[BakerAunt]

We had turkey on the rye-wheat-pumpkin bread for lunch. For dinner, we had leftover turkey, dressing, gravy, and peas and carrots. I had some cranberry apple salad, and my husband had some applesauce. We'll have the mashed potatoes in one of the upcoming re-run meals.

[BakerAunt]

I usually am not in the kitchen the day after Thanksgiving, preferring to munch on delicious leftovers and bask in the holiday afterglow, but the supply of Healthier Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers has been dwindling, and I expect we will run out by late next week. I went ahead and made up the dough for the crackers. It’s best if it can sit, divided into four equal amounts, in the refrigerator for about four days before I roll out, cut, and bake the crackers.

[BakerAunt]

I know this one.

[BakerAunt]

My husband roasted the turkey. I made dressing from Pepperidge Farm Stuffing--two separate dishes, one with onions, which is almost all gone, and one without onion, from which my husband had a spoonful. I also made mashed potatoes and gravy. We cooked frozen peas and carrots for the vegetable. One of my friends brought a delicious apple-cranberry salad. It's not sweet and went well with the dressing. We also had my homemade applesauce from the freezer. We had Ellen's buns baked in the pumpkin muffin pan and the pumpkin rye bread. Of course, there was my pumpkin pie for dessert.

Thanksgiving was our first dinner party since we remodeled the house.

[BakerAunt]

I really like this bread! The spices are faint but work well with the rye and wheat. I am looking forward to having some for breakfast tomorrow after oatmeal.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 3 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

I have dough made from my adaption of Ellen's Buns on its first rise. I'll bake them in the 6-cup Nordic Ware (12 wells) pumpkin muffin pan, as I did a couple weeks ago. They will be cute next to the Pumpkin Wheat Rye Bread.

[BakerAunt]

Hmm- The UK couldn't agree on Artisan Bread. That's no surprise given the disagreement over Brexit.

I doubt that the faux sourdough even tastes that good. In bread baking, most shortcuts are a bad idea. That's why I will not even consider the Red Star product.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 3 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

Mike and Chocomouse--We are also having mashed potatoes and gravy with our dressing/stuffing (we never put it in the turkey). Usually, for two of us, I'd skip the mashed potatoes (but not the gravy!), but since we have company, and mashed potatoes were mentioned, I'll make both, as I would do when the kids were able to join us.

I adore the DGB casserole, but I skipped it last year and will do so this year, since I want to spend my saturated fat allowance on other items, such as pumpkin pie. I'd also have to eat it all myself, as my husband does not care for it or the onions on top.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 3 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

I had heard the term and was able to figure out the correct answer, for which I am thankful.

[BakerAunt]

We've been eating the Tarragon Chicken, Rice and Mushrooms for the past four days and finished it this evening, changing out the accompanying vegetables each day. That's my way of finding time to work on all of the other Thanksgiving food.

Yes, Chocomouse. I found it a Kroger, after walking all over the store, only to discover that they had put a special Thanksgiving food section at the front of the store to the side of the produce area. I later saw a few bags at Walmart when we went on Monday, for the same price. Did you notice that the bag is now only 12 oz.? I bought two, as there will be five people at dinner.

[BakerAunt]

I've seen a faux sourdough advertised as a special kind of yeast in Bake magazine. Red Star makes it: Platinum Instant Sourdough Yeast. They claim it has a sourdough culture added to it.

[BakerAunt]

After baking that pumpkin wheat-rye bread (see details in separate thread), I baked my pumpkin pie on Wednesday evening. I was going to try using a half recipe of the oil crust to make decorative leaves around the side of the pie after adding the filling to the parbaked crust, but they started to fall apart. Apparently the dough is too delicate for that use. I set the cut-out designs aside, later sprinkled them with cinnamon sugar and baked for 12 minutes. I’ll use them as cookies on the side. I used little cutters with a spring that impress the design, and they the pie crust dough holds the design well.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 3 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

On Wednesday, I baked Spiced Pumpkin Bread/Kurbisgewurzbrot (Germany). [Umlauts should be over the two “u”s], a recipe from Stanley Greenberg’s blog at The Rye Baker (posted Nov. 1, 2016). I used my own pumpkin puree, as he recommends after having tried canned and his own. I was able to grind the caraway and anise seed in a Kuhn Rikon ceramic grater that I have but had not yet used. [Note: although the instructions state that grinding coarse salt will take away the odor afterwards, it still has the faint odor. I’ll leave it open and hope it fades.] My only change was to use active rather than instant yeast and to proof it w/ just a pinch of sugar before starting. I also held back about ½ cup of the wheat flour mixed with the salt to add after mixing all the other ingredients, and I put the oil in last. It is a sticky dough, and I resisted the urge to add more flour. My Cuisinart 7-qt. stand mixer does better with a larger amount of dough. I had to keep stopping during the kneading and move the dough around. It’s about 66F in our house, and a little colder in the kitchen, so I put the covered dough bowl on top of a wine rack that I have on its shortest side (8 compartments or 4x2) that holds my collection of rolling pins at the end of the counter. That puts it under a warm air vent with a temperature of 70-71F.

The first rise takes 60-75 min. at 70F, according to the recipe. I decided after 60 minutes to move the dough to the dining room table, and I gave it about 40 minutes longer. To shape it, I used white rye flour on my Silpat mat. The shaping was surprisingly easy. Given the issues with temperature, I put the shaped dough on a parchment covered baking sheet and set it on top of the range, covered with a long plastic cover I had. I then preheated the oven, so that a bit of that warmth would help the second rise, which is supposed to be 15-20 minutes. However, the oven is too well insulated, so after 20 minutes, I put it back on the dining room table for another 15 minutes.

I didn’t see “cracks” or broken bubbles, which the recipe states show that the bread has risen, but I did see the changes in the flour coating, and it had risen. The recipe does not specify slashing, but I made some slashes anyway—some of the best slashing I’ve ever done!—and put it into the oven on the rack right below center, which is where I bake my breads. The recipe states to bake about one hour, but I checked at 55 min., and it registered at 202F, so I took it out. The smell is enticing. Also, while there was a blowout along one side end, the loaf, my husband pronounced, looks as an artisan loaf should look. I’ve never achieved that before with a freeform loaf, and this one is all wholegrain, except for the white rye I used to dust the work surface. I will include it on the Thanksgiving table tomorrow, along with the rolls.

[BakerAunt]

Those bread sticks look great, Mike!

I'm in the midst of trying Stanley Ginsberg's Spiced Pumpkin Bread from a Nov. 1, 2016 post at The Rye Baker. It's on the first rise.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 3 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

Hickory trees are abundant in the Midwest and the southeast part of the country, in part because the deer don't eat them. So, we can have push-back against the tyranny of the northeast Thanksgiving menu! 🙂

Currently, the problem here is with Butternut canker.

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