Braids to Buns...Now Wreaths

I am loving this new Whole Wheat Dough recipe.  Easy to whip up in a day, and such nice results for everything I've shaped it into so far.  We were out of bread and sandwich buns again today, and I needed some treats for a family Christmas party tomorrow night.


When I was young, my grandma used to make "Christmas Trees" of sweet yeast dough filled with candied fruit.  She somehow shaped the dough into a tree shape and all was iced in green glaze.  It was our traditional Christmas breakfast treat, as she passed them out to all of her kids every year.  With that in mind, but not coming up with a clever way to shape the tree, I went another route that requires just a few, simple steps that I could envision.

After making 20 hamburger buns/sandwich rolls with the first half of the ready-to-shape dough, I divided the remaining into two equal pieces...Each about the same amount used for one loaf of bread.  

I rolled each piece of the dough thin, about 21-24 inches long by about 8 inches high.  I spread on brown sugar, and sprinkled with cinnamon.  Then I scattered candied/glazed fruit across the dough, before rolling it, as for cinnamon rolls.


After sealing the loose edge to the roll, the best I could (not perfect), I placed the roll on a parchment-lined pizza pan.  I formed a circle, stretching as I did so, and sealing the ends together.


I cut in from the outside of the ring at 1 1/4" intervals, leaving about 1/2 to 3/4 inch section at the inside, so that the circle wouldn't break.  I then stretched and pivoted each sliced section so that it faced slightly upward.


I repeated this with the other reserved piece of dough, and covered the wreaths to let them rise for 1 hour.


I baked them at 350 degrees, on convection, since I had 2 racks baking at once, for about 13 - 15 minutes, until the internal temperature was 195 - 200 degrees.  

A little glaze drizzled over, and festive sprinkles applied, and the wreaths are ready for tomorrow's party.


And this project has joined another party!... This one's at LifeinGraceblog.com:
Christmas Breads, Breakfasts and Beverages::It’s a Party!

Cutting too Many Corners

I went into this Christmas season, set on not spending one more cent than necessary, only to turn around and see that I was buying Christmas decorations and lights that weren't in the budget at all.  First, I accused myself of irresponsibility and wanting to 'keep up with the Joneses,' because all of this was prompted by photos of others' warmly decorated homes shown on a discussion on the Gardenweb kitchen forum.


Truthfully, although one could argue that any spending over that which one can afford is too much, I was being very frugal in my selections.  Light sets from $2.79 to $9.99 were the priciest things I bought, and the other decorations probably totaled under $40.  It still seemed like frivolous spending with weak justification.

BUT, my attitude about this changed a lot when my 7 year old Prince CuddleBunny expressed appreciation for the extra efforts I was putting into decorating our home.  
He had been noting the extra touches I kept making to the stairway lighting, turning it from just a string of lights to garland and lights, then to a more polished garland with ornaments and other festive additions. I wish I could remember his exact words, but it clearly made a difference to him, and he didn't see it as frivolity, but as a gift.

Without being motivated by his inspiration, I would've left my gift for
Hubby (on the right), just like it was, but I added ribbon and made a bow

This week he and I were wrapping Hubby's birthday gifts together, and I watched him painstakingly tie and curl ribbon for the nicest looking package he could manage.  It was so important that he do it, and it didn't even occur to him to do something simpler.  So, thinking of his comments about the Christmas decorations, and in sharing the package-wrapping moment with him, I wondered, what happened to me?!


I used to be famous... in my family... or, at least, with one of my brothers who especially appreciated it... for the creative ways I decorated packages with ribbon.  I remember doing things like forming a Christmas tree shape of ribbon with a curly topper, or at least, doing more intricate designs with multiple ribbons and bows.  I put the same amount of effort into each, and made sure not one was like another.


Eventually, I switched to ribbon with pre-made bows.  Later, I skipped the bows, and then, finally the ribbon.  Instead of making a little card to attach, I'd write directly on the wrapping paper.

From the post: Who Was That Woman?

I've shared previously about my bare-bones Christmas decorations (tree, lights, and Nativity scene), and about how I no longer craft the interest-focused birthday cakes I did for the older kids.  I have planned less, and been stingier with my time.  And accomplished what with that time instead?  I couldn't say.  


The other kids either didn't notice the downhill slide in such things, or haven't verbalized the things they've noticed, like Prince CuddleBunny has.  I am thankful to be reminded-- while I still have time --to do a better job warming my home and going the extra mile for my family.  Definitely a new thing to work on.  It will enrich my own days, too, I'm sure.


It's not that I want to give myself more stress, or become some sort of 'Stepford wife' or, even, a 'SuperMom.'  I just want to do what I take on to a fuller, more intentional extent, and be more present in the moments... Blessing my family in special ways, rather than dashing things together and moving onto something else, when that something else is, too likely, sitting at the computer.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

Oven #5 has arrived!  Wolfie #2.  (Wolf 30" Double Ovens - E Series)
She looks, of course, mostly, like Oven #4... (See TKO Tuesday: Oven Saga and Wordy Wednesday: 4th Oven -also the Final?)






