BLACK FRIDAY SHOPPING ON LINE

 

AS much as I dislike the mania of Black Friday shoppers, there are some real bargains on line.

Chef's Choice knife sharpener

I recently bought this model of Chef's Choice knife sharpener.  I was tired of trying to sharpen my kitchen knives with a whetstone.  I paid $55 on sell.   Two weeks after I purchased this knife sharpener, I sliced the end of my thumb while cutting onions.  

It really works!

The Strand Magazine

Arthur Conan Doyle first published Sherlock Holmes stories in the Strand.  

Now this Strand Magazine celebrates Holmes and all things mystery, publishing short stories and interviews from some of the major mystery writers of the 20th century and today.   It is a high-quality magazine worthy of collecting. 

Food Saver Vacuum Packer.

Hamburger meat will last into next year

Especially now with the economy mercurial due to Donald Trump's Big Beautiful Bill that punishes ordinary people to give massive tax cuts to billionaires,  food security should be paramount in our thoughts.   

We have used a vacuum packer for years to buy meats and other items when on sale, and preserving them by vacuum packing to avoid freezer burn.  We have stored meats, fish, and even beans, berries, and nuts for six months or more with no deterioration in quality.

Bread Machines

We have been making our bread for over forty years with a bread machine.  We presently use a Cuisinart, which is expensive, but there are many decent machines available at a reasonable price.  During the hot summer months, we usually buy store bread (an old Newfoundlander I knew used to call store bread bakers' fog), but in the wintertime, we look forward to our own-baked bread.   

the Ol'Buzzard

HERB BREAD

 

 

I have posted about bread making before.   My wife and I have been making our own bread with bread machines since 1985 when we lived in the Alaskan bush.

 

The reason people who buy bread machines tend not to use them, is there are too many bread options with ingrediency and instructions which often turn out poor bread.  

 

The machine we use is the Cuisinart, and I like it – mainly because it chimes before the last rise cycle allowing me to remove the dough, take out the paddle, then place the dough back into the machine to finish.

 

The machine has 16 different bread cycles and separate selection for loaf size and crust.   I use only one: white bread – 1 ½ pound loaf – medium crust.

 

My recipe takes five minutes of preparation. 

1 1/8 cup of water

2 tablespoon of olive oil

Three level cups of flour

1 tablespoon of sugar

1 teaspoon of salt

And one level teaspoon of yeast.

In that order.

 

The exact measure of water, flour and yeast must be precise.

 

I use all purpose flour.  If I want wheat bread, I replace one cup of the white flour with wheat flour; if I want whole grain or rye – the same thing.

Yesterday I made a herb bread.   Between each cup of flour, and on top, I sprinkled 1/2 teaspoon of dried Herbs-of-Provence.   You could use basil, dill, jasmine or the herb of your choice.  You can substitute the tablespoon of sugar with an equal amount of honey or molasses. 

 

If you want artisan bread, take out the dough before the last rise – cover it for rise time and bake it in your oven; for me too much work.

 

 I will make one caveat: the pizza dough cycle works well, though we don’t often make our own pizzas. 

 

Let your loaf sit for three to four hours to cool before storing in a plastic storage bag.   The bread will have the best texture and curst if sliced the next day – if you can wait that long.

 

There is no better bread than you can make at home in a bread machine with this simple recipe.

 

the Ol’Buzzard

 

 

 

 

WHEN IT’S BROWN IT’S COOKING – WHEN IT’S BLACK IT’S DONE

 

 

If I am making toast out of store-bought bread, I like it burnt, otherwise, to me, it is tasteless.

 

I knew an old man in Newfoundland who lived around the bay.   His wife made homemade bread almost every day.  He called the store-bought bread Bakers Fog.  

 

My wife and I started making homemade bread in a bread machine in 1985 while we were teaching in a Native village 150 miles north of Fairbanks.   It was a six-hour drive on a single lane road across the tundra, if the weather was good.  It was a potentially dangerous trip at the best of times.

 

Our first machine was made by DAK and looked like the R-2 D-2 robot in the early Star Wars movies.  

 

After that the Breadman was our choice of bread machine; but their quality went to crap along with a collapsible paddle that would pop lose during the breadmaking process.   We have even tried the expensive Swedish, two paddle machine which turned out inconsistent quality.   We now have a Cuisinart and I am extremely pleased with it.  (I like most Cuisinart products, but their toaster sux).

 

Bread making is so easy and the quality of bread is so good, I don’t know why most people don’t own a bread machine.

