Cookie Chick

When we first “tied the knot” a dozen or so years ago, we purchased an inexpensive set of cookware at Target. Budgets were tight and cooking wasn’t such a passion. All the pieces were coated with teflon for a non-stick finish, even the sauce pans. Overall, the pans worked well and held up to frequent use. Concern over the safety of teflon began to emerge a few years ago. Pans heated to 500º C could emit toxic fumes. According to Cook’s Illustrated, it was fairly easy to get to that temperature quickly when cooking over high heat. We began to consider other alternatives.

As I become enamored of cooking and my husband ran out of gift ideas, finer cookware became a common and welcome present to be gleefully opened. Now, I have a nice set of All Clad stainless steel cookware and an ever growing variety of Le Creuset cast iron.

I still have a few teflon coated fry pans that are needed for crepes (or 49ers). We also cook eggs and egg whites daily, so a non-stick pan is needed for that, but does the non-stick have to be teflon? Some folks have suggested going back to the original non-stick, cast iron. I’ve tried cooking eggs in my Le Creuset skillets with the inner black, matte finish. It works okay, but not as well as teflon.

I was at a Le Creuest outlet in Gilroy, California in January and I believe I saw skillets with the shiny enamel finish on the inside. I didn’t buy one at the time and searched for them when I got home. Either I was mistaken or they don’t normally sell fully enameled skillets. My Le Creuset french oven and deep saucier clean up so well, I wondered if fully enameled skillets would fare as well. Since I could not find new Le Creuset with the shiny enamel interior, I decided to check eBay. I found a vintage Le Creuset pan on eBay that had the shiny enamel finish. I decided to buy it and give it a try.

I was pleasantly surprised at how well it works for eggs. It’s a small pan, about 9″ in diameter, so it’s not too heavy. With a spray of canola oil, I preheat the pan on low. Once it reaches a suitable temperature, I add the eggs. It works well enough for scrambled eggs, perhaps a higher heat might be more suitable. I’ll have to play with that. It does an amazing job on eggs over easy. The eggs do not stick at all. Once I flip the eggs over, I turn the heat off and let the residual heat finish cooking the other side for perfect eggs. Clean up is a breeze, just like teflon.

I’m not sure if other cast iron manufacturers make fully enameled skillets with the shiny interior. It would be a wonderful addition if they did.

Tags: Le Creuset, non-stick, skillet

One of our favorite breakfast haunts is the Original Pancake House, not to be confused with the International House of Pancakes or IHOP. The Original Pancake House is also a chain, but one of greater distinction. Founded in 1953 in Portland, Oregon it is still a family run business with franchises coast to coast.

We’ve been patrons of the Original Pancake House since the early 1990s. We can’t remember who introduced us to this culinary delight, which is a shame since a sincere “thank you” is owed.

Our favorite meal at the Original Pancake House is the 49er Flap Jacks. They are large, crepe-like pancakes that are both tender and chewy. Over the years, I’ve tried various recipes seeking to duplicate or at least approximate this family favorite. Recipes online often call for a sourdough starter, but I’ve never tasted sourdough in the 49ers.

A friend recently shared a recipe for Palacsinta, a Hungarian Crepe that her grandmother used to make for her. I made her recipe and it was oh so close to 49ers. The next try, I adjusted the recipe slightly by cutting back on the sugar, adding a bit of salt and a bit more flour. We now have something that comes close enough to satisfy our 49er cravings, at home and on the cheap.

I now use my blender to mix the batter the night before as a tip from Alton Brown when making crepes. It’s easy and quick. The batter can be used right away, but the overnight stay in the refrigerator helps the bubbles escape and improves the flavor.

49er Flap Jacks (Approximation)

• 1 tablespoon of sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon of salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 1/4 cups of all purpose flour
• 2 cups of milk
• 2 tablespoons of melted butter
• 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract

Blend the sugar, salt, eggs, milk, melted butter and vanilla in a blender for 3 seconds. Add the flour and blend until combined, 5 - 10 seconds more. If any flour remains on the sides, scrape down and blend again for a few seconds until combined.