Except for the flawless interior finish!  I hope she performs as valiantly as her predecessor.                                                                                                                       

The new broiler pan is quite a beauty compared to the one that came with the previous oven.

The store threw in 2 full-extension racks with the first oven, as it was a model that preceded their inclusion. and they'd been added later.  The distributor allowed me to keep those, so I now have 2 for each oven cavity!  That will be GREAT.

The installers highly recommended washing all the racks, and washing out the interior of the oven before burn-off, so I have some work to do.  This is when I'll miss that nice, big Super Single Drop-In Silgranite sink that I've envied since realizing I didn't really need a 2-basin sink any more...




Anyway, looking forward to, hopefully, years and years of baking in oven #5.


Update on 12/31/11:  I am very glad and relieved to say that #5 seems to work as amazingly as #4.  These ovens are GREAT.

TKO Tuesday: Food Storage Zone

The food storage zone is where we keep bulk and extra supplies, canned goods, and refrigerated and frozen foods for cooking and baking...  All the things that we don't store at point of use.  They may be things we don't need to keep at our finger tips, but it sure is nice to have them handy.  Having had a pantry in the basement and a freezer in an detached garage, I love having this zone in the kitchen!

This is not at its neatest, but I decided to
go ahead and show things like they are

My pantry could be larger, but I'm glad to have what I do.  I chose solid shelves for easier cleaning, no tipping, and no drip-through.  I chose fixed shelving, rather than adjustable, for more sturdiness.  I know myself well to enough to know I'd never adjust things like that once they're filled anyway.


For my grain milling, I have 33-quart rolling food storage bins for grains.  These tuck nicely under my lowest shelves, and determined the distance of those shelves from the floor (19").  For the other shelves, I determined what I wanted to store and where.  The 2 shelves closest to the floor were for smaller containers of grains, grain milling appliances/tools, bins of potatoes and onions, and gallon jugs, so were spaced at 15" and 14," respectively.  The next 2 up were for canned goods, planned for stacking 2 high, so have 10" of space.  The shelf above that was planned for cereal-box height (14"), but now works well for a double stack of rice and bean storage bins.  The upper shelf has lots of room above, but is very difficult to reach, so I store baskets, containers, and other, mostly lightweight, things I don't need often.

Across the aisle from the pantry, and also a straight path from the prep and cooking area, are the refrigerator and freezer.  I love having the separate, specific appliances, so I get the most room in both.  I feel that his Electrolux Icon set was a good value at $1500 each.  We didn't want to spend the money or use the space for the special trim kits, but like the fridge in the Breakfast Center/Snack Zone, we put a toe kick underneath to avoid the standard dust gathering underneath.  This also puts the lower sections at a bit more reachable height.

In order to give the doors more swinging room, there is about 5" to the side of this set.  The tall narrow cabinet to the left of the freezer holds a step ladder, and the matching cabinet to the right of the fridge holds a broom and dust pan... 2 less things to jam in the pantry.


These little cabinets, and the fact that Hubby built the lower cookbook shelf separate from the upper one, make it possible to replace this more modestly sized fridge/freezer set with a standard 36" wide and taller unit, if the need ever arises.  The fridge in the Breakfast Center has ample trim around it for this reason, also.

You can see I haven't done to well on my pile cleanup here

I'd planned to have deep uppers over the fridge and freezer, but that didn't get done right away.  After working in the kitchen, and already having plenty of storage in the tops of other cabinets, I wasn't really excited to have any more.  AND, I'd neglected to plan any cookbook storage, so after seeing Caroline/Trailrunner's cookbook shelves on the Gardenweb Kitchen Forum, I fashioned my cookbook storage after hers.  I still wish I'd planned a more extensive and easily reachable storage solution, but this is a great alternative.                                                                                                                                      

What we have of a family message center is also in this area... The white board for keeping a grocery list, bulletin boards for schedules and menus, the calendar, and the chore chart.  It's nice to have it tucked in the alcove, so even though it's a bit messy at times, we don't really have to see it unless we need to.  :-)


I'd like to wish a very special day to the guy who builds all my dreams into reality...  Happy Birthday, Hubby!  I love you much!!  
♥

Tree Deco Night

Princess Sassy chose one of Princess Bossy's ornaments to keep for our tree,
while the rest get sent for her's and Prince Helium's  first tree.

Usually the youngest puts on the angel, but this year it
was the 'newest' instead.  ;-)

Some dress and bow-straightening to do

Post-dec silliness

In the light of day

I'm linking this up to Thrifty Decor Chick's Christmas Tree Party.

