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Knead Bread

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    • Traffic Jam wrote:

      The past month has been incredibly busy for me so havent had time to bake. This afternoon, I threw the ingredients for buttermilk sourdough bread in the machine but it’s taking a long time to rise. Can’t wait for fresh bread.
      Making me wish I lived nearby. :)
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • I bought some almond flour last month and decided to make scones with it. Almond flour is a common ingredient in gluten-free diets (which I am not on). Its nuttiness seemed like a good idea for cinnamon raisin scones. I added cake flour to help it along.

      The batter was so wet, it was a messy job getting it into the scone pan. They crumbled into dust and were terrible. Ugh! All my wasted ingredients. They had to be dumped in the trash.
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      Lost in the right direction.
    • Traffic Jam wrote:

      I bought some almond flour last month and decided to make scones with it. Almond flour is a common ingredient in gluten-free diets (which I am not on). Its nuttiness seemed like a good idea for cinnamon raisin scones. I added cake flour to help it along.

      The batter was so wet, it was a messy job getting it into the scone pan. They crumbled into dust and were terrible. Ugh! All my wasted ingredients. They had to be dumped in the trash.
      Wow, those look really good! :thumbup:
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • TJ,

      That is a shame. Those scones look and sound so good. Maybe Hazelnut Flour next time :) Perhaps a mix of Almond and Wheat flour would be the best of both worlds.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier

      The post was edited 1 time, last by IMScotty ().

    • I salvaged the remaining batter this morning by adding one egg, 2 cups bread flour, 1/2 cup rolled oats, 1 tsp baking powder and enough milk to get the consistency that I like.

      I was winging it, just added things that sounded like they would work. Don’t have the foggiest idea why i threw in the oats.

      The scones were okay. They are probably closer to authentic than my normal recipe..dryish, no sweetness, slightly crumbly. They were good with butter. Tomorrow, I’ll use butter and jam. Yum.
      Lost in the right direction.
    • Bagels have been on my learn-to-make list so decided to make them today. They were surprisingly easy and turned out really good. The outside is chewy but not tough and the inside is soft.

      Fresh bread, hot out of the oven, is one of the best things in life.

      I didn’t add any spices or seeds since this was the first batch but I’ll start experimenting with different toppings and flavors. (And try to make them more aesthetically pleasing).
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      Lost in the right direction.

      The post was edited 1 time, last by Traffic Jam ().

    • odd man out wrote:

      when my sister who lives in NYC would come to family reunions she would bring one suitcase just for food. Most of that was bagels. I NYC, they are huge.
      not sure if we were in NJ or NY but Slingshot and I walked about a mile down a road to a gas station/grocery/deli/bakery that had baskets full of fresh bread and bagels, all unwrapped. The aroma was amazing as were the bagels.
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference
    • Before becoming a carpenter and general contractor my dad was a baker. So he still used to bake a lot of bread, donuts, pies, cobblers, etc.. for us. I guess that cursed me with a weakness for fresh bread. But it sure does smell and taste good. :)
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • Today’s bread...harvest grain from the bread machine. Recently, I made a basic, French bread, recipe from Julia Child and it was outstanding. And so, so simple...using only 4 ingredients, flour, yeast, salt, and water.
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      Lost in the right direction.
    • And I’ve ventured into dessert baking. Danger Will Robinson! Hopefully I’ll give it away, not eat it.

      Homemade lemon shortbread tarts and (pre-baked) cinnamon rolls.
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      Lost in the right direction.
    • I can’t speak highly enough of the Basic French Bread recipe from Julia Child. If you’re interested in bread baking, this is a great one to start with. Start it around 11 am and you’ll have fresh bread for dinner.

      I’ve been thinking how to make this on the trail. The cooking part is the problem.
      Lost in the right direction.
    • Not bread but today I baked two apple pies and some mini chessecake tarts. The tarts are a new recipe that I’m trialing.

      After baking, the tarts went in the fridge for a while to cool. I took them out but couldn’t get them out of the pan, they were stuck. Four were ruined and had to be eaten straight from the pan (oh darn). Tried to brainstorm and figure out a different method but after they sat for a bit, they popped right out.
      Lost in the right direction.
    • Somewhat venturing into dessert making, The problem is that I want to make it but don’t need to eat it!

