Here are three recipes from John Nemerovski <AZJohnNemo@aol.com>.
Reggie
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John writes:
Hi. What follows are three class recipes I'm preparing for October at
U. of AZ. What is best way to post them, so other people can test and
comment? Thanks.
John B. Baking
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BARBARA'S MYSTERY BANANA MUFFINS
1. Preheat your oven to 375 F. Organize all the room temperature
ingredients and supplies.
2. Insert the 12 muffin wrappers into your muffin tin.
3. In a medium bowl, "lift and sift" together: 1 1/2 C "loose and
level" organic unbleached white flour, 1T level baking powder, 1/2 t
level baking soda, and 1/4 t salt.
4. Pour in 1/4 C poppy seeds, then "lift and sift" them into the flour
mixture.
5. In a large bowl, cream 1 stick unsalted butter with 1/2 C sugar.
6. In a separate small bowl, beat 2 eggs.
7. In yet another small bowl mash 1 1/2 C very ripe bananas.
8. Combine the beaten eggs and mashed bananas in with the creamed
butter + sugar, all in the largest bowl.
9. (Optional: if you like the taste of grated lemon peel, grate some
lemon peel into the wet ingredients now.)
10. GENTLY stir and fold the dry flour mixture into the wet mixture,
one third at a time. Do NOT overmix, please!
11. Scoop and drop 1/4 C measures of batter into your muffin wrappers.
12. Bake for 15 minutes at 375 F, until a "toothpick test" is clean.
13. Cool your baked muffins on a wire rack, still in the tin, for
15-30 minutes (good luck!), then eat right away or remove from tin and
cool on the rack for two hours.
14. Place the muffins in clear view, so people will eat them very soon
and demand you bake more immediately.
UTENSILS: measuring cups, measuring spoons, stirring spoon, spatula,
mixing bowls, egg beater, towels, plastic wrap, baking sheet, cutting
board, cooling rack, timer, scraper, sponge, scrub pad, pastry brush,
thermometer, oven mitts, knife.
INGREDIENTS: butter, eggs, bananas, organic unbleached white flour,
sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, mashed bananas, lemon peel.
HELPFUL HINTS:
BAKING (Too long makes muffins dry; watch the tops brown)
DOUGH (Too sticky is better than too stiff)
EATING (Too soon after baking gives you indigestion)
MIXING and STIRRING (You don't need much with muffin batter)
BUTTER (Too much is better than too little)
PRE-HEATING (Too long or hot is better than too short or cool)
SALT (Too little is better than too much)
TEFLON MUFFIN TIN (Buy one! Heavy is better than light)
SUGAR (Too little is better than too much)
MILK (Room temperature is best with this recipe)
TEMPERATURES (You want everything to be room temp)
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BERNIE'S "Oh-Oh" BISCUITS
1. Preheat your oven to 450 F. Organize all your room temperature
ingredients and supplies.
2. Do not oil your heavy duty nonstick baking sheet.
3. In a medium-large bowl, "lift and sift" together: 2 C "loose and
level" organic unbleached white flour, 1T sugar, 1 t salt, and 4t
level baking powder.
4. Pour 4 T (or 1/4 C) olive oil all over the flour mixture, then stir
the oil into your flour mix with a fork for maximum 30 seconds.
5. "Pinch and fluff" the oily flour mixture with your fingers for a
minute, until you have lots of little, light floury balls. Stop
worrying. It's supposed to look and feel like that!
6. Pour 3/4 C milk all over the flour/oil mixture, then gently stir
the milk into your mixture for 10 strokes. If the batter is wet and
gooey, stir in a few extra handfuls of flour (maximum: 1/4 C). If the
batter is dry and floury, stir in a few more tablespoons of milk
(maximum: 1/4 C). Your batter dough is supposed to be wet!
7. Gather and scrape your wet dough onto a floured counter, then
sprinkle the dough with an additional half handful of flour. Gently
"pull-knead" the mass into a roundish shape, dusting the counter and
dough with flour as needed.
8. Pat the shaggy dough into a 1/2" thick rough circle. Cut into
rounds up to 3" across (or pull off or spoon off roundish blobs), then
place the sticky pre-biscuits onto your heavy nonstick baking
sheet. Think: QUICK, GENTLE, and STICKY-WET.
9. Place the full baking sheet into your oven. Bake at 450 F for 8
minutes, or until the bottoms of the biscuits are light to medium
brown. It's better to underbake them. After a few times you will be
able to know when they are just right.
10. Cool your baked biscuits on a wire rack, if you don't eat them
immediately.
11. Let the biscuits cool for two hours. Store them (not a chance!) in
a Ziploc bag at room temperature. Better idea: eat them right away
with appreciative family/friends, and make some more.
Bernie says: "The moister the dough, the lighter the biscuit. Your
dough should be as wet as possible and still hold its shape. The most
tender biscuits are handled and kneaded just enough to mix your dry
ingredients with the fat and the liquid, perhaps 5 to 10 quick kneads
in all. The lightest biscuits are dropped from a spoon; the heaviest
are pressed and cut."
Thanks, Bernie!
UTENSILS: measuring cups, measuring spoons, stirring spoon, spatula,
mixing bowls, towels, baking sheet, cooling rack, timer, scraper,
sponge, scrub pad, thermometer, oven mitts, forks.