 

I think people that have tried bread machines, but found them inadequate, probably tried artisan and sourdough breads before mastering the basic white bread.  They ended up with doughy or grainy or just bad tasting results.   It is like signing up for karate classes and then jumping into a cage with a mixed martial arts fighter.   

 

The basic white bread recipe is easy:

1 1/8 cup of water

2 tbsp olive oil

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp of sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp yeast

In that order.  Exact measurements of flour, olive oil and water are critical.  Many recipes call for more than one teaspoon of yeast – but I have never found it necessary.

 

The next step is optional:  The Cuisinart beeps after the final kneed.  At that time, I pause the machine, remove the bread pan, dump the dough onto a floured surface, remove the paddle, reshape the dough and return it to the pan and the bread machine.   Otherwise, the paddle gets baked into the base of the bread and you end up with a hole in the bread when you removing the paddle. 

 

I let my bread sit for about four hours before sealing it in a plastic storage bag.  I let the bread sit on the counter overnight before slicing.

 

The hardest part of the whole process is slicing.  I have ended up with a bamboo bread slicing gismo that I like; but it has taken me many loafs of bread before becoming proficient.   

Just like karate, you need to practice.

 

You can not beat the taste of toast made with homemade white bread.

 

Did I run and

And am I tired?

the Ol’Buzzard

 

 

 

 

TRYING TO GET BACK TO NORMAL

 

 

Can you remember way back when every day was not about Trump?  There was a time when we had a normal life.   A time when we didn’t wear mask and idiots did not scream and rant about their freedoms.

 

Last week my thirteen-year-old bread machine (Breadman Ultra) finally gave up the ghost.   Yesterday I purchased a new Cuisinart bread maker

 

 

I would have gone with another Breadman, but they now have such bad reviews I changed brands.   The paddle system in the new Breadman machines is a bad design and a real headache, and the machine quality is not the same. 

 

Last night I made my first loaf of basic white bread and the Cuisinart works great.

 

  The machine beeps at the end of the second knead to remind you to remove the paddle, or allow you to reshape the dough for oven baking. 

 

Just like any other endeavor, baking bread in a bread machine takes practice.  The machines are fool proof; but to consistently turn out good loafs you have to learn to adjust the water and flower during the first kneed to reach the right dough consistency.  After that, the world of homemade breads is unlimited.  

 

Like planting a garden and heating with firewood, there is something about making homemade bread that is comforting: tying us back to another time before technology took over our lives – a time of stability and calm.    And home made bread taste better and is healthier than the ‘bakers fog’ they sell at the supermarkets. 

the Ol'Buzzard  

MAKING BREAD

My wife and I have been making our on bred for thirty-five years.  We have gone through numerous bread machines, but years ago settled on the Breadman Ultimate.

 

Our fall back recipe, the one we make the most, is wheat germ bread.   It has a great consistency, easy to slice and is delicious toasted.

Wheat Germ Bread

• 1 cup Buttermilk (we use the powdered buttermilk available in the baking isle of the supermarket.)
• 1 large egg
• 3 cups of all-purpose flour (we don’t use bread flour.)
• ½ cup if wheat germ
• 1 ½ tablespoon of sugar
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 3 tablespoons of butter (not margarine.)
• 1 teaspoon of yeast 

The buttermilk and egg mixture goes in first, then the dry ingredients: the sugar on one side of the bread pan and the salt on the other.   The yeast goes in last in the middle of the dry ingredients. 

An hour and a half before the bread is done (just before the final kneed) we take out the dough and remove the paddle, then place the dough back into the machine for the final rise and baking.  This way you do not end up with a hole in your bread from having to remove the paddle after baking.

Note:

You have to bake a few breads to discover the best consistency of dough.  The biggest mistake most new bakers make is adding too much water and ending up with a wet, sticky dough.   If you measure carefully you should get the right dough.  If I still see flour in the bottom of the pan during the first kneed I will add 1 tablespoon of water – only one!

Better the dough be a little dry than too wet.

Homemade bread is a simple pleasure

the Ol’Buzzard

BREAD RECIPE

My wife and I have been making our own bread since 1985 when we taught in an Athabaskan Indian village in remote Alaska.   There was no store in the village so commercial bread was not readily available.   My wife was teaching kindergarten, first and second grades, and I had the easier job of third, fourth, fifth and six.   All of our time was spent either teaching or planning lessons so there was no time to become bread bakers.

 

That year we bought our first bread maker that looked similar to the R2D2 robot on Star Wars and produced a cylindrical loaf. 

