morning bake

I have been doing a lot of baking before work or in the morning.  It has to do with the heat of the day, how long I like to let flavours develop, and just timing.  My morning bake today was requested to be made again immediately.  The bread is over half gone.  That is what I get for having boyos around.  Especially ones named Koda Bear.

Yesterday, there was milk for tea or milk for bread without going to the store.  Since I did not wish to leave the house, it was milk for tea.  Hot black tea with milk and sugar as Koda Bear says.  The sugar is only a sometimes.  Usually sugar in tea takes the place of eating something sweet for me.  But that meant, no milk for bread.  And I am finding that there are too many people!  Going to the store is people!

I took my everyday bread and added oatmeal, brown sugar, and an egg since Koda Bear likes double jam sandwiches.  If he is going to try to survive on double jam sandwiches, I am going to try to sneak protein in him.  The funny thing is that he likes double jam sandwiches but the peanut butter on a spoon.  Not on the jam sandwich!  This bread was light and moist and requested again before it had a chance to cool.  

Yeasty Beasties have been fed so they can start making bread again tonight.  No wonder I go through flour like I do!

oatmeal bread

sourdough starter

100 grams flour (or about 1/2 cup)

100 grams water (or about 1/3 cup)

1 cup or 240 grams water

1 cup or 100 grams old fashioned rolled oats

1/4 - 1/2 cup (55 to 110 grams) packed brown sugar  (I think I used the larger measurement, but to your taste)

1 egg

1 teaspoon or 10 grams salt

2 to 4 cups or 500 grams flour (500 grams and 4 cups measure are too much flour, but I have a bear helper.  Flour goes everywhere!)

In a large bowl eight hours before, mix the sourdough starter, 100 grams flour, and 100 grams water.  Cover with cling wrap.  I have gone to cling wrap because it has been so hot here that the starter has been forming a skin on top.  This keeps the skin off.  Parchment paper or waxed paper would work as well.

When the starter is nice and bubbly, and you can see gluten strands, remove a couple tablespoons for next time.  Mix in the 240 grams water, oats, brown sugar, and egg if you are using it.  Mix in 2 cups or 250 grams flour.  This should be a thick dough.  Cover and let rise for a couple of hours.

Mix in the salt and enough of the rest of the flour to make a slightly stiff dough.  Knead the dough until smooth.  I found the best description of  my kneading as a rolling and tucking motion unless I have help.  Kneading for me until it is smooth takes about five minutes or less.  

Cover and let rise for about an hour.  After the hour, take the dough out of the bowl onto a lightly floured surface.  Flatten the dough.  Fold into thirds.  Fold the long ends towards the center.  I form it a bit more into a ball and put back in the bowl.  Cover.

Repeat the above step three more times.

Butter a loaf pan.  Line with parchment paper.  Uncover the dough and shape into a loaf.  Put in the pan.  Cover with cling wrap and put in the refrigerator overnight.

In the morning, turn the oven on to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.  Remove the dough from the refrigerator.  Remove the cling wrap.  Put is in the oven for one hour.  It is done when the loaf is golden and hollow sounding when thunked on the bottom.

Koda Bear did not even ask for jam.  Butter please!

baklava cookies

When I get bored, and there is no concentration left, I will head over to pinterest.  It is a good place to get ideas and inspiration.  It never helps my concentration though!  

I have been finding less recipes that I wish to make posted though.  Unless I am doing searches.  But I came across this one, baklava cookies.  Baklava is a favourite thing.  But I have never made it and I do not have the urge.  Miss Amy makes really good baklava and she usually brings some over at Christmas so that feeds a lot of cravings.  Outside of the holiday season, the are good middle eastern restaurants and delis in the area that have good baklava.  I just do not want to deal with phyillo dough.  But cookies?  I can do cookies.

The flavour of these are spot on.  The recipe called for store bought cookie dough but I used the snickerdoodle cookie recipe from Flour by Joanne Chang.  If I were making the snickerdoodles, I would tweak the cinnamon sugar mixture but the dough is a perfect carrier for the flavours of cinnamon, honey, and walnut.  I actually got asked to make these again this weekend.  The boyos want to take some on their travels.

