Monday, September 23, 2013

Catch Up Time ...... Again

I am way behind again.  We have had lots of company and my time was not my own.

We always enjoy having company and the house seems really quiet when they all leave....not complaining you understand.

First things first....we have had some wonderful rain, over 2 inches after a month of nothing.  The temperatures are way down too.  We actually had the furnace on for an hour yesterday afternoon.  The dew was so heavy yesterday morning that it looked like frost which isn't too far off.

More good news:  Willow calved.  I will be milking again very soon.  I haven't even seen the calf yet.  I did spend some time a few days ago cleaning the milking side of the barn so I am ready for her.  I hope she is ready for me!  We have a new load of feed coming today.

I hope we can also corral a few calves to wean.  We like to start them on grain  before selling.  My freezer is getting pretty low on meat too.  I need to pick out a likely speciman.

I will just post some  random thoughts of the past couple of weeks.....

Cooking:

I made  a batch of Hodgson Mills  white bread (dh's favorite).  This bread requires three raisings and is so fine textured and soft.  I thought maybe the secret was the extra raising so when I next made my favorite honey whole wheat recipe, I used the same technique.  I think it improved the texture of this bread too.



I plan to use this method on all my bread from now on.....unless I get in a hurry!

I also made a batch of my favorite (our favorite) cinnamon rolls and love this fine silky dough so much I plan to use it for dinner rolls next time.

I thought I had a previous picture but couldn't find it...I almost waited too late.  I froze most and only have l and a half left....

Here is the recipe.  Note:  I give credit where credit is due. Originally I got it from Thibeault's Blog.

Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table

Cinnamon Rolls (Buns)
=====================
From Joy of Baking

Dough:
4-1/2 to 5 cups all-purpose " flour
1 Package active dry yeast
1 Cup milk
1/3 Cup "" butter
1/3 Cup sugar
1/2 Teaspoon salt
"3 eggs

Filling:

3/4 Cup packed brown"sugar
1/4 Cup all-purpose " flour
1 Tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 Cup butter
1/2 Cup light raisins (optional)
1 Tablespoon half-and-half
1 recipe Powdered Sugar Glaze


Note: I prefer a Cream Cheese icing.

1/4 cup butter
1 cup cream cheese

Cream together and add enough icing/powder sugar to make a creamy icing.

Powdered Sugar Glaze:

In a bowl stir together 1 1/4 cups sifted powdered sugar, 1 teaspoon light corn syrup, 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract and enough half-and-half (1 to 2 tablespoons) to make the glaze thin enough to drizzle over cinnamon rolls.

.
In a large mixing bowl combine 2 1/4 cups of the flour and the yeast.
In a small saucepan heat the milk, the 1/3 cup butter, 1/3 cup sugar,
and salt just till warm (120 degrees to 130 degrees)and butter is
almost melted, stirring constantly. Add to flour mixture. Add eggs.
Beat on low speed for 30 seconds, scraping sides of bowl. Beat on high
speed for 3 minutes. Using a wooden spoon, stir in as much of the
remaining 2 1/4 to 2 3/4 cups flour as you can. Turn dough out onto a
lightly floured surface. Knead in enough of the remaining flour to make
a moderately soft dough that is smooth and elastic (3 to 5 minutes).
Note: If you have a mixer with a dough hook, change to it and knead about 6 minutes on a slow speed.

Shape into a ball. Place in a greased bowl, turning once. Cover; let
rise in a warm place till double (about 1 - 1 1/2 hours).
For filling,
combine brown sugar, the 1/4 cup flour, and cinnamon. Cut in remaining
butter with a pastry blender until mixture is crumbly. Set aside.

Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Cover and let rest for
10 minutes. Roll the dough into a 12 inch square. Sprinkle filling over
dough square; top with raisins (if desired). Roll up jelly-roll style;
pinch edges to seal. Slice roll into eight 1 1/2 inch pieces. Arrange
dough pieces, cut side up, in a greased 12 x 9 x 2 inch baking pan.
Cover dough loosely with clear plastic wrap, leaving room for rolls to
rise. Refrigerate dough for 2 to 24 hours. Uncover and let stand at
room temperature for 30 minutes. (If you are making the cinnamon rolls
immediately, don’t chill dough. Instead, cover loosely, let dough rise
in a warm place till nearly double, about 45 minutes.) Break any
surface bubbles with a greased toothpick. Brush dough with a
half-and-half. Bake in a 375 degree oven to 25 to 30 minutes or till
light brown. If necessary to prevent over-browning., cover rolls
loosely with foil the last 5 to 10 minutes of baking. Remove rolls from
oven. Brush again with half-and-half. Cool 5 minutes. Invert onto a
baking rack and invert again onto a plate. Can drizzle with Powdered
Sugar Glaze. Serve warm. Makes 8 rolls.

Random thought:

I received this new type of card from our daughter.  I thought it was so pretty, I had to share:

Hallmark of course (she has worked for them since college).

It has a tiny little button to turn the light on at the top of the card.



Random Cat Picture



At least we don't have  a mouse problem any more.................

6 comments:

  1. Now that the weather's cool enough to bake, I'm going to try some of those recipes! AND that third rising technique!

    I'm making muffins this morning, using up bits and tads of fruits, squash, bananas, buttermilk and nuts I had squirrelled away in the freezer. I had one of the first batch a minute ago and it was real good. It was pumpkin / apple / apricot / kitchen sink. Banana walnut with dried cherry pieces is in the oven now.

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  2. Love the photos, you've been pretty busy Glenda. When you mention Hodgson's mills do you mean the flour type or the method of three risings? I would like to try this as I like a soft, textured bread.
    You have the orange/white kitty market cornered. LOL
    Have a wonderful week

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  3. Glenda,

    Beautiful pictures! I love the card your daughter gave you from Hallmark :-)
    This time of year is so good for baking all kinds of bread product. Your bread and rolls look really nice....

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  4. Oh lordy that is a LOT of kitties!

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  5. Your cats are beautiful! We love marmalade kitties! A vet once told us the gene that gives them that color also makes them friendly. We've had as many as 5 cats at once. It takes a LOT of cats before your officially a "crazy cat lady". LOL

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  6. A quick question....my husband is the bread maker in the family. He's self-taught and said he's never sure how long to knead bread. Any advice?

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