Baking

I've been back to making bread for about a month now. I'm finding it needs to be done twice per week, with at least one batch of rolls. For years if I made rolls, I did the technique where you roll the dough like a snake then tie it in a knot, but I was never thrilled with that type for some reason. Now I just roll up balls of dough and press them down.

 
The bread pictured here is the typical size loaf I'm doing. I've recently moved from mixing in the Zorijushi to just using my Kitchen Aid stand mixer. It is nice to have a little more say in what is going on.

Currently the favorite recipe is from Mark Bittman--his sandwich loaf, using fresh ground hard red wheat, hard white and about 1/2 cup of oat groats ground. The new thing I'm loving is using milk in recipes; when I was allergic that wasn't an option, so I got in the habit 10 yrs ago of not using milk. It, along with egg(s), adds SUCH a lovely, flexible crumb--no need for rice bran extract, extra gluten or xanthan gum.


Cupcakes--nothing special, just a boxed mix and icing, but the kids all loved the piping and sprinkles, so I thought I'd share. They all thought I'd purchased them; sweet how some fun papers and a star tip and sprinkles can brighten up a dessert! One jar of icing will exactly cover 24 cupcakes if you are careful.



Merry Christmas!