BakerAunt
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On Wednesday, I baked Oat Bran Banana bread from a recipe that I created by major adaptations to one I found at Cooking.com. I forgot to grind the oat bran, but the loaf still came out moist and delicious—and healthy! This recipe is a keeper. I will try to get it posted here when I can.
On Thursday, I baked the King Arthur recipe for Chewy Semolina Rye bread, but I made some changes: I substituted in ½ cup plus 2 Tbs. buttermilk (5 fluid oz.). I replaced the Vital Wheat Gluten with an equal amount of first clear flour. I cut the salt down to 1 tsp. from 1 ½ tsp. I do not buy the KAF rye blend, so I used ¾ cup of dark rye flour and ¼ cup of white rye flour. The latter was bought back when I was going to try a scone and a cookie recipe that specified white rye, but I am unlikely to make those now, so I want to use the white rye flour which is taking up freezer space, and combining it with another rye flour is a good start. I omitted the dried minced onion, because we might want to use this bread for peanut butter sandwiches at some point. I used the bread machine to knead the loaf, and I held back the olive oil until after the initial 5-minute mix and 5-minute rest. I do own the baking bowl the recipe specifies, but it is still packed away until after the renovation, so I used an 8 1/2x4 1/2-inch loaf pan, and adjusted baking temperature and time: I baked it at 375F for 40 minutes, to an internal temperature of 202F. I did not do the egg seed topping. We cut into it for lunch on Friday, and flavor and texture have earned it a permanent place in my baking repertoire
On Thursday, I fed my sourdough starter and made my half-sheet pan pizza. I topped it with cherry tomatoes that I cut in half; they were on sale because slightly blemished, which is perfect for a recipe where they are baked. I sprinkled some Penzey’s garlic powder and Tuscan Sunset blend over those, then added browned ground turkey, sliced mushrooms, chopped red bell pepper, sliced green onion, 4 oz. part-skim mozzarella diced small, and grated Parmesan on top. It was a cold, rainy day, so the pizza really hit the spot.
I always use semolina flour and durum flour in my pizza dough. I've developed my own sourdough version that I can bake in a half-sheet pan. While I like the thin crust pizza, my husband does not like it as well as the sourdough version, so that is what I make, and I enjoy it as well. Indeed, I will be making it later this week.
KAF's semolina buns and semolina bread are good. I want to try their semolina rye bread.
Chocomouse--I'm not sure that KAF's new emphasis on "baking boxes" or "bundles" will get more people baking. I suspect it brings in the occasional or one-time baker. I recall Zen commenting when KAF closed the Baking Circle that its focus is on courting the "boutique" bakers--people who do not mind buying expensive ingredients for one-time baking attempts. What I have noticed is much less emphasis on the serious, practical home baker.
