The Staff of Life: Bread

Ok, this is going to be tricky; as I don't know how to create web sites, this will have to do for a section on BREADS. I'll edit it as needed, adding recipes and tips...

Feb 14^th 2014: yup Valentines Day, and I decided to do some bread. A Challah Bread to be exact. Had tried some Artesian 5 minute bread earlier in the week and it was a flop (pun intended) Well, this days attempt was worse than a flop, it failed to make any attempt to raise to the occasion. My error on both occasions appears, (on reflection and getting up at 2:30 am Saturday Morning, to search the internet,) to have been the flour. It said All Purpose, but is behaving and looking (those little brown flecks are a dead giveaway) like whole wheat. The remedy was in the way I mixed the dough. 

The recipe ingredients

    1 1/4 c water (luke warm??)

    2 TBSP active yeast

    1/4 cup sugar (??)

    1/4 TSP salt

    5 cups of AP flour (3-4 cups whole wheat)

    oil to coat dough for rises 

    1 extra large egg and some honey, for coating bread before baking

 Method:

1) Add 2 cups of hot water, two tbsp sugar and two tablespoons of yeast. in a large bowl; proof 10-15 minutes

2) Add more sugar 2+ tbsp, the salt required

3) Add to mixture 2 cups of flour, stir

4) Add 1 more cup of Flour stir until thick, then get hands in and begin to knead the dough. 

5) Add 1/2 cup there after each time needed; dough should only be slightly sticky, like tape, not gumming up the fingers, not so dry as to be no stick at all...towards the end, flour your hands while kneading, to keep from adding too much flour, and get the dough to the right consistency. Knead for 15 minutes. 

    Kneading is an art in itself. Some believe you have to have a floured bread board, or some large bowl with flour in it... myself, I found just handling the dough, twisting and folding it, was the easiest method here. Unless one is making dough for 4+ loaves of bread, there is no need for anything more. 

For making bread: 

      Divide into two balls, coat with oil and set aside to rise in separate bowls, covered.

      Let rise for 1 hour in pan, to double, punch down, and either braid the bread with 3 ropes of dough, or re-coat ball with oil and let rise again, until suitable. 

   

(It was chilly in the house, so I left it to rise again for 1 hour, but normally it should only take 30 minutes, according to the recipe. This is something to keep in mind for later. Have read that heating the oven to 200 and turn it off, and putting the pan or tray in the oven, with the door ajar, will get it to rising temperature in a chilly house)

      Coat bread with the honey egg solution, and sprinkle sesame or poppy seeds on top

 or 

     Coat with flour and slash with a bread knife either diagonally or horizontally, and put a tray of water in the oven; this will ensure a firm crust.

      Bake for 30-35 minutes or until crust is golden brown

For making buns:

       don't let rise, flatten to 1/2 inch, cut into circles with large cup, (I got 6 buns) and lay on tray... let rise for 30 minutes to 1 hour depending on how you want them. They did tend to rise a bit more in the oven when left to rise for 30 minutes. Haven't done a batch for 1 hour yet ;) 

  Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees...  

New Beginnings and A New Content's Page

This is not about New Years Resolutions, that come and go
I have been a LOT lax in keeping up my blogs, and for that I am guilty
However, time to get on the wagon and try my best to make it up....

Have moved into new digs, and have made a decision to record as much of what I have in the way of self discovery on of all things, PAPER ;-) while at the same time slipping as much as is practical to the ELECTRONIC PAPER... How this will work out in progress is anyone's guess at the moment...

First Step: I have been collecting together in a folder, favorite recipes, and have now begun to organize that folder, into what I hope will be the contents pages of a Cookery Book... at present, this page here will be my online equivalent of the folder and the Word Doc contents page.... any critiques or comments, additions etc welcome...
     While this will be the Christmas Section of the Book, (I am planning on another blog to do the book in it's entirety) there will no doubt be some overlap with the more normal sections, like breads, pastries, cakes etc... So treat the following as a work in progress, not a finished product:; there will be over the months / years additions and subtractions....  and I will be posting the recipes in later posts, or updating recipes that I have already posted.... Be patient with me ;-)

My Cook Book as of January 10th

 Contents:

Tips, Weights and Measures, Charts:

            Weights and Measure Charts

            What Type of Sugar is THAT

            Making your own Graham Flour / aka Whole Wheat Flour

            Making your own Whole Oat Flour

            Substitutions

Drinks and Beverages

            Mulled Cider

            Homemade Mead & Wine

Candies

            Oreo Truffles

            President’s Choice Decadent Lemon Cookie Truffles

            Real Truffles from BBC

           Fudge:

