BakerAunt

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  • in reply to: Bake Magazine’s Top 25 #14028
    BakerAunt
    Participant

      Thanks for posting the link, Mike. The biographies give me hope that really good bread will continue to be more widely available and appreciated in America.

      in reply to: It’s that time of year again… #14016
      BakerAunt
      Participant

        I saw this article reviewing different kinds of pie pans and thought it might be timely here. I would disagree with their assertion that one pie pan should do it all. I like to use ceramic for my pumpkin pie and streusel-topped apple pie, but I use a flat metal pan that has a wide rim to catch juices when I bake a blueberry or peach pie. I'm not sure that rimmed pie plate is even made anymore. My mother had them, and years ago, I bought two at a hardware store when I was in graduate school (one of those independent, carries a lot, in the neighborhood stores that no longer exist). I found another one at a garage sale and snatched it up. In addition to catching spills, the rim also supports the crimped crust.

        Underneath the pie, I use a round pan, the size of a pizza pan, that has a 4-inch or so hole in the center. It was left in this house when I bought it, and it is great for catching spills and allowing the center of the pie to get direct heat through the hole. I bought a non-stick version from the old Chefs Catalog.

        I'm also a proponent, when baking a pumpkin pie, of cooking the filling--without the eggs--until starting to bubble, then putting a bit of the filling in a small bowl, whisking in an egg, then whisking it into the off-the-burner filling. Whisk in the rest of the eggs, one by one, then fill the warm blind-baked crust. This technique, adapted from Cooks' Illustrated, helps the filling bake evenly in much less time.

        https://www.foodandwine.com/cooking-techniques/baking/best-pie-dish-review?hid=0527ce5bc5a38694da803c7d5550ccbaa89b02bf&did=304070-20181115&utm_campaign=faw-the-dish_newsletter&utm_source=foodandwine.com&utm_medium=email&utm_content=111518&cid=304070&mid=16239218061

        • This reply was modified 6 years, 8 months ago by BakerAunt.
        • This reply was modified 6 years, 8 months ago by BakerAunt.
        • This reply was modified 6 years, 8 months ago by BakerAunt.
        • This reply was modified 6 years, 8 months ago by BakerAunt.
        in reply to: What are you Baking the week of November 11, 2018? #14013
        BakerAunt
        Participant

          On Wednesday evening, I baked a new recipe from Bob’s Red Mill: “Gluten Free Fall Harvest Apple Bread.”

          As I do not need to bake gluten-free, I substituted 1 ½ cups AP flour and ½ cup barley flour for their 1:1 gluten-free flour. I reduced the sugar from ¾ to 2/3 cup. I used buttermilk rather than regular milk, and I substituted 2 tsp. boiled cider for 1 Tbs. apple cider vinegar (it was clearly there to "sour" the milk). The recipe did not specify whether the apples should be peeled, but I did so. I used one Winesap and one small Jonathan. It baked well, and it came easily out of the pan with no falling apart. (I used THE Grease on the pan). I'll add a note tomorrow on taste and texture. The bread is very low in saturated fat, only 3.5g for the entire 9x5 loaf.

          Promised Note: It made a tasty bread that holds together well--just don't expect to slice it thinly. The apple mixture and the cinnamon went very well together.

          • This reply was modified 6 years, 8 months ago by BakerAunt.
          • This reply was modified 6 years, 8 months ago by BakerAunt.
          in reply to: What are you Cooking the week of November 11, 2018? #14012
          BakerAunt
          Participant

            For Wednesday dinner, I made a variation of a recipe, Creamy Chicken and Pumpkin Rotini, that I found in America’s Best Pumpkin Recipes (p. 120), a publication of Centennial Kitchen that I found amid the cooking magazines about a month ago. This is the second recipe I’ve tried. I decided to make the pasta with sauce to go with a rotisserie chicken from the store. I altered the ingredients in that I used yellow rather than red onion, and I used my homemade pumpkin puree. I did not add salt, cinnamon or nutmeg, nor did I use a tsp. of hot pepper sauce, and I used dried sage rather than fresh. In place of ½ cup heavy whipping cream, I used low-fat evaporated milk. I used wholegrain rotini. I like the sauce, although it seems to me to need a little something more--perhaps a dash of nutmeg?. It went well with the chicken and steamed broccoli.