Pour batter into a covered container and refrigerate one hour or overnight.

When ready to cook the flap jacks, preheat a 10″ non-stick skillet or crepe pan on medium low heat until the pan reaches 325º or until a drop of water “dances” across the surface. If it evaporates immediately, the pan is too hot. Turn down the heat and try again. Brush the surface of the pan with melted butter and pour 1/2 cup of batter in pan. Swirl pan to cover the bottom evenly with batter. Cook until the edges begin to brown. Flip over the flap jack and cook until the other side browns lightly.

Serve with pure maple syrup and slices of lemon.

Hi, my name is Sylvia and I have a kitchen gadget obsession. I know I’m not alone. Stores like Williams Sonoma, Sur La Table, Crate and Barrel, not to mention Amazon.com love us. Where some people buy shoes, we buy kitchen ware: appliances, cookware, bakeware, tools, etc.

Some gadgets get used frequently and I wonder how I got by before they graced my kitchen. Other things seemed like a good idea at the time, but gather dust and get moved around until the next garage sale or eBay auction.

I have a KitchenAid Professional 600 mixer, Stella. (My third KA Mixer, all worked beautifully, I just ‘had to’ upgrade. ) I love Stella and use her several times per week. She stays on the counter ready for action. She’s a big mixer with a large 6 quart bowl. However, sometimes you don’t need a bowl that big and it can actually be a hindrance.

KitchenAid came to the rescue by introducing a 3 Quart Bowl and Combi-whip in March of last year. (Yes, I did rush out and buy it last March.) This smaller bowl ingeniously attaches to 5 quart and 6 quart models that use the bowl lift mechanism. Currently, it is a Williams-Sonoma exclusive.
[ CORRECTION: It is now also available directly from KitchenAid. ]

Is the smaller bowl and whip a necessity? No, I got by quite well without them. However, having a second, smaller bowl is a nice convenience. The small bowl nests well, so it’s easy to store. That is half the battle in my small kitchen. The 3 quart bowl will nest in the 6 quart bowl, but I use the big bowl to store the attachments including the dough hook, the paddle, and the combi-whip. The wire whip is too big and gets stored in a cupboard. I have some of the KitchenAid bowl covers to keep the attachments and bowl clean. I nest the 3 quart bowl with some bowl shaped strainers.

So far, I mainly use the 3 quart bowl and whip for making pie crust and making buttercream frosting. It does an excellent job of cutting butter into flour. It also mixes buttercream well and is little easier to scrape down. So, while not a necessity, this bowl and whip are keepers.

Always a day late and a dollar short, I just discovered this intriguing book. I first read about it on one of my favorite food blogs, KitchenNut. I was so curious that I went to Amazon, read all the rave reviews and placed the book in my shopping cart. However, since I just purged a dozen or so cookbooks I rarely use by donating them to the local library, I hesitated buying another book. So I moved it to my Wish List and moved on.

Later that week, Dave and I were at Bed, Bath and Beyond buying a shower curtain liner when we ran into a colleague of his from the university. C was in the baking section looking at pizza peels. He told us he had become obsessed with bread making after buying….yes, Artisan Bread Making in Five Minutes a Day. I saw this as a sign and went home and ordered the book from Amazon.

Last weekend I was able to try out this new method of bread making. The method is simple, you mix the ingredients by hand (or mixer or food processor) and let the dough rise for two hours in a covered container. You can do this in a bowl or even a plastic 6 quart container. I used one of the 6 quart square Cambro storage boxes that I use for flour. The liquid ratio is much higher than traditional recipes. No kneading at all. Each recipe will make several loaves. You cut off the amount you need and store the rest of it in the refrigerator for up to two weeks. The flavor develops the longer you store it.

