Still working on No Knead Bread

After the last bread, I decided to go back to the original, non-whole-wheat recipe.

This recipe is made with 660 grams of bread flour and 464 grams (70%) water.
The dough sits in a cold room overnight and then is shaped and rises - took three hours to rise.

The loaf is shaped and allowed to rise on parchment paper.

The Corningware pan and lid is preheated in the 450º oven.  

When the oven is hot, paper and loaf go into the pan and the pan is covered.

After 30 minutes, remove the lid.

Bread is ready in about 15 minutes more.

It will have an internal temperature of 220º.

It would have been better if I remembered the salt!!!

 The  picture above illustrates why you do not cut hot bread!

Note the gumminess in the bottom inch.

It still tasted great.

(Just needed salted butter!)

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Then it was time to tackle whole wheat.

This bread is made with stone ground whole wheat, whole wheat pastry flour, and bread flour.

There is yeast, and I did remember the salt!

 This recipe sounds more complicated than it is.
Mix 1 cup bread flour, 1 cup water, 1/4 teaspoon yeast.  Allow it to rise overnight in a cool place.
The next morning, I mixed flours.

This time I used
12.5 ounces stoneground whole wheat flour
7.5 ounces whole wheat pie and pastry flour
5 ounces bread flour
(This brings the total bread flour to about 10 ounces.)
Add 21 ounces water and 2 teaspoons yeast.
(This brings the total water to 29 ounces and flour is 30 ounces.)  That makes ±90% hydration - much more than the white bread.  Although quite a bit of flour is used in the final shaping.
I also threw in a tablespoon of malt.  That's supposed to make it a bit chewier and make it get stale more slowly.

I did knead this dough with the Cuisinart Mixer.

Then let it rise to double.

Then shape, and let rise again.

Bake the same as white bread (above).

This makes a loaf weighing almost two pounds.

Gift Idea - Parson's Daughter

It is a challenge to come up with gifts during the holiday season.  We were quite proud of ourselves when we came up with the idea of an assortment of vintage candy.  We were about to order some candy on line - then receive it - then try to package attractively even though talent is limited. . . .

Tah, Dah!  We know where to find some vintage candy and special candy and a person with talent to package it attractively!

Sharon Jeffer owns and operates "The Parson's Daughter".  When I mentioned my idea, she suggested I bring a container and she would fill it.  "Make it look abundant," is her motto.  I found two autumn-themed serving bowls (one never has enough bowls!) and made a selection of fun candies and chocolate.

When we made the selections, Sharon kept a running tab so that I could stay within my budget.  While she was packing, she saw we were still under budget, so she found a couple of items I had missed that added oomph to the package, so she included them, too.  She still stayed well within my budget.

Among other things, there are pop-rocks, flying saucers, wax bottles, chocolate coated sunflower seeds, giant jawbreakers, bubblegum, Beechman's Gum, Mexican hats, chocolate babies, beach rocks, rock sugar crystal, peach-schnapps cordials, jelly belly surprises (you cannot tell by color - it may be popcorn flavor or it may be mud flavor, for example), and a box of sea salt chocolate caramels.  

Sharon did not charge for the packaging and presentation.  What a deal!!!

I think these will be well received! 

Happy Thanksgiving! 

Partly Whole Wheat No-Knead Bread

The world conspires to guilt white-bread eaters, so I've been trying to figure out a good proportion of white to whole wheat for No-Knead Bread.

I tried this one with 

356 grams high-gluten flour,

120 grams white whole-wheat flour.

A tiny bit of yeast (maybe 1/4 teaspoon) 

1.5 teaspoons salt.

336 grams of water.

This gets mixed together and covered (with a glass plate, in this case),

 and placed in a cool place over night,

and then into a warm room.

 When doubled, the oven was preheated to 425º with the corningware pot and lid preheating, too.

When heated, the bread was dumped into the hot pot and covered with the hot lid.

This strategy traps the moisture.

A "real" baker has a steam-injected oven.

Some folk put a pan of water in the oven to add moisture. Others spritz the oven and dough.  (I have heard of shattered oven windows, though, from the water hitting the hot glass, and I'm not ready to replace the oven!)  The heated, covered pot is so much easier.  You can use corningware, cast iron, a dutch oven.  It just needs to be heavy and have a good lid. (Make sure the knob on the lid can tolerate the heat.)

After a half-hour, the lid was removed for the last 15 minutes.

Total cooking time was 45 minutes.  

Bread was 200º when done.

Crust is crisp.  Crumb is chewy, but the holes are still smaller than I hoped.

It was tasty.

Next experiment will be with just white flour to see if I get the texture I am looking for.  (Or I may try an even wetter dough - this was 1/3 whole wheat, 2/3 bread flour, and then 70% by weight of water.  Maybe the whole wheat needs more water???)

If you have any suggestions, please send them. . .

