BakerAunt

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  • in reply to: What are you Baking the Week of March 24, 2024? #42262
    BakerAunt
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      My Honey Spelt Sourdough did not come out as I would have liked. The house was too cool today but not cool enough for the furnace to come on that often, so my usual spot for letting dough rise was not getting the heat from the vent. I perhaps should have allowed more time for the first rise than the 70 minutes that I did, but the recipe suggests that it is the second rise which should be the longest. For the second rise, I did move it, eventually to the stove top where I had made soup to warm it up. I was using the Emile Henry Long Baker. I decided to put it into the oven, then turn on the baking temperature, so that the bread had a cold start, although the oven was already a bit warm from the squash I had roasted earlier. Where I made my error is not slashing the bread, so while it had a nice rise and baked well, it broke across the top in a not attractive way. It's a rookie error. I should have known better, but my mind was preoccupied with other matters. I think it will still be a good loaf. I may repeat the experiment to see if I can perfect this recipe. It's unusual in that it uses 4 cups of spelt flour and just 1 ¼ cups bread flour. I have baked it before, and I kept my changes, but it has been hit or miss on whether I get a loaf that does not sink. This one did not, so I am on the right track. The original recipe is from King Arthur. It uses an Emile Henry covered loaf pan rather than the long baker.

      in reply to: What are you Baking the Week of March 24, 2024? #42255
      BakerAunt
      Participant

        Before going to bed on Tuesday, I stirred up levain for Honey Spelt Sourdough Bread, which I plan to bake tomorrow.

        in reply to: Organization or Waste of Time? #42250
        BakerAunt
        Participant

          I keep my various beans in glass jars. We used to buy honey in jars with rubber rings and metal clasps. Those are the majority of my storage containers. I also keep various pastas in some of the glass jars. It helps me to be able to see them, and I like how they look on the shelf my husband built for me.

          I do like containers for flours and sugar and grains. However, it is not an aesthetic choice for me but a pragmatic one. Until I open a bag of flour, it gets stored in the refrigerator or freezer.

          I shake my head when I see some of those pantry pictures!

          in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of March 24, 2024? #42249
          BakerAunt
          Participant

            We had leftover pizza and coleslaw for dinner.

            Navlys--When you are cleaning out the freezer, do you sometimes feel like a contestant on Chopped?

            in reply to: What are you Baking the Week of March 24, 2024? #42242
            BakerAunt
            Participant

              I baked pumpkin oat muffins for breakfast on Monday from a recipe that I have adapted (a lot). I like my version.

              I also baked an apple pie, using most of the rest of the Winesaps. I still have five in the garage. They will likely become apple cobbler soon.

              in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of March 24, 2024? #42241
              BakerAunt
              Participant

                I made pea soup for dinner on Monday, using the last packet of ham pieces from the freezer. Of course, our chilly weather has given wat to highs in the low 60s today. We were hoping for some rain.

                in reply to: What are you Baking the Week of March 24, 2024? #42234
                BakerAunt
                Participant

                  I made sourdough pan pizza for dinner on Sunday. We had it with coleslaw.

                  in reply to: What are you Baking the Week of March 17, 2024? #42228
                  BakerAunt
                  Participant

                    Skeptic--the cake story gets sadder. We did call someone with a key to tell the person he and his family could have it. He never picked it up. When we returned in May, there was a moldy mess sitting in the cake holder. I refused to look at it, although my husband found the mold fascinating. He buried the cake in the back yard. Our garden is now on top of the spot. He also cleaned the cake holder and plate.

                    in reply to: What are you Baking the Week of March 17, 2024? #42225
                    BakerAunt
                    Participant

                      Report on the Honey, Anise, and Almond Biscotti: The biscotti are crunchy but not hard. The honey is the foremost flavor with the aniseed in the background. The lemon peel is not obvious. These biscotti go well with tea and would work well with coffee.

                      My husband ate some with his tea. He said that they are not his favorite, but they may grow on him. (He had claimed not to care for the spices in my Pfeffernusse, which include anise extract, but I realized a couple of Christmases ago, as they started disappearing rather quickly, that he had started to enjoy them. That might be the powdered sugar coating....)

                      in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of March 17, 2024? #42224
                      BakerAunt
                      Participant

                        Dinner on Saturday was Crispy Oven Baked Fish and Chips with Dill Tartar Sauce and coleslaw.

