What are you been cooking today

[Thermomixer]

My 13 yr old daughter is making all our bread now - all on her own!  I'm so pleased!   

THAT is impressive - well done her.

[Thermomixer]

Pizza making day here, posted 2 recipes.  2 meals into the freezer which is great as it takes so long to make pizzas and I had mess from one end of the kitchen to the other. I'd done half the prep work yesterday to cut down on my time in the kitchen today but the reward is home made pizzas which doesn't happen very often around here.  I can see why people prefer to order them in though 

Great to hear JD - I had wanted to make pizzas on Sunday, but ended up just making pasta - lazy!

[Thermomixer]

whole orange cake with orange cream cheese icing.

They look great maddy - good work

[achookwoman]

JulieO,  my rolls never look this good.   I'm coming over for a lesson..     Judy Dawn,  what roll recipe do you want swapped over ?    Every time I make bread I try something different.    If you can find the time please try the 'rustic' bread,  it isn't as complicated as it sounds,  and DH says it is delicious.   Had some toasted for tea with Pea and Ham soup.   Made in the crock pot.   Last night made a lot of butter and froze it in small containers.

[judydawn]

It's under Sauce Bearnaise Chookie - a bit off topic, that is why I wrote in my notebook when I saw it as I knew I would not be able to find it later.  You called them your plain white rolls.

[judydawn]

Today I made Carrot Halwa, evaporated milk ice-cream and a loaf of 5 seed bread.  This has to be one of the easiest loaves I have made, I can see why you like it so much Chookie.

[Chelsea (Thermie Groupie)]

That loaf looks so good JD.  I think I will have to give it another go.  The mixture was way too wet when I made it and was so difficult to work with. 

[judydawn]

I added 2 tspns bread improver to mine Chelsea and kneaded it for 4 minutes as Cookie does.  It is a very wet mixture but you don't need to handle it at all.  Just knead and pour straight into your baking tin (I used a 20cm square lined cake tin which was perfect).  I put it to bed with the electric blanket on for 35 minutes and into the preheated oven for 40 minutes, took it out of the tin and baked it another 5 minutes. I've only ever made it once before in my early bread baking days when I didn't have a clue what I was doing and cooked it in a baking dish which was far too big.  Today's was perfect, quick and cheap too as I  had all the seeds on hand. Just nice for a change from plain bread.

[Chelsea (Thermie Groupie)]

Thanks so much.  I will give it a go soon. 

[JulieO]

Thanks Chookie and Judy, what I liked about the rolls too is that they were still nice when cold, they didn't go dry like some do. I feel like I've discovered something. 

Judy you've made me want to make the 5 seed loaf again.  I too have only done it once when I first got my TM and I remember it being nice but for some reason haven't made it again.  I've got all the seeds etc so if I get chance tomorrow I may do it then. 

[Cornish Cream]

I feel virtuous today as I have defrosted my freezer and in the process found one or two things that I had forgotten about.The first was pumpkin puree which I made into Spiced Pumpkin Bread Muffins ( will post the recipe)The other was frozen raspberries and blackcurrants and with the help of some fresh plums and apples I turned it into Fruit Compote from the Fast and Easy Recipe Book.I will review the recipe.

[quirkycooking]

We accidentally came up with our best bread ever the other day - my daughter was making spelt bread rolls with this recipe (without the eggs), and she made it way too wet.  She added a bit more flour, kneaded it a bit more, tipped it onto the mat and got me to check it...  it was still really wet, but I was in a rush to get to a demo, so I just told her to put the dough in a dish in the fridge (covered with plastic wrap) and we'd worry about it when we got home.  So about 6 hrs later I took it out of the fridge, kneaded it a bit by hand (it had firmed up a bit in the fridge, was only slightly wet), rolled it into a free-form loaf, placed it on a lined pizza tray, and popped it in the cold oven to rise for a few minutes (with hot water in a dish underneath).  For a quick loaf, I usually do that, then turn the oven on, and it rises and cooks at the same time.  But, I forgot about it, and when I remembered it had swollen to cover the whole pizza tray!!  I couldn't be bothered starting again, so I just turned the oven on and cooked it... and it turned out the softest, most delicious bread we've ever made!  It even stayed soft for a couple of days, which is amazing with wholemeal spelt bread!!  So I think I'll start putting my dough in the fridge to prove more often 

[JulieO]

Great story Quirky.  Isn't it always the way, when you're not bothered about something it turns out the best!
A friend of mine leaves her dough in the fridge to prove when she's making rolls and says they turn out great too. 

[achookwoman]

Love all the good bread stories .   Today I am testing a new bread recipe, called Milk and Honey.  Will post if OK.  Also made Isi's Coffee custard and a chocolate version.  All for Fathers Day.  Also a modified version of Isi's rolls to which I added LSA.

Quirkycooking,  that loaf sounds great,  the rustic loaf that I posted is also very moist,  I am trying to work out why.  I think it is probably the wet dough.

Judy,  I will try and find the recipe and post it where it should be .  Don't hold your breath.

[Thermomixer]

Yes Chookie - especially with you & Isi helping, the bread making has gone crazy.

Quirky Jo - it is interesting that "real" bakers actually make their dough much moister than I used to and never seem to have problems with it sticking.  Their hands never have bits hanging off !