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Knead Bread

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    • Traffic Jam wrote:

      And sourdough cinnamon rolls.
      Wow, that sounds like a great combination. Bet they were delicious.

      I made some sauerkraut once. Nothing fancy, just had a left over head of cabbage I needed to do something with. I put it in a ceramic bean pot I had and luckily had a pot lid that fit perfectly to weigh it down beneath the brine. Put it in the shed for a few weeks and voila! After I took the scum off then top, it was the best sauerkraut I had ever had.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier
    • jimmyjam wrote:

      Traffic Jam wrote:

      Some of my recent loaves of sourdough bread.
      I'll bet your house smells wonderful with all that baking going on.
      I want to bake more but can’t eat it all and have been giving it away.

      My daughter’s landlord is from France and doesn’t normally like sourdough bread but he loves mine. He and his wife sheltered my daughter during the Nashville tornado so they have earned bread for life as far as I’m concerned. (My daughter parks her converted van on their property).

      I’ve been thinking about buying a Rofco bread oven but that seems like overkill. I don’t plan on selling it... the hoops you have to jump through to be legal aren’t worth it to me.
      Lost in the right direction.
    • Traffic Jam wrote:

      I’ve been thinking about buying a Rofco bread oven but that seems like overkill. I don’t plan on selling it... the hoops you have to jump through to be legal aren’t worth it to me.
      My brother used to own a bakery, but started his business using his kitchen at home. When he outgrew that he rented hours in commercial kitchen, as needed. Then he rented a building.
    • I’ve been exclusively making sourdough bread with high hydration levels.

      Working with wet dough takes some practice but is worth the effort. The dough is so wet that it’s impossible to do traditional kneading. Instead, one must do folds, turns, and stretches. Surprisingly, it doesn’t stick too bad to the cabinet (I don’t flour the cabinet because I don’t want the added flour), Using a hand and a bowl scraper to turn and manipulate the dough is all that’s needed.

      The reason people are using high hydration dough is because it makes more air bubbles and a better rise and crumb.
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      Lost in the right direction.
    • If anyone has a desire to bake bread, I’ve discovered that the Lodge Multi Cooker is the best! I put the dough on the skillet and use the pot as a lid. No more having to mess with extra pans of water for steam. Take the lid off after 20 min. The crust comes out perfect.

      I bet this system would make even store-bought dough taste like homemade.

      I’ve been wondering how well it works on a campfire. I’m not much of a campfire chef but may have to try it on my next car camping trip.
      Lost in the right direction.
    • Not really the same thing, but my grandmother always baked her Irish Soda Bread in her old Griswald cast-iron skillet, and the crust came out perfect every time.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier
    • okay...I’m not always successful with bread baking. Maybe that’s why I keep doing it. It’s a challenge, especially sourdough bread (and it also tastes good). My Sourdough Facebook group has 70,000+ members and every couple posts is a “What did I do wrong?” post.

      I thought I had a handle on it but did a few things differently yesterday and all my loaves ended up as frisbees. Ugh!

      They taste good though so they won’t go in the garbage (except the one that wouldn’t come out of the skillet and had to be torn up.)

      I may be making a lot of croutons. :)
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    • Traffic Jam wrote:

      IMScotty wrote:

      Not really the same thing, but my grandmother always baked her Irish Soda Bread in her old Griswald cast-iron skillet, and the crust came out perfect every time.
      Cast iron is great! Do you have your grandmother’s recipe? I’ve been wanting to try to make Irish soda bread.
      TJ and Cafe members,
      I will offer my mother-in-law's recipe. She was from the Kingdom of Kerry and always has some fresh warm soda bred on the table when she was expecting company. She died this past year and her family gave out the following recipe as a thank you to everyone who came to pay their respects...

      My recommendations, bake it in a cast-iron skillet.
      There is an anti-caraway seed continent in my family, but I feel they are a must add ingredient.
      You can see some items are 'too taste,' my grandmothers recipe was even less specific than this one.
      I prefer Craisins to Raisins. Suggest you give that substitution a try.
      The recipe does not mention it, but the Irish always cut a 'cross' on the top of the loaf before putting it in the oven.


      Bridget Lane’s soda bread is legendary; from our family to yours, we'd like to share with you her recipe:
      BRIDGET'S SODA BREAD
      Ingredients
      3 1/2 - cups flour
      1 tablespoon - baking powder
      1 teaspoon - baking soda
      dash of salt
      sugar to taste
      raisins to taste
      caraway seeds
      2 eggs
      About ½ cup buttermilk
      Directions
      Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9-inch pan or better yet use an iron skillet!
      Mix dry ingredients
      Mix buttermilk and eggs
      Combine them together and roll out to shape

      Bake in preheated oven until the bread has risen and the top is golden brown. 30- 45 minutes at most, or until a knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
      For scones use the top of an overturned juice glass to shape.
      Best served with a glass of whole milk, a thick slab of butter, some hot tea, and of course great company!

      The Lane Family
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier
    • That’s awesome, thank you so much! I will definitely save this recipe and use it.

      I’ve been thinking about recipes a lot lately. Mainly, how to save them. I love my old, hand-written recipe cards. They are like photo albums, full of memories of the people who gave me recipes or who wrote the cards and gave them to me. I remember helping my mom organize her recipe cards and reminiscing about her friends and family.

      So, I’ve been thinking about the best way to pass on my favorite recipes to my children. I thought a recipe app sounded more modern and think it can be easily shared but I have yet to fill out a single recipe. I keep looking at old-fashioned recipe cards with longing.
      Lost in the right direction.
    • I want to do the same thing TJ,
      Those family recipes are a part of my heritage that I would like to pass on to my children.
      It is about so much more than a meal, each recipe is a reminder of someone I loved.
      I feel the need to pass on the stories and recipes to my children.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier
    • IMScotty wrote:

      I want to do the same thing TJ,
      Those family recipes are a part of my heritage that I would like to pass on to my children.
      It is about so much more than a meal, each recipe is a reminder of someone I loved.
      I feel the need to pass on the stories and recipes to my children.
      Do it!