                        in reply to: What are you Baking the Week of March 17, 2024? #42220
                        BakerAunt
                        Participant

                          When I was sorting through recipes a few weeks ago, I came upon a March 2000 recipe from Bon Appetit for Honey, Anise, and Almond Biscotti (pp. 1`38-140). I decided to bake it on Friday. I made just two changes: I used half white whole wheat flour and added 1 Tbs. milk powder. The dough is very sticky. The recipe calls for refrigeration for three hours after it is mixed. Due to time constraints, mine was refrigerated for seven before I baked it. The recipe makes the very flat dough, so these are the thin biscotti. The directions were a bit vague as to how long each of the three logs should be. Just stating 2-inch wide by 1-inch high is not helpful, since the dough flattens out. I ended up cutting the first baking time from 20 to 18 minutes. For the second bake, I baked the slices from the two rolls for 14 minutes and the slices from the single roll (three rolls would not fit on a single pan) for 12 minutes. While the recipe said it makes 48, I ended up with 76. They smell good, so I will try a couple tomorrow with tea. My husband is not a fan of anise, so I do not know if he will eat them.

                          in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of March 17, 2024? #42215
                          BakerAunt
                          Participant

                            For Friday dinner, I made chicken salad with the leftovers from the chicken breast that I roasted earlier this week. We had it on Whole Wheat/Rye/Semolina buns from the freezer. I also made coleslaw.

                            in reply to: What are you Baking the Week of March 17, 2024? #42211
                            BakerAunt
                            Participant

                              Aaron--it reminded me of when we drove back to Texas from Indiana, only to realize several hours into the trip that the last half of my husband's chocolate birthday cake was sitting on the table at the Indiana house. Every birthday, my husband remembers the cake that we left behind, in part because I bake the same cake every year, although I have replaced the very rich ganache with a chocolate glaze. Maybe it's the ganache talking. At least, since we retired to Indiana, there is no more opportunity to leave a cake behind.

                              This evening, I'm baking Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Crackers from the dough I made last week.

                              in reply to: What are you Cooking the Week of March 17, 2024? #42209
                              BakerAunt
                              Participant

                                I am using up my remaining supply of butternut squash, and I came across this recipe:

                                https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/131107/butternut-squash-and-turkey-chili/

                                The recipe can easily be adapted to what you have on hand or to personal taste. My changes were to add a chopped yellow bell pepper and stalk of celery with the onions. I probably used about 2 lbs. of butternut squash (a medium) and cut it into 1/2-inch pieces. Instead of separate cans of tomatoes and chili's, I used the Del Monte tomatoes with Hatch chilis. I did not have a can of tomato sauce but I had a 6 oz. can of tomato paste, which I used with 1 cup water. I replaced the canned white hominy with 9 oz. frozen corn.

                                I prefer a mild chili, so I cut the chili powder to 1 tsp. and the ground cumin to 1/2 tsp. After reading the comments, I took one person's advice and added 1 tsp. ground allspice. I also added 2 Tbs. light brown sugar.

                                I really like the result! My husband cannot eat chili, so I froze four separate servings for quick future lunches, and I will have enough for four mor lunches.

                                The butternut squash was a on the chewy side, which I did not mind, but for a softer result, I would cook it another ten minutes.

                                in reply to: What are you Baking the Week of March 17, 2024? #42205
                                BakerAunt
                                Participant

                                  Aaron--Did Sam actually FORGET the chocolate chip cookies? If so, that is so sad.

                                  On Wednesday, I baked Pompanoosuc Porridge Bread (my adaptation). I used 2 Tbs. maple syrup instead of sugar, although I proofed the yeast with ¼ tsp. sugar. I used whole wheat rather than white whole wheat flour this time, and of course a cup of buttermilk for that much water and reduced the salt to 1 ¼ tsp. Instead of using the Emile Henry Long Baker, I used a Kitchen Aid loaf pan 12 x 4 x 2.5 to bake the loaf, and it fit perfectly for this 4 cups of flour and ½ cup dry Pompanoosuc porridge recipe. The Emile Henry Baker is too large for the recipe. King Arthur used their bread baking bowl, but I found it too small. The Kitchen Aid loaf pan is just right, and its heavy construction works great for baking. I think that I found this pan years ago at either T. J. Maxx or Tuesday Morning.

                                  I also baked my adaptation of Lemon Ricotta Cookies to use up the ricotta left over from the Turkey Lasagna I made last week. I always use half white whole wheat flour and add 1 Tbs. milk powder.

                                Viewing 15 posts - 616 through 630 (of 7,589 total)