Saturday, May 16, 2015

Coffee can bread

Bread cooked in a can?  This must be some well kept secret!  Who knew that a coffee can could have such a use? During the times of the Great Depression when everything was used, coffee cans were a way to make multiple loaves of bread when one was short on space.

For those of you who prefer their crusts cut off of their sandwiches, this is a tried and true method of achieving this. A note of caution: ensure that the can you use does not have the plastic coating inside of the can. This can lead to plastics and chemicals leaching into your bread loaf. You can easily fashion a metal coffee can or even a #10 can to make endless loaves of bread.

 


 

















Ingredients:

Flour
Yeast
Sugar or honey
Salt
Baking soda
Milk
Cornmeal


Method:

In a large bowl, combine yeast and sugar in the water; let stand 15 minutes or until it begins to rise.

Grease the inside of 3 – 1 lb. metal coffee cans and the underside of their lids. Sprinkle cans with cornmeal, shaking off the excess.

With electric mixer, gradually beat salt, 3 c. flour, and 1 c. milk to the yeast mixture; adding alternately and beating well.

Add 1/2 tsp. baking soda to 1 tbsp. water and dissolve. Add this to the beaten mixture. Beat well.

With mixer or spoon, beat the remaining 1/2 c. milk and about 1 1/2 to 2 c. flour to make a stiff dough that is too sticky to knead.

Spoon enough dough equally into cans, top with lids. Let rise in a warm place until the lid pops off (about 45 – 60 minutes).

Carefully remove lids. place cans upright on stove rack and bake at 375 degrees F. for 25-30 minutes until the bread top is golden brown or you can bake it on top of the stove in a large pot with the coffee can well covered with foil.

Slide out of can to test. Take loaves out of cans and stand upright on wire rack to cool.

Store airtight and keep at room temperature or in the refrigerator for 4 days.

Freeze for longer storage.

Friday, May 15, 2015

Diy recipes

Baking Powder

    1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
    3 teaspoons cream of tartar
    2 teaspoons cornstarch

Combine the baking soda, cream of tartar, and cornstarch and use in the recipe as you would the baking powder.

And here’s one last thing to remember.  Moisture will make the baking powder loose its potency so never dip a damp measuring spoon into your container of Cream of tartar is an acidic by-product from the process of making wine. It's found in the sediment left behind in barrels after the wine has been fermented, and it gets purified into the powdery white substance that we use in baking.

(ground egg shells that are washed and dried)

or

Yield
    Makes about 1/3 cup

Ingredients

        1/4 cup of cream of tartar
        2 tablespoons baking soda

Preparation

        Sift 1/4 cup cream of tartar and 2 tablespoons baking soda through fine strainer 3 times into small bowl.
    Do Ahead
        Can be made 4 weeks ahead. Store airtight at room temperature.

Test-kitchen tip:
Homemade Baking Powder may clump after it has been stored, so be sure to resift before using. Use in the same proportions as commercial baking powder.



Brown Sugar

    1 Cup White Sugar
    1 Tablespoon Molasses

Pour the sugar in a food processor and then drizzle the molasses over the top.  Process until the two are thoroughly mixed (about 2 minutes)  stopping to scrape the sides occasionally as needed.

If you don’t have a food processor you can also just combine the sugar and molasses in a mixing bowl and stir them together with a fork.



Pancake syrup.

With a sauce pan bring the water to a boil.
Add the sugar and karo syrup if any,
Boil for about one minute.
Turn off the heat.
When the mixture is still slightly warm, add the vanilla and maple extract.
Put in a sealed container and refrigerate for later usage.

Sodium carbonate. (aka water softener)

 But if you heat baking soda, its molecules react with one another to give off water and carbon dioxide and form solid sodium carbonate, which is proton-free. Just spread a layer of soda on a foil-covered baking sheet and bake it at 250 to 300 degrees for an hour.

 Here are just a few of their end-uses (there are hundreds!): Soda ash (Na2CO3), or sodium carbonate, is used in the manufacture of glass, paper, rayon, soaps, and detergents. It is also used as a water softener, since carbonate can precipitate the calcium and magnesium ions present in "hard" water.  Soda ash is also used to control pH (carbonate solutions neutralize acids, producing only carbon dioxide and water.

Calcium (how to make powdered eggshells):
  1. Wash empty eggshells in warm water until all of the egg white is removed, but do not remove the membrane because it contains important nutrients for the joints which helps arthritis.
  2. Lay broken pieces out on paper towels and allow them to air dry thoroughly.
  3. Break the eggshells up into small pieces, and grind them to into a fine powder in a food processor, blender, coffee grinder, or a nut mill, or put them in a plastic bag and use a rolling pin to grind them. Please note that some blenders will not grind the eggshell into a fine enough powder. A coffee grinder works the best.
  4. Store powdered eggshells in a covered glass jar or container. Keep it in a dry place, like the kitchen cupboard.

Wednesday, May 13, 2015

Home made pizza peel idea.




Get a large heavy duty baking pan.

Cut off one of the short ends.

On the opposite end cut a notch for the pipe to fit it.

Take a piece of pipe and cut a slit for the pizza pan,

Drill two holes for the bolts.

Drill two different holes small then big etc etc in the baking pan

Attach the pipe and bolt down.with the flat heads on the bottom and the nuts on the top.

Tada!

Monday, May 11, 2015

Beer bread.