Here are my observations so far:

1. It is very easy to make bread with this method. Other than the initial two hour rise, you do not have to wait around. You can make bread on your schedule.
2. It works very well for artisan breads with a crisp crust and open crumb. It’s not the best method for soft sandwich bread.
3. The flavor does indeed develop. Bread made after a 3 day sit in the refrigerator was tasty. One complaint I had with the No Knead Bread was the lack of flavor.
4. The dough is very wet and sticky. The book authors recommend flouring the dough in the container and before grabbing off a chunk to cut off. I read that dough will not stick to wet hands. So now I just wet one hand hand and grab the dough and use the other hand with a serrated knife to cut off a chunk. I can then drop it into some flour to form the boule. I found that the extra flour left in my dough bucket would harden for the next batch.

Breads I’ve Made

Master Recipe

First loaf from master recipe.

Second loaf from master recipe.

Sliced loaf

This is the first recipe they recommend making. It’s a basic recipe with only flour, yeast, salt and water which is common for artisan bread. Dave was so intrigued that he didn’t want to wait for an overnight sit in the refrigerator. I made the first loaf shortly after the first two hour rise. The dough was very wet but I was able to form a craggy boule. I formed it on parchment paper dusted with cornmeal and baked it on the parchment on my cast iron pizza pan. I don’t have a pizza stone. I steamed it by adding hot water to pan below the bread per the book’s instructions. It rose beautifully with great oven spring and formed a lovely boule. We couldn’t wait for it to cool and ate it warm with cheese. It was good but the flavor was still a little bland.

The following day I made another loaf. It was a little better in flavor and just as pretty. The third day we had company and I made two loaves. We ate one and I gave the other one to our guests. This loaf was delicious. It was also the first time we had waited for the bread to cool.

Light Whole Wheat

This is very similar to the master recipe, but has a small amount of whole wheat. I used King Arthur White Whole Wheat. I’ve made one loaf so far with this recipe. It was very good. The crumb is slightly darker and it has a slightly more complex taste.

Soft Sandwich Bread

I tried this recipe as a hope for an easy substitute for our favorite Potato Bread. Sadly, there is no comparison. The dough is too slack to form a nice loaf. The method of forming a loaf is similar to a boule but you then place the dough in an oiled loaf pan. It requires at least 1 hour and 40 minute to rise which takes away from the convenience of the other methods. The dough is denser than kneaded breads and does not rise as well. The crust is crisper which is not something I’m looking for in a sandwich bread. Also, I was not crazy about the flavor. It was too sour for my tastes. Dave liked it but also prefers the Potato Bread. He suggested trying my Potato Bread recipe using this method, which I may do this weekend.

Olive Oil Dough

Pizza made with olive oil dough

This recipe is meant for pizza and other flat breads. I altered the recipe slightly by adding two tablespoons of honey instead of one tablespoon of sugar. I also cut the salt back to a little over 1 tablespoon. I’m using Morton’s Kosher salt per the book’s suggestion, but have found the loaves a little salty for my taste. The authors suggest using less or more to taste.

I mixed up a batch of the dough on Wednesday night to make pizza on Thursday night. This was a huge hit. I had tasty pizza on the table within 40 minutes. I took a hunk of the dough out of the container when we got home and formed a boule on cornmeal dusted parchment paper. I let it rest for about 10 minutes while I preheated the oven and got the other ingredients together. After about 20 minutes of preheating the oven I slid the pizza into the oven on the parchment. It baked up in 20 minutes. The crust was crisp and the bread had a nice airy crumb. The flavor was fantastic. Using the parchment paper insured it did not stick to either the peel or the pan. Clean up was a breeze.

Conclusion

Well, I haven’t really concluded anything. It’s an amazing method for certain types of bread. I think I prefer a more traditional method for sandwich breads. I’ll continue to experiment with the method as it is a lot of fun and requires little equipment. There are some sweet breads that I want to try as well.

It’s a great method for novice bread bakers who are afraid to try making homemade bread. I’m not quite a novice anymore, but I still have my training wheels and am excited to try new techniques. It’s also quick and easy.

