[BakerAunt]

We got home from my husband's family reunion, and some subsequent shopping at stores in South Bend, which are rather far for casual travel, to browse and see what is available. I was able to pick up some specialty (for here) food items at T.J. Maxx, Tuesday Morning, and Big Lots. We also stopped at Walmart and Aldis, so as not to have to go shopping in the next small town for a couple of weeks. We got back around 3:30, and I pulled turkey/chicken broth out of the freezer, cut up some onion, celery, garlic and carrots, then added lentils and pearl barley. I added an additional tsp. of Penzey's poultry seasoning (salt-free). I'm looking forward to this simple meal tonight.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 1 month ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

Skeptic--At least one other person who rated the recipe agrees with us that the Golden Semolina Bread is not a no-knead recipe. KAF says to mix it with the paddle for 8-10 minutes. It's a heavy dough. Before I had my stand mixer, I tried it with the "kneading hooks" that came with my hand mixer. [Note: those kneading hooks are not useful.] Although that hand mixer has pretty good power, it is no match for that dough. It is a thick, sticky dough, and a bread machine or stand mixer is needed. I got a wonderful rise by kneading it in the bread machine, and I would do it again.

The bread was very well received by my husband's cousins, with only a single slice left, and it was still good the next day when I ate that slice. I have figured out that my husband's cousins seem to prefer a white bread, so I will be sure to bring it again to our next reunion. The whole grain baguettes that I baked, using Antilope's recipe as my base, are mostly being eaten by my husband and me. That's ok. I needed to be sure I had a healthy bread for this four day reunion that has, alas, not been as low in saturated fat as what I have eaten in the five weeks prior.

I recommend the KAF Pumpkin Espresso Cake--especially with the modifications I made. It has stayed nicely moist, and it does not need the glaze at all.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 2 months ago by BakerAunt.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 2 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

On Monday morning, I baked the KAF Golden Semolina Bread. My only change was to reduce the salt to 1 ¾ tsp. Although KAF says it is a no-knead bread, I used the dough cycle of my bread machine to make it, then let it rise in a rising bucket coated with olive oil. That took about 50 minutes. I de-gassed it (it has a lot!), and shaped it into a ball and let rest, covered for 5 minutes. I then popped some more bubbles and shaped it again into a ball, before placing it in a greased 8-inch USA cake pan for the second rise. That rise took about 45 minutes. I baked it for 28 minutes, then took it out of the pan and put it directly on the rack in the turned off oven for 2 minutes more. My husband’s family reunion begins this evening, and a “crusty bread” was requested to go with tonight’s main dish.

[BakerAunt]

Sunday has been a major baking day. We are attending my husband's family reunion this week, so I baking for that. I baked the Rye Crisps this afternoon, following the recipe that I have posted at Nebraska Kitchen. These are low in saturated fat. The recipe makes about 92, so that would be .119 per cracker.

I baked a new recipe, Pumpkin Espresso Bundt Cake from KAF. I made two minor changes: I substituted ¼ cup buttermilk for ¼ cup of the oil, thus reducing the oil to ½ cup, and I added ¼ cup powdered milk. I used THE Grease to coat the 10 cup “Elegant Party” Bundt pan. (It’s the one that has the ribs that can be cut for 20 slices.) I baked it for 55 minutes, since the pan is deeper than most Bundt pans of that size. The cake filled the pan nicely.

I baked a version of Antilope’s Vienna Bread Baguettes. As usual, I incorporated whole grains, so the flour mix was 1 cup whole wheat flour, ½ cup white whole wheat flour, ½ cup medium rye flour, 2 Tbs. flax meal, and 2 cups plus 3 Tbs. bread flour. I used olive oil as specified, but I substituted 3 Tbs. honey for the 4 Tbs. sugar. I used 2 tbs. special dried milk. I used ½ cup water to proof the yeast and 9 oz. buttermilk. I reduced the salt to 1 ¾ tsp. I used the stand mixer to mix the whole grains and a cup of the bread flour first with the proofed yeast and buttermilk. I let it rest for 15 minutes, then I added the olive oil. (Cass once told me that it is better to give the yeast some time before adding oil.) After I’d mixed it in, I then mixed in the rest of the bread flour with the salt, starting with the additional cup; I needed 3 Tbs. more. I kneaded for 4 minutes, pulled a windowpane, then put it in a dough bucket to rise. (I've just started experimenting with dough buckets. I got this small one for 50 cents at the local thrift shop.) I made it as 3 baguettes, using my baguette pan. They baked in 20 minutes. I probably should have made them a little longer and skinnier, as the sides touched and baked together slightly.

[BakerAunt]

Today I made dough for Rye Crisp crackers (recipe is posted here at Nebraska Kitchen). I'll bake them tomorrow. I also made another recipe of Skeptic's wonderful pumpkin biscotti.

[BakerAunt]

I roasted a "peanut" pumpkin from the farmers' market on Saturday afternoon, then pureed it in my food processor. Some I will use right away, and some I will freeze.

[BakerAunt]

That was not a great welcome home for you, Joan, but I am glad that you got the problem under control. I'm glad you and your sister had a great time. It's good to have you back with us at Nebraska Kitchen.

[BakerAunt]

Skeptic--Many thanks for posting the low-fat biscotti recipes. I look forward to baking them. My husband and I have already devoured the pumpkin ones.

The cheese crackers did taste better the next day, even though they will never be the same as the butter version. They seem to me to have an aftertaste when eaten on their own, but they work quite well with soups. I used canola oil in the crackers. I could try them with grapeseed oil next time, as it has a more neutral flavor than canola oil and that might work better with the Vermont Cheese powder. Grapeseed oil, like olive oil, however, has 2 g saturated fat per Tbs., compared to canola which only has 1g per Tbs. And canola is supposed to help lower cholesterol. I will try a canola based version with some kind of herb seasoning.