The Great Christmas Tree Hunt of 2011

It was a coooold afternoon, but, at least, dry!  The tree farm simplified its pricing, so that the trees with yellow ribbons were $10 and all the rest were $35.

Yes... The right height!

The tree farm owner said we were there so long, he was considering charging us rent!  It wasn't that bad, if he'd noticed us in previous years.  I think we were there about 45 minutes.  Of course, we had to see everything... We can't choose our once-a-year, oh-so-special tree too quickly!  --Had to know if there was a $10 tree to love, and if not, we wanted to get a great one everyone could agree on for our $35.  

Tree-cutting teamwork got the job done.
Princess Artiste and Prince CuddleBunny

Hubby had never been able to have his first choice, a Noble Fir, because they were always too expensive.  But this year they were the same $35, so he finally got one.  Not positively sure it's an actual Noble, but it must be a close relative with a similar look.











Family decorating party planned for Saturday night!

Whole Wheat Challah Dough... and Buns

I know that I said in my post, More Dough Play, that I was planning to 'perfect' the all-purpose flour challah recipe before attempting a whole wheat, or partial whole wheat version.  But I was out of all-purpose flour, needed hamburger buns, and had the overwhelming urge to try making them out of challah dough... so dove in with both feet to make a fully whole-wheat version.


I used the whole recipe that friend, Caroline (AKA Trailrunner), had posted on the Gardenweb Kitchen forum, making 2 braided loaves out of half, and hamburger buns of the rest. --She'd shared with me that the challah recipe makes great buns, and I'd been eager to try ever since.

Wondermill

Milling 1 full batch (8 cups) of hard white wheat berries in my Wondermill produces 12 1/2 cups of flour.  That, plus 1/2 cup of vital wheat gluten, made just exactly what I needed to replace 13 cups of all-purpose flour in the recipe, with the extra gluten boost I'd need for the whole grain flour.  Since those are the amounts I use for my sandwich bread recipe, I was confident that I'd at least come out with something edible, even if it wasn't close to the traditional challah.

Whole Wheat Challah

adapted from the recipe provided me by Caroline/Trailrunner

I updated the water amount, per her instructions, and changed the type of flour

In a 13-quart stainless bowl, mix

12 1/2 cups hard white whole wheat flour 

1/2 cup vital wheat gluten

In a medium bowl, whisk together

4 cups water 

3 Tablespoons instant yeast 

1/2 cup sugar  

Completely moist this time

6 eggs 

1 cube (1/2 cup) softened butter 

1 - 1 1/2 Tablespoon Kosher salt 

then mix it into the flour with a large spoon, just until the flour is all moistened.


Cover and let sit for 30 minutes to autolyse. (The dry ingredients absorb the moisture.)


Turn out on lightly floured surface and knead for 12 minutes, plus or minus, dusting with just enough more flour, as necessary, to keep it from sticking to the counter or your hands.  (When I finished kneading, the dough was still just a little moist/sticky, but not enough to be a problem to handle)


Form into a large ball and place in oiled bowl.  Spray with Pam, or oil, then cover and let rise until double for 1 hour.

At this point, I weighed the dough and divided it in half.  I placed one piece back in the bowl, resprayed with Pam and covered it to wait as I formed the buns.   


For hamburger buns, I divided the remaining half of the dough into 15 pieces that weighed approximately 3.5 ounces each.  Pull the sides of each piece down and under, pinching on the underside and forming a ball.  

When all the balls are formed and placed with plenty of space in between on a greased baking sheet, flatten each with the palm of your hand to about 3/4" thick.  Cover and let rise until double, about 1 hour.




Meanwhile, divide the other half of the dough into 6 equal pieces, form ropes of each piece approximately 18 - 20 inches long.  Braid 3 at a time into 2 loaves.  -- Or form more buns instead. Cover and let those rise for 1 hour.

Since the baking sheets were full of buns,
I tried my French Bread Pan for the loaves.
This gave them nicely browned, but rounded
bottoms, so it won't be my first choice in the future.

Preheat the oven on convection to 350 degrees.


Mix 

1 egg yolk 

1 Tablespoon cream

and brush on the tops of the doubled items.  (Make more egg wash if necessary... I did.) Sprinkle with your choice of seeds (sesame or poppy), and, for the buns, quickly slice across the tops 1/4" deep or so with a sharp knife blade... I prefer to do 2 parallel slices, or a criss-cross pattern.

Bake the buns for about 10 minutes, and the loaves approximately 25 minutes... until the internal temperature is 200 degrees.








Results/Review:


Wow.  Not being a challah expert, I can't say how they'd measure up for those of you more familiar with this bread... But, these are the best hamburger buns I've made.  

Much lighter and fluffier than previous recipes, so it didn't feel like we were eating so much bread, or that the bread was in competition with the heartiness of the meat patty.  I think this will be the family-favorite method for sandwich buns from now on.