leggo PE
Straight Waffle-izer
That's awesome!! Very nicely done!Yes, I didThanks! I finally found something I actually enjoy to do in my spare time haha
The Baking Thread
- Thread starter leggo PE
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Hoooooooooooow. Tell me your icing technique/secrets!!! It looks so smooth and professional! I'm assuming a stamp for the big white frosted ones, but the reindeer coffee mug is ADORBS.
I use The Cookie Countess royal icing recipe. I also follow a TON of people on IG and have watched so many of their tips and tricks. I would say the biggest thing is to start out with thick icing and slowly add water until you get the right consistency. It takes some practice but it is so relaxing for me. The big white ones with the moose are stencils! I have a stencil genie (bought on Amazon) and I got the stencil from The Sweet Design Shoppe
leggo PE
Straight Waffle-izer
I'm mainly impressed by your SUPER clean edges! When I was decorating my cookies, I watered down my white icing way too much and it caused issues with trying to pipe it. Also, I don't have the piping tips or pastry bag setup... I use the cut corner of sandwich ziploc bags. It worked, but was a hassle.
LyceeFruit PE
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i'm in awe of your skills @SoVA Eng and your patience.
i get annoyed with decorating cakes lol
which is why i bought Boyfriend's this year instead of making it.
but being charged a 10$ decorating charge and having it be done not in the color i asked for - i was very annoyed
it was a really simple design - a bicycle. in 1 color. and "31" in the same color. but i didn't feel like mixing up and piping such a small amount of one color.
i get annoyed with decorating cakes lol
which is why i bought Boyfriend's this year instead of making it.
but being charged a 10$ decorating charge and having it be done not in the color i asked for - i was very annoyed
it was a really simple design - a bicycle. in 1 color. and "31" in the same color. but i didn't feel like mixing up and piping such a small amount of one color.
LyceeFruit PE
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Did this in college before in clicked in my brain that "Happy Memorial Day" was not the right phrasing.
I still REALLY like it (as a son/grandson/cousin of veterans) and it's the thought that counts!
LyceeFruit PE
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I'm daughter/granddaughter/great-granddaughter/cousins of vets and it still didn't effing click til like 6 years ago lol
LOL
I still don't think it's wrong to say, "Happy". I think with most veterans, just being acknowledged in some shape or form, even a simple "thank you" goes a long, long way.
https://observer.com/2015/05/its-perfectly-ok-to-say-happy-memorial-day/
Dothracki PE
Where is my mind?
The wife and I made crumb cake.
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Dothracki PE
Where is my mind?
leggo PE
Straight Waffle-izer
I'm not sure where my head was this morning...
Last night, I prepared a levain to be ready this morning to turn into some sourdough. At the time, I also refreshed the rye starter I was using for the levain as well as the AP starter I was getting ready for sourdough brioche cinnamon rolls for Christmas Day morning.
I got up this morning, ready to make dough! So, I'm going along, measuring out the levain, the water, the flour, mixing it all together. After doing the initial mix, and setting my dough aside to rest before shaping and folding, I look back to the table and spot it: the levain I'd made for the bread, sitting there, in it's jar on the table. I'd just put the refreshed rye starter in as my levain, instead of using the levain itself for the bread.
Now, using the rye starter isn't a big deal, but I didn't want to waste the levain!
So, now, I'm making my standard variation of sourdough (this time, 20% whole wheat) and also am making a fennel & golden raisin sourdough, since I have some extra golden raisins besides what I need for the cinnamon rolls.
Hopefully I'll remember to take some photos, in which case, you'll potentially see four loaves of bread, sourdough brioche cinnamon rolls, and whatever dinner rolls I make for dinner tomorrow.
It's going to be a big bake day tomorrow!
Last night, I prepared a levain to be ready this morning to turn into some sourdough. At the time, I also refreshed the rye starter I was using for the levain as well as the AP starter I was getting ready for sourdough brioche cinnamon rolls for Christmas Day morning.
I got up this morning, ready to make dough! So, I'm going along, measuring out the levain, the water, the flour, mixing it all together. After doing the initial mix, and setting my dough aside to rest before shaping and folding, I look back to the table and spot it: the levain I'd made for the bread, sitting there, in it's jar on the table. I'd just put the refreshed rye starter in as my levain, instead of using the levain itself for the bread.
Now, using the rye starter isn't a big deal, but I didn't want to waste the levain!
So, now, I'm making my standard variation of sourdough (this time, 20% whole wheat) and also am making a fennel & golden raisin sourdough, since I have some extra golden raisins besides what I need for the cinnamon rolls.
