Mike Nolan

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  • in reply to: What are you baking the week of February 4th, 2018 #11051
    Mike Nolan
    Keymaster

      I made crackers that were about 1 1/2 by 3 1/4. You need to roll them out really thin, even though I cut back on the leavening they nearly tripled in thickness. I just used a pastry edger to cut lines in them, then broke them up after they had cooled, but it might be better if they were spaced out a bit before baking so they don't touch each other. I think that affected how well they baked, the ones on the outside were more done than the ones in the center.

      in reply to: What, NO Buttermilk?! #11038
      Mike Nolan
      Keymaster

        Even with buttermilk from the store I always shake the carton before using it. As long as it hasn't turned colors and still smells like buttermilk, it seems to be OK for me.

        in reply to: What are you baking the week of February 4th, 2018 #11035
        Mike Nolan
        Keymaster

          I found it at allrecipes.com, here it is: Graham Crackers

          I used whole wheat flour that I had ground myself (on the coarse side), unsalted butter instead of margarine, and I cut the baking soda and baking powder both by about a third. It tastes different from commercial graham crackers, but I think they'd make an interesting graham cracker crust, which I'll probably try this weekend.

          in reply to: What, NO Buttermilk?! #11034
          Mike Nolan
          Keymaster

            How do you define 'a bit old'? I find my buttermilk lasts 2-3 months from when I buy it, usually well beyond its 'expiration date'.

            in reply to: What, NO Buttermilk?! #11027
            Mike Nolan
            Keymaster

              What do you keep your buttermilk in? Do you wash the container out periodically?

              in reply to: What, NO Buttermilk?! #11019
              Mike Nolan
              Keymaster

                Many apples and other fruits are picked when they're shippable, not when they're ripe. Their taste just never develops much further.

                Storage apples are seldom great.

                in reply to: What are you cooking the week of February 4, 2018? #11018
                Mike Nolan
                Keymaster

                  How thick did you have the bread sliced? If it's too thick, it never seems to get done in the center.

                  in reply to: What are you cooking the week of February 4, 2018? #11011
                  Mike Nolan
                  Keymaster

                    I'm making a variant on veal marsala tonight using some stew meat veal, which needs a longer cooking time than veal cutlets. So I cut it up into fairly small pieces, lightly browned it, threw in some veal stock, onions, mushrooms and marsala and stuck it in the oven. It smells pretty good so far.

                    Followup: It was delicious, If I can continue to get the stew veal meat at the store I'll definitely make this again.

                    in reply to: What are you baking the week of February 4th, 2018 #11010
                    Mike Nolan
                    Keymaster

                      I baked the first tray of graham crackers today. I think I may have overbaked them by about a minute, the bottoms are a bit dark, but they're interesting, though quite different from graham crackers from the store. I'll probably roll the next tray out a little bit more.

                      I think they'll make interesting graham cracker crumbs for a pie crust.

                      in reply to: What, NO Buttermilk?! #11006
                      Mike Nolan
                      Keymaster

                        My mother used to get buttermilk (the real stuff, not 'cultured') delivered by the milkman. She'd drink it as well as use it in cooking.

                        I've got a book on buttermilk cooking that starts out with instructions to make your own butter, buttermilk and creme fraiche. I tried it once, but I think I did something wrong, maybe I didn't have the right stuff to culture the cream with first. (I used kefir.) The buttermilk reminded me of the stuff my mother got, but the butter was kind of weird, not at all like a European cultured butter.

                        Nice to see you posting, GinaG!

                        in reply to: What, NO Buttermilk?! #11003
                        Mike Nolan
                        Keymaster

                          I still couldn't find the old BC thread, but here's a link to an article on how to make a
                          buttermilk plant

                          As I recall the other thread, you did leave it out for a while after adding more milk to refresh it, but I don't remember how long.

                          in reply to: What, NO Buttermilk?! #11001
                          Mike Nolan
                          Keymaster

                            I grew up in a small town in NW Illinois. It had 2 grocery stores back then, today there are none. It's about 15 miles to the nearest grocery store now. There's a gas station/convenience store that appears to have expanded its grocery inventory somewhat, but not much beyond a few staples.

                            You might look into making your own buttermilk starter, then all you need to do is add milk periodically. I was looking to see if there was a thread on that brought over from the old BC, but didn't find it, maybe Swirth will see this note and can find it.

                            in reply to: What are you baking the week of February 4th, 2018 #10983
                            Mike Nolan
                            Keymaster

                              I made the dough for somewhat lower sodium honey graham crackers today, though it looks more like cookie dough. It needs to chill overnight before I roll it out and bake it.

                              Then I'm going to try using those graham crackers to make a pie crust so I can make a key lime pie.

                              in reply to: What are You Baking the Week of January 28, 2018? #10977
                              Mike Nolan
                              Keymaster

                                I didn't change the temperature when I put the mini-muffins back in for a few minutes.

                                in reply to: What are You Baking the Week of January 28, 2018? #10973
                                Mike Nolan
                                Keymaster

                                  I made banana nut mini-muffins from my banana bread recipe, baking them a little longer so that the outside edges are a bit crisp.

                                  My son liked them baked to the point where there was a lot of caramelization on the outside, but that's tricky because it's thisclose to being burnt. I did something with the first two batches this time that seemed to help. I baked them about 18 minutes, let them cool, popped them out of the pan and put them on a cookie sheet. After they had cooled a bit further, I put them back in the oven for about another 6 minutes. That made the outside edges a bit crunchy, the way my wife wanted them, but seemed to lower the risk of burning them. I think I will try that again.

                                  She freezes them and takes them to the office, eating them during the day when they're still cold if not a little frozen in the middle.

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