Forum Replies Created
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Mike--my husband made it clear years ago that he does not want cardamom in hot cross buns. To be fair, I had some particularly fresh cardamom one year, and even I thought it way too much and it overwhelmed the cinnamon. I use nutmeg in its place, and in this recipe I don't miss it. However, when it comes to my Swedish coffee ring, they will have to pry the cardamom out of my hand. In that case, I think it blends nicely with the almond paste.
Wonky--That's exciting that you may be teaching a group of future bakers! I believe that this world would be a much better place if more people baked bread. It teaches patience and process, and the nutritional advantages are stupendous. You might want to start people who have never baked bread with a simple hand-kneaded recipe. I recall Aaron saying that when he teaches challah baking, he wants to stress to the students that they can bake bread even without the expense of a mixer, and it is good to get a sense of how the dough feels. Also, as we've noted, not everyone has a KA that can handle a bread dough. Or perhaps you could offer a "by hand" class and a "mixer" class.
I'm still hoping to do a hand kneading lesson for my younger stepson when he gets a chance to visit us. I plan to follow Mike's recommendation and teach him to bake either the Austrian Malt Bread or Paddy's recipe for Clonmel Kitchen Double Crusty Bread.
We had salmon and couscous again, but I wanted a variation from the dill. I was going to use tarragon, but that was a no-go after my husband sniffed it and made a face. Instead, I used Penzey's salt-free Mural Seasoning, which I also use when I make salmon patties. (The Mural Seasoning passed the sniff test with my husband.) It's nice to shake up the usual recipe.
I baked a new recipe this morning: Havremel Flatbrod (imagine a diagonal line to the right through the o) or Oatmeal Flatbread, from the recipe in Bernard Clayton's Complete Book of Small Breads (Simon and Schuster: 1998), pp. 107-108. He attributes this Norwegian recipe to Norma Wangsness of Decorah, Iowa.
I made the included variation that substitutes in 1 cup of whole wheat flour. I found that I needed an additional 2 Tbs. regular flour in order for the dough to come together. I also gave it a rest of 10 minutes before kneading it. I rolled out the dough as think as I could--the thinnest I've ever managed, but the 8 minute baking time was not enough, so clearly my very thin ones are not as thin as what Bernard and Norma manage. I found that 14-15 minutes is needed so that they will crisp. I did bake them on parchment paper on heavy baking sheets. I rolled each of the six pieces of dough into a rectangle of about 27x33 cm. (metric is SO much easier for cracker measurements!). These are a very slightly sweet, crispy oat-wheat cracker.
I wish that recipes would state if the product is supposed to be crisp. Just saying "golden" does not help, particularly when wheat flour is incorporated.
An unusual direction in this recipe is that the teaspoon of baking soda is dissolved in the 1 1/2 cups of buttermilk, which makes if foamier.
It made a large batch. I may make them again, depending on what we think when we eat our way through them.
Bumping up the March 25 thread.
Mike: there is a thread here from the Baking Circle, in which we helped Luvpyrpom bake Finnish rye:
If you search "Finnish" on this site, there is also a recipe from Laura4Paws.
Great save, Joan! You could have said it is "pull-apart" bread! Seriously, I've seen recipes where you do cut the bread in slices, then pack it into the bread pan.
This morning I baked Orange Marmalade Oatmeal Crunch Bars and threw in a cup of mini-chocolate chips. (Recipe is posted on this site.) These make a kind of granola bar, some of which I'll send in my younger stepson's care package.
I baked a new recipe this evening, Rye Soda Bread, from the KAF baking site. It's unusual in that it uses equal parts of pumpernickel, Irish wholemeal flour and AP KAF flour, as well as the Harvest Grains blend:
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/rye-soda-bread-recipe
I made two changes. I soaked the Harvest grains in 1 cup of the buttermilk for an hour before adding it and the rest of the liquid ingredients to the dry ones. I also cut the salt from 1 tsp. to 3/4 tsp. I baked it in a 9x4x4 inch pan because I wanted a taller, less wide loaf. It smells wonderful, and I'm looking forward to trying it for breakfast tomorrow. I chose to use currents and to add the optional 2 tsp. caraway.
Addendum: The recipe makes a tasty, crumbly (typical of soda bread), not particularly sweet bread. It will be great for the days leading up to Easter. There is still a bit of crunchiness--probably from the seeds--but I am glad that I soaked the Harvest Grains for an hour in half the buttermilk before I started.
