chocomouse
Sat. Feb 14th, 2026
BJs has both AP and whole wheat in 12 pound bags for 7.99. I think their organic AP is 8.99, but not sure if that is a 10 or 12 pound bag.
chocomouse.
Dinner was grilled salmon, rice with asparagus, and a green salad.
Happy Birthday BakerAunt! Nice that you have a delicious cake (with chocolate chips!) to help you celebrate.
Len, I use buttermilk in most of my breads/buns, and never add baking powder or soda to any yeasted doughs. And I almost always get good oven spring. I'm not sure why they didn't brown -- I usually use honey in yeasted doughs also, and I've noticed the browning varies a lot. I get better browning when I use sugar than when I use honey. I might be having some issues with my oven; I know I'm having issues with one of the burners, and my stove/oven is 35 years old. The last batch of cookies I made did not bake evenly. I use an oven thermometer, but think I'll clean the oven thoroughly before I go through the bother of moving it around to check the temp. Anyway, we did like the buns and I'll make them again - thanks for sharing your recipe!
I made Len's buns today, following his recipe exactly except buttermilk instead of milk, shaping them into 10 buns at 81 grams each, and baking them in the bun pan. I added a scant teaspoon of whole wheat flour as I kneaded to get the tackiness I prefer. I did not get the oven spring that Len showed us in photos last week, and mine also did not get very brown, only a very light tan. They were very soft and the dough was wonderful to work with. The crumb was fine, and the entire bun nicely soft, and it also held together very well in spite of a lot of ingredients served inside it: kielbase, onions, peppers, and hot spicy mustard. It's difficult to say much about the flavor with that combo, but overall they were delicious! I'll make them again.
I guess I've not developed a discrete taste for milk! I don't taste milk, dry or otherwise, in anything. I was made to drink milk (always regular whole cow's milk) at meals when I was growing up. I hate it. I never drink it. I've not drank milk for over 50 years! I can tell the difference between 2% milk (which my husband drinks) and half and half or cream in chowders, and much prefer the half and half.
Husband had a business meeting tonight, so I had a tuna fish sandwich on rye bread from the freezer. And 2 lemon cookies!
I was gifted a bag of KAF "artisan bread salt" for Christmas, but have not used it yet. I don't fall for all their advertising ploys! I also do not use their special dry milk - I use grocery-store brand powdered milk and it works just fine.
Joan, the lemon cookies are addictive! Do you use the lemon juice powder that KAF sells? I use it in everything lemon. So often, lemon flavored baked goods are pretty bland and this powder really adds a wonderful lemon flavor. I use about a tablespoon per 2 cups of flour to start, and then make adjustments to future batches. I also use any lemon flavoring called for in the original recipe.
Last night we had grilled chicken and potatoes roasted on the grill with leftover broccoli salad.
Tonight we had a chicken and veggie stew.
Today I made Lemon Oatmeal Sugar Cookies, from A Taste of Home. The only change I made was to add a tablespoon of lemon juice powder from KAF. They are delicious! I found I needed to bake them 10 minutes, instead of the listed 6-8 minutes, to get the chewy but crispy edges that I love. I'll be making these again. I also think I'll try using cocoa powder to make them chocolate flavored - in place of the recipe I used a week ago that was not chewy. BakerAunt, please do not even look at this recipe -- your cholesterol will go up 50 points just reading it!
So glad to hear your husband is feeling better, Joan. It may take a while before he feels really really good, just hang in there!
Our dinner tonight was creamed chicken on baked potatoes with brussel sprouts and a green salad.
I love parsnips and thanks for the reminder -- I need to buy some! They are wonderful sliced and oven roasted along with carrots, winter squash, sweet and regular potatoes, brussel sprouts, onions.
Our dinner tonight was steak on the grill, baked potatoes, and broccoli salad. The temp finally rose into the 20s tonight, so I dared to ask my husband to cook outside!
Love your buns, Len!! I've not baked your recipe in my bun pan, but rather shaped them into rounded, dinner size (smaller) buns. They rose fine and were delicious. I've also never used buttermilk, I just use water, for any of my hamburg/hot dog/sandwich buns, but I'll try it next time. I just bought a fresh bottle of Kate's Buttermilk yesterday; I usually make my own by replacing what I used with 2% milk and letting it sit out in a warm kitchen for the day. I buy a bottle at the store only every 5-6 months. I have not noticed any difference over the many years I'be been doing that.
Our dinner tonight was meatloaf, smashed potatoes, and buttercup squash. Excellent.
