OT: Lazy Weekend
Paul Hinrichs
500 miles on Friday, I have been useless until this morning so I
haven't done any major food projects this weekend.
One minor one: 2 pounds of roma tomatoes got dried. I don't like the
skins, so I blanch them off. Make an X-shaped slit on the "pointy"
end, immerse them in boiling water for 4 minutes, then directly into
cold water. The skins practically fall off. Then onto the fruit rollup
liners, seedy side up. After about 6 hours like that, I turn them
over, still on the liners. Another 6 hours and they're done - with no
sticky tomato stuff in the tray holes.
A nice down-home dinner: baby limas with ham over cornbread. Most
on-topic thing here is that I added 4 teaspoons of my dehydrated
tomato sauce from last weekend as the beans finished cooking with the
ham. I calculated how much of the original 9 quarts this amount
represented and found it was the same as adding 10 ounces of the
original mixture. That is some high-powered stuff and the amount was
just perfect - just a hint of color and tomato flavor (to one bag
dried beans and one cubed ham steak).
The very best is Way Off Topic - the whole wheat bread I made with
malt syrup. I picked that up at an old favorite beverage distributor
in Columbus, Gentile's on King Avenue (right up the street from where
I bought the crock - I wonder why I ever moved out of that
neighborhood). This was a heavy Australian dark malt for homebrew. I
started with two cups whole wheat flour and a teaspoon of kosher salt
and added a cup-and-a-half very hot water to soften the whole wheat
grain. When that cooled, I added the yeast and 1/2 cup malt syrup and
let it mix a while. To my amazement, after 20 minutes the sponge had
more than doubled in size - the sort of rise I normally associate with
bread flour and have never seen with pure whole wheat before.
I suppose I could have used all whole wheat, the rise was that
spectacular, but I added about 2 cups of bread flour, a little at a
time as the dough hook did its work. The bountiful rise was not
limited to the sponge. the first proofing and final loaf also showed
extraordinary growth. The finished loaf rose to a beautiful mound over
the loaf pan and the crust came out very soft as I had intended. Those
little yeast guys really appreciated the beer precursors I fed them
and went overboard to show it. I am tempted to try some lighter malt
syrups in white bread to see if I can get similar results. I couldn't
have asked for better on this first attempt.
What got me started on that was the passion some of my English friends
here express for a bread they call "Hovis". A little research showed
me this was a brand name and that the malt was the ingredient which
gave it its color. I'm sure that what I made is not exactly the same,
but I am hooked on using malt syrup now - can't wait 'til my next
pumpernickel!
One last thing. In Columbus, I also stopped at Wasserstrom's, a
restaurant wholesaler open to the public. It's always fun to see the
really good toys, none of which I can afford - though I sometimes pick
up a minor gadget. In the baking section there, I saw a prime
candidate - a diecast aluminum "Kaiser Roll Cutter". With its 6
spirals from the center, I suddenly realized how Kiaser rolls were
made. The cost for the thing seemed obviously wrong to me, however -
$50.70 it said on the tray marker. Individual prices had been removed
on all of them. So I asked at the front desk, reciting the memorized
part number. The clerk immediately knew what I meant because he had
checked it many times before. The price was correct, in fact they pay
42 dollars apiece for them! We tried to figure out what made them so
expensive, he was as amazed as I - but none of our guesses seemed
plausible. My guess now is that this is one gadget I'll never own. As
many Kaiser rolls as I eat, I'd have to outlive Methusalah to make it
worthwhile.
ma pickle
price but it wasn't cheap.
Ingrid
Tortfeasor
TIA
Tort
Paul Hinrichs
>Paul, that bread sounds great. Can you post the exact recipe?
It was fairly exact in the original post:
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 cups very hot water
1/4 cup dark malt syrup
Mix these ingredients thoroughly and allow to cool. Add:
1 package fast-acting yeast
Mix. Allow to stand 20 minutes. Gradually add:
1 1/2 to 2 cups bread flour
Until dough is no longer stick. Knead 10 minutes. Coat with soft
butter and allow to rise until doubled in size. Punch down and knead
approximately 2 minutes. Form into a loaf (or place in loaf pan) and
allow to rise until doubled in size. Place into a 375º F oven and bake
for 40 minutes. Wrap in a slightly moist towel to cool if you prefer a
softer crust.
That's it!