            in reply to: Of Sourdough, Microbes, and Hands #14009
            BakerAunt
            Participant

              Of course, the murderer will try to obscure guilt by wearing special gloves for kneading, and perhaps sneaking into another bakery to make the sourdough starter there....

              in reply to: What are you Cooking the week of November 11, 2018? #14006
              BakerAunt
              Participant

                Joan is making me hungry for ham.

                in reply to: Of Sourdough, Microbes, and Hands #14002
                BakerAunt
                Participant

                  I'm waiting for the best selling mystery novel where the scientist, who is an ace baker on the side, determines, using microbes, which baker committed the murder!

                  in reply to: Yeasted Pumpkin Bread #13999
                  BakerAunt
                  Participant

                    I decided to try the recipe with honey rather than maple syrup. The original maple recipe is wonderful on its own, or with a chicken or ham filling, but it is not what would be wanted for tuna fish or peanut butter.

                    I used 2 Tbs. honey and an extra 1 Tbs. of water. It perhaps could have used an additional tsp., but it still came out well. I increased the whole wheat flour to 1 1/2 cups (making up the rest of the weight with bread flour), increased the flax meal to 3 Tbs. and again added 2 Tbs. special dried milk. I used canola oil this time, rather than grapeseed oil.

                    The bread came out beautifully, with the same high rise. It has a stronger pumpkin flavor, but that is probably due to the white pumpkin puree I used. This loaf will work well for sandwiches with strong fillings where the maple would be lost or would clash with it.

                    in reply to: What are you Baking the week of November 11, 2018? #13995
                    BakerAunt
                    Participant

                      We are beginning to clear items out of the house for a renovation that will start sometime toward the end of the month. In between, I was in the kitchen.

                      On Monday, I made my version of a sourdough pizza crust for a large sheet pan. We had pizza Margarita, using the last of the tomatoes that have ripened. (We have other green ones brought in before the freeze that are starting to redden,) We put browned ground turkey, left over from last night, on the pizza because my husband wanted some meat on it. He did allow me to sprinkle the pizza with Penzey’s Tuscan Sunset.

                      I also made dough for a double recipe of my Lower-Fat, Whole Wheat, Sourdough Cheese Crackers, and I fed the sourdough starter.

                      For my final project on Monday, I am baking Stella Parks’ Yeasted Pumpkin Bread, using my stand mixer. This time, I increased the whole wheat flour to 1 ½ cups, then weighed the bread flour to make the same weight. I again added 2 Tbs. special dried milk, added 3 Tbs. flax meal, and used canola oil rather than butter, and 2 Tbs. honey in place of the maple syrup, which meant that I needed to add an additional tablespoon of water. (Note: I love the maple syrup original, but I wanted to see if I could make a variation.) It's a good evening project because it is snowing outside--heavy big, wet flakes--and it is sticking.

                      • This reply was modified 6 years, 8 months ago by BakerAunt.
                      • This reply was modified 6 years, 8 months ago by BakerAunt.
                      • This reply was modified 6 years, 8 months ago by BakerAunt.
                      in reply to: What spices go with lime in a quick bread? #13994
                      BakerAunt
                      Participant

                        I like the idea of nutmeg and lime for these cakes. Thanks, Mike.

                        in reply to: milk st magazine #13991
                        BakerAunt
                        Participant

                          Cooks Illustrated does this as well. Usually, any "free trial," asks for a credit card number--and then it must be canceled if you decide not to continue. My standing rule is not to do free trials. I did get a free issue of Milk Street in the mail. I decided that it is one of those magazines that I'd only buy as a single issue if a recipe or two really caught my eye. That's now my rule for Cooks Illustrated as well. I have plenty of back copies to browse!