                    Simple Basic Recipe w/variations

Condiments

            Lemon Curd

            Basic Curd Recipe

 Desserts

            Michelle’s Apple Crisp

Cookies

            Sally’s BA, Chocolate Chip Cookies

           Coconut Macaroons

 Cakes

           Tomato Soup Cake w/ Cream Cheese frosting

Pastries

            Pie/Tart Pastry

                        Elizabeth’s Pastry Shell

                        Sally’s Secret Ingredient Flaky Pastry

            Puff Pastry

            Pies:    Elizabeth’s Cloves Apple Pie

            Squares etc:     Baklava Simplified

Breads

            5 Minutes Bread

            Biscuits

            Buns

            Challah Bread

            Artesian Breads

Muffins

Christmas

            Paul’s Sausage Rolls

            Mince Meat: 2 Recipes

                              20^th Cent. Traditional

                              Mrs Beeton’s 19^th Cent. Traditional

 Christmas Fruit Cake  

 Christmas Day Trifle 

          Puddings: several recipes:

Pudding Broken Hill, NSW, Australia

Traditional Recipe

          Noel Cookies: 2 Recipes

                              Sally’s BA Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe

                              Thomas’ adaptation of Chocolate Chip Cookies

         Paul’s Turkey Cooking Directions

         Short Bread Butter Cookies 

         Ginger Bread Ornaments or Men

         Ginger Bread House Cookie Jars

         Cathy’s Cinnamon Rolls

        Unbaked Chocolate or Stove Top Cookies, by Betty Martyn

        Hot Apple Cinnamon / Cloves Punch
        Ginger Beer aka Bob Crachit
        Crock Pot Hot Apple Spice Punch 

        Apple pies – Cinnamon (Costco), Cloves (Homemade)

        Pumpkin Pies – (Costco)

           

           

Dinners

            Curries

            Meats

Breakfast

            Anili’s Euro Pancakes/Crepes

The Christmas Outside

As far as the forecast for this area is concerned, we are into another GREEN CHRISTMAS which for me is ok, but 1 or two days of snow for Thomas and Michael would be fine by me ;0 ok, maybe a few more for Michael LOL being 8 years old and no snow is a hardship; being over 50 and no snow is not a hardship, unless your a Christmas-holic who goes overboard with the decorations outside; the picture at the top of this page is from several years ago, and gives you an idea of what it is like at night; today I took a few pictures and here is the best one ;) if we get snow will take some more then; but for now this is as good as it gets; btw, read the blue sign LOL

uploaded a 5mb pic, but it is still only showing as a 47 kb strange, 

the blue sign says, Merry Christmas, Think Snow; 

Taste Test the two MM Recipes

Well, here it is, where the rubber meets the road; at the top, being a wee bit blond, is the new comer; though an older recipe, by probably 30-40 years, it is a plain Jane, unpretentious, not out to impress; the older recipe that has been used for the past 10 years or more, is a standard modern day MM that gets it's beginning at the turn of the century, 19th to 20th that is; it is loaded with spices and fruit, and is not ashamed to be known as a Traditional English MM Recipe; so, which is best,
    the Traditional Recipe, Dark Colour, the spices are most noticeable in the taste, and the amount of fruit gives it a chewy texture; whereas, the Light Coloured, Older Recipe, has a tangy flavour, imparted by the two main ingredients, Lemon, and Black Currant, it is less chewy, but more of a savory; either should do well at the dinner, for those that like Mince Meat, but I am thinking that for those that don't, if they try either, the Blond will make new friends ;-)
     my own opinion: I am looking forward to having the blond bomb next year as a 1 year old; she may just unseat the other one as a favourite;

Deep in the Past

This week Thomas has been trying to find the recipes for some of the things we used get at Christmas when we were kids; Snowballs, Strawberry Candies, Coconut Ice, and some other treats; of course the Mincemeat and the Cakes and Puddings came from Wonderbread Bakery, as we had a delivery man that came around the neighbourhood on a regular basis, just like the egg lady and the milk man;
     I have found a few of the treats in a book that Mom left me,

Let’s Cook!

Compiled By

14^th Peterborough

Scout Ladies Auxiliary

Murray Street Baptist Church

Peterborugh, Ontario

I haven't tried any of them yet, but when things quieten down after the holidays, will have a go at them; and report here the results; update, I have tried several of the recipes over the years, just didn't know it ;-) Unbaked Chocolate Cookies, Tomato Soup Cake, English Coconut Ice (think Kendal Cake, Michelle ;-) and Date Squares; perhaps there are others; thinking that I will be dipping into it a bit this year, along with the one below, Mrs Beeton's book  ;)
       was out with Lisa and Thomas and got looking at the stand up Mixers, and asked a lady what she was looking for in one, as I had no idea which to look for; well, she took me through some of the features, and then asked me how much I would be using it; well, I am thinking at least 1 to 2 times a week, so she recommended Kitchen Aid, as it is all metal construction, some have plastic gears; so guess that I will save up for this KA ;)

