[BakerAunt]

I recommend this one: https://www.tastecooking.com/the-buttermilk-bread-miracle-dough/

Be aware that the loaf is a bit large in the 9x5 pan. I might try it in a 10x5 pan.

[BakerAunt]

Our area does not get trick-or-treaters, as we are outside the town in what I like to call the rurburbs--not rural, given the density of the houses, but not a suburb per se, as most of the houses are only occupied in the summer or or weekends (or in event of a pandemic). Our area has too much walking for too little potential gain.

[BakerAunt]

Yes, I remembered to turn the clock back.

I made another batch of yogurt.

Sunday dinner was roast chicken with carrots and potatoes. I seasoned the carrots and potatoes with Penzey’s dry Ranch Dressing (1 Tbs.), after tossing in olive oil, and I also put the seasoning on the chicken after rubbing it with a bit of olive oil. I put the chicken up on a small silicone rack and put the vegetables around the sides, which makes for even roasting of the vegetables, but the underside of the chicken does not roast as well. I ended up turning it over and roasting for an additional 20 minutes. In the future, I will likely start it upside down for the first part of the roast, then turn it over

[BakerAunt]

Italian Cook--I measured the 2-qt. dough bucket this morning. It is 4 inches high and 7 inches in diameter. I remember now that I bought two of them so that when we go to my husband's family reunion (with my smaller bread machine in tow), I can make two concurrent batches of cinnamon rolls. I always lightly oil the bucket, with either canola (sweet rolls, most breads) or olive oil (pizza and certain specialty breads). The dough buckets stack inside each other nicely, and the 4-quart (which KAF does not sell, fits nicely with the smaller ones.

Yes, that is expensive flour. I will need to go back to the website and read the comments. Right now, I'm mulling over buying a special flour for a future attempt at the Rosetta Rolls, and I thought that was expensive.

[BakerAunt]

One of my friends, whose grandparents emigrated from Italy, prefers her pizza with just cheese. I wondered if a lot of toppings is an American innovation.

[BakerAunt]

Italian Cook--I have three sizes of dough buckets. One is a 6-quart, one is a 4-quart, and two are 2-quart. The largest and smallest came from King Arthur, but the mid-sized one I found at the local thrift shop for 5o cents. I have two of the smallest size because KAF had a better deal on two. I keep them stacked inside each other, with the lids on the top. The lids of the 2-quart and 4-quart are interchangeable. The 2-quart is only about six inches high. It's perfect for pizza dough or a recipe of rolls, or a single small loaf of bread. For a larger loaf or two smaller loaves, I use the 4-quart. The 6-quart is perfect for when I make three loaves. Snap on lids seem to help retain warmth, which I think is lost less quickly than in ceramic bowls. It also cuts down on the need for saran. The 4-quart (size KAF does not sell) is a bit shorter than the 5 lb. flour holders they sell.

You might want to ask if a recipe is included. I am intrigued by the Rouge de Bordeaux but not sure how to use it.

[BakerAunt]

For Saturday night dinner (Halloween!), I made my sourdough pan pizza. I topped it with homemade tomato sauce, frozen in August, Canadian Bacon, mozzarella, mushrooms, green onion, black olives on my side, and Parmesan cheese.

[BakerAunt]

For dessert on Friday, I adapted a recipe for Pumpkin Streusel Muffins from Breads, Breads, and More Breads, a Pillsbury cook booklet (#37). The recipe is a long time favorite. I replaced ¾ of the AP flour with whole wheat pastry flour, added some flax meal and milk powder, and made some other changes. After putting the streusel on top, I put some Halloween sprinkles on top of it. I used Halloween baking papers.

[BakerAunt]

Dinner on Friday night was Salmon and Couscous with Penzey’s Greek Seasoning, along with microwaved frozen peas.

[BakerAunt]

Unless your neighbor is one of the people who has the gene that makes cilantro taste like soap. In that case, your forgetfulness is a win!

[BakerAunt]

Last year I experimented with creating a maple cookie, low in saturated fat, using an Italian Breakfast Cookie recipe I had found, and using maple syrup in place of honey. It was ok. On Wednesday, I tweaked the recipe further, using maple sugar in place of regular sugar, using ¾ cup white whole wheat flour with ½ cup AP, and adding 1/8 tsp. maple extract. I used Halloween Nordic Ware Cookie Stamps on balls of dough, scooped out with scant 2 Tbs. dough (Zeroll #30), which gave me 11 cookies. I refrigerated the stamped cookies (took the impression well) for 30 minutes. I baked at 375F for 10 minutes, turning halfway through. The cookies needed an additional six minutes to be crisp on the bottom. We had a couple for dessert tonight, and the maple flavor comes through. These are not as sweet as most cookies, but we find them satisfying.

On Wednesday, I also made another batch of Maple Granola, and this time I had a stash of raisins, hidden from my husband to mix in after the granola baked.

[BakerAunt]

So, now I'm looking at Italian flours at this website:

https://brickovenbaker.com/pages/information-about-caputo-flours

I'm thinking that this one might be close to what would work for Rosetta rolls, but at $16.95 per 5 lb. bag, it is not inexpensive:

https://brickovenbaker.com/products/antimo-caputo-rinforzato-00-flour

I wish that they would state their shipping costs without making the buyer have to do the checkout steps first.

[BakerAunt]

Wow! 3D printers are amazing. Thanks for posting that picture, Mike.

Thanks, Len for the advice on flour. It certainly helped when I turned the rolls back over.

• This reply was modified 6 years ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

If Italian wheat varieties are not as strong as American varieties, that may be why Cass told me to use half KAF All Purpose and half Bob's Red Mill Artisan Bread flour.

I've also wondered if Italian flour already has malt added to it. The KAF and BRM artisan bread flours certainly do.

I will need to give some thought to what I might do differently next time. I still think that the shaping of the balls before they are stamped may play a part.

The taste of the Rosetta Rolls is wonderful, so even if I were never to achieve the hole and the perfect design, I would still bake them.

[BakerAunt]

Today I baked Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers from dough I made up last week (or was it longer?)

While I like my quartz kitchen countertops, one drawback is that they are white with specks, and sometimes it is difficult to see where the parchment ends against the countertop. The parchment also slides while I'm rolling out the dough. A more serious problem is that when I put a metal baking sheet on the counter, after transferring the dough to cut into crackers, the rubbing of the metal on the quartz leaves black marks that I have to rub off. I had been moving the baking sheet to the dining room table, a not so efficient solution.

Today, I had a brilliant idea. A long time ago--back when King Arthur carried unusual and useful baking items, I bought what they called a "tagliere," or Italian kneading board. I had to look up the name to write this post and discovered that is actually the word for cutting board. What I have is a spianatoia or kneading and pastry board. It is made of wood--my husband says either maple or birch--with a lip on the underside in front that pushes against the counter and a backsplash 2 1/2 inches high. The dimensions are 24x16 inches. I used it a lot for kneading breads, hooking it on the edge of my kitchen table, although I then had to scrape off the flour that stuck. After I discovered Silpat mats, I tended not to use it. The kneading board has been sitting in the kitchen area of our garage apt., and I was thinking a few weeks ago that I wish that I could find a use for it.

I sent my husband to fetch it, wiped it off, then discovered it is a perfect fit for my kitchen peninsula. I rolled out the crackers on parchment on it, and I did not have the sliding, and I could see where the parchment ends. As an added bonus, the 3/4 of an inch I gain made it much easier to roll out the crackers--much less bending over and so much more comfortable. I've found a place to store it between the cabinet and my wooden rolling cart. I am so pleased.

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