[skeptic7]

Has anyone have instant yeast start growing and fail? I was making another batch of Hot Cross Buns and wanted to use some Instant Yeast I had been given by a friend. I started my normal sponge and the yeast grew and had bubbles and made a thick sponge. Than I mixed in eggs and sugar and flour. This is a relatively sweet dough. Nothing happened when I let it sit for awhile before kneading in butter and spices, but it was a short time so I didn't expect much. I then left it for 6 hours and the dough hasn't risen at all!! Did the yeast fail because of too much sugar?
I have added a little water and some active dry yeast and am now waiting to see if this fixes things.

[skeptic7]

Its amazing that it just came out of nowhere in such a neat rectangle. I'm glad no one was hurt

[skeptic7]

I made Red-cooked Pot Roast with Vegetables form "Chinese Casserole Cooking" by Lilah Kan; only I cut up the beef into stew size pieces before starting and cooked it in a very large magnalite roasting pan last Tuesday. I placed it in the oven at 280 degrees and cooked for hours. It was a very cold day and I was looking for an excuse to heat up the kitchen. I've made this recipe before in a slow cooker, and found the oven cooks much faster. I probably over cooked it slightly. I enjoyed it a lot and will probably be enjoying it for several more days. Thursday I cooked Quaker Quick Barley as sort of a pilaf and ate it mixed with the beef. The Barley is very boring by itself but mixes well.

[skeptic7]

I made a small batch of Hot Cross Buns with my kitchen aid mixer. Same small recipe from Babe's Cookbook but with dried pineapple and currants for the fruit. The mixer did a very good job of kneading the dough and it rose very well. I am glad I have this as my shoulder is still sore from chipping the ice from the January ice storm.

[skeptic7]

I was going through my hoard of Washington Post newspapers. I had forgotten just how much I enjoyed the articles in the food section. I have only used a few recipes but the stories about the food and cooks and writers were great. I used to have boxes and boxes of unread newspapers but a friend has been taking them away and bringing them to a friend of hers who often fosters puppies and can use newspapers. I was saving them in the hopes that I would eventually read them or place the in the garden to control weeds. I also used them for shipping.

[skeptic7]

I did a small batch of Hot Cross Buns yesterday. I used my Kitchen Aid Mixer for almost all the kneading and mixing. I did knead the fruit in by hand and formed the dough into the proper buns. My arm is still sore from the big snowstorm at the end of January. I had snowcrete -- snow mixed with rain and freezing down to the sidewalk. The chipping necessary to try to clean one walkway and the driveway before the thaw has left me with a sore right shoulder. I am trying to avoid lifting objects with my right arm and was glad to do almost no kneading.
I made 20 small rolls in a 8x13 pan following the Babe (pig) cookbook recipe.

[skeptic7]

Thank you. I like hearing the details of your using the Ankarsrum mixer. Overall do you like this better than your old mixer?

[skeptic7]

Thank you. Is an oil cake like a muffin recipe? Do you worry about glutein development? I can't remember making an oil based cake. I've made sponge cakes with no oil except for the egg yolks.

[skeptic7]

I went to the grocery store (Krogers) as soon as I saw this. I can buy the store brand of frozen concentrate but they only have one variety. Minute Maid orange juice came in Regular, Extra Pulp ( Country style ), and Calcium supplement. I will miss Minute Maid but glad that some orange juice is available. Frozen concentrate is much better for bicyclists and anyone who has to carry the groceries home and is useful in some recipes.

[skeptic7]

Thanks for writing so much about your mixer. Do you think the Ankarsrum does a better job of mixing dough than your old machine? Do you like using it better? I found using a mixer gives me a moister bread dough as I don't need to add flour when kneading.
Have you tried to make quick bread or cookies with it?

[skeptic7]

I had pancakes for breakfast slathered with maple syrup and a little butter. Also a piece of ham. I ate all the pancakes ( 1/4 recipe ) instead of saving some for tomorrow.

[skeptic7]

Chocomouse;
I scald milk before using it to deactivate the enzymes. This does make a difference for whole wheat bread, and makes less of a difference when using white flour. The enzymes in normal powdered milk haven't been deactivated so I reconstitute and scald it. KAF special baker's powdered milk has been treated to deactivate the enzymes so it doesn't need to be scalded and can be added with the dry ingredients.
Milk powder doesn't need to be treated for cookies and quick breads.

[skeptic7]

I made potato rolls with raisins. This has come to be my default roll recipe with lots of butter and eggs and of course potato flakes. I made a point of getting enough milk to be able to bake this before the last storm. I don't have powdered milk here at my father's house, at my home I make sure that I always have some for baking emergencies. This is regular powdered milk and I have to reconstitute it and scald it before using it in bread. I have had KAF special baker's powdered milk before but stopped stocking it because I could only use it for baking. Regular powdered milk could be used in soup or for hot chocolate.

[skeptic7]

Thanks for writing this up!! How much bread dough have you kneaded at one time? What do you think are the upper and lower limits?
Mincemeat sounds wonderful. I haven't seen any in the grocery stores for awhile.

[skeptic7]

I did basic scones with dried cranberries yesterday. These are the basic scones with white flour and sugar, very tasty. I made 16 small scones instead of the 8 the recipe called for. These were very good and I only have one small scone left today,

Baker Aunt; I notice you use Barley Flour in many of your recipes. What advantage do you get from doing this? Is it just the taste?

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