BakerAunt
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On Friday, I baked a new recipe, “Barley Crispbread,” from Jan Hedh’s Swedish Breads and Pastries (Skyhorse Publishing, 2010), p. 144. I had mentioned this recipe in December at Nebraska Kitchen, since one topping mentioned is lentils. I decided not to use them, as I did some googling and did not find raw lentils used as a topping anywhere. I had some uncertainty about flours. After reading in the introduction, which is not a lot of help, I decided that “wheat flour high in protein” is probably bread flour. For “fine rye flour,” I used Bob’s Red Mill dark rye, which seems fine to me, and I used King Arthur’s pumpernickel for the “coarse rye flour.” I used BRM for the barley flour. I topped with sunflower and sesame seeds. Although it lists pumpkin seeds, in addition to the lentils, the picture does not show pumpkin seeds. I’m not sure that it shows lentils, so perhaps it is flax seed, which I don’t use. The technique for the seeds sticking is an egg wash, seeds, then I covered the dough with waxed paper, and rolled over it. That has kept almost all the seeds in place. Baking time was 20-30 minutes; I found it needed the 30 minutes. I baked it on the third rack up (slightly above the center). After they cooled, I tested one—and my husband had two. They are quite nice—crisp, with just a bit of chewiness, and a natural sweetness, although they have no sugar other than the pinch I added to proof the yeast.
I ended up with 32 10x9cm squares. The recipe states "60 rounds," which is clearly an error, since it directs that the dough be cut into squares.
Quick Note: These are somewhat salty--10g (about 3 tsp.) salt in the recipe. When I bake them again, I will cut it back to 7-8g.
I'm looking forward to reading about your rye experiments, Mike. I'm also interested in what you think of the flours you bought, as I've considered buying from that place.
I've baked two straight dough recipes from the book. The Rye Bites (pp. 225-226) I've baked twice. I've learned that when he says to use an upper oven rack when baking, I should do it. When kneading with my Cuisnart mixer, I did have to stop and adjust the dough, but that may be the result of a 7-qt. mixer.
I've also baked the Salty Rye Rolls (pp. 141-142). Again, baking in the upper third of the oven is essential to avoid burned bottoms.
I have his Yogurt Rye Recipe (pp293-294) marked to try, so maybe I'll make that my next bread. I'd need to substitute buttermilk for the yogurt, as I can only get good Greek yogurt or full-fat Stoneyfield in this area.
I'm a big fan of his pumpkin bread recipe on his site, which I've baked three times. It is a pretty wet bread, and I think that the loaf came out with the most height the first time that I bake it, but that may be due to the variations in water in pumpkin.
On Wednesday I baked brownies. My base recipe is the Deep Dark Brownies that I got from KAF over ten years ago. I wanted to reduce the saturated fat, so I made some changes. I deleted the optional chocolate chips (sigh). I replaced one of the three eggs with 1 Tbs. flax meal combined with 3 Tbs. water. I used half the canola oil (1/4 cup) and replaced the other half with buttermilk. I always bake these in a 10x10 ceramic pan that came from KAF; the larger size works better than the 9x9 where it is hard to get the center done without burning the edges. I replaced the 2 Tbs. of coffee with water, because while I can get the espresso powder past my husband, coffee is another matter. I sprinkled the top with some snowflake sprinkles. It baked for 30 minutes on the third rack (slightly above center of oven). Not counting the optional chocolate chips, I reduced the saturated fat from 24g to 18.
I'll add a note to this post after we try them for dinner, although this recipe is usually better the day after.
Added note: These are fudgy and delicious. I wouldn't hesitate to bake them again this way.
That is an interesting idea, Chocomouse. Maybe a google search is in order?
My husband cooked some thin-sliced boneless pork for Wednesday's dinner. I roasted a cubed butternut squash and combined it with farro (1 cup cooked in 2 cups turkey/chicken broth), and some thyme. We had microwaved frozen peas as well.