New Toy - All-Clad 3 Quart Saucepan

The latest toy arrived today.  America's Test Kitchen uses a lot of All-Clad, and when I saw this pan with the "helper handle" that seemed like an excellent idea.  We measured various pans already here, and this size, 3-quart, seemed to be the one with the most potential uses.

It's quite heavy, even when empty, since it is constructed of two layers of steel around an aluminum core.  The handle is a bit awkward, but the helper handle is wonderful.

The first test was soup - tortellini im brodo.  This is made with homemade chicken stock, carrots, sliced ginger, and Bertolli dry tortellini.  Excellent!

(To the right in the above picture are homemade Altoids™.)

(You can find the directions at my webpage.)

Eastern Star

The Eastern Star is an interesting multi-purpose apple.

This tree is in the Eastern orchard.

Golden Russet Apple

There were a few Golden Russet apples.  Probably originating in New York around 1800, Golden Russet is one of the great apples, excellent for cooking, dessert, apple juice and, due to its high acid and sugar content, cider.  It declined in popularity as consumers judged food visually instead of by taste.  Currently, along with other russets like Roxbury and Pomme Gris, enjoying a renaissance.

They are not very pretty.

In August, 2015, there are several trees with fruit.

This one needed to be propped up!

Here's one pendant.

Roxbury Russet Apple

We got a couple of Roxbury Russets.

Roxbury Russet, along with Rhode Island Greening, one of the two oldest named varieties native to the United States.  Also called, among other things, "Leather Coat," it sports an ugly skin, which contributes to its lack of eye appeal.  It has a high sugar content, and ferments to about 6% alcohol, which makes it a dandy cider apple.

The skin on this example is rough, and in this case lumpy.  Very crisp, juicy.

Sunny Asian Restaurant, Utica, NY

It was time to return to Utica to pick up our glasses.  That meant a lunch out!  We decided to try Sunny Asian Restaurant, 520 Albany Street, Utica, NY.

When we checked out the menu I saw that they had "Bubble Tea".  Now, I'd read about that and it sounded interesting  -  a new experience at least.  I ordered the Honeydew Bubble Tea.

It was delicious and fun and would be fantastic in the summer.

It's a honeydew flavored slurpy with "bubbles".  When I check wikipedia, it says the bubbles are tapioca.  These seemed to be completely flavorless navy blue balls of gummy bear.  It was fun!

The server brought fresh, crispy noodles and a sweet and spicy sauce.

D ordered shrimp with garlic sauce.  These were a handful of shrimp in an excellent sauce with vegetables.  The vegetables, cooked in the sauce, were al-dente, not crunchy, and had been in the sauce long enough to absorb the flavor.  D described the broccoli as the best he had ever eaten!

 

I chose the tofu with lemon grass.  There was quite a bit of ginger in it.  It was excellent.

The onions, peppers, and carrots were also well done - not raw.

(The shrimp on top was from D's plate.) 

I really enjoyed the bubble tea!

We will go back to Sunny Asian Restaurant the next time we go to Utica.

Autumn Foliage

The morning was foggy, but at dinnertime the sun came out.

This is the last of the Golden Queen and Cherokee Purple tomatoes.  We are still picking the heritage corn.


We took a ride to see the glories of fall.  It was a lovely adventure, but actually the best pictures were taken at home.

 On the following picture, you might notice the cages on the apple trees in an attempt to foil the deer.

The mornings have been foggy.  Makes for interesting effects.

And the moon has been spectacular.

This week is the last of the 70-degree weather.  Fifties and sixties next week.  Sigh.

But it has been a lovely fall.  

With no frost yet, we are still getting about two quarts of raspberries a week.  

These are Autumn Bliss raspberries.

We have lots of juice in the freezer!

Pho Mekong House of Noodles, Utica, NY

A trip to Utica was in order.  Lunch is always fun on a trip, and a search of trip advisor and yelp led us to Pho Mekong, 601 John Street, Utica, NY.

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   This Vietnamese restaurant is a hole in the wall in an unexpected location.  We were greeted immediately by a hostess/waitress.  She promptly brought tea and water.  The tea was hot and floral and delicious.

A request for something with shrimp led to the suggestion of Pho Xao, (S47),

which is shrimp and vegetables (bok choi, peppers, broccoli, onions, mushrooms) over steamed rice noodles in a delicious brown sauce.  It was surprisingly easy to eat most of it, bringing only a bit home.

A Vietnamese chicken curry soup (V41) with vermicelli included chicken, broccoli, mushrooms, with mung beansprouts and basil on the side.  The chicken parts included skin, so it was not a favorite.  The soup flavor was excellent - a mild, slightly sweet curry.

We will be going back to Utica in a week or two and may try something else here or may try another restaurant.  Check back. . .

Braised Red Potato - America's Test Kitchen recipe

America's Test Kitchen made a braised red potato recipe.  We have beautiful red potatoes this year, so this seemed like a good one to try.  The name of the potato is Sangre.  They are larger than we expected.