This is a great book. I’d highly recommend it. The authors, Zoe Francois and Jeff Hertzberg, are active on many cooking bulletin boards and answer many questions. Zoe Francois is a professional chef and has her own blog, Zoe Bakes. The book also has a website where you can contact the authors and read updates and corrections in the book.

We make sandwiches for our lunch on most days. We’ve grown accustomed to homemade bread and store bought will just not do anymore. For months, I’ve been tinkering with a potato bread recipe. I based it on a recipe from the King Arthur Flour web site. I added a bit and substituted a bit until I found a recipe that works well for me each time.

The bread is light and fluffy and makes amazing toast. The butter melts into the crumb and is delightful. The following recipe will make two 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaves.

Potato Sandwich Bread

1 1/2 cups water (room temperature) - OR 1 1/2 cups milk at room temperature

1/4 cup nonfat dry milk (omit if using milk instead of water)

2 teaspoons table salt

2 teaspoons instant yeast

2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

6 ounces mashed potato*

1 large egg, lightly beaten (room temperature)

4 1/4 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour (18 oz)

*You can certainly used mashed potato flakes, but it’s very easy to put a large, thoroughly pricked baking potato (such as an Idaho) in your microwave oven, microwave for 3 minutes, then turn over and microwave for a further 3 minutes. Let the potato cool, peel it, and mash it. This is pretty simple, and the flavor is significantly better. You can also use leftover mashed potatoes or frozen mashed potatoes that have been prepared.

Measure the water (or milk) into the bowl of a stand mixer. Stir in the dry milk, salt, yeast, egg, and melted butter. Attach the bowl to the mixer with the paddle attachment. Blend in the potato. Add the flour several cups at a time and continue mixing on low. When most of the flour is incorporated, switch to the dough hook and add the remaining flour. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the bread rest or autolyse for twenty minutes. Knead on speed 2 for 6 minutes. Add more flour as needed. The dough should come away from the sides but will be sticky. After 6 minutes try the windowpane test by taking a small amount of dough and stretching it between thumb and forefinger. If it forms a “windowpane” before breaking the gluten has been developed enough and you will get a nice rise.

Scrape the dough out of the bowl into an oiled bowl or covered dough doubler. Roll the dough to cover it in oil. Let the dough rise for 1 - 1 1/2 hours until doubled.

Gently knock the dough down and turn it out onto a floured surface. Cut it in half and pat each half into an oiled loaf pan; the dough is wet enough to resist shaping. Spray tops of the loaves with oil and cover the dough and let it rise for 45 minutes to an hour.

About 15 minutes before you want to bake your bread, preheat your oven to 350°F. Brush the tops of the loaves with an egg wash. Bake the two separate loaves for 35 minutes. Turn the loaf (or loaves) out and let them cool on a rack. Yield: About 30 servings.

Nutrition information per serving (1 slice, 36g): 69 cal, 1g fat, 2g protein, 13g complex carbohydrates, 1g dietary fiber, 160mg sodium, 62mg potassium, 5RE vitamin A, 1mg vitamin C, 1mg iron, 40mg calcium, 28mg phosphorus.

Tags: bread, potato, sandwich

Last week I was talking to my neighbor, Jim. He’s a wonderful neighbor, we couldn’t wish for more. I was in the process of pruning the rose bushes in front of our place and wanted to know if he would like me prune his as well. This was my first attempt at pruning roses and my fear was that my black thumb would prevail and I would kill the roses. I was willing to risk our rose bush, but not his without permission.

He assured me that it was difficult to kill a rose bush and that he would appreciate the help. He mentioned that it has been four years since his lovely wife, Joan, had passed away. He also told me that Saturday was his 84th birthday. I asked him if was doing anything special and he said no, that those days had past.

After pruning the roses and scraping up my forearm in the process, I talked to Dave and decided to make Jim a treat for his birthday. A cake is more traditional, but my thoughts were still on the mincemeat pie I made for Lee’s birthday. I opted to make an apple pie. It’s been years since I’ve made one and selfishly, the idea of one appealed mightily to me.