                          in reply to: What spices go with lime in a quick bread? #13990
                          BakerAunt
                          Participant

                            Thanks for the offer, Chocomouse, but I'm focusing on recipes that do not require butter. I will make a small batch of the Lime-Pecan cookies, and carefully ration to no more than one cookie a day--and maybe make them a bit smaller. (Seriously, they are very much a shortbread kind of cookie.) Basil is also a no-go, since my husband hates that spice, which of course I enjoy. However, it would be nice to have another of Big Lake Judy's recipes posted here, if that one is not, so I encourage you to put it on when you have time.

                            Rosemary does sound intriguing. Cinnamon, ginger, and lime might work. While my husband is not partial to ginger, he does not complain when it is with other spices. My husband is not a cardamom fan, but if it isn't too strong, I can usually create something that he will eat.

                            in reply to: What are you Baking the week of November 11, 2018? #13980
                            BakerAunt
                            Participant

                              We have a lot of nice Jonathan and Winesap apples to use. I scoured the internet to find a galette or crostada recipe, and I found “Apple Galette with Vanilla Yogurt Drizzle,” from Cooking Light. I’m on a low-saturated fat diet, so a crust that uses some whole wheat and only 5 ½ Tbs. of butter seemed a good place to start.

                              https://www.cookinglight.com/recipes/apple-galette-vanilla-yogurt-drizzle

                              One thing that irritates me about Cooking Light recipes is that they usually call for small amounts of ingredients that I would not want to have around in large amounts, given my current dietary restrictions. In this case, 3 Tbs. whole milk and 1/4 cup 2% yogurt. I decided to make several changes in the crust. I used whole wheat pastry flour rather than the regular whole wheat flour, reduced the salt to ¼ tsp., and in place of ¼ cup 2% yogurt and 3 Tbs. whole milk, I used ¼ cup plus 3 Tbs. buttermilk. The recipe said to roll the dough out to a 15-inch circle, but 13 ½ inches was all I could manage. There was a lot of filling, which I mounded high.

                              For the filling, I used half Jonathan and half Winesap apples—unpeeled. I followed the filling ingredients otherwise, except that I deleted the vanilla, which I do not believe belongs in an apple pie. I brushed the crust with a bit of 1% milk and sprinkled with sparkling sugar before baking. Mine needed to bake 30 minutes, rather than 25 min.

                              It definitely looks rustic, but only one side leaked a bit. After we watch tonight's episode of "The Durrells in Corfu," we will have it with nonfat vanilla yogurt for dessert. I'll add a note here about taste and crust texture after that.

                              Note: The filling is excellent, but then, how could I go wrong with Jonathans and Winesaps? The crust is ok, but it is ok in the sense of better than not having any crust. Saturated fat for 1/8th of the galette is 4.895 grams with my changes. With my regular crust, it would have been 7g.

                              • This reply was modified 6 years, 8 months ago by BakerAunt.
                              • This reply was modified 6 years, 8 months ago by BakerAunt.
                              in reply to: What are you Cooking the week of November 11, 2018? #13978
                              BakerAunt
                              Participant

                                For Sunday dinner we had the leftover Squash, Kale, and Mushroom Pilaf with some browned ground turkey mixed into it. Steamed broccoli was the side dish.

                                in reply to: What are you Cooking the week of November 4, 2018? #13972
                                BakerAunt
                                Participant

                                  I like to experiment at the farmers' market. By moving past my comfort zone on pie pumpkins, I discovered that I very much like the "peanut" pumpkin, as well as the blue-green one. Those latter two have an amazingly smooth and thick puree when processed. However, the Cinderella, as I reported last year, was a major disappointment--so much work for so little puree, and I was unimpressed with the taste. The white pumpkin falls into the "don't buy again" category.

                                  I used a delicate squash for the first time this week. Neither my husband nor I thought it had much flavor, but I might tray it again.

                                  I have a red (dark orange) kabocha squash that I bought as an experiment. I'll need to find out how best to use it. One website says the red version is sweeter than the green.

                                Viewing 15 posts - 6,106 through 6,120 (of 7,949 total)