Since that time, we have always made our bread with bread machines. 

This is my favorite bread recipe: 

1 cup of milk

3 tablespoons of water

1 ½ cups of white all-purpose flour

1 ½ cups of whole wheat stone ground flour

4 teaspoons of sugar

¾ teaspoon of salt

1 tablespoon of butter

1 teaspoon of yeast

If you measure carefully the bread comes out perfect almost every time.   Just before the last rising we remove the dough, remove the paddle, lightly kneed and shape into a ball and return the dough to the bread machine for the final rise and bake.   We find the 1 ½ pound recipes give a better consistency bread than the 2 pound recipes. 

We have had numerous bread machines.  The worst one was a terribly expensive, two paddle machine made in Sweden – the bread came out lousy.   The one we like the best is the Bread Machine Ultra that cost about $90 on line. 

 

We have made breads, cakes, pizza dough and rolls with our machine – the machine does most of the work.

My favorite bread machine recipe book is: Bread Machines and Beyond by Jenny Shapter, my next favorite is Better Homes and Gardens Bread Machine Cook Book.   I like the first one best because it has pictures – I like pictures

Enjoy some fresh bread

the Ol’Buzzard

A BLUE MOON IN MY EYES

Woke up this morning, a blue moon in my eyes:  headache – BC Powder – writing a blog post.  

Finally, shake the headache and get the munchies.  

I once knew a man in Newfoundland that wouldn't eat bought bread; he called it baker’s fog.    I understand his prejudice: there is nothing like a slice of crisply toasted homemade bread slathered in butter.

My wife and I have been making bread in a bread maker since the mid 1980’s.   We still buy ‘baker’s fog’ on occasion; but our preference is for our own homemade bread.

 

Here is our favorite recipe:

One cup of milk – warm or room temperature

One half cup of water

Three cups of all-purpose flour

One cup of stone-ground wheat flour

One and a half teaspoons of salt

Two teaspoons of sugar

Two tablespoons of butter

One teaspoon of yeast

Pretty simple…

For those that haven’t made bread in a bread machine:

After the mixing begins check the bread pan – if ingredients are not forming a ball add one table spoon of water.   Wait two minutes and check again: add another tablespoon of water if needed (careful - the tendency is to add too much water and the dough becomes sticky.)

So this morning it is a cup of strong sweet tea and homemade toast - well done (if it is brown it is cooking if it is black it is done)- slathered in I Can’t Believe It Is Not Butter. 

Have a Good Morning:

the Ol’Buzzard 

A GOOD DAY FOR SOUP

This is one of those cold days: remnants of snow on the ground, temps in the lower twenties, and a wind blowing 15 to 20 knots.  

This is a fresh bread and homemade soup day.

We have make homemade bread in a bread maker for at least thirty years.   We use the Breadman Ultimate which cost less than $100 on e-bay. 

Today I did a milk bread:  1 1/8 cup of milk, 4 cups of white flour, 1 ½ teaspoons of salt, 1 tablespoon of sugar, 2 tablespoons of butter and 1 teaspoon of yeast. 

Just prior to the last rise cycle I took out the dough and remove the paddle (I don’t like the hole in the bottom of the loaf when the paddle is left in during baking.)   I briefly kneaded and replaced the dough back in the pan; then back into the bread machine for the last rise and baking.

About thirty minutes before the bread was done I put together a mushroom soup: I sliced about a half pound of button mushrooms, diced one medium onion.   In a stew pan I melted a large chunk of butter, then sautéd the onions and mushrooms with a tablespoon of dried parsley until the mushroom liquid was gone.  At this point I added a tablespoon of flour and stirred until it was well combined.  I stirred in two cups of beef broth (we use a product called McKay’s Instant Broth and Seasoning – vegan special, one teaspoon per cup of water – purchased at the local health food store.) 

  

 I brought the soup to a boil then add one cup of sour cream.   Using a hand blenders I pureed the mushrooms and blended in the sour cream.

A small spinach salad – a large bowl of soup and a slice of warm buttered bread, with a nice glass of Merlot on the side.   

***

I drink wine every day, therefore I can’t afford expensive bottles except for special meals.  I have found a quite good, cheap – vino de mesa – wine of the table. 

 Tisdale wines sell for four dollars a bottle at the local Hannaford supermarket.   If you are a wine drinker you might give these a try.

Soup, fresh bread, a salad and wine; it makes a day like this special.

the Ol’Buzzard