I found a recipe in my King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion. It called for cider which I already had purchased for the mincemeat pie and a variety of apples. I used a combination of Granny Smith and Pacific Rose which is crisp and sweet. I used my nifty apple peeler to quickly peel, slice and core the apples.

The pie was lovely when I pulled it out of the oven after 55 minutes, however the apples were still quite firm inside. I poked them with a paring knife to test. The last time I made an apple pie for a dinner party, the apples were underdone. I covered the pie with foil and kept baking, testing every 15 minutes. I had to bake the pie an additional hour before it was done. Another indication of the apples baking long enough is that the pie will start to ooze a dark amber liquid. Make sure to have a baking sheet below the pie to catch these drippings. I used a parchment lined baking sheet and still had to soak the sheet to remove the bits of paper. I may use tin foil next time. The foil protected the crust and the pie was perfect. It is the best apple pie I have ever made.

On Saturday, we called up some of the other neighbors and made an impromptu house call on Jim. He was delighted, both with the company and the pie. His birthday is now in my calendar. We hope to have him as a neighbor for many years to come and hope to be able to celebrate those birthdays with him.

Tags: apple, birthday, pie

Well, actually it just peels, cores and slices apples, pears, and potatoes. However, by using this nifty gadget making an apple pie becomes almost effortless.

Apple pie was one of the first things I learned to bake almost twenty years ago. My best friend’s mom was famous for her apple pies and she spent one afternoon showing me how to craft this classic pastry. We of course labored with a paring knife to quarter, peel and thinly slice enough apples for a pie. It was hard work, but well worth the effort. I was able to use my newfound skill to woo my sweetie. I made him an apple pie for his birthday the first year we were together over 17 years ago.

Fast forward a few years when I was introduced to the peeler/slicer that made the drudgery of the paring knife a thing of the past. My friend, Jennifer, showed me this amazing tool and I quickly went to Target to pick one up. The first version I purchased used a C-clamp to affix itself to a table. This worked well if you had a table with a shallow enough depth for the clamp to work. I didn’t, so I usually had to come up with creative ways to make it work.

Later I saw the suction base version, but did not want to replace the one I had. I also had my doubts that the suction base would hold. I read a review on Cook’s Illustrated that claimed it worked well, so last year I purchased a new one and donated my old one to charity. The suction base does indeed hold well and now I can use it on my stainless steel work table.

If you make apple desserts often, this is worth the reasonable price. They range in price from $22 - $28. Williams-Sonoma has a nice version. As an added bonus, it’s fun to use. You simply attach the apple to the three prongs and then rotate the handle. It cores the apple while peeling it. As it rotates through the corer, the apple is sliced in one long piece, kind of like a slinky. Both ends will still have some peel on them. I cut these off and eat them.

When purchasing apples to use in the peeler, look for ones that are uniformly round. If there is a lot of peel left, you can adjust the peeler to cut deeper. You will lose a little flesh, but you will have a nicely peeled apple. If there is any skin left on the apple, dig out that trusty paring knife and whittle away what is left.

Tags: apple, corer, gadget, peeler, tool

For years, my father-in-law (he hates that term, but I’m not sure what else to use) has talked with longing about mincemeat pies. His mother used to make them for him. Dave’s grandmother (mom’s side) used to make them for him. I had never eaten one myself and the thought of meat in non-savory pie did not sound appealing. Being a vegetarian did not help either.

Well after a little research, I was happy to find that mincemeat pies don’t actually contain meat anymore. They originated as a savory/sweet pie in the middle ages when meat was indeed a main component, as was suet. Suet is the raw fat from beef or mutton found around the kidneys or loins, in case your knowledge of animal fat is lacking, as was mine.

Cook’s Illustrated had a recipe for “Modern Mincemeat Pie” which contains no meat and no suet - just apples, currants, raisins, butter, cider, sugar, rum, citrus, and a generous hand with the spices. This was a pie I could make and hopefully love.

