Forum Replies Created
-
Today, I continued my experimentations with Antilope's Vienna bread, working off of the ingredient variation that I posted as a reply to Rascals about that recipe. I followed what I did in my 2 January experiment, but this time I further reduced the salt to 1 1/2 tsp. I also substituted in 1/2 cup of barley flour for that much AP flour (it's now down to 1 cup). I did add an additional Tablespoon of buttermilk, as the dough seemed a bit dry after the first 8 minutes of the cycle. I had not added the butter yet, so I was conservative. It made a softer dough than before, but still easy to handle. I again used the Emile Henry baker. I have a beautiful looking loaf. I will post an addendum here tomorrow once we have cut into it and I can comment on texture, as well as the whole wheat-rye-barley combination.
Addendum: The bread has a slightly chewy crust and a light interior crumb reminiscent of store-bought bread. The nice crust I've been getting on these breads is due to the Emile Henry long baker, which also keeps the top from overbrowning from the honey. I like the substitution of the 1/2 cup barley and may try increasing it to 3/4 cup next time. I do not detect any issues in texture or taste by the decrease in salt, although that may be why the bread is of a softer texture.
Italian Cook: Salt occurs naturally in lots of food. Of course, humans have gotten into the habit of adding to what is already there. We do need some salt, but most of us probably get enough from just basic foods without hitting the salt shaker.
I also do not saute any vegetables that I put on my pizza before baking. If I use ground turkey, I do saute it before topping the pizza. I like my mushrooms in thin slices, and my black olives halved.
I start by smearing some tomato paste from a tube onto the unbaked pizza crust. I sprinkle with garlic powder and Penzey's Tuscan Seasoning (no salt). I then put the meat on, usually salami or ground turkey. If I use ground turkey, I usually sprinkle some fennel over it to imitate sausage, as ground turkey on its own is pretty flavorless. I then add the sliced mushroom, some chopped red bell pepper, the halved olives, and some sliced green onion. I sprinkle it with grated mozzarella cheese, then grate some parmesan on top. It's important not to overdo the cheese.
My husband does not care for olives and does not use much of the red bell pepper. We found with his pizza that we need to bake it for 10 minutes, and then put the cheese on before baking it another 5 minutes. (He also puts on more cheese than I do and does not add the Parmesan.)
I use the KAF ultra-thin crust pizza, and I bake it on a pre-heated pizza stone.
As we like different toppings, I bake my husband's pizza first, then mine. I need a way of keeping his warm while mine is baking. I only have the one oven. I tell him to go ahead and eat it, but he prefers to wait for mine to be done. Maybe I should top it with foil?
Lunch meat is a quandary. After all the discussion on nitrates, I switched to nitrate-free lunch meats--fine, if refrigeration is close by--but not a good idea if it is not. I then worried about the salt--and the fact that it usually took at least three slices to make a decent sandwich. I finally gave up on lunch meat but will buy the nitrate-free salami for pizza (but the salt is still an issue there).
The healthy choice is to cook your own meat and slice it--and to watch out for whether it has a sodium solution injected into it.
On Tuesday morning, I baked a new recipe, Hearty Barley Muffins, which is in the KAF January 2018 catalog. I made some changes: I reduced the brown sugar from 1/2 to 1/3 cup, and I deleted the ubiquitous tsp. of vanilla. I do not, have and do not want to purchase the "Jammy Bits." Instead, I used 1/3 cup of cinnamon chips. Instead of a cup of nuts, I used 1/2 cup pecans. I baked these as six "Texas-sized" muffins, rather than twelve standard-sized. (I know that I'm going to eat two standard-sized for breakfast, so why not save on greasing small muffin wells? 🙂 ) I baked for 25 minutes. The muffin I ate was excellent warm. I'll see how they are at room temperature tomorrow.
On Monday night, I baked a new recipe, Lemon-Oat Squares, from KAF's Whole Grain Baking, pp. 365-366. After it cools, it needs to be refrigerated overnight before it can be cut. I will add a note to this post after I've had a chance to taste them.
Addendum: The Lemon Oat Squares are good, but they are certainly tart. Are some lemons more tart than others? They make a kind of bar cookie with a thin lemon filling.
