BakerAunt
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The weather cooled down on Saturday, so I seized the baking opportunity. I tried a new bread recipe, "Naturally Sweet Wheat Bread," from the KAF Whole Grain Baking book (p. 190). The need to use up various ingredients and substitute for others where I was short meant adapting the recipe. I left out the raisins, as my husband will use this loaf for sandwiches. I omitted the orange juice (we like the whole wheat taste) and substituted additional water. I used 2 Tbs. honey and no brown sugar. I used 1/2 cup half and half that was starting to sour, along with 1/4 cup 1% milk. I used 3/4 cup spelt flour (only one package left to use!) and 1/2 cup whole wheat flour rather than all whole wheat. I only had about 1 1/4 cups bread flour left, so I used First Clear Flour to make up the remainder. I also used the gold yeast, as that is all I have on hand. I should probably cut back on the gold yeast; the first rise was 45 minutes and the second one 30 minutes.
For dinner, I made the KAF Utra-Thin Crust Pizza. Now it is time to pack my large rectangular Emile Henry pizza stone.
Chocomouse and Navlys--Thanks for your comments. I hate to waste food, not to mention valuable ingredients. I also tend to stock up when there are sales, and I probably stocked up too much on some ingredients. I remember when Zen moved a few years back, and was trying to use up her stock or explain to her son why some items needed to be moved.
On Friday, I made Dilled Salmon and Couscous again. We did not plan this week's menu very well, and it was quick to pull out the last two pieces of frozen salmon from the freezer.
I made Four Bean Salad (recipe from my college roommate) on Saturday morning. I think that I posted it on this site. That uses up four cans of beans and finishes up the large bottle of cider vinegar.
Maybe we need a Cyber Clandestine Cake Club?
However, let's start by figuring out how to promote National Cake Week through this site.
I'm currently watching the season of GBBO that is airing on PBS. It is one that I haven't seen. Last week was "biscuits" and then cakes. They show two episodes. Tonight, one will be bread.
Hi, Skeptic7. I have also used this crust for pumpkin pie. It will hold up very well to blind baking, unlike my previous recipe that would collapse, even when refrigerated. It is also the easiest pie crusts I have used for rolling out and shaping. I like the flavor better than my previous recipe, and it is flakier.
I've used it for blueberry pie, peach pie, and pumpkin pie. I plan to try it with cherry pie and see how it works as a lattice top.
In my quest to bake through my perishable ingredients before we move--and to pull out any interesting recipes from my back issues (late 1990s and early 2000s) of Bon Appetit--I am baking Hazelnut-Cinnamon Biscotti (April 1998), p. 95. I changed it up in that I do not have fresh orange peel on hand, and so I used 1/4 tsp orange oil, and 1 tsp. of Penzey's dried orange peel. I also added about 4 oz. of mini-chocolate chips. If they are good, I will post the recipe. The original recipe used a food processor, which was all the rage at that time. I used my hand mixer, and the dough came together nicely.
Addendum: I used the KAF technique of letting the loaves cool for 25 min., then spritzing with water, and allowing to rest another 5 minutes before slicing. These are delicious, and I look forward to having them with coffee and tea.
I think that I posted my buttermilk pie crust recipe. It does call for whole wheat pastry flour.
Ah, I did:
After Saturday's garage sale--and temperatures of 112F!--I needed to bake. I'm trying to use up specialty ingredients before we move, so I baked the KAF Irish Cream Scones.
http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/irish-cream-scones-recipe
I had a hazy memory of this recipe, and I was surprised that it said butterscotch chips instead of cappuccino chips (but those chips are still in the note). I read the comments, and the reason is that KAF does not sell them anymore. I'll have to locate a new source once we get settled in Indiana. I baked the recipe with the cappuccino chips. It uses the Irish Whole Meal Flour, which I'm also attempting to use up. I used Gold Medal rather than KAF flour, since I wanted the scones to be tender. I added 1/2 tsp. of espresso powder. The recipe calls for 1/4 cup of "Irish Cream Liqueur, by which I take it that they mean Bailey's Irish Cream, and 1/4 cup milk. I do not have any Bailey's, and I don't need any more ingredients to use up, so I substituted 1/2 cup of half and half and 1/4 tsp. Irish Cream flavoring. I'll add a note to this post tomorrow about taste and texture.
Promised Note: These scones have a wonderful, light texture. Since the Irish Wholemeal flour always produces a somewhat crumbly bread, it makes sense that the scones would be so light with half of it included. The flavor of the Irish cream, with my variation, is subtle. If I were to use the Bailey's, I think that I would still use half and half rather than milk for the other half of the liquid. These would be good without the chips. I did not make the glaze but just sprinkled with the coarse white sparkling sugar.
I also tried a new recipe, "Brownies with Cream Cheese Swirl," from Bon Appetit (July 1998), p. 130. It was submitted to a feature that Bon Appetit had then, called "The Cook's Exchange," and the recipe is from George Panagos of Decatur, Georgia, who says he won first prize in a baking contest with the recipe. I noted that I had marked it back then as one to try, but who would have thought it would take me 19 years? It called for 6 oz. of Baker's German's Sweet chocolate, another ingredient I need to use up, as well as chocolate chips and walnuts. I'll add a note to this post tomorrow about what we think of them.
Here's the promised note: The recipe made a soft, light-textured brownie with a pretty pattern on top. My husband, younger stepson, and I like them very much, so the recipe is a keeper.