My intent was to make the pie for his birthday. His birthday is within a week of mine. I unfortunately missed that day as we were out of town. However, I thought that it would be a grand way of using his generous gift by cooking the filling in my new oval Le Creuset dutch oven.

Mincemeat pie does take some time. You have to peel and cut apples and cook the heady concoction for 3 hours before baking. I did this the day before, filling the house with the luscious scents of fall. Never mind that it’s now winter. The weather doesn’t change much in Southern California. Our winters are colder but it’s all relative.

Overall, I liked the pie. It was a little on the tart side. I used Trader Joe’s cider which may not be as sweet as the general grocery store brands. Next time I would add a little sugar to taste. The crust was quite lovely. The egg wash and sprinkling of sugar made it look very professional.

By the way, he loved it. I truly think he was touched that I made this pie just for him. I got a big hug and a thank you note.

Modern Mincemeat Pie

The pie may be served with whipped cream or vanilla ice cream.

INGREDIENTS

Filling

• 3 Granny Smith apples , large (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 3 McIntosh apples , large (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch dice
• 1 cup golden raisins
• 1 cup currants
• 3/4 cup packed dark brown sugar (5 1/4 ounces)
• 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 stick)
• 1/4 cup diced candied orange peel , (optional)
• Grated zest and juice from 1 orange
• Grated zest and juice from 1 lemon
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups apple cider , plus more as needed
• 1/3 cup rum or brandy

(I used a recipe from King Arthur flour, but it was similar.)

Crust

2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (12 1/2 ounces), plus more for dusting work surface

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup chilled solid vegetable shortening

12 tablespoons cold unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), cut into 1/4-inch pieces

6–8 tablespoons ice water

1 egg white , beaten, for glazing crust

1 tablespoon sugar for sprinkling over crust

DIRECTIONS

1. For the filling: Place all ingredients except 1/2 cup cider and rum in large, heavy saucepan set over medium-low heat. Bring to boil and simmer gently, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching, until mixture thickens and darkens in color, about 3 hours, adding more cider as necessary to prevent scorching. Continue cooking, stirring every minute or two, until mixture has jam-like consistency, about 20 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup apple cider and rum and cook until liquid in pan is thick and syrupy, about 10 minutes; cool mixture. (Mincemeat can be refrigerated for several days.)
2. For the crust: Process flour, sugar, and salt in food processor until combined. Add shortening and process until mixture has texture of coarse sand, about 10 seconds. Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture; cut butter into flour until mixture is pale yellow and resembles coarse crumbs, with butter bits no larger than small peas, about ten 1-second pulses. Turn mixture into medium bowl.
3. Sprinkle 6 tablespoons of ice water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix. Press down on dough with broad side of spatula until dough sticks together, adding up to 2 tablespoons more ice water if dough will not come together. Divide dough into 2 balls and flatten each into 4-inch disk. Wrap each in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour, before rolling. (Dough may be refrigerated for up to 2 days.)
4. To assemble and bake the pie: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Remove one piece of dough from refrigerator (if refrigerated longer than 1 hour, let stand at room temperature until malleable). Roll dough on lightly floured work surface or between 2 large sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap to 12-inch circle. Transfer dough to 9-inch pie plate by rolling dough around rolling pin and unrolling over pan (see illustration below). Working around circumference of pan, ease dough into pan corners by gently lifting edge of dough with one hand while pressing into pan bottom with other hand. Leave any dough that overhangs lip of pie plate in place; refrigerate dough-lined pie plate.
5. Roll out second piece of dough to a 12-inch circle. Spoon mincemeat into pie shell. Following illustrations 2 through 5, place second piece of dough over filling. Trim edges of top and bottom dough layers to 1/2 inch beyond pan lip. Tuck rim of dough underneath itself so that folded edge is flush with pan lip. Flute edge or press with fork tines to seal. Cut 4 slits in dough top. If pie dough is very soft, place it in freezer for 10 minutes. Brush egg white on top crust and sprinkle evenly with sugar.
[ NOTE: This pie will leak. I placed a sheet pan lined with parchment below the pie. This helped contain the drips both while baking and while cooling. ]
6. Bake until crust is light golden brown, 25 minutes. Rotate pie and reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees; continue to bake until juices bubble and crust is deep golden brown, about 35 minutes. Transfer pie to wire rack and cool to room temperature before serving.