      You gave me an idea. What about a recipe journal instead of recipe cards? There would be more room to write and you could add comments or stories. What a great legacy to pass on.
      Lost in the right direction.
    • odd man out wrote:

      I keep telling my under-employed son to get a job at the local Cracker Barrel so he can steal their biscuit recipe for me. It's not haute cuisine, but I do like their biscuits. I can never get mine to come out like that.
      Do you remember the thread about "White Lilly" flour? Well its true. It's all about the ingredients.
      Be wise enough to walk away from the nonsense around you! :thumbup:
    • max.patch wrote:

      odd man out wrote:

      I got some white Lilly flour and yes, but I think the baker's skill ( or lack thereof) is also relevant.
      Yep. My grandmother made the best pie crusts I've ever had -- she gave me the receipe -- and I can't even come close. I've given up.
      a long time ago I won a pie baking contest at our church. There was an audible gasp when my name was announced. No one in this church had ever considered that a man would make a pie, much less win the contest.
    • I ordered a flour mill but they are all on back order everywhere so it will be a month or more before it arrives. The current crises and rush on flour made them scarce.

      Thinking that wheat berries may take a while also, I ordered a bag from amazon but it will arrive in a few days.
      Lost in the right direction.
    • Traffic Jam wrote:

      I ordered a flour mill but they are all on back order everywhere so it will be a month or more before it arrives. The current crises and rush on flour made them scarce.

      Thinking that wheat berries may take a while also, I ordered a bag from amazon but it will arrive in a few days.
      Cancelled my grain mill order. A fire at the manufacturing plant moved the delivery date to July. :(. My daughters Vitamix is working pretty good at grinding the wheat berries.
      Lost in the right direction.
    • Oh baby. This chocolate sourdough bread is to die for. Made with chocolate sourdough starter, oats, mini Wilbur chocolate pieces, and bourbon soaked raisins. My house smells like chocolate. :)

      (And because there’s a lot of bread shaming going on...the extra loaves are being donated to a struggling family. I always give away the extras.)
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      Lost in the right direction.
    • Traffic Jam wrote:

      Oh baby. This chocolate sourdough bread is to die for. Made with chocolate sourdough starter, oats, mini Wilbur chocolate pieces, and bourbon soaked raisins. My house smells like chocolate. :)

      (And because there’s a lot of bread shaming going on...the extra loaves are being donated to a struggling family. I always give away the extras.)
      you, young lady, get a gold star for helping others.
      Thank you.
    • LIhikers wrote:

      Traffic Jam wrote:

      Oh baby. This chocolate sourdough bread is to die for. Made with chocolate sourdough starter, oats, mini Wilbur chocolate pieces, and bourbon soaked raisins. My house smells like chocolate. :)

      (And because there’s a lot of bread shaming going on...the extra loaves are being donated to a struggling family. I always give away the extras.)
      you, young lady, get a gold star for helping others.Thank you.
      The credit goes to my daughter. She’s the one who gives the extra to people who need it. :)
      Lost in the right direction.
    • Traffic Jam wrote:

      Oh baby. This chocolate sourdough bread is to die for. Made with chocolate sourdough starter, oats, mini Wilbur chocolate pieces, and bourbon soaked raisins. My house smells like chocolate. :)

      (And because there’s a lot of bread shaming going on...the extra loaves are being donated to a struggling family. I always give away the extras.)
      Wow, your bread always looks amazing. I like to get the take and bake bread from Kroger and dip it in olive oil mixed with Parmesan cheese and wash it down with a red blend wine.
      "Dazed and Confused"
      Recycle, re-use, re-purpose
      Plant a tree
      Take a kid hiking
      Make a difference
    • Really Astro? Totally different here. My community college did the big transition over the summer. About 95% of classes are remote (some classes are asynchronous online, and some are what we call Videoconference, taught online synchronously).

      The only components meeting in person are the labs for health care and a few others that cannot be taught remotely. Even the General Bio and Chemistry labs are 'remote.' I teach Physics and insisted that I need to do these labs in-person. They reluctantly let me do it, but I am an outlier. When I am at work it is like my building is a ghost town. There are two or three security, custodians, myself and maybe 10 students (the max they will let in my lab space at a time, masked and separated by six feet). No administration or anything come in.

      It is hard for me to get any work done because the custodians have been so starved for human contact after being alone in the building so long, they just want to talk with me all day :)

      I find this all extremely saddening.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier
    • At our school, each prof can choose how to do their own section. Some are in person. Some on line, some hybrid. I don't know the distribution. The idea was that students would have options. I am using a combination of three options. One day in person, one day synchronous on line, the rest asynchronous on line.
    • odd man out wrote:

      At our school, each prof can choose how to do their own section. Some are in person. Some on line, some hybrid. I don't know the distribution. The idea was that students would have options. I am using a combination of three options. One day in person, one day synchronous on line, the rest asynchronous on line.
      That is what I wish we were doing.
      “Of all sad words of tongue or pen,
      the saddest are these, 'It might have been.”


      John Greenleaf Whittier
    • I think our university realizes after being an education provider their biggest revenue stream is being a landlord. Also our student's love being on campus. Most of my remote students are either foreign students stuck in their country (China and Central America) or married.

      Now we have lors of plexy glass, significantly reduced seating capacity for spacing, and everyone is wearing a mask. Also lots of hand sanitizer and wipes.
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General