Hopefully I'll remember to take some photos, in which case, you'll potentially see four loaves of bread, sourdough brioche cinnamon rolls, and whatever dinner rolls I make for dinner tomorrow.
It's going to be a big bake day tomorrow!
snickerd3
Taking suggestions
tried 3 of my regular holiday cookies in gluten free versions this year: butter cookie, pizzelles, and kolackies. I went straight 1 to 1 on the gluten free flour mixture. most turned out ok, but they were definitely more crumbly and a little gritty. Will need to read up on trouble shooting these issues for next year.
leggo PE
Straight Waffle-izer
So, I after baking up 4 loaves of bread as well as the cinnamon rolls, I ultimately decided not to bake additional dinner rolls and just have some of one of the loaves of bread I made with Christmas Day dinner.
Anyway, here were my bakes:
20% whole wheat sourdough:
(My batard shaping could use some work, haha! But I actually was very happy with the shape of the loaf when slicing it up)
Fennel & Golden Raisin Sourdough (wholy moley, this flavor combination is THE BEST. The golden raisins were freaking delicious, providing just the delectably right amount of sweetness in every other bite or so. Fennel was more felt in aroma, than taste, but I'm sure it added something flavor-wise, as well. I will absolutely make this again!):
And last, but not least, the sourdough brioche cinnamon rolls:
In other baking news (if you've stuck with me this long, but look, pretty pictures!!) is that one of the gifts I received for Christmas was Classic German Baking by Luisa Weiss (aka The Wednesday Chef). I can't tell you how excited I am to try some recipes that will remind me of my studying abroad in Austria! I'm mainly stoked to try a lot of the savory recipes, specifically, many different little brötchen. I've been making loaves of dough for so long now... I think it'll be fun to try my hand at some rolls!
Anyway, here were my bakes:
20% whole wheat sourdough:
(My batard shaping could use some work, haha! But I actually was very happy with the shape of the loaf when slicing it up)
Fennel & Golden Raisin Sourdough (wholy moley, this flavor combination is THE BEST. The golden raisins were freaking delicious, providing just the delectably right amount of sweetness in every other bite or so. Fennel was more felt in aroma, than taste, but I'm sure it added something flavor-wise, as well. I will absolutely make this again!):
And last, but not least, the sourdough brioche cinnamon rolls:
In other baking news (if you've stuck with me this long, but look, pretty pictures!!) is that one of the gifts I received for Christmas was Classic German Baking by Luisa Weiss (aka The Wednesday Chef). I can't tell you how excited I am to try some recipes that will remind me of my studying abroad in Austria! I'm mainly stoked to try a lot of the savory recipes, specifically, many different little brötchen. I've been making loaves of dough for so long now... I think it'll be fun to try my hand at some rolls!
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I made a ton of stuff for Christmas, but I'm too lazy to get pictures, so here's what I baked and my thoughts:
Gingerbread; soft gingerbread, not building gingerbread, like one of my dad's students baked and gave to the family. Stayed soft for many days, and surprisingly kept the imprint, but I think I want to split the dough into four instead of two next time, so I can work in smaller batches/not over work and heat the dough prior to putting the stamps/cut outs.
Christmas anise cookies; still tinkering with a modification of grandma's recipe. I think the hartshorn was super reactive so they puffed a lot more than usual, so maybe I need to roll even thinner (even thought I rolled to around 1/4"). Want to play around with this a bit more. I think I have to bake them much longer and at a lower temp, that might help the puffiness and make the gold a little more present underneath.
Chocolate chip cookies; it is surprisingly difficult to cream butter and sugar by hand after you've been lazy and enjoying a KitchenAid. Also, my parents gas oven reacts super differently from the electric oven I've been working with. Literally want to buy a house just so I can get a gas oven. That's all I'm saying.
Biscotti; surprisingly easy to make and super delicious! Did a simple almond/vanilla with sugar crystals on top (the sugar was a vanilla bean infused sugar that I never got to use). Want to try and work up to a date a nut biscotti, so I don't need to buy so many.
Cinnamon star bread; the more and more I make this, the more and more I realize how forgiving this is. I totally didn't line up my circles/slapped it together, and it still looked amazing.
One of my 'resolutions' this year is to try and bake one thing a week, even if it's something simple. Now that I have biscotti on my list (which doesn't require yeast or rising and I feel like has less calories than a huge batch of cookies), I think I'll be able to do it. Two things I really want to attempt this year are kolache (poppy seed, not jam) and houska (triple layered braided bread). I also want to get into more ryes, but I have to find a flour supplier, since I don't really want to order flour online/I'd prefer to shop locally if I could.
