[BakerAunt]

How much yeast did the recipe require? It may have used more yeast to counter the amount of sugar. When you reduced the sugar, the yeast could go about its work more quickly. You might be able to reduce the yeast a bit, since you reduced the sugar by over half.

Like you, I would find that much sugar in a loaf too much, unless it was raisin-cinnamon bread, but I think that Amish bread does tend toward the sweet.

[BakerAunt]

I think that 190-195F is the usual temperature for non-wholegrain breads, but it has been a long time since I baked a plain, white loaf. The bread may firm up as it cools, since a cooling loaf continues to "bake" out of the oven.

Wonky has an Amish bread recipe somewhere on this site that might be useful for comparison.

[BakerAunt]

I do not buy self-rising flour, since I have plenty of other flours around, and it is easy to add my own baking powder and salt. I'm also unsure that I would use self-rising flour fast enough before the baking powder in it expired.

I did come across a couple of recipes I want to try in some of the Bon Appetit issues that I am going through that call for self-rising flour. I checked the internet to see how to substitute. All sites I checked say 1 cup of AP plus 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder, but they differ on salt, with some saying 1/2 tsp per cup, and some 1/4 tsp.

I will use the lower amount of salt.

[BakerAunt]

I just got off the phone with a consumer representative from Dean's. He said that without the product code, he could not tell me, since there were two different batches, but that it would be either 36% and 40%. He said that if I ever wanted to call when I buy it again, they can tell me if I give them the product code.

It sounds like perhaps it varies somewhat, and perhaps that is why they do not list it? Given the other brand that I mentioned above, perhaps 36% is the minimum for heavy whipping cream?

I'll be interested in what Mike learns from Land of Lakes. This discussion about heavy cream has been eye-opening for me.

[BakerAunt]

Dean's sent me an email asking me to call to discuss my question, so I will do so tomorrow. In the meantime, I bought another small carton of heavy whipping cream at the local grocery. This one is C.F. Burger Creamery. Near the top of the carton it states: Min. 36% milkfat.

I'll report back tomorrow on what I learn from Dean's.

[BakerAunt]

I sent that link to a friend who is a math professor. She loved it.

[BakerAunt]

I initially put this post in the cooking section. I deleted it there and have put it in the correct category.

On Friday, I tried another new recipe, “Triple Chocolate Biscotti,” which was submitted by Mary Tripoli of Kirksville, New York to the “Too Busy to Cook?” feature of Bon Appetit (April 2001), p. 156. I followed the recipe, except that I added 1/2 tsp. espresso powder. I used Ghirardelli unsweetened cocoa and Gold Medal flour. I followed the KAF guidelines of letting the two baked logs cool for 25 minutes out of the oven, spraying with water, then slicing the logs five minutes later. I also stand the biscotti on edge in the oven to do the second bake, which was 12 minutes. (My husband does not like them too dry.) I liked the taste of warm ones with milk. The logs were flatter than some biscotti I have made, and the accompanying picture suggests that they should have been a bit higher and less wide–although with food stylists, who knows? It is called triple chocolate because it uses cocoa, semisweet-chocolate chips, and white chocolate chips. (Note: it is not identical to the triple chocolate biscotti recipe posted in the Nebraska Kitchen recipes.)

[BakerAunt]

Sorry, I should have put it in baking, so I deleted it here.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 10 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

We had leftovers tonight, but I did saute some zucchini and mushrooms in butter and olive oil to go with them.

[BakerAunt]

Cwcdesign--There is a recipe for Boston Cream Pie in Cook's special issue: Incredible Eggs. (I ended up buying this egg issue and was surprised to see a cake, but it does make some sense, given how many eggs go into the pastry cream.) I just bought it this week at my local CVS, so you might be able to get a peak at it in the store.

In another recipe for ice cream, they mention that using corn syrup with granulated sugar in ice cream "interferes with crystal formation," which produces a smooth surface. I assume that is also the case for the glaze.

I'd love to try making Boston Cream Pie, but I need a crowd to eat it, especially if my husband were to get wind of just how many eggs are involved. I'll have to wait for an occasion.

