.

[BakerAunt]

I think the idea is to seal in moisture, which Vaseline or honey would do. However, it's one of those "not for a serious burn" ideas.

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