Baking bread in a pre-heated casserole dish produces a sort of baker’s oven effect. Using beer adds a deep, malty flavor to the bread.
Makes one large loaf.




Another recipe:
Baking bread in a pre-heated casserole dish produces a sort of
baker’s oven effect. Using beer adds a deep, malty flavor to the bread. Makes one large loaf.
Ingredients:
3 - cups finely ground spelt flour 1 1/2 - cups coarsely ground wheat 3/4 - cups coarsely ground rye 1 - tsp. dry yeast 2.5 - cups water 1.5 - cups (3.5 dl) beer More coarsely ground rye flour or corn meal for baking
Preparation:
Mix all the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Slowly pour in the water, followed by the beer. Continue mixing/kneading until everything has been mixed together. The dough should be fairly loose and it will not be necessary to knead it for long.
Cover and leave overnight in the fridge, or for 3 to 5 hours at room temperature.
Pre-heat the oven to 480 Fahrenheit. Place a large iron casserole dish with a lid in the oven.
Sprinkle the coarsely ground rye flour of (corn meal) on the bottom of the hot casserole dish and pour in the dough. Place the lid on top and bake for 40 minutes. Remove the lid and continue baking until the bread has a deep golden color. Check to see if it is ready by piercing it with a sharp needle. The bread will be ready when the needle comes out clean or if there is just a small amount of dough attached to it when you pull it out.
Tip the bread out of the casserole dish and cool on a wire or cookie rack.

Poached eggs


Heat the water: Add enough water to come 1 inch up the side of a narrow, deep 2-quart saucier. Add 1 teaspoon kosher salt and 2 teaspoons white vinegar and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Meanwhile, crack 1 very fresh cold large egg into a custard cup or small ramekin. Use the handle of a spatula or spoon to quickly stir the water in one direction until it's all smoothly spinning around.

TIP: Use this whirlpool method when poaching a single serving (one or two eggs). For bigger batches, heat the water, salt and vinegar in a 12-inch nonstick skillet and do not stir.

Add the egg: Carefully drop the egg into the center of the whirlpool. The swirling water will help prevent the white from "feathering," or spreading out in the pan.

Let it poach: Turn off the heat, cover the pan and set your timer for 5 minutes. Don't peek, poke, stir or accost the egg in any way.

Lift it out: Remove the egg with a slotted spoon and serve immediately. Alternatively, move the egg to an ice bath and refrigerate up to 8 hours. Reheat in warm water just before serving.



 
 




























 One of my favorite snacks anytime of day. So simple, but you can add what ever extras you want.

Ingredients:
1 - egg
1 - slice cheese
2 - slices bread
2 - teaspoons mustard.
1 - teaspoon or so vinegar.
Water for boiling  and the washing the egg.

In a small sauce pan fill with water about an inch and a half high.
Turn on the oven to high. At 180 degrees Fahrenheit, turn down heat.
Add the vinegar.
Crack a room temperature egg into a small dish.
Gently lower the egg into the water.
Let cook for minute.
Use a slotted utensil to bring the egg together.
Let cook until the doneness you prefer, (about 3 minutes or so.)
With a slotted spoon remove the egg to a towel and let it dry a bit.
Put the egg in some cold water to wash the vinegar off and cool the egg.
Toast two pieces of bread.
Cover one side of the toast with mustard.
Lay the cooked egg on one of the pieces of toast.
add salt and pepper if desired.
Add the cheese
Cover with the other piece of toast with mustard towardds the insides.

Eat!

Hard boiled eggs.




Wash eggs under running water.
Put eggs in a pot just enough to fill the bottom.
Cover eggs with water.
Put the pan on the stove uncovered.
Turn on that burner to high heat so the eggs can boil.


Step 2: Boiling eggs



Bring the eggs just to a boil (no more than a minute.
Watch carefully.


Step 3: Cool down



Green eggs are usually the cause of overcooking.
Now that the eggs are boiling, TURN OFF THE HEAT now.
Take a very sharp knife and stab the eggs so that the shell is cracked.
One stab per egg should be enough.
Add ice cubes to the pot.
You may have to drain a little of the existing water, so the pot does not overflow.





Step 4: Chill out time.




If you do not have a heat proof surface in the refrigerater, place a heat proof plate where you can place the pot.
Plate the pot in the refrigerator on the heat proof surface.
Add more ice if you need to.
Cover the pot with the eggs, water, and ice..
Close the fridge and go do something else for a while. Time is no critical. (No more than 24 hours).

Note: sorry you missed a wonderful cheesecake as it is all gone.


Step 5: Eggactly.




Peel egg. This should be easy if you slit the eggs earlier correctly.
Slice, dice, or just eat plain. Egg salad coming up!
Enjoy!


Step 6: Simple egg salad.





Simple egg salad.

2 eggs, hard-boiled and peeled.

2 tbsp mayonnaise (I use home made: http://www.instructables.com/id/Quickie-homemade-mayonnaise/)

1 tsp yellow mustard

1/4 tsp sugar

a shake of salt

Chop eggs into small bits and place in a bowl. Combine with other ingredients, stirring gently with a spoon (don’t mush it up!). Add in crunchy, spicy, or savory bits at your whim. Refrigerate for a bit to let flavors combine, and then smooth it onto white bread and enjoy.

Step 7: Baked egg lasagna.


You could also make baked egg lasagna. See: http://www.instructables.com/id/Egg-lasagna/