yes, I know your recipe is always better than mine

Since Watergirl brought it up and it beats talking politics tonight. Let’s talk bread.  I have a favorite, fool-proof recipe (click here) that I make often. You can do it as a regular rise or do it as a slow-rise overnight in the refrigerator.

I used to use a single-sourced flour (grown and milled locally) but they enriched their flour. I switched to King Arthur’s unenriched flours a while ago. Their unbleached and bread flour work very well.

JeffreyW introduced me to the King Arther bun recipe and it is probably the best hamburger roll recipe I’ve ever used, and again, close to fool-proof. I made some changes to the recipe and you can see that here.  Mostly I reduced the sugar content – by a  lot.

And finally, a friend gave me some sourdough starter and a really good recipe (click here). It’s a bit more labor-intensive, but if you love sourdough, it’s a good recipe.

I had pretty much given up on bread baking at high-altitude until I bought my KitchenAid – it has changed the game for me. It does a perfect knead and my bread no longer comes out like a rock. ETA: Along with weighing my flour and water.

I know many of you have favorite bread recipes and techniques – so I thought it would be fun to share here.

To anyone who wants to begin making their own bread, go with simple and easy recipes to begin. Trust me there are tons of videos on YouTube telling you how to do it “perfectly.” Don’t let that intimidate you. Start simple…work your way up to competition level later.

Now, let’s talk about bread, baby…

Recipe Exchange: Let’s Talk BreadPost + Comments (74)

It’s that time of year again here in the United States, when we sit around a large table, stuff our faces and argue politics and religions. Remember, the people you piss off at Thanksgiving are people you won’t need to buy Christmas gifts for in December.  ?

In anticipation of the big day, here are the links to all the Thanksgiving recipes and my still favorite way to roast a turkey. I prepped one last night, the hour-plus cooking time takes much of the stress out of turkey roasting. My Thanksgiving is going to be a bit different this year, so I wanted to make sure I had leftover turkey.

I’m also thinking this may be this year’s Christmas Eve party menu. We’ll see. And starting in December, I’ll be posting food gift recipes, just in time for your cookie platters and tins.

From 2015:

This is the only way I’ve been preparing turkey since my first attempt. The only thing I changed up from that first time I prepared it, I skip the metal rack and instead place the bird on a bed of carrots, celery and onion. With the shorter cooking time, the flavor needs the boost the roasting veggies add. The brown sugar not only helps brown the skin, it also adds a yummy, unexpected flavor.

Sometimes the scariest part of the Thanksgiving Dinner is the worry that the turkey will not turn out properly – undercooked, overcooked, dry, flavorless – and ruin the whole meal. I’ve cooked in bags, roasted, braised, fried, deboned – about everything but brine. I’m not a fan of brining. And still every year I worry.

This year I decided to try removing the backbone and flattening the bird, cooking it at a high temperature for a shorter cooking time. It was pretty foolproof, stress-free, and the bird turned out great.

BTW, my recommendation is to always get two smaller birds instead of one massive bird – you’ll have a much better outcome with shorter cooking times. Not to mention not having to worry about fitting a huge bird in the oven. We usually do an oven bird, then grill, smoke or fry another.

For this recipe, a good set of poultry shears makes quick work of removing the backbone. I prepped the bird yesterday, wrapped it up and refrigerated it. This gave me time to make a nice broth from the backbone, giblets and neck last night (see notes below) and make the cranberry sauce, because it’s always better the next day.

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Recipe Exchange: Thanksgiving Food Coma, Anyone?Post + Comments (47)