[Italiancook]

I mentioned my newer acquisition, "Mennonite Community Cookbook" a few months ago. Since I did, I think I should tell people about a huge variation I found in the cookbook. I made Butterhorn Rolls (should butterhorn be one word or two?) from this cookbook. Probably, as a novice baker, I should not have, but I did.

First problem was the yeast. It called for 1 cake compressed yeast, which I didn't feel like trying to find in the store. I called KAF and a baker asked me what weight the cake yeast was cited in the recipe. No weight. Off the top of her head, she said 1 tablespoon. I decided to search for a yeast website conversion. I found one by Red Star Yeast: https://redstaryeast.com/yeast-baking-lessons/yeast-conversion-table/ Based on that, I used 4-1/2 teaspoons instant yeast. That worked out okay, I think.

The recipe doesn't say how many circles come out of the dough. I guessed at 4, which I now believe is wrong. Should have been 3, I think. By doing 4, the rolled out circles were only 10 inches, and I now think too thin. The result was that the recipe is stated to make 3-1/2 dozen small rolls, but I ended up with 60! They're quite small.

The real problem was the oven temperature. Recipe calls for 425 degrees for 20 minutes. I foolishly agreed to that and burned the first batch of 20 rolls. But hubby rescued them, put in a plastic bag and has been eating them as snacks. I baked the others at 350 degrees, and ended up with good-looking rolls. I'm now thinking that old-timey stoves heated much differently than modern ones.

I have a question for you experienced bakers. The recipe says to let dough rise until it is "light." I have no idea whether "light" means proofed, or if it is to go beyond the finger-poke test for proofed. I only let it rise for 30 minutes, and at that time, the finger indentation stayed, so I divided and used the dough. Thanks!

(Edited to correct amount of yeast used.)

• This reply was modified 8 years ago by Italiancook.

[Italiancook]

Well, drat! If it wasn't "cleaned," I could tell people their baked goods have a secret ingredient -- wine. Thanks, Wonky, that's an interesting tidbit.

[Italiancook]

Thanks, Mike, for suggesting bulkfoods.com for the cream of tartar. I bought a pound from them. That should last me a long time, since the cream of tartar is mixed with baking soda to replicate baking powder. Bulkfoods.com offers an array of shipping options. I chose the least expensive and it still arrived fast -- or in a reasonable amount of time to me. Others may have a different concept of "fast."

[Italiancook]

Thanks, BakerAunt, for sharing this article. I can see where it might work for the home cook. Occasionally, I need this trick, so I will be trying it sometime in the future.

[Italiancook]

RiversideLen, your pumpkin pie looks scrumptious! You always post such good pictures. You must have photographic talent, too. Thanks for sharing with us.

[Italiancook]

I baked a vanilla cake from Martha Stewart's "CAKES" cookbook.

[Italiancook]

I agree with BakerAunt. Thanks, Wonky, for posting your save.

[Italiancook]

Your experiment sounds delicious, Mike.

I wouldn't call what I did today much in the way of cooking, but it's the most I've done in a while. Been eating food from the freezer. I made Blueberry Pancakes with cinnamon chips and cardamom for breakfast and for the freezer. While the pancakes were cooking, I put together Kelsey Nixon's (Cooking Channel) Slow-Cooker Irish Oatmeal. Her recipe calls for 3 bananas, but I don't like that texture. I use one banana, raisins, and one other fruit exchange. Today I had blueberries.

[Italiancook]

Thanks all for the replies. BakerAunt, I didn't know buttermilk can be frozen. I'm going to use some of it to bake tomorrow, then I'll freeze the remainder. In the bottle. There's enough gone that it shouldn't break. I'm going to put a label on the bottle that states what day I tossed it into the freezer. That way I can judge how long to keep it after it's thawed.

[Italiancook]

BakerAunt, I searched every vendor I could think of for cappuccino chips, as you found, they're all out of stock. We probably looked in the same places. So I Googled various questions about whether there's a cappuccino chip shortage and didn't come up with an answer that there is. If you're still curious and have time after you bake, you may want to call one of the vendors' customer service and ask them whether there's a shortage, or if these are no longer being manufactured. KAF should be able to tell you this. If not, Amazon.

[Italiancook]

I roasted a pork tenderloin. Thanks, Mike, for your input on this. I roasted it at 350*. I had cut it into two pieces. The thinner section was ready in 20 minutes. The thicker at 25 minutes. I want my pork so it's white, not pink, so I aimed for a temp of 165. Ended up with 169, and the meat was white and juicy. I diced the thicker section and will use it to invent (for me) Pork & Ramen Noodle Soup on Friday.

[Italiancook]

After all the talk about buttermilk recently, I bought some. I thought I'd make a yellow cake, but that hasn't happened yet. So I checked online for buttermilk roll recipes, and yes! they're there. I was surprised that Whole Foods has a recipe online. It's for cloverleaf rolls, and rolling smooth balls of dough is not my strong point. So I used "30 Minute Buttermilk Roll Recipe" from ihearteating.com Still had to roll dough balls, but only 12. I will serve some of the rolls with Butternut Squash Soup from the freezer. The rest will go into the freezer. The rolls feel like they're light and soft inside. (It took me 60 minutes to make these. If I make them again, I think I can come in at 45 minutes. I never can make timed recipes finish in the allotted time!)

• This reply was modified 8 years, 3 months ago by Italiancook.
• This reply was modified 8 years, 3 months ago by Italiancook.

[Italiancook]

I baked Rainbow Trout. Had it with sautéed mushrooms.

I took a pork tenderloin out of the freezer this morning but have no idea how to cook it. My son used to grill it, and it wasn't dry, but I no longer have a grill pan. Also have only normal pantry ingredients in the pantry and fridge. Anyone know how I should cook this?

[Italiancook]

I baked KAF's Banana Cupcakes. I'll frost them with their recipe for Peanut Butter Icing -- it's part of the recipe. The recipe makes 12.

[Italiancook]

We are really sold on Moomie's burger buns now that we've eaten them. I had a medium-sized one with BBQ Hamburger, and it was delicious. This evening, my husband used a large one for a fried egg & capacola sandwich. He waxed enthusiastically about the taste and texture of the bun.

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