[Italiancook]

Janiebakes, Welcome! I imagine we'll all be enriched by your baking/cooking comments here. Thanks for joining us.

[Italiancook]

Interesting about the WWII recipes. Long before the pandemic, I purchased a series of 4 Great Depression recipe/Depression history books. Reading the stories was distressing, because I had relatives who were homeless during the Great Depression. So I gave away the books after reading the first one. I wonder if there will ever be a similar series for the pandemic.

[Italiancook]

Delicious-looking bread, Mike!

[Italiancook]

I made a spinach & garlic, bacon, and artichoke pizza today. The spinach wasn't fully thawed, so I couldn't release all its water when I squeezed it by hand. I think that contributed to the center pieces of the crust being somewhat soggy. But it also could have been that the center of the pie crust was thinner than the outsides. It's been a long time since I made a pizza, so I was a bit rusty with shaping. The recipe I used didn't have any semolina, so that would have also contributed to some sog. In spite of that, the pizza was delicious! I used only mozzarella -- the only cheese I had on hand.

• This reply was modified 3 years, 11 months ago by Italiancook.

[Italiancook]

BakerAunt, re: your loss of a good honey supplier: I have never found a store-bought honey that I liked or would be willing to use in bread. But I found honey at lehmans.com that I like, that also adds good flavor to bread. It's called Tonn's Pure Premium Ohio Honey. Link below. It's pricey at $21.99, but it's 32 ounces. In addition to doing a good job in and on bread, it enhances ribs. Lehmans.com also has other honey, but I haven't tried them. Lehmans.com also carries Tonn's Pure Buckwheat.

https://www.lehmans.com/product/tonns-pure-premium-ohio-honey/#

[Italiancook]

Challah French Toast is my favorite. What a yummy meal you're having!

Re: KABC Bakers' Special Dry Milk -- is that really a milk product or something else?

[Italiancook]

Mike, you Challah are amazing! Congratulations!

[Italiancook]

Mike, I admire your persistence with the fantan rolls. I can't imagine I'll ever bake them, but it's fun to read of your adventures with them.

Thanks, Mike,, for telling me why I had the air hole in one end. I can believe it is a shaping issue, because it was the worst shaped bread I've ever had. Both ends sloped downward, and the top had imperfections in it. I don't know why I didn't see all that with the unbaked dough in the pan. Thanks for your input about my buckin' bronco stand mixer. I tightened the screw & will bake bread soon to try it out.

[Italiancook]

I sliced my bread tonight. It was supposed to be for the freezer. But, one end of the bread had 1 medium-sized open air hole in each slice. Anyone know what caused that?

I had a major problem with my stand mixer while kneading the bread. The head bounced up and down like a bucking bronco. I held it down for a bit and then gave up & called the dough kneaded enough. But when I saw the air hole in each slice at one end, I wondered. I'm going to be in the market for a new stand mixer if adjusting the screw doesn't solve the problem on the next loaf of bread. I won't buy the brand I have -- this is the second one the company has sent me that did this.

[Italiancook]

For breakfast, I made banana muffins. I currently have bread rising in the pan -- titled King Arthur Classic White Sandwich Bread. It's my first and last time baking this. It has to be tented partway through baking, and I'm not into going back to the kitchen after something goes into the oven until it's finished. I'll stick with their Classic Sandwich Bread recipe.

[Italiancook]

Dessert for Two has recipes using leftover egg whites or yolks.

[Italiancook]

BakerAunt, thanks for the suggestion to omit the 5-minute rest because I'm not using baking powder. That might have slipped past me.

Today, I baked Black Bottom Banana bars. The batter is divided in half and cocoa added to one-half. The problem is that I'm never good at judging half. So the bottom half is bitter from not enough banana mixture with too much cocoa. Next time, I'm going to just throw the 1/4 cup cocoa into all the batter and see how chocolaty it becomes.

[Italiancook]

BakerAunt, thanks for posting the QO Applesauce Muffin recipe. I'll make these after buying oatmeal. I don't like streusel toppings, so I'll use the maple glaze. I'll report back after I bake these, but keep in mind: They may not rise as high for me, because I have to use baking soda/cream of tartar in place of baking powder.

[Italiancook]

BakerAunt, thanks for reminding me of oatmeal muffins. I have an excellent oatmeal muffin recipe. I usually serve them with a dinner, but I also add spices to turn them into breakfast muffins. I'll try them with cinnamon chips and cinnamon. Thanks, also, for your input about the size of the baked bunnies. They're bigger than I thought by looking at the picture.

[Italiancook]

A week ago, my husband came home with six ginormous cinnamon muffins. I pointed out to him that the first ingredient on the label is sugar. He has pre-diabetes. After eating three, he threw out the rest. Today, I used my go-to plain muffin recipe to make cinnamon muffins. I added 1/3 cup cinnamon chips & 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon to 1-3/4 cup flour & 1/3 cup sugar. The chips didn't all melt in the 18 minute baking time, but the muffins were pleasant. Next time, I'll use 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon. I need a better go-to muffin recipe. These turned out too short -- not enough rise. Could be because I have to use baking soda and cream of tartar instead of baking powder. But the recipe has never made 12.

I also made shortbread biscuits for the freezer in hope of finding some good strawberries this season.

BakerAunt, I agree with your husband on the bunny pan making only six. Plus, the finished product looks so small on the KABC website. I realize they're cakelets not cake. Before Easter, I noticed they had a set of the pan and cake mix. I considered buying this for a niece to make with her two young children. They're a family of 4. So when I realized the pan only makes 6, I walked away. But I like the concept, and if I had room to store the pan, I'd buy it for myself.

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