[Mike Nolan]

I haven't seen chicken legs here under 99 cents/pound in a long time. I usually buy bone-in breasts, if I want skinless/boneless I do that myself, I throw the bone in a bag and freeze it for my next batch of chicken stock.

Eggs have gotten pricey here, $2.39 a dozen is common. For some reason WalMart is selling them at 37 cents/dozen though.

I did spaghetti squash with meatballs in tomato sauce and cheese toast tonight.

[Mike Nolan]

I made Vienna bread (Clonmel Double Crusty) last night, using just 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Came out great.

[Mike Nolan]

A rest just after initial mixing isn't for the yeast, it's for the flour to get better hydrated and for enzymes to get started. It's similar to an autolyze (which is generally done before the yeast is added and sometimes before the salt is added as well.)

[Mike Nolan]

I've seen this technique a few times, too, I'm not sure it is better than other techniques.

Some bakers get into specific routines because they work for them, that doesn't mean other routines won't work too.

[Mike Nolan]

We had waffles with fruit and low-sodium bacon.

[Mike Nolan]

They're similar to cracked wheat, possibly a bit larger I usually soak them first, I don't always do that with cracked wheat.

[Mike Nolan]

Well, if I buy some rye berries, I can make a pretty coarse rye meal with my grain mill.

But here's another possibility: rye meal

[Mike Nolan]

Yeah, a Westphalian rye sounds like it might be the right sort of recipe. I wonder what it uses for leavening? I assume it must be using some kind of rye starter.

[Mike Nolan]

I'm still looking for an AUTHENTIC recipe for German/Russian black bread, one that doesn't cheat by using coffee or cocoa to darken the interior. I think the way it is done is that the bread is baked for a very long time, like 18 hours, at a low temperature. Not sure I want to crank my oven up for that long very often, but I'd at least like to try doing it once.

[Mike Nolan]

Small cuts always give me problems but top round can be especially challenging, depending on the portion you have and the size. The one I did a few weeks ago had a big fat/connective tissue ridge down the middle.

Meat charts don't always break cuts down into specific muscle groups, I've bought a few books on meat cutting and they seem to do a better job identifying the individual muscles. I need to see what the study materials are for the FFA meat judging competitions, I get the impression that to win those competitions they need to know each muscle. I think there are 3 or 4 separate muscles that make up the top round.

Anyway, I roasted it as one piece, but as soon as I started trying to slice it I wound up dividing it into two pieces, trimmed off the connective tissue, and sliced them separately.

[Mike Nolan]

The veggies might be better off at 300-350, simply because of how various temperatures affect the cooking process. (Baking has similar issues, you generally don't get the Maillard reaction below about 280 and you won't get much caramelization under about 350.)

There was a time when the food safety folks said that you couldn't cook ANYTHING in an oven set below 300, but with the advent of sous vide cooking and other low-temp techniques, I haven't heard that much lately.

[Mike Nolan]

I did about a 2.5 pound top round roast a couple of weeks ago, using the same technique I use for eye of round, starting it at 500 degrees for 7 minutes/pound then dropping the temperature setting to about 150 and essentially letting it coast for a few hours. (The original instructions say to turn the oven OFF and let it coast for 3 hours, but I find it cools off too much that way.)

It got done in under 2 hours, which was a good hour before I had dinner planned. I kept it at 150 until we were ready for dinner, but that dried the surface out a bit too much. I think if I was doing it again, I'd skip the time at 500, do the first hour at 250, and allow about 2 hours start to finish.

[Mike Nolan]

I usually roast it in the oven. Some recipes will tell you to do it at 350, others at 400. I prefer the lower temperature, I think it dries out less. You want it to reach an internal temperature of 150 degrees.

[Mike Nolan]

I used about 2/3 of what I had when I made banana muffins the other day, so I replenished it. Seems like this time it got a bit thicker, but I left the container sitting by the stove while I was making the muffins, so it was in a somewhat warmer place than the first time.

Followup: I checked my buttermilk today (Monday) and it's nice and thick.

[Mike Nolan]

I will be making pot roast with a 7 bone chuck roast this afternoon.

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