Note: This Cooks issue also has an interesting method of making pasta without a pasta machine that I plan to try.

[BakerAunt]

Rascals--I'm glad you are back baking with us!

[BakerAunt]

On Thursday, I tried a new recipe: Chocolate Chip-Toffee Scones, a recipe from the Fresh Cream Cafe in Ann Arbor, MI, which appeared in the RSVP recipe request section of Bon Appetit (September 1997). It is unusual in that it does not use butter but calls for whipping cream until stiff peaks form. I used heavy cream (and may have slightly overwhipped it). The only ingredient change I made was to substitute in 1 cup of barley flour. For the other 2 1/4 cups of flour, I used Gold Medal. Also, it called for 1/2 cup chocolate-covered English toffee bits. I used Heath toffee bits, which are not covered with chocolate, but since the recipe also uses 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, I felt that was not an issue. The recipe called for making a 12-inch circle and cutting into twelve triangles that are baked separately. I found it more prudent to make two 6-inch circles and cut each into six. I baked them an extra three minutes, since I use very heavy baking sheets. The scones have a very light texture when warm. (I had one with coffee.) My first impression is that the 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips (I used Ghirardelli) overpowers the rest of the ingredients. I might consider using only half a cup. I like warm scones, but I also like ones that are good at room temperature, since I usually bake for only two people. I will report on how these are tomorrow.

Addendum: The scones are delicious at room temperature. When I mentioned to my husband that the chocolate chips seemed to overwhelm them, he said, "Well, yes," which means he does not see it as a problem. Given how unusual this recipe is, I'm going to post it with my changes.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 11 months ago by BakerAunt.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 11 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

Today, I checked out containers of heavy whipping cream at Walmart and Kroger. One, I think it was Prairie, mentioned 35% milkfat, nary a mention of butterfat. None of the others, including the Kroger brand or Land of Lakes mentioned butterfat.

[BakerAunt]

On Wednesday, I needed to address that we had been out of bread for two days. I baked the Clonmel Kitchen Double Crusty Bread. I replaced half the water with buttermilk and deleted the vinegar. I replaced the tablespoon of sugar with a tablespoon of honey. I used 2 tsp. regular yeast and 1 tsp. of the special gold yeast. I reduced the salt to 2 3/4 tsp. I substituted 2 cups of whole wheat flour for that much regular flour. (For regular flour, I used the King Arthur AP.) I also added 1/4 cup flax meal. I decided to try baking it as a single loaf in a Kaiser La Forme pan, which is slightly less than 12 inches long and is 4 1/4 inches wide across the top. I did slash the dough 30 minutes into the second rise, and I put it into bake a little less than ten minutes later. I spritzed it with water after putting it into the oven. I checked it after 40 minutes, and it registered 190F, so I baked it for another 5 minutes, at which point it "smelled" done. Other than a slight blowout along one side, which better slashing technique on top likely would have prevented, the loaf looks good. In shape, it resembles one of those standard long loaves from the grocery, but of course it is not as lightweight as those.

[BakerAunt]

Mike--The brand is Dean's Country Fresh Dairy Pure. The other brand was one I'd not heard of before. All numbers on the side were the same--except I will check next time I'm at the local store to see if its servings per container is similarly incorrect. I wrote to Dean's, but have not heard back yet.

Thanks, Aaron for posting the link.

I might check out the dairy items at Kroger next time I'm in the larger neighboring town. There is also an Aldi's there, which did not impress me a couple of years ago, but I'll check it out again, as they are expanding, and friends here rave about them. I have to say that the bread from Aldi's that our friends served last night was actually good--a white bread with a crisp crust and the kinds of holes about which home bakers dream.

On another dairy note: I did not buy buttermilk at Walmart last week because it only had one brand, and the carton said either lowfat or reduced fat buttermilk. As buttermilk is supposed to be lowfat anyway, I did not trust it. In that case, I bought the Dean's buttermilk at the store in my town.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 11 months ago by BakerAunt.
• This reply was modified 7 years, 11 months ago by BakerAunt.

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