[skeptic7]

Mike;
Do you do single or double crust pot pies? My chicken pot pies only have a top crust because it is easier. I think I was trying to reduce either fat or flour when I started doing that and just continued out of laziness. They do sound good.

[skeptic7]

I did an Apple Slab pie and two loaves of pumpkin cornmeal for Thanksgiving. The Apple Slab was made with a fellow Thanksgiving guest in mind as she likes pie crust much more than the filling. This uses 4 cups of flour as opposed to a round pie that uses three cups.
The pumpkin cornmeal bread is me going back to my old favorite cornmeal whole wheat recipe. I was visiting friends for the first time in 4 years for Thanksgiving.
I followed King Arthur Flour recipe for. Apple Slab but didn't frost it. I found it rather boring with only cinnamon as a spice. Next time I'm going to use more and different spices in the pie, or make apple-raisin, or apple-cranberry filling.

[skeptic7]

I woke up to snow today, it isn't that much, just an inch or so. I guess I should go out and shovel sometime and brush off my car.

[skeptic7]

I had a Banh Mi sandwich locally which was very good. Now that I have refamiliarized myself with the sandwich, I understand why you are devoting your time to it. Are you making the pate and headcheese found in a traditional sandwich? I've made the pickled carrots and radishes before but I have to buy the first two ingredients. I think I've only ever bought the Banh Mi sandwiches, but I've used the pickled vegetables with roast pork sandwiches.

[skeptic7]

I did a pepperoni, tomato, sweet red pepper pizza with three cheese topping yesterday. Most of its in the refrigerator for snacking over the next two or three days.

[skeptic7]

I'm not sure this would work for a normal bread dough. It would probably work for the high hydration doughs used for no-knead bread but I can't see this mixing dry spots in the dough the way a more vigourous kneading method would.

[skeptic7]

I mixed up Potato Raisin Rolls yesterday and will be baking today. I finished up computer learning last weekend and now will have time to do some fun baking. Well that is if I can find flour. I was at the grocery store(s) yesterday and they didn't have 5lb KAF all-purpose. They did have 10lb and organic but not 5lb. I want to make some pepperoni pizza and I already bought 2 lbs of beef pepperoni. Last time I froze this in packages of 15 slices which is not enough. I think I need 22 or 24 slices to completely cover a 9x13 pizza.

[skeptic7]

Congratulations Joan!!

[skeptic7]

I like cakey, unfrosted brownies. I made more Bao today. Turned out nicely.

[skeptic7]

I did tomato, and pepperoni pizza yesterday. Unlike the last time I tried it, I had no problems with the dough, or the tomato and managed to locate my cheese cutter. Its so nice when everything works well.
I also made the Taiwanes Bao without problem.
The difficulty occurred with the beef and turnip soup. I found out that a pressure cooker can boil dry even with the lid on -- I thought it wouldn't lose enough water from the vent -- I was wrong. I was listening for the pressure cooker to start rocking and whistling as it got up to temperature. I only noticed something wrong when I could smell the burned soup. I think I rescued most of the soup by adding more water, but it has a decidedly smoky taste.
Next time I'll be a little more careful .

[skeptic7]

I did more Bao -- basically the KAF Taiwanese Breakfast Bao -- yesterday and this morning. I turned out nicely,but I noticed when kneading that it doesn't feel exactly like other doughs. Can baking powder have an affect on the gluten formation? It doesn't windowpane like the other doughs.

[skeptic7]

This is an impressive recipe. I'm sure it would taste great. I can see using baking soda with normal cocoa which is slightly acidic, but I thought dutched cocoa had been already treated to be a neutral PH.

[skeptic7]

Installing a deer fence is a very expensive solution. My neighborhood has a lot of the old fashioned 3 ft chain link fences and that doesn't seem to stop the deer at all. I think the 6ft wooden privacy fence would keep the deer out. The WSJ seems to recommend tall fences made out of a frame and net design. I wonder how long these would last before falling apart.

[skeptic7]

My pizza is full of errors. It started with the dough. I had mixed up a sponge, saw that it had a few bubbles and added the rest of the ingredients -- salt, egg, oil. Then I kneaded in more flour until the consistency was reasonable Then I left it to rise. Only it didn't rise. It just sat there. After too long, I gave up and dissolved another teaspoon of yeast in a little water and mixed it in. After a couple of hours the dough had risen nicely and had large visible bubbles. So I kneaded it, adding more flour to compensate for the extra water. Then I let it rise a little and flattened it out and put into a pizza pan.
The next day I prepared to make fresh tomato and cheese pizza. Only the tomatoes weren't in the refrigerator where I had left them. They had been in left in a plastic bag on the counter top and were now moldy. So I opened a little can of tomato paste as dotted the dough with about half. Then I reached out for the cheese. The mozzarella and provolone were in the refrigerator where it should be but I couldn't find the cheese plane. So I sliced up the mozzarrela with a knife and put it on the pizza together with the provalone.
The pizza baked up nicely to make up for all that trouble.

[skeptic7]

Everyone's baking looks great. I've made another batch of Taiwanese Breakfast Bao. I've increased the salt to 1/2 teaspoon, and the baking powder to 1/2 teaspoon. I've mixed the dough and formed the bao on Sunday but didn't steam it till Monday morning. It turned out very well even with being slightly over proofed. I've looked at other recipes and think that increasing salt and baking power is a good idea or at least harmless.

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