Zxcvbob
> 1 teaspoon kosher salt
> 1 1/2 cups very hot water
> 1/4 cup dark malt syrup
> 1 1/2 to 2 cups bread flour
>
extract/flavoring? I sometimes grind up a little whole malt and add it to my
bread dough, but 1/4 C seems a lot. I would expect that much diastic syrup to
liquify the dough.
"Enquiring minds gotta know!"
regards,
bob
Blanche Nonken
> from the center, I suddenly realized how Kiaser rolls were
> made. The cost for the thing seemed obviously wrong to me, however -
> $50.70 it said on the tray marker. Individual prices had been removed
> on all of them. So I asked at the front desk, reciting the memorized
> part number. The clerk immediately knew what I meant because he had
> checked it many times before. The price was correct, in fact they pay
> 42 dollars apiece for them! We tried to figure out what made them so
> expensive, he was as amazed as I - but none of our guesses seemed
> plausible.
I'd guess it's something that requires lots of hand work to
sharpen and finish. If it's got 5 or 6 blades, each gentle curve
would need to be hand-sharpened. Especially if it's made in
Germany - that could help pump up the cost.
Paul Hinrichs
It didn't say - it is Morgan's Master Blend, unhopped - called "Dark
Crystal Malt". It did impart a strange resilience to the sponge,
making it behave almost like silly putty. The round peasant loaf I
made yesterday rose with similar panache. Those yeastie guys really
like it, regardless of its religion - diastic or not <g>.
Eric Decker
>>I'd guess it's something that requires lots of hand work to
>>sharpen and finish. If it's got 5 or 6 blades, each gentle curve
>>would need to be hand-sharpened. Especially if it's made in
More likely only a professional sharpening service can do it right.
>>Germany - that could help pump up the cost.
Not necessarily. Sharpenings ought to be few and far between, especially if the
equipment is handled properly so that the blades never touch anything harder
than a leather glove. A more important factor in edge life is that the
metallurgy used is VERY likely to be ultra high grade. Made in Germany means a
lot for cutting edges. I'll get my electric motors from America.
Kate Wrightson
Paul Hinrichs <paul...@mindspring.com> wrote:
>Thanks for explaining "diastic" - my guess was that it had something
>to do with enzymes, but I had not heard the trem before and it wasn't
>in my dictionary.
Try "diastatic". Not a spelling flame, but since you mentioned looking it
up...
--
___________________________________________________________________________
ka...@eyrie.org Kate Wrightson www.eyrie.org/~kate
Just another psycho bitch elf maiden, let loose on an unsuspecting USENET.
Please do not mail me copies of material posted to newsgroups.
Zxcvbob
>Crystal Malt". It did impart a strange resilience to the sponge,
>making it behave almost like silly putty. The round peasant loaf I
>made yesterday rose with similar panache. Those yeastie guys really
>like it, regardless of its religion - diastic or not <g>.
>
I'm not familiar with Morgan's, but true crystal malt is non-diastic. (LOL on
the religion joke). Now that I think about it, most malt syrup is non-diastic.
I guess I was thinking of whole malted barley.
In case anyone doesn't know what I'm talking about, "diastic" means the malt
contains enzymes which attack starch and turn it into sugar. If you've ever
put a half-eaten bowl of pudding in the refrigerator and the next day it was a
runny mess, enzymes in your saliva attacked the starch in the pudding (eewwww)
much like malt with enzymes would attack the bread dough. A little of this is
good (in bread dough), because it gives the yeasties plenty to eat. Adding a
lot of malt without enzymes accomplishes the same thing, plus adds a nice malt
flavor. Adding a *lot* of malt *with* enzymes might turn the middle of your
bread loaf into a puddle while it is baking.
regards,
bob (sorry for rambling so much)
Paul Hinrichs
I guess I should say at this point that the whole thing was diecast.
Although the "blades" were tapered, there was no evidence of
sharpening. It didn't apear to be designed to actually cut, just form.
Paul Hinrichs
to do with enzymes, but I had not heard the trem before and it wasn't
in my dictionary.
Blanche Nonken
> >metallurgy used is VERY likely to be ultra high grade. Made in Germany means a
> >lot for cutting edges. I'll get my electric motors from America.
>
> I guess I should say at this point that the whole thing was diecast.
> Although the "blades" were tapered, there was no evidence of
> sharpening. It didn't apear to be designed to actually cut, just form.
>
Right, burst my bubble why don't you? <grin>
Zxcvbob
>Try "diastatic". Not a spelling flame, but since you mentioned looking it
>up...
Thanks for the correction. I was writing from memory and (obviously) didn't
remember the spelling.
regards,
bob