[BakerAunt]

My first answer was an English-Spanish dictionary, but that was not one of the choices. I did, however, choose the correct answer from the list.

[BakerAunt]

On Friday, I baked the Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers. I decided to bake them at 375F on the convection setting, rather than 400F regular. I watched them and reduced the time. I think that about 12 minutes, switching the sheet around midway, is the correct timing. I had fewer overly browned crackers using the convection setting, so I will do so from now on,

Mike--My rye bread was 3 inches high and about 6-inches in diameter, which I think is a dandy size.

[BakerAunt]

I made another batch of yogurt on Friday. I usually use 170g of Stonyfield full-fat yogurt, but I am now out of it, and we are not driving to the next town to try and get it or anything else. I found Chobani Greek yogurt at the local grocery (it was even on sale), so I substituted it. My rule is to use a yogurt that has the live cultures and that doesn’t use additives to thicken the yogurt.

For Friday’s dinner, I made stir-fry using leftover turkey, soba noodles, celery, carrots, red bell pepper, broccoli, mushrooms, and a bit of drippings left over from the turkey. We have enough for dinner tomorrow as well.

[BakerAunt]

I narrowed it down and chose the wrong one. For some reason, I had it connected to pasta, which of course was not one of the answers. I know that I've read about it, because I knew what the name meant.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 9 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

I also saw the Walmart listing for bread flour. I had gone to the Walmart site to look for whole wheat flour, but all they had was a 50 lb. bag for $147, which is rather expensive for a bulk bag.

[BakerAunt]

There were no page numbers when Italian Cook posted, but once she did post, then the page numbers appeared again. In magical terms, it breaks the Word Press Spell.

[BakerAunt]

I am tempted to ask Aaron to check out whole wheat flour.

I wonder how many new bakers have now trashed their sourdough starters. Those who have not are learning important lessons in process and patience.

[BakerAunt]

Italiancook--I think that I posted about the eggs on a different thread, so I'll repeat it here. If you have flax meal, you can substitute 1 Tbs. flax meal plus 2 Tbs. water (let is sit for 10 minutes or so) for one of the eggs.

[BakerAunt]

I am tempted by Aaron's offer if I could get some whole wheat flour. That's the one I'm particularly concerned about, as I use a lot of whole wheat. I still have a 5 lb. bag, and about 4 cups of the previous bag. I thought about that when I baked that pumpkin rye bread, as it used a fair amount of whole wheat flour, but I don't regret baking that bread. I am trying to bake more breads that draw from my other flours. I could also sub in some white whole wheat to stretch it out. I wish I knew when Bob's Red Mill and/or King Arthur would be ready to ship again, and if I'd be allowed to order enough to get the free shipping.

Italiancook makes a good point in that we don't know for how long we need to plan. My husband does not eat eggs that are not in some other food. I like the occasional single egg omelet, but I'm saving my eggs for baking, and hoping that the local grocery will be able to score another load of "restaurant" eggs.

If you have flax meal, Italian Cook, you could use 1 Tbs. flax meal mixed with 3 Tbs. water in place of one of the eggs. That way you would just need to use two.

Italiancook, the protein in bread flour will make your cakes tough. I find KAF AP even a bit too high for my cakes and always used Gold Medal or Pillsbury AP, which are lower in protein. That is likely the case for cookies as well, although KAF does have a vanilla cookie where the recipe specifies bread flour.

[BakerAunt]

The flour and yeast shortage goes on, and the number of people who are baking increases, according to this Marketplace story:

https://www.marketplace.org/2020/04/15/flour-yeast-sales-rise-people-bake-bread-quarantine/?utm_campaign=20200415_Marketplace&utm_medium=email&utm_source=sfmc_&utm_content=&utm_term=3676540

That NY Times recipe is not the one I'd tell a beginner baker to try as a first attempt.

[BakerAunt]

I answered correctly because I thought would I want to eat it raw? 🙂

[BakerAunt]

Mike--I was doing the pre-shaping but some of my breads don't seem to do so well with the pre-shape. It may be my technique, or lack of technique. With the pumpkin-rye bread, once I put it onto the floured (with white rye) mat, a second shaping is difficult. I could try pre-shaping it on just the Silpat, then putting it onto the white rye flour.

The bread tastes as wonderful as always. My husband likes it but would like higher slices for sandwiches.

[BakerAunt]

I've read that using "old dough" is a technique that many European bakers use. Sometimes they use some old bread. I have a hazy recollection that Germany limits how much old bread can be included in a batch of new bread.

[BakerAunt]

Joan--Good innovation with the cheese! I have a feeling we are all going to become more creative before this health crisis ends.

We have been happily eating turkey since Sunday. On Monday and Tuesday, we still had mashed potatoes and gravy, but we varied the vegetables, with microwaved fresh broccoli the first night and mixed vegetables again the next. Tonight we again had turkey and the rest of the gravy and microwaved peas, but we had pierogis with them. Why pierogis? There was a large freezer case of bags of them at the local grocery, probably originally intended for commercial use. Monday was "Dyngus Day," a celebration on the day after Easter of Polish-American heritage, and it is a big deal in South Bend. Celebrations had to be canceled this year, so that is a lot of pierogis. I was pleased that a serving of four regular cheese has only 0.5g saturated fat. (We bypassed the 3-cheese one which is double, and the onion one because of my husband's current issue with onion). I haven't had pierogis in a long time, so it is a nice treat, and we have enough for a few more meals.

• This reply was modified 5 years, 9 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

Skeptic--I don't make the round circles with the holes in the center--too much work for no real reason these days. I also have a fair amount of plastic containers, although lids on the Tupperware seem to be cracking and breaking. I particularly like crispbread for trips, but is great to have as a munchie just sitting at home. My husband is consuming the Barley Crispbread (actually has more rye flour in it) a bit fast, but due to its density and size, it slows him down a bit.

I'm going to try a more oil-based version (possibly keeping a bit of the butter) of Ginsberg's rye crispbread at some point. We'll see how well the KAF Rye Chops do in it.

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