Gingerbread; soft gingerbread, not building gingerbread, like one of my dad's students baked and gave to the family. Stayed soft for many days, and surprisingly kept the imprint, but I think I want to split the dough into four instead of two next time, so I can work in smaller batches/not over work and heat the dough prior to putting the stamps/cut outs.
Christmas anise cookies; still tinkering with a modification of grandma's recipe. I think the hartshorn was super reactive so they puffed a lot more than usual, so maybe I need to roll even thinner (even thought I rolled to around 1/4"). Want to play around with this a bit more. I think I have to bake them much longer and at a lower temp, that might help the puffiness and make the gold a little more present underneath.
Chocolate chip cookies; it is surprisingly difficult to cream butter and sugar by hand after you've been lazy and enjoying a KitchenAid. Also, my parents gas oven reacts super differently from the electric oven I've been working with. Literally want to buy a house just so I can get a gas oven. That's all I'm saying.
Biscotti; surprisingly easy to make and super delicious! Did a simple almond/vanilla with sugar crystals on top (the sugar was a vanilla bean infused sugar that I never got to use). Want to try and work up to a date a nut biscotti, so I don't need to buy so many.
Cinnamon star bread; the more and more I make this, the more and more I realize how forgiving this is. I totally didn't line up my circles/slapped it together, and it still looked amazing.
One of my 'resolutions' this year is to try and bake one thing a week, even if it's something simple. Now that I have biscotti on my list (which doesn't require yeast or rising and I feel like has less calories than a huge batch of cookies), I think I'll be able to do it. Two things I really want to attempt this year are kolache (poppy seed, not jam) and houska (triple layered braided bread). I also want to get into more ryes, but I have to find a flour supplier, since I don't really want to order flour online/I'd prefer to shop locally if I could.
leggo PE
Straight Waffle-izer
Yum! Great job, jk! Sounds like you put in WORK!
And...
Also....
And...
I fully support this. I'm so spoiled with the oven I have now. It's a gas Wedgewood from the 1960's. If and when I ever own a house, I don't know if I could have anything else... I love it so!
Also....
I originally read this as you wanting to "work up to date a nut biscotti", which, you know, might not be the worst idea and possibly much more rewarding (though requiring work, if made handmade) than dating anyone else!
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Yeah, I'm super used to cooking with gas. My last apartment had a gas oven and, even though the place was a dump and the starter was crap for the range surfaces, it made everything come out amazing. I forgot how nice it was to put on the convection setting and have things bake beautifully. I'm not staying in Indiana (I hope not), but if I do...a nice kitchen and a little patio are my main house items.
...as for dating a nut biscotti...I see nothing wrong with this, and it would be an improvement over my last dating period. I think I'm going to stay single and just start baking with dates.
LyceeFruit PE
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I made the potato donuts from KAF. Not bad but I doubt I'll make them again. I've had potato donuts before and these were lighter than those so huzzah. But overall meh 
leggo PE
Straight Waffle-izer
I'm getting the baking itch... It's been a few weeks since I last baked!
I definitely am going to make some bread... I've got all four starters (my three and Mr. Leggo's one) ready in expectation to make dough tomorrow. I just have to pick... Really, the choice is between my three starters, one of which is fed with all purpose flour, another one of which is a whole wheat starter, and the third of which is a rye starter. It doesn't really matter which one I use, but I like to alternate between them. However, I've used them all in my most recent bread bakes....
Also, Mr. Leggo requested sourdough pretzels, which I will probably do! I have been wanting to make pretzels again for a really long time now, but kept getting distracted. I kind of want to make something sweet too, but we were unexpectedly sent a bunch of cookies from Mr. Leggo's aunt, which we're still working through... Might try to make the raisin brotchen in the Classic German Baking book though!
I definitely am going to make some bread... I've got all four starters (my three and Mr. Leggo's one) ready in expectation to make dough tomorrow. I just have to pick... Really, the choice is between my three starters, one of which is fed with all purpose flour, another one of which is a whole wheat starter, and the third of which is a rye starter. It doesn't really matter which one I use, but I like to alternate between them. However, I've used them all in my most recent bread bakes....
Also, Mr. Leggo requested sourdough pretzels, which I will probably do! I have been wanting to make pretzels again for a really long time now, but kept getting distracted. I kind of want to make something sweet too, but we were unexpectedly sent a bunch of cookies from Mr. Leggo's aunt, which we're still working through... Might try to make the raisin brotchen in the Classic German Baking book though!