You can find the original recipe at:  http://www.kcet.org/living/food/the-public-kitchen/weekend-recipe-braised-red-potatoes.html

Braised Red Potatoes with Lemon and Chives
Serves 4 to 6

1 1/2 pounds small red potatoes, unpeeled, halved
2 cups water
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 garlic cloves, peeled
3 sprigs fresh thyme
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons minced fresh chives

Of course, I made substitutions - green onion for chives - parsley for thyme.

The halved red potatoes were placed face down in a pan with water, butter, cloves of garlic, parsley, salt, and boiled until the water boiled away and the potatoes began to brown.  

After they are browned, add the mashed garlic, lemon juice, green onion, pepper.

ATK recommends a non-stick pan, but since I don't believe in them, I had to use my stainless steel pot.  They began sticking in the end and I did not let them brown as much as one might hope.

They were very creamy -  not what we expected.  And delicious!

Wickson Crab Apple

While most professional cider apples date to the 19th century or earlier, Wickson was developed in California in the early twentieth. Albert Etter, a prolific and reputedly eccentric breeder, developed several strawberries and apples, many of which were lost after his death.

  

The majority of web sites and other publications list Newtown Pippin and Esopus Spitzenburg as the parents of Wickson, however Greenmantle Nursery, which rescued Etter's original orchard, rather lists two little known crabs, Newton and Spitzenberg.

In any event, Wickson is a very acid and incredibly sweet little apple, too small to be commercially successful, but dandy for artisanal cider making.  Rowan Jacobsen, in Apples of Uncommon Character, recommends Wickson in his "Slow Roasted Baby Apples" recipe, but most folks are content to drink them.

There are a few apples on our Wickson Crabapple tree.  When one fell off, it gave an opportunity to check it out.

It seems kind of large for a crabapple to me.

~~~

It's still not ready, but it is fun to see.

Isn't it pretty inside?

It was very bitter - one reason it is chosen for a cider apple.

Maybe next year will be a better one for apples.

Dabinett Apple

Dabinett is one of the few apples that can make a good single variety cider.

Discovered by William Dabinett in a hedgerow in Middle Lambrook, Somerset, in the early twentieth century.  Middle Lambrook lies between East Lambrook and West Lambrook, and sits on the north bank of Lambrook Brook.  Dabinett (the tree) is reputed to be the offspring of Chisel Jersey, another quality Somerset apple.

The apple is a moderate bittersweet, held in high regard  in the UK and the US  both as a single varietal and as a great blending apple.  

This one is beginning to exhibit water-core damage.

To Prick or Not to Prick

D brought in some beautiful baking potatoes.  These Goldrush potatoes bake up fluffy and are a golden color.

There is always a question of whether to prick the potatoes with a fork before baking.  Some folk say don't prick them - you want the steam held inside.  Others say to prick them to keep them from exploding.  

The question will be answered today.

What is the temperature for a "done" baked potato?  Around 210 degrees.  Was my potato around 210?  I took it out and stuck the thermometer in.  POP!  The potato exploded like a balloon.  I jumped back.  The potato skin landed on the floor.

Lots of the potato landed on the counter.  I scooped some of it up.

I guess we will take it out for the chickens to enjoy.

Notice how clean the skin is.  

That's because the inside is all over the counter and the floor.

Fortunately, I cooked an extra potato, so no one had to go hungry.

~~~~~~~~

Now you know.

It is a good idea to prick potatoes before baking.

Redfield Apple

2014

2014 was not a good year for fruit trees.  D was keeping an eye on the one plum on one tree.  It's no longer there.  His Redfield trees have one apple.  Here it is - picked before our resident deer population could discover it.

An unusual, red fleshed apple, developed in the late 1930's from a cross between the famously outsized WolfRiver apple and Niedzwetzkyana, an endangered apple from Kyrgyzstan.  Niedzwetzkyana is the ancestor of most, if not all, of the red fleshed apples now domesticated.

Redfield is used for cooking and cider, producing a blood-red cider of high flavor which, while normally blended, is used by West Country Cider to make an excellent single variety cider.  The jelly is also well regarded.

Redfield  sports red flowers and bronze colored leaves, a striking addition to any orchard.

Alas, it ripens in late October (and today is mid-September), so it's not ready to eat yet.

I wonder if the red increases as it ripens.



We had lots of mulberries.  (We left them for the birds.)  There were quite a few cherries, but each one had its own worm.  The beach plums have never fruited.  The birds got the elderberries.  One side of one apple tree (named Lazarus) has a few apples.  That's it.  Sad.

Tough year for apples.

2015 update

All the trees near the road have fruited.  The ones down the hill did not - we did get a 29º night in May.   The guess is that the cold air descended farther down the hill.

This is a young tree, so we are glad there aren't too many apples to stress the branches.

Isn't it lovely?

The inside is also lovely.

It is supposed to make a red cider.

We'll let you know - there are only a handful this year, though.