I am getting quiet! Okay, so I still have to go to work but quiet otherwise!  I am excited.

baklava cookies

Note:  I took the ideas from pinterest and the snickerdoodle recipe from Flour.  I also cut the recipe in half.  

1/2 cup butter

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/8 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cream of tartar

2 tablespoons butter

1/4 cup powdered sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons honey

3/8 cup (6 tablespoons) finely chopped walnuts

1/8 teaspoon cinnamon

Cream the 3/4 cup sugar and 1/2 cup butter together.  Mix in the egg.  Mix in the flour, baking soda, salt, and cream of tartar.  Refrigerate 3 to 4 hours or overnight if you can.  I am the first to admit that I usually do not refrigerate.

In a small saucepan, melt 2 tablespoons butter, powdered sugar, honey, and cinnamon together.  When it is melted, mix in the walnuts.  Let cool to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Line baking sheets with silpat or parchment paper.  Take the dough from the refrigerator.  Roll a teaspoon of dough into about an one inch ball.  Place on the baking sheet, about two inches from the next ball.  I was able to fit twelve on my baking sheet.

Bake for 8 minutes.

Take the partially baked cookies from the oven.  Drop about a half teaspoon of the walnut mixture on top of the partially baked cookie.  Depending on the size of the cookie you made, it may be closer to 1/4 teaspoon.  Though I am told that the candied edges of the walnut mixture running down the cookie are a large draw.

Return to the oven and bake for three more minutes.

Remove and let sit at least five minutes or more before trying to remove from the baking sheet.

So good!  I can only eat two at a sitting.  My Beloved and Miss Amy both agree they could eat the whole batch at a sitting.

Just be aware that control may be an issue.

blues and creams

I got another nine square quilt laid out.  It was made with a pile of half yards from a quilt store in Bellingham.  Now if I could just remember its name.  I can remember how to get there which is really what counts.  Two Thimble Quilt Shop.  That is what it is.  I looked it up.

I am pleased.

I have to admit that I have recipes to share but no words or concentration.  I think the stress at work is catching up with me.  Plus there was company tonight and there will be company tomorrow night.  I just want to be a hermit.  Quiet.  Less motion.  Unless of course I am riding a board or traveling.  Have tent and kettle, will travel.

I will have quiet next week.  Maybe more words too!

a new apron

The apron dress I put together was to figure out how to make an apron.  A wrap apron I saw Gabrielle Hamilton wear on the Mind of a Chef.  I also found something similar on Etsy.  

Without too much trial and tribulations, I have a new apron!  I really like it.  I think I may need to fuss with the pockets a bit but pockets always need fussing.  I also may make different lengths of aprons in the future.

The only big change is that I need to shorten the ties.  That is simple.  And I should have probably made it in black.  I stain aprons so!  Oh well.  That is life.

partially successful

The week before last I received a shipment of fabric that I ordered.  I want to play with plant dye more but it did not make sense to buy locally.  Prices for white fabric were double what I could pay online at Dharma Trading Company.  And since I am playing, I waited for the order.

I was too ambitious.  I cut a two yard bit of linen and a two yard bit of a cotton/silk blend.  Simmered them in alum for an hour and then put them in a pot of strained red cabbage juice.

That was Sunday and I had a chance to open the pot today after gardening.

Any day I am home I pull weeds.  Mostly grass.  I do think I have some zinnias coming up under the squashes and between the mint.

After rinsing, and soaking six inches of my gardening dress, I hung the fabric.  The two darker pieces have silk in them and seemed to take to the cabbage juice very well.  I have read that protein fibers actually take dye better.  The linen not so much.  Not even the lavender blue I have seen with red cabbage.  I am going to buy two more cabbages on my errands today and try again once this drys.  

I want to play with the marigold dye I bought this weekend.  I am going to start haunting some of the garden and hardware stores in the area to see when the marigolds and chysanthemums come out.  I am planning to buy bunches and plant them in the yard.  I am already ready for autumn so the colours will sooth but then I am also thinking about my dye pots.  Grow my own.  I can see my garden becoming a dye garden with not too many vegetables.

I cannot dig up the backyard.  The boyos use is for motorbike runs.  They pretend they are prestigious dirtbikers.  My life.  Maybe I should by an empty lot for gardening.  It is a thought.