I let my 7-quart Cuisinart mixer handle the kneading of the Whole Grain Sourdough. I find it helps, however, to add the flour in stages, rather than the all at once that KAF seems to suggest in so many of its recipes. I also find it helps, with whole grains, to give them a resting period.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 2 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

Friday night’s dinner was my Dijon-Peach Glazed Turkey Zucchini Loaf which we had with leftover ratatouille and mixed rice and steamed broccoli.

[BakerAunt]

For Thursday night dinner, I made ratatouille again. We had it over a mixture of several different kinds of rice, along with leftover rotisserie chicken and fresh green beans from our garden.

[BakerAunt]

On Monday evening, I baked Baker’s Grain Sourdough Bread, a recipe that appeared in a KAF catalog last year. I did not start the dough until after 8:30, so it was a late night. I baked this recipe once before, and it came out very well in the Emile Henry long baker.

It requires some alteration, as it calls for 1/2 cup of their Ancient Grains Flour Blend, which I tried years ago and did not like. It’s also expensive to buy. I know that my sourdough starter is not as thick as what KAF uses in its recipes, so I expect to add about ¼ cup flour per cup of sourdough starter. The recipe calls for the Harvest Grains blend, and I have that ingredient. While they soak them in a cup of hot water, I soak them in ½ cup of warm buttermilk. I was delayed in starting the bread, so they soaked about 3 hours.

I proof the yeast with honey in the other ½ cup of water. The recipe calls for ½ cup potato flour, but I used 1/3 cup. For the Ancient Grains mixture, I used ½ cup dark rye flour, ¼ cup barley flour, ¼ cup spelt flour, and ¼ cup flax meal. (Yes, that is more whole grain flour than KAF specifies.) After proofing the yeast, I added the rest of the honey and the soaked grains and mixed. Then I added the whole grain and potato flour blend, and ½ cup of the high-gluten flour, and the 2 Tbs. oil (I use canola) and mixed. I let it sit for 10 minutes. I mixed the salt (reduced to 1 ¾ tsp. from 2 tsp.) with the other 1 ¾ cups of high-gluten flour and mixed it in. Once it was incorporated, I kneaded on speed 3 for 5 minutes. The dough passed the window pane test.

The first rise was 1 hour and 15 minutes. I de-gassed, then pre-shaped and let sit for 5 minutes. I then shaped by folding the oval longways in half, sealing the edges with the heel of my hand, flattening to an oval, and again folding it over. (I turn so that the smooth side will be the outer side.). I then roll it as a cylinder, and put it in the greased, and sprinkled with farina, Emile Henry long baker. The second rise was 50 minutes. Although the recipe did not specify to do so, I slashed it before putting it into bake with the lid on for 35 minutes (recipe says 35-40 min.), then an additional 10 minutes until 190F.

Note: I sliced it the next day, and I love the way the whole grains meld with the sourdough tang.

[BakerAunt]

This Monday evening, I'm baking my adaptation of KAF's Baker's Grain Sourdough Bread, a recipe that appeared in their catalog last year. I got a late start, so it will be a late night.

[BakerAunt]

Today I baked Whole Wheat Sourdough Cheese Cracker dough I made last week. I used 1/3 cup canola oil in place of the usual 1/2 cup butter. On the positive side, I found the dough easier to work with. I could roll it right away when I took it out of the refrigerator, and it was easier to get it to 1/16-inch thickness. The crackers baked well and are crisp. They may even be more crisp than the butter ones. On the less positive side, without the butter, the Vermont Cheese powder flavor does not come through as nicely. I wonder if olive oil might have been a better choice for the dough, even with its stronger flavor.

I might need to think about other ways of flavoring the crackers if I'm going to make the oil for butter substitution. That might mean omitting the cheese powder and using some kind of herb mixture in the dough.

I'll add a note to this post after they have a day or so for the flavors to blend.

[BakerAunt]

Skeptic, Yes, I would like to see your other recipes when you have time to post them.

I will use whole eggs, since the yolks have important vitamins. (I wish the same could be said for butter, which I have loved not wisely but too well. Sigh.) I would include nuts, as walnuts and almonds are considered heart-healthy. As with eggs, of course, the key is not overdoing it. My approach is to make sure that my saturated fat per day is under 11 grams and to include more prominently foods that help lower cholesterol, such as beans and oatmeal.

[BakerAunt]

After dinner Sunday, I mixed up the ingredients for Skeptic's Pumpkin Biscotti. I used white whole wheat flour, rather than regular. I followed Skeptic's lead in reducing the sugar to 2/3 cup. I added 3 Tbs. powdered milk to the flour mixture. (I'm trying to make sure I get enough calcium.) I made it into a long log (16 inches), but I only made it 3-inches wide. It was 1/2 inch high. I spritzed it with water and sprinkled it with demerara sugar (Sugar in the Raw) to give it a bit of sparkle.

It's in the oven on its first bake. I'll add to this post after it is finished.

The first bake was 25 minutes. After the 15 minute cooling period, I spritzed it with water, moved to a cutting board, then cut straight, rather than on a diagonal, 1/2 inch thick. I checked on the second bake at 15 minutes, then gave them another 5. I'm waiting to taste test until tomorrow, since I want the spices to have a chance to meld, but I did nibble some of the crumbs after I sliced the log, and the taste is great. It made 28 biscotti (counting the little curved ends).

• This reply was modified 7 years, 2 months ago by BakerAunt.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 2 months ago by BakerAunt.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 2 months ago by BakerAunt.

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