Tags: mincemeat, pie

I celebrated a birthday recently and must have been a very good girl last year because I was gifted two Le Creuset cast iron pans.

My generous husband gave me a deep covered sauté pan in a beautiful blue. Poor dear searched high and low for this pan. I admired it in a Williams Sonoma catalog, but he forgot where I saw it. It’s not available in many places yet.

Oh my, is that pan heavy. It’s “almost” too big for meals for the two of us. Luckily we’re big leftover fans. I’ve made a few “one pot” meals in it. I haven’t quite mastered the “one pot” method, but am working on it. Less clean up is always a plus. The pan works well and clean up is a breeze. It has an enameled interior like the dutch ovens. My only problem is finding someplace to store it. I think a rearrangement of the kitchen is needed.

My wonderful in-laws gave me a 2 3/4 qt oval dutch oven in Dune which is a beautiful cream color. They gave me my first Le Creuset dutch oven several years ago that started this trend in fine cookware. I had always admired Hope’s dutch oven and they surprised me with my first Le Creuset. Now I have this lovely piece to add to my weighty collection. It is the perfect size for two. I can’t wait to use it. They told me they want to keep me cooking. I will gladly oblige, gifts or not.

Now I just need to keep my sisters from coveting my pans. M has a dutch oven and loves it. A hinted that I never did get her a wedding gift. She’s about to celebrate her 20th anniversary. Maybe it’s time to give her that long awaited gift. I can afford a little nicer gift than I could have when I was 19.

I never seem to be able to get my loaves of bread to reach the heights I aspire to. I see photos of towering loaves cresting voluptuously out of bread pans. Mine peek their tops over the edge, yet seem to shrink down a bit while baking. I don’t get ‘oven spring’, I get ‘oven shrink’.

This may attributable to a couple of things:

• My oven may not be hot enough.
  It’s an old, apartment grade gas range which works but takes a while to heat up. A new oven is planned, but it goes along with the kitchen remodel that we need to save up money and energy to complete.
• I may not be kneading the dough long enough to properly form the gluten.

Peter Reinhart’s “The Bread Baker’s Apprentice” has been a valuable resource for creating better bread. I’m learning to trust my limited experience and not to follow the recipe to the letter. The dough speaks to you, letting you know what it needs. To develop this relationship with the dough, you need to touch it. I do most of my mixing in my trusty KitchenAid stand mixer, Stella. She’s not only beautiful but a work-horse. However, I now stop the mixer during the knead to see how the dough feels. I’m even attempting the “window pane test” to see if the gluten is properly formed.

Yesterday, I experimented a bit with a potato sandwich bread I’ve been making. I substituted some ingredients and added one large egg. I also kneaded the dough longer than I normally do because my dough failed the window pane test. Once it got close, I scraped the dough out onto a floured board and hand kneaded until it passed.

The dough rose nicely and was supple to to the touch. After the first rise, I separated the dough into two pieces and formed boules. I let the dough rest for 20 minutes and then formed the dough into loaves.

I preheated the oven for 30 minutes to make sure it was hot enough when the dough was ready. I have made the mistake of waiting too long and having the dough over-rise during the second rise. This almost always guarantees a fall.

The dough rose nicely but did take an extra 10 minutes. I didn’t rush it but kept an eye on the dough using the technique where you push lightly on the dough. If it springs back quickly, it’s ready.

I was pleasantly surprised that this time I got oven spring and then some. My loaves crested mightily and did not fall. Nor did the crust wrinkle while cooling. This may have been the egg white wash I employed or that I let the loaves cool for 10 minutes in the oven with the heat turned off and the door ajar. (A tip I read in the King Arthur Baker’s Companion.)

Success at last.

Tags: bread