[BakerAunt]

Congratulations on the Butterhorns, Italian Cook!

This morning I baked Speculaas cookies from the dough I made last evening (see thread under dessert). This evening I baked two loaves of my Buttermilk Grape Nuts bread because we are out of bread, and my husband has been patient while I have done some other breads recently. I am continuing to experiment with the recipe I posted, this time by adding 1/4 cup barley flour. This bread always makes me think of Dachshundlady, who introduced us to it, and it makes me think of Rascals, who also enjoys baking it.

• This reply was modified 8 years ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

Ah, yes. springerle. I only tried baking them once, and that was before I had a stand mixer. There is a lengthy period of beating the eggs, so it's not a great idea with a hand mixer. The cookies did not come out that well, and they were very hard, which may be what they are supposed to be. I think people dunk them in milk, coffee, tea. However, I'm not a dunker. I didn't use the baker's ammonia. If I ever try them again, then I will invest in it (and hope that I can air the house before my husband smells it!)

• This reply was modified 8 years ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

Tonight I made Salmon with Couscous and Dill for dinner. We had it with a side of peas.

[BakerAunt]

Thanks, S. Wirth. I hope that Laura will look in again. (She was here recently to comment on Kasha.)
I am sad that her thread was lost. 🙁

House on the Hill used to sell springerle molds, but they no longer sell them directly. Molds must be ordered from third party sellers. However, I think that House on the Hill still has their recipes.

Fancy Flours carries a nice selection of molds, and most of mine come from there.

[BakerAunt]

My guess (I've not made bark before) is that if you want even-sized pieces, you should at least score it while it is warm rather than trying to cut it through completely.

[BakerAunt]

The remaining shows should have been aired. It is only fair to the other participants and to the viewers. I suspect that the advertisers were nervous that they would be boycotted.

[BakerAunt]

Italian Cook: I had a similar issue with a butterhorn kind of recipe from The Great Scandinavian Cookbook. After the same thing happened with another recipe (which Cass thoughtfully balanced for me), I now know to hold back some of the water until I know that the dough can take it. It may be that the author measured her flour differently or used a different kind.

[BakerAunt]

Annie is an Australian Cattle Dog who weighs 40 pounds and can stretch out to a long length. She has been a bit bored since we had 8-10 inches of snow last Saturday, and an additional 3 inches or so yesterday morning, which curtailed our walks, in part because of ice. We don't have a fenced yard, so she has to be taken out on lead. We did have a fairly mild morning today so she got a walk. A tired Cattle Dog is a good Cattle Dog.

[BakerAunt]

My husband cooked pork chops tonight. I used the remainder of that quick-cooking barley, along with my homemade turkey broth, to make a pilaf with carrots, celery, garlic, red bell pepper, mushrooms, green onion, parsley, and poultry seasoning.

[BakerAunt]

According to my dog, she was just standing her ground. She reached up a paw, the 1/2 Tbs. of butter "attacked" her and would not let go, so she had to eat it!

[BakerAunt]

Tuesday evening, I baked Swedish Lucia buns to celebrate Saint Lucia's day on December 13. I never had the chance to know my Swedish grandmother, as she died when my father was an infant, so I try to recover some of those traditions.

The bake was not without incident. (See discussion thread about never turning your back on softening butter.) I have not baked this recipe for at least a year, and perhaps it has been two years. The basic recipe comes from Betty Crocker's International Cookbook, but I have played around with it over the years. I now use the special Gold yeast and substituted in a cup of white whole wheat flour. I've found that I also use a cup less flour (4 1/2 rather than 5 1/2) than in the book's recipe. I added 2 Tbs. potato flour because I have it and want to use it up. I'm not sure that I will order that ingredient again. They came out well, but they perhaps should have baked another minute or two. They are still good.

[BakerAunt]

A brief article about dry aging meat:

https://www.tastingtable.com/dine/national/dry-age-steak-prime-beef-nyc?utm_medium=email&utm_source=TT&utm_campaign=Daily&utm_content=Editorial

[BakerAunt]

Hi, Rascals! It's good to know that you are reading the posts. Thank you Jan for keeping us informed.

[BakerAunt]

Monday I made Maple Glazed Rosemary Chicken and Sweet Potatoes for dinner. We had it with steamed broccoli.

[BakerAunt]

Monday morning, I baked an 8x4 loaf of Donna German's Austrian Malt bread that Mike Nolan has posted here. I followed one of his variations by substituting in 1 cup of semolina flour. I also grated the 1.1 ounce of Asiago cheese left over from two other bread recipes and added it. I did substitute 3/4 cup buttermilk for that much water, and I used 1 1/2 Tbs. honey in place of the sugar. I reduced the yeast to 2 1/4 tsp. and the salt to 1 1/4 tsp. The loaf needed to bake 40 minutes to get to 200F. It looks and smells lovely, so I look forward to cutting into it tomorrow.

Thanks for the suggestion, Mike!

• This reply was modified 8 years ago by BakerAunt.

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