[BakerAunt]

Aaron--It does "tame" the flavor in small amounts and is often used that way. However, it also creates lift. (I wish Cass were here to explain if acidity and lift are related.) I recall that RLB in The Cake Bible recommended with cakes that if you could not bake the entire batch at once, hold back the baking soda from the batch that needs to wait, then add it when you are ready to do so.

I make only small batches of pancakes, as I don't have the breakfast crowd that you do at your house. You might need to make two separate batches of batter--and remember to stir in the baking soda to the waiting one before proceeding.

[BakerAunt]

The dough can be divided into eight pieces and used for eight tarts. I still blind bake, but I reduce the heat to 400F and bake 10 minutes. Four cup basket-style coffee filters work perfectly for lining the tarts and filling with beans for blind baking.

[BakerAunt]

On Saturday, I baked cornbread to go with the rest of the stew. I used two pans, each with five hearts arranged in a ring. With the Grease, they popped right out. These are the pans I used. I bought them from King Arthur, years ago, but I didn't pay anywhere near the now advertised price:

https://shop.kingarthurflour.com/items/mini-heart-pan-set-of-2

I also baked blueberry tartlets on Saturday afternoon. I had 1 cup of my homemade blueberry pie filling left from when I’d made sweet rolls for New Year’s. I pulled out another pint jar and combined them, along with 1/8 tsp. allspice. I have two Chicago Metallic tart pans. Each pan has four wells, each with a removeable bottom. I used my oil pie crust recipe, which I've posted here at Nebraska Kitchen. After bringing the dough together, I divided it into eight equal parts, then rolled each out to 13cm (metric is so much easier), using a little rolling pin that came with my ravioli form, and fit them into the pans. After refrigeration for an hour, I blind-baked the crusts for 10 minutes at 400F, using 4-cup coffee filters that I’d bought a while back for this purpose and filled with beans. I used slightly more than 1/3 cup of filling for each tart. I sprinkled with a half-recipe of the streusel I use for blueberry pie, then baked for 10 minutes at 400F before checking. I let them go another 4 minutes until bubbling, then removed them from the oven to a rack. We each had one for dinner, and they are delicious and look elegant.

• This reply was modified 6 years ago by BakerAunt.
• This reply was modified 6 years ago by BakerAunt.
• This reply was modified 6 years ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

Once again, Rottiedogs to the rescue! I looked at the recipe and decided to make a copy. I didn't see a Print function, so I had to copy and paste. It's in my future "to bake" pile, although I may have to cut back on the cinnamon chips.

[BakerAunt]

I guessed incorrectly.

[BakerAunt]

I use active yeast, so I always proof. I even proof with the special Gold yeast that is not supposed to need it. I still get a kick out of seeing the yeast bubble to life. My distraction in the open concept kitchen is usually my dog or my husband, but there are times when I distract myself when something is on my mind while working.

Now I need to google shag cake:

https://www.latimes.com/food/la-fo-alana-jones-mann-shag-cakes-20190520-story.html

• This reply was modified 6 years ago by BakerAunt.
• This reply was modified 6 years ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

I answered correctly. I've seen it in health food stores but have never bought it. I'm sure it has its own internet following.

[BakerAunt]

Hmm-the air is along the side where the windows slide up and down. That seems to be the case with the ones from the first reno (different contractor) and this second one. It was particularly an issue last night with an onshore wind. We will do some investigating.

[BakerAunt]

Chocomouse--My mother believed that we should have an egg for breakfast every day. When we were younger, those were soft boiled, then cracked into a dish. I recall liking Alphabet Cereal stirred into it. When we were older, my mother bought one of those egg cookers for cooking 6-8 eggs at a time, and we had hard-boiled eggs. I am glad, after the period of time when nutritional thought said eggs are bad for us, to know that they are actually good for us, and Mom got it right!

[BakerAunt]

Excellent save, Chocomouse. It would have been horrible to lose those ingredients.

On Thursday, I baked two large loaves of the Wheat, Rye, Seed Bread that I adapted from a Pillsbury cookbooklet. I decided to use dark rye for all the rye this time, delete the ¼ cup wheat germ, and substitute ½ cup Clear Flour for that much bread flour. (I need to use up my Clear flour.) It’s a windy day, which makes it hard to keep the house warm, so the two risings are done in the room with the wood stove. [We are not happy that the expensive Anderson double-hung windows allow air in along the sides.] The loaves look good, and I look forward to slicing one tomorrow.

[BakerAunt]

Dinner on Thursday was “One-Pot Tarragon Chicken Mushrooms, & Rice,” a recipe that came from "The Splendid Table,” and which I’ve now made four times. I use half brown rice and half mixed wild rice (for a total of 2 cups) and adjust the broth accordingly. I was cooking six chicken thighs, so I reduced the rice to ¾ cup of each. I do not have shallots, so I used 1 Tbs. Penzey’s dried onion that I rehydrated. I decided that ¼ tsp. dried tarragon per piece of chicken is a good ratio. I was able to cook it in my Chantel casserole dish (from when Chantel was made in Germany about twenty years ago), which moves nicely to the table as the serving dish. I like making this recipe for us, but it would also work well for a dinner party. We had microwaved fresh broccoli as well.

[BakerAunt]

I missed it, but then I haven't eaten soft-boiled eggs since childhood. Now I know.

[BakerAunt]

On Wednesday afternoon, I made the KAF recipe for Maple Granola with my usual changes of deleting the vanilla (why cover up the flavor of maple syrup?!), cutting the coconut flakes in half, using just ¼ tsp. salt, and adding ½ cup pumpkin seeds. For the fruit, I stir in 2 cups raisins. My husband eats the granola almost as fast as the cheese crackers. I like it as a topping on my Greek yogurt, and occasionally as a breakfast cereal.

[BakerAunt]

On Wednesday afternoon, I made chicken broth from the remains of our rotisserie chicken.

[BakerAunt]

Aaron--Cass told me that when substituting buttermilk for regular milk to replace 1 tsp. of the baking powder with 1/4 tsp. baking soda because baking soda has 4x the rising action of baking powder. That is also what Shirley Corriher says in her books. If I'm replacing regular milk with buttermilk in a recipe that already has baking soda, then I don't change the baking powder or add more baking soda.

I made browned butter frosting once for an apple cake--oh, that was so, so delicious. I'd make that recipe again, if I could assemble enough people to help eat it that I only ate one reasonable slice.

I agree that some items are best with a day or two of rest. I assume that the cooking an baking shows are indulging in fiction. The producer of one show admitted that in order to heighten tension, they set up the kitchen so that the contestants will run into each other. It's rather like the home renovation shows and open concept: the producers like open concept because they believe certain men will only watch the show if walls get smashed.

[Author]

Posts