[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 6 years, 4 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.

[BakerAunt]

I guessed wildly and incorrectly.

[BakerAunt]

On Tuesday, I baked Spiced Pumpkin Bread, which is a whole wheat, rye, pumpkin yeast bread that is on Stanley Ginsberg’s blog at The Rye Baker (Nov. 1, 2016). I had this pumpkin frozen just for this bread, which I baked for the fourth time.

I always proof the yeast with a tiny bit of sugar. (I love to see it foam.) I then mixed in the pumpkin with the paddle attachment. I added the combined dry ingredients and mixed, then let them rest for ten minutes. I added the oil, then mixed with the paddle. I switched to the dough hook. It was still difficult to knead in my 7-quart mixer, but at least it came together faster. I also decided to knead on my Cuisinart mixer’s second speed, and I did have to keep stopping the mixer and re-adjusting the dough. Near the end of 8 minutes, I added an additional tablespoon of whole wheat flour, and then another. I added one more tablespoon and kneaded for an additional 2 minutes. (Pumpkin can vary in terms of water content,)

My husband had started the wood stove, so I put the mixer bowl (covered with saran) in the front room for its 75-minute rise. When it was time to de-gas, I followed his direction to use the dough hook and knead at lowest speed, but I cut that to 1 minute. My shaping was better this time—more of an oval, although one end turned out a little low. After 20 minutes, I slashed it and put it into the oven for 55 minutes. It’s a lovely looking loaf, and I am looking forward to cutting into it tomorrow for lunch.

[BakerAunt]

I had a Bakers Bucks from KAF that was expiring today. I emailed asking if I could get an extension, as they are out of a lot of what I would buy, but I hadn't heard back by yesterday evening. I assume they are just far too busy. I'm a member of the Bakers Rewards program, so I needed to have at least $35 in products, so that when the $10 coupon comes off, I have the required amount of $25 to get free shipping as a BR member. So, I went to the website and found three items that I could buy and knew I'd use: another jar of Vermont Cheese powder, the baker's blend of dried fruit, and a 2 lb. bag of their Pompanoosuc Porridge, which I figure that I can eat when the steel-cut oats run out and could also use for bread.

I actually have two unopened jars of the cheese powder, and am getting down on the opened jar, but at the rate my husband eats cheese crackers, I'm not worried about using it, although I am worried about running out of whole wheat flour.

[BakerAunt]

Skeptic--switching from butter to oil not only reduced the saturated fat but it makes the crackers MUCH easier to roll out. I let it warm up for about 15 minutes, and I set the next piece on the counter to warm up while I roll out the first piece.

I've played with the recipe. In addition to the oil substitution, I add 1/3 cup flax meal and 4 Tbs. milk powder. I can post the revised recipe if that would be helpful.

I have some wooden pie wands, one set is 1/16th inch that I use to roll out the crackers. The dough usually covers most of a parchment half sheet (what KAF sells), with about 3/4-1 inch around the sides.

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