      Recently made peach muffins with fresh peaches and a sponge cake with almonds, orange ricotta filling, and fresh blueberries.

      The sponge cake was an adventure. I thought about that cake all night...even looked up recipes when I couldn’t sleep. So was excited to try it the next morning only to screw it up.

      Sponge cake uses 4 ingredients and the eggs are used as the leavening. You beat the eggs until air is incorporated enough until they’re fluffy like clouds. I didn’t beat mine enough and didn’t realize it since this was my first attempt. The cake was flat and had a very eggy, unpleasant smell so it went into the garbage.

      The filling was already made so I had to try again and the second attempt was much better. I’m not good at details or presentation and unevenly cut the layers so it was very lopsided and rough around the edges (literally).

      It was tasty though.
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      Lost in the right direction.

      The post was edited 1 time, last by Traffic Jam ().

    • Oh yeah...also recently made chocolate yeast bread. It was an attempt to mimic the chocolate bread sold at Wilbur chocolate in PA. I used whole pieces of Wilbur buds.

      As the bread baked, it pushed some of the chocolate pieces out. My bread looks like it’s pooping, Lol!

      Another learning experience...except I’m not sure how to apply what I learned.
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      Lost in the right direction.
    • Traffic Jam wrote:

      Somewhat venturing into dessert making, The problem is that I want to make it but don’t need to eat it!

      Recently made peach muffins with fresh peaches and a sponge cake with almonds, orange ricotta filling, and fresh blueberries.

      The sponge cake was an adventure. I thought about that cake all night...even looked up recipes when I couldn’t sleep. So was excited to try it the next morning only to screw it up.

      Sponge cake uses 4 ingredients and the eggs are used as the leavening. You beat the eggs until air is incorporated enough until they’re fluffy like clouds. I didn’t beat mine enough and didn’t realize it since this was my first attempt. The cake was flat and had a very eggy, unpleasant smell so it went into the garbage.

      The filling was already made so I had to try again and the second attempt was much better. I’m not good at details or presentation and unevenly cut the layers so it was very lopsided and rough around the edges (literally).

      It was tasty though.

      Traffic Jam wrote:

      Oh yeah...also recently made chocolate yeast bread. It was an attempt to mimic the chocolate bread sold at Wilbur chocolate in PA. I used whole pieces of Wilbur buds.

      As the bread baked, it pushed some of the chocolate pieces out. My bread looks like it’s pooping, Lol!

      Another learning experience...except I’m not sure how to apply what I learned.
      When you post stuff like that it makes me wish I lived nearby.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • Decided to try my hand at biscotti making last week. They turned out decent. They were perfectly crisp but the candied orange that I used melted and caramelized, making them taste slightly burned on the edges. I still think they’re good, especially dipped in coffee. But lesson learned.
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      Lost in the right direction.
    • I splurged on a handmade sourdough starter crock. My starter is going to be so happy to not be in those ugly plastic containers. They already love it, I woke up to them spilling out of the container, making a big mess.

      I’ve been interested in fermenting for a while and also bought a water-sealed fermenting crock. It’s so beautiful! Unfortunately, the lid broke in transit so the potter is making another. No matter, I put a bowl upside down on the crock and have red cabbage, beets, apple, and ginger fermenting away.

      It’s funny to hear it burping.

      Didn’t really need a new hobby...oh well.
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      Lost in the right direction.
    • Traffic Jam wrote:

      I splurged on a handmade sourdough starter crock. My starter is going to be so happy to not be in those ugly plastic containers. They already love it, I woke up to them spilling out of the container, making a big mess.

      I’ve been interested in fermenting for a while and also bought a water-sealed fermenting crock. It’s so beautiful! Unfortunately, the lid broke in transit so the potter is making another. No matter, I put a bowl upside down on the crock and have red cabbage, beets, apple, and ginger fermenting away.

      It’s funny to hear it burping.

      Didn’t really need a new hobby...oh well.
      This cabbage didn’t turn out, not enough brine covering it. It’s been my only fermenting failure so far. I repeated this recipe last week and so far it looks good.
      Lost in the right direction.