[BakerAunt]

On Thursday, I baked a pumpkin pie with a buttermilk crust to use the last of the pumpkin that I brought with us on the move.

Joan--I'm glad that the buttermilk hint worked out well for you. I use buttermilk in my baked goods almost exclusively these days.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 5 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

Our trailer arrived on Tuesday morning, and we have been unloading it these past two days. A casual dinner was definitely in order, so I made Sloppy Josephines, using the Wheat-Oat Flax Buns I baked.

[BakerAunt]

On Wednesday, I'm baking the KAF Wheat-Oat Flax Buns. I substitute 3/4 cups buttermilk for that much water and I use 1/4 cup water rather than orange juice. I also reduce the yeast to 2 tsp. and the salt to 1 1/4 tsp..

I had twelve beautiful buns. I had to go out to call my husband to dinner because he was working on the trailer. When I returned, I had eleven beautiful buns, and an Australian Cattle Dog who was both smugly satisfied and slightly guilty. At least she only ate one--and left not a crumb behind. She hasn't nabbed any food for a couple of years, so I became complacent. I will be more careful where I leave baked goods to cool.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 5 months ago by BakerAunt.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 5 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

I had some frozen pumpkin to use up (brought with us), so I baked Pumpkin Oat Muffins, using as the base recipe one submitted by Carol Hale of Sarver, PA to Taste of Home Baking, 2010, p. 122. However I used Irish Wholemeal flour, and my version increases the pumpkin and decreases the oil. I also omitted the topping and just sprinkled with cinnamon sugar.

[BakerAunt]

I shelled pecans on Sunday (we still have a lot from the tree in Texas), and on Monday I baked a double batch of Pecan Lime Cookies, using Nick Malgieri's recipe from Cookies Unlimited (p. 188). I had brought on our move frozen lime juice from last year's limes on my tree (we brought the lime tree to Indiana as well), so I needed to use it.

[BakerAunt]

Joan--I use buttermilk in the place of regular milk and often most of the water in my yeast baking. S. Wirth's comments about it convinced me to give it a try. Buttermilk makes it tender, and improves its keeping qualities. I use honey in place of sugar for similar reasons.(That hint came from Cass.)

I wanted the bread to have a soft texture, which is why I used only the 1 cup of bread flour. More bread flour seems to make it firmer. My husband has told me he would like firmer for sandwiches, so next time I may try half whole wheat and half bread flour. I had a slice today with the last of my soup from the freezer. (That was Cass's mother's spinach-lentil soup, although I ended up having to use black beans.)

[BakerAunt]

I am finally able to bake! On Saturday, I used Donna German's Austrian Malt Bread recipe that Mike has often recommended, but I made a few changes. I substituted in 3/4 cup of buttermilk for that much water. I used 1 cup whole wheat flour, 1 cup bread flour, and 1 cup KAF AP flour. I used 1 1/2 Tbs. honey instead of sugar. I reduced the salt to 1 1/4 tsp., and the yeast to 1 tsp. regular and 1 tsp. special gold. (I brought it here in a cold chest, so I'm going to use it!) I've not unpacked my mixer yet, so I used the bread machine for the kneading. The bread rose quickly, due to the humidity and the special gold yeast. It baked into a beautiful 8x4 inch loaf. I look forward to sampling it tomorrow. We actually had to eat a loaf of the store-bought stuff this past week. 🙁

• This reply was modified 7 years, 5 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

We went to the farmer's market on Saturday morning. Due to the rain, the venders were limited, but we did find some nice small potatoes and green beans. In the evening, I roasted chicken legs with the potatoes after drizzling with olive oil and sprinkling with rosemary, salt, and pepper. We also boiled some sweet corn, and steamed the green beans.

[BakerAunt]

My collection of flours is one reason that we will have two large refrigerator/freezers.

[BakerAunt]

The best addition to a road trip is finding those special items along the way! I look forward to hearing about what you are baking with your wheat berries.

[BakerAunt]

Thank you for the good wishes, Italian Cook.

Actually, the meat thermometer said it was close to 190. It would have been dry except for all the sauce. It was not pink. Boneless pork loins cook very fast. The maple-glazed one that I make for Easter every year (which gave me the idea about the glaze) is browned on the stove top and usually is done within 25 minutes or so in the oven. That recipe says to cook the roast until 135F, then remove to a platter and cover with foil for 15 minutes, at which time, the temperature should go up to 150. I have also heard that 145F is

I have an older, 3 1/2 quart crockpot from the 1980s. It came from Montgomery Ward. I suspect that it gets hotter than newer crock pots.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 5 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

It is very hot and humid today, just as it was yesterday evening. We saw a lovely 1 1/2 pound pork loin roast on sale at the grocery, so I was able to work on refining the crock pot boneless pork loin roast that I first experimented with on June 11. This time, I used three medium sweet potatoes that I peeled and cut into chunks. I put them in the crock pot with 1 cup of water and turned it on high. They were in about 45 minutes, while I tied up the pork with baker's twine, then browned it in grapeseed oil. I removed it from the skillet and added 1/4 cup maple syrup, which I let bubble for about 15 seconds. Then I put the roast back in and twirled it around in the syrup to coat it. I let it sit in the syrup, while I peeled, cored, and cut into chunks four Gala apples. I stirred the sweet potatoes, then put the pork roast atop the sweet potato chunks before putting the apple chunks atop the roast. I poured the rest of the maple syrup glaze over it. I replaced the lid, and set the timer for two hours. Dinner came out well, but I should have reduced the water by at least 1/4 cup. Also, next time I make this recipe, I will shorten the time with the meat to 90 minutes.

[BakerAunt]

Thank you for the good wishes. Our trip was indeed trouble-free, and we arrived safely last night. I've already pulled out the crock pot to make tonight's dinner. I'll report on it in the cooking thread.

[BakerAunt]

My partial egg substitution worked. I will do that again if I have need for a fraction of an egg.

I remember Mike mentioning that professional bakeries use liquid eggs, which is faster, more convenient, and more accurate for bulk baking. I've also seen recipes that call for breaking the eggs into a measuring cup until a certain amount is reached. I once read in Ruth Levy Birnbaum's blog that someone contacted her about a recipe in The Cake Bible that had stopped working. RLB determined that eggs have changed--I don't remember if it was in volume or in proportion of yolk to white.

Even in a regular carton of large eggs, I have noted that sometimes an egg or two is noticeably smaller than the others. The local grocery here tends only to have sales on extra large eggs, which surprises me.

[BakerAunt]

I made my version of Chex Party Mix--increasing the recipe by 25% in order to use up ingredients. I baked it an extra 15 minutes. (I usually bake it for an hour, and stir every 15 minutes.) I'll give a generous bag to my younger stepson when he comes for our last Sunday dinner here.

I also baked the KAF Eggnog Scones, since I had eggnog in the freezer. I scaled up the recipe by 25%, which presented a problem since a single egg needed to be scaled up as well. I decided to use the one egg and 1 tsp. flax meal, mixed with 3 tsp. water. I always substitute in some whole wheat pastry flour, but this time I used more. I also threw in a generous 1/3 cup of pecan meal. I cut each circle of dough into 8 wedges, which I completely separate from the circle and bake in rows. They were slightly crowded on the cookie sheet (my larger one is packed), but they baked well. I had to skip the step of freezing them for 30 minutes before baking.

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