     Mom was into making pickled red cabbage and pickle-lily, as well as a few other things from the garden, horse radish ;) for dinner garnishes; that I would like to try to find the recipes for; I do have a verrrrrry tattered old recipe book without cover, index mostly gone, and falling apart really; she bought it when she got married, back in 1947, so I am assuming that it is one she used a lot; may find these recipes there; 

      But a few days ago, I found a recipe book online, that I had heard about, but never seen; I think every British cook has heard of this book, though like me only know it by reputation; Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management;

http://www.mrsbeeton.com/

I understand that it sold like hot cakes back in the day, 1861 ;) and so there should be many copies available still in England, so when I am there next, or perhaps online, will look for a copy for myself; she has a lot of recipes that are familiar and yet different, reading it is like being back home, yet not quite ;-) I did the Mincemeat recipe from her book, and tonight will be sampling some of it in tarts, comparing it to some I made from a modern recipe last year; report to follow BWG
      OK, the cheapest one I have seen is a Facsimile copy for 50 pounds ;( unless someone wants to buy me a first edition for 2000 pounds LOL don't you dare, would want to put it behind a glass case ;-) will make do with the online version for now; 

The Big Clean Up and >>>

ok, today a good man went to war!!!! or in other words, I cleaned the site of the battle that will ensue over the next fortnight or so; hard to believe only 3 more weeks and it will be Christmas Eve; it is coming fast; I won't show any pictures of the clean up, tooo embarrassing ;( had to have a nap afterwards; and then I got the cedar log that I cut off of a larger log (Thomas got the other piece) for a Christmas Yule Log ;-) the picture is above; yes I know that it is plain, but give me a break, it is only just made ;-) but for now, just a little bit of fun,

Ok, a bit later ;) and have decorated the log with pine cones and imitation cherries or small crab apples, depending on your inclination ;-)

and another update, like a week later ;) I have added some birds and pine branches; 

below is a piece of Bristlecone Pine that I picked up in the SW United States back in around 2003; I have attached with wires some birds, and put it on the book shelf my father made back in the mid 60's 

Merry Christmas Everyone!! 

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookies

Hi if someone has been thinking that I have slacked off, they would be wrong!!
CLEANED up the kitchen, got rid of a lot of debris from decorating, and made room for cooking; we have the 28 lb "Raptor"  in the fridge defrosting; we think it will take 2 weeks ;-) the list of cookies has been "finalized"; which means that we have decided on the basic minimum and if we have time, energy and funds or ingredients, we may do more ;) I was able to put off the paying of the internet bill, Teksavvy, courtesy of a lovely lady at their accounting department, now all I have to worry about is the Gov't being on time with my CPP ;)
    last night I made the decision to try the Noel cookie recipe for a Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe; substituting the Peanut butter for the butter/margarine; well it turns out that the peanut butter is not as moist as the butter/margarine, the dough was crumbly not holding any shape; so I tried adding some soft margarine, but it wasn't working, so a bit of milk, and it came together; this morning I tried the same recipe, to see if it was a fluke, but no, it still happened even though I put 1/3 cup of margarine in with the peanut butter; so I measured 1 Tbsp at a time in, mixing between, for total of 2 Tbsp; I now have two batches of batter in the freezer, with 28 cookies made from them; the picture is from the second batch;

now for the recipe; 

       Preheat the oven to 375 F, but if like mine it is fast (hot) then decrease accordingly

        Blend or sift (whichever is your preference)

              2 cups of either Cake and Pastry flour or All Purpose Flour

              1/2 Tsp baking soda

              1/2 Tsp salt (I use a pinch)

         Cream together

               1 Cup peanut butter (either 1 cup of crunchy or soft, or 1/2 cup of each)

               2/3 Cup white sugar

               2/3 Cup dark or light brown sugar

               (at this point I added 1/3 cup of margarine, more on that later)

         Beat in

              1 large egg

              1 Tsp of vanilla extract

          Beat until it is well mixed and then for 5 minutes longer, on low speed; don't expect it to become light and fluffy, it won't ;-) 

          Stir in flour mixture with spoon, fork or spatula; then beat with mixer or use hands to knead it further; 

           it is at this point you will notice that it is not holding together, even with the added margarine; I added 2 Tbsp of milk, one at a time, mixing by hand in between additions; 

          cooked for 12 minutes at 300 F, because my oven is hot; they came out slightly flat, and crisp; I think that it is a recipe worth working on, so I will try another batch later on; maybe leaving out the margarine, and adding more milk if necessary; last nights batch were raised up and chewy, not crisp; both still edible, but would prefer the chewy ones myself ;-)

         and now I am waiting for Thomas to recover from shaving some wood off bottom of the front door and we will perhaps go get some more ingredients for baking; need either the hard margarine or real butter for the Noel Cookies and a few other recipes; stay tuned, more coming up;