Nutella Star Bread

I need to take a dish-to-pass.  We've been watching the Great British Bake Off, and the home bakers in the competition make interesting bakery items.  Once they were tasked with making a "Tear and Share."  Never heard of it, but have been looking around.  Lots of super videos on youtube.  This sounds good.

Nutella Star Bread ready to rise:

Ingredients:

450 g flour

70 g sugar (I think less would be better)

2 eggs

180 ml milk

2t yeast

salt

40 g butter

Nutella™

It would probably be best to watch a video on how to shape the bread.  Makes learning it easy.

After fully risen, there are fewer spaces between the arms.

Smells delicious.

Artistry is not quite there yet.

Not too bad for a first try.

~ ~ ~ 

Five Days Later

Second Try

One of the group does not like Nutella™.

The large star is made with Nutella.

The top left two are plain.

The other five are cinnamon buns.

I also reduced the sugar to 50 grams.

I like that better.

Finally - some spring fauna have arrived

Happy St. Patrick's Day.  We have had snow on the ground since mid-January, and we were despairing of ever seeing a robin.

This morning, on the only cleared space - the driveway - four robins appeared.  By the time the camera was ready with a new battery, there was one left - sitting fluffed up in the viburnum.

This guy is a little hard to see in the driveway - it's probably a female or an immature male redwing blackbird.

This is the first time we have seen gray squirrels here.
Our squirrels are the red ones.

Here he is playing on an overturned chair.

And now, with about 16 inches of compacted snow on the ground, D has gotten an email that his trees will arrive by UPS tomorrow.

25% Whole Wheat No Knead Bread

Yet another attempt to perfect the no-knead bread.  For this bread, I used 1/4 whole wheat pie and pastry flour and 3/4 bread flour.  It was about four cups.  The flour weighed 680 grams, and I added 544 grams of water (80% of 680 = 544).  The dough sat overnight and in the morning, I shaped it and allowed it to rise again.

Preheat the oven to 550º with the corningware pot and lid in the oven heating, too.

Plop the risen loaf into the pot, slash the top a few times with a super-sharp knife, put the lid on and bake for 30 minutes.  Lower the temp to 425º, remove the lid, and bake for 15 minutes more.

Here it is!

It's square because the pan is square.

I have been frustrated with the crumb, but this looks ok.

A fine loaf!

I cut the loaf into quarters and freeze three quarters.

It's fine when it comes out of the freezer.

We find the best slicing knife is the electric knife.

Winter Apple Pie

The pharmacy had bags of Braeburn apples for sale.  We had some fresh, but winter demands pie.
I used the America's Test Kitchen recipes for the crust and for the pie, but used half of the apples they call for (since that's what I had).  Also used much more cinnamon.

Smells wonderful.

Can't wait for it to cool!!!

Well, rats. . . 

Crust was great.

Apples were not very interesting.

Too much cinnamon.

At least we know the crust recipe works.

And if all goes well, we should have a lot of pie apples this year.

Just a few months to wait. . . 

America's Test Kitchen was Right - Braised Red Potato

Well, they were right again.  America's Test Kitchen recommended cooking the braised red potato recipe in a non-stick fry pan.  Their recommendation is the T-Fal pan.  I resisted.  First I tried it in cast-iron.  Then I tried it in a stainless Revereware pan.  Both times I left the best brown bits on the bottom of the pan.

So I finally gave in and bought the professional T-Fal 10 inch (they recommend 12 inch) pan.

The 10 inch is a bit crowded, but it works.

Begin with 1 1/2 pounds of red potatoes.  

Wash them and halve them and put them cut-side down in the pan.

(The ones that are not cut-side down are actually the middle third of largish potatoes.)

Add three cloves of garlic and 2  cups of water.

 Then three tablespoons of butter and a bit of salt.

Cover and cook until the potatoes are done.

Remove the garlic to a small bowl.

Then uncover to continue cooking to evaporate the water.

Mash the garlic in a small bowl.  

Add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice and a bit of chives (or onion tops) and black pepper.

Put on top of the potatoes before serving.

Gotta admit it.  They are right.  The non-stick pan makes for a better potato.

You can find the original post with the Farberware pan here:http://muddleaged.blogspot.com/2014/09/braised-red-potato-americas-test.html

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!)

†††††††††

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!