[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 8 years, 1 month 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 8 years, 1 month 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.

[BakerAunt]

We grabbed a rotisserie chicken from the market, but I cooked some pasta in leftover broth from a pork roast that I found in the freezer.

Cwcdesign--We are a couple of days behind, but we expect to leave on Tuesday morning and arrive on Wednesday evening.

[BakerAunt]

Hi, Rascals1. I had a little time this evening, so I put the recipe for the oatmeal bars in the recipe section. Enjoy!

[BakerAunt]

I needed a break from packing. I found an overlooked bag of cinnamon chips in the refrigerator, so I made cinnamon biscotti. I usually add 1/3 cup pecan meal, but I have some to use up, so I added 2/3 cup. The dough was a little more crumbly than usual, so I did the second bake for the longer time of 20 minutes rather than 15.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 2 months ago by BakerAunt.

[BakerAunt]

We realized yesterday that we had packed all the frying pans, but my husband was able to do a reasonable job with pork chops in the microwave.

[BakerAunt]

I would be drooling, even if I were not someone eating somewhat oddly this week as we pack up our kitchen. Thanks for sharing your experience, Mike.

[BakerAunt]

Thank you, Navlys! I look forward to trying this recipe after we finish our move to Indiana, which should be in about a week.

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