INGREDIENTS: olive oil (or Crisco), milk, organic unbleached white
flour, sugar, baking powder, salt.
HELPFUL HINTS:
BAKING (Too long makes biscuits dry; watch for brown bottoms)
DOUGH (Too sticky is better than too stiff)
EATING (Too soon after baking gives you indigestion)
KNEADING (You don't need much at all with biscuit batter)
OIL/CRISCO (Too much is better than too little)
PRE-HEATING (Too long or hot is better than too short or cool)
SALT (Too little is better than too much)
TEFLON BAKING SHEET (Buy one! Heavy is better than light)
SUGAR (Too little is better than too much)
MILK (Room temperature is best with this recipe)
TEMPERATURES (You want everything to be room temp)
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PAULA'S "Shaggy Blob" SCONES
1. Preheat your oven to 450 F. Organize all the ingredients and
supplies.
2. Cover a thick baking sheet with butter or parchment paper.
3. Beat a large egg plus the white of a second egg in a small bowl,
then beat in 1C milk. Refrigerate this blend.
4. Stir the second yolk in a dish with 1T of water or milk, for the
egg wash. Set this dish aside at room temperature.
5. In a large bowl, "lift and sift" together: 3C "loose and level"
organic unbleached white flour, 1T sugar, 4t level baking powder, and
1t salt.
5. Cut one stick of cold unsalted butter into many small pieces.
6. Using a fork or pasty blender, work the butter pieces into the
flour mixture. Small lumps and blobs are okay.
7. Stir 1/2C raisins and 1/2C broken walnuts or pecans into the
flour-butter mixture, using the "fast hands" technique. (Other dried
fruit and nuts are okay, if desired.)
8. Pour and lightly stir the egg-milk mixture into the
"well-well-well" flour-butter mixture. Stop! You're over-stirring!
9. Spread a handful of flour on the counter, and dump the shaggy blob
of batter over the flour.
10. Quickly knead the loose batter a few times. Stop! That's enough!
Your dough is supposed to be sticky. Pat the dough mass into a rough
circle.
11. Rapidly cut the dough into 12-15 well-spaced approximately 2"
half-scone-sized pieces, and place them on the baking sheet. Your
hands are now very sticky.
12. Quickly and lightly dab each piece with some of the egg wash.
13. Place the full baking sheet in your oven, and turn down the
temperature to 400 F.
14. Set your timer for 10 minutes. The total baking time will be 10-14
minutes.
15. Start watching for the bottoms of the scones to be firm and light
golden brown. (Keep baking in 1-minute intervals if necessary.) It's
much better to underbake them. (After a few times you will be able to
know when they are just right.)
16. Cool the baked scones on a wire rack.
17. It's okay to eat them all the same day, because you can always
make more tomorrow.
18. Let the scones cool for two hours, store them (not a chance!) in a
Ziploc bag at room temperature. Better idea: eat them right away with
appreciative family/friends, and make some more.
UTENSILS: measuring cups, measuring spoons, stirring spoon, spatula,
mixing bowls, egg beater, towels, plastic wrap, baking sheet, cutting
board, cooling rack, timer, scraper, sponge, scrub pad, pastry brush,
thermometer, oven mitts, knife.
INGREDIENTS: butter, eggs, milk, water, organic unbleached white
flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, raisins, walnuts.
HELPFUL HINTS:
BAKING (Too long makes scones dry; watch the bottoms brown)
DOUGH (Too sticky is better than too stiff)
EATING (Too soon after baking gives you indigestion)
KNEADING (You don't need much at all with scone batter)
BUTTER (Too much is better than too little)
PRE-HEATING (Too long or hot is better than too short or cool)
SALT (Too little is better than too much)
TEFLON BAKING SHEET (Buy one! Heavy is better than light)
SUGAR (Too little is better than too much)
MILK (Cool is best with this recipe)
TEMPERATURES (You want everything to be cold)
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Saturday Bread Workshops
BREAD COURSE Supply List
Please bring the following items to our baking workshop. Do not buy
anything new. Whatever you have at home is sufficient. Give me a call
if you have questions, or need directions to the kitchen. See you
soon!
John
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Several mixing bowls, preferably large, medium, and small
Full apron
Measuring cups: 1/4C, 1/2C, 1C, 2C, and larger if convenient
Measuring spoons
Large mixing spoon, spatula, and an egg beater
Several cotton towels
Fresh paper and plastic bags
Roll of plastic wrap and parchment paper
Kitchen timer
Pastry brush
Bread baking books from your library
Pencil, pen, and paper
Oven mitts
Bread pans, as many as possible, plus baking sheets and muffin tins
with wrappers
Bread knife, plus a sharp knife (not a bread knife) and a baker's
spatula Flour sifter
Dough scraper and pastry cutter (if you happen to know what that means)
Cutting board
Oven thermometer and instant read thermometer
Pizza peel and baking stone
Cooling rack and toothpicks
Sponge and scrub pad
Something to eat and drink for your lunch, plus a large portion of
"potluck" food.
Anything else you think might be useful.
Whatever you like to spread on the items we bake in class, including:
cheese, pesto, hummus, jam, nut butter, sliced meat, butter, plus
anything else you enjoy eating.
Wear comfortable clothes and shoes, and leave your jewelry at home.
If you bake anything in advance, bring it to class so we can sample
it!
It is okay to come to class early. Plan to stay after class until we
are all cleaned-up.