Mike Nolan

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  • in reply to: Pi Day is coming (Wed March 14th) #11519
    Mike Nolan
    Keymaster

      I got some pie cherries out of the freezer, but I'm not sure if I'll get a cherry pie made tomorrow, it might be later in the week.

      in reply to: Have you ever made your own \“Wild Yeast\” starter? #11518
      Mike Nolan
      Keymaster

        I have done it several times, including twice when I was testing recipes for Peter Reinhart, another time when I ordered a miche from the Poilane Bakery in France. (I saved the paper bag the miche came in and made the starter inside that bag, in the hopes that it had some French wild yeast strains in it.)

        I've been tempted to try a grape skin starter, grapes attract several strains of wild yeast. But if I did that, I'd probably follow the Tartine Bakery book method of producing a starter that isn't SOUR.

        in reply to: Those Missing Cappuccino Chips in Scones #11517
        Mike Nolan
        Keymaster

          Over the years King Arthur has discontinued a lot of items. Some probably got dropped because they didn't sell enough, a few got dropped because the supplier stopped making them (the salt-rising-bread starter comes to mind here), and quite a few got dropped because KAF decided not to carry certain types of ingredients. That's why they discontinued the consumer version of their bleached cake flour, though I think they still sell it in 50 pound bags to bakeries.

          That's also why the lemon chips went away, I think they could not find a supplier who didn't use trans fats in them. That might possibly be an issue with the cappuccino chips as well.

          I found nearly a dozen sites offering cappuccino chips, including several offering the Guittard chips. I couldn't tell if they were all out of stock, some of them I probably would have had to try to order them to find that out. (I HATE sites that do that!)

          As far as I can tell, Guittard still makes them, but they may only make them one or twice a year. (Kraft tried to discontinue the Roka Blue jar cheese, but so many people wrote Kraft about it that they now make it just ahead of Christmas every year.)

          in reply to: What are You Cooking the Week of March 11, 2018? #11507
          Mike Nolan
          Keymaster

            The onions made the house smell wonderful and there was a subtle onion taste to the meat, and a slightly more noticeable taste in the gravy I made from the drippings.

            We've decided we like eye of round better than tri-tip, and it's usually cheaper per pound, too.

            in reply to: What are You Cooking the Week of March 11, 2018? #11505
            Mike Nolan
            Keymaster

              I'm making my eye of round roast today. I'm trying something a little different, I took an onion, cut it into wedges, and placed them beside the roast on the rack, hopefully they'll infuse some nice flavor into the meat.

              in reply to: Daylight Savings Time Begins on Sunday #11491
              Mike Nolan
              Keymaster

                Well, the good part about being towards the western end of the time zone (as we are in Lincoln) is that sunset can be as late as 9PM in the summer.

                in reply to: What are You Baking the Week of March 4, 2018? #11487
                Mike Nolan
                Keymaster

                  We stuck a bunch of the mini-cinnamon rolls that I made two weeks ago in the freezer. My wife says if you pop them in the microwave for a few seconds, they're just fine.

                  in reply to: What are You Baking the Week of March 4, 2018? #11481
                  Mike Nolan
                  Keymaster

                    Today I made 48 small cream puff shells, about 1 3/4 inches in diameter. I haven't filled them with anything yet, this was mostly just to practice piping choux paste. I'm probably going to throw most of them in the freezer.

                    in reply to: What are You Baking the Week of March 4, 2018? #11472
                    Mike Nolan
                    Keymaster

                      Looking over the list of ingredients in a variety of Krusteaz mixes, they don't seem to be loaded with preservatives and other unpronounceable chemicals.

                      in reply to: What are You Baking the Week of March 4, 2018? #11458
                      Mike Nolan
                      Keymaster

                        My best guess on the Hafrakex is that it should be crisp.
                        See hafrakex picture

                        in reply to: What are You Baking the Week of March 4, 2018? #11457
                        Mike Nolan
                        Keymaster

                          I don't bake bread in a bread pan very often, we tend to prefer free-form loaves (like Vienna bread), but when I do, I let it cool for at least 10 minutes before turning it out, then I place it on a cooling rack, but not on its side.

                          Anything I bake in muffin or mini-muffin pan generally has to come out of the pan quickly, or it sticks.

                          in reply to: What are You Cooking the Week of March 4, 2018? #11455
                          Mike Nolan
                          Keymaster

                            We had sliced tri-tip beef on a salad, as I'm trying to use up the last of the tri-tip. I've got an eye of round that I'll make over the weekend.

                            in reply to: What are You Baking the Week of March 4, 2018? #11451
                            Mike Nolan
                            Keymaster

                              I wonder if some of the techniques used for Mexican conchas which color some of the dough, might work for making hot cross buns?

                              in reply to: A Brief History of Meyer Lemons in America #11449
                              Mike Nolan
                              Keymaster

                                Yes, it was a good article to read. My poor little Meyer Lemon is nearly dead, there are a few signs of life at the bottom, but I'm not sure if they're the Meyer Lemon or the rootstock it was grafted onto.

                                I'm looking to order a new Meyer Lemon tree this spring, once warmer weather arrives so it can be shipped. It'll never rival Cindy's tree for production, but if I can get a couple dozen lemons from it, growing up on the 2nd floor in a south-facing window, I'll be happy.

                                in reply to: Fine Cooking Favorite Baking Books #11445
                                Mike Nolan
                                Keymaster

                                  Yeah, the fact that there are links to buy the books is sort of a hint that the page is mostly a marketing ploy.

                                  I've bought 3 books lately, the Pfeiffer baking book, the CIA textbook for cooks and a book by CIA on healthy cooking for home cooks (which is still in transit.)

                                Viewing 15 posts - 6,436 through 6,450 (of 7,760 total)