The Baking Thread

[ChebyshevII PE PMP]

Guys and gals, should I open up a bagel shop??

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These are by far my best looking, and equally great tasting, bagels yet! I actually made 10, but neglected to take a photo until after two were already eaten.

I would fly down there just to try one of your bagels.

 

[leggo PE]

The fruits of my labor…
I also made a video, but I don’t think I’ll post it here since I want to sorta remain anon and I would probably dox myself.

Also, I gave some sourdough starter to a friend! That’s a first for me.

VERY nice!!!

 

[leggo PE]

Money shot from one of the loaves I baked yesterday. It smells soooo gooood!

 

[leggo PE]

Wish me luck, fellow bakers and baked goods enjoyers! I'm going to attempt to make a pumpkin tart today, using this recipe:

https://joythebaker.com/2020/11/pumpkin-tarte-a-la-bouillie/
I mean, I was sold once I saw the scalloped edges, and read the description that the crust is thicker and more like a sugar cookie.

 

[Dothracki PE]

I made a pumpkin spice latte cake using a recipe I just found in BH&G. It didn't swirl as much as I would have liked, but I'll have to give it another shot with a few tweaks. It was a little dense.

 

[leggo PE]

Here’s my pie! It was really quite tasty. The reviews of the thick, cookie-like crust were positive! The one thing I would have changed is I do not think I cooked the custard filling quite long enough to get it to set with straight edges when cut. But that was small fries; it was a little mushy but not overly so, and it tasted really good. I also whipped up some fresh vanilla whipped cream, which tasted sooooo good. So easy to do, also.

Oh, and I ended up doing it in a pie pan because the tart pan I have would have been too small. Luckily, I realized that BEFORE I started to assemble the pie!

 

[leggo PE]

Apparently I didn’t take any pictures of the finished loaves, so here’s some scoring for ya!

 

[ChebyshevII PE PMP]

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Apparently I didn’t take any pictures of the finished loaves, so here’s some scoring for ya!

Bee-yootiful. I should probably start doing some of that fancy stuff...

 

[snickerd3]

i need to sit down and plan out my christmas baking day this year...

 

[leggo PE]

i need to sit down and plan out my christmas baking day this year...

Me too! Especially since I did Christmas cookie tins last year, and got requests for them at the Friendsgiving I attended yesterday. I went sort of crazy and I think I made like 5 different types of cookies last year, all in the course of 1 day pretty much. I will have to rethink if I want to do that many different cookies this time around.

 

[leggo PE]

Bee-yootiful. I should probably start doing some of that fancy stuff...

It’s not that hard, I promise!

 

[ChebyshevII PE PMP]

It’s not that hard, I promise!

I'm getting the hang of it. I think at first I was like "OMG I don't have time to do that because my dough will be ruined" but now I'm not terribly concerned with how fast I put the dough in the oven out of the fridge.

 

[JayKay PE]

i need to sit down and plan out my christmas baking day this year...

You aren't like me, where I just start making cookies, and then add more and more to them.

 

[snickerd3]

You aren't like me, where I just start making cookies, and then add more and more to them.

That's usually what I do, but I as I learned last year that doesn't work out so well for adding in gluten free options too. The GF doughs need to rest before baking or else they turn out gritty. For chocolate chip cookies, at least 2hrs for best results.

 

[snickerd3]

so i will be mixing those first then letting them sit while I make the regular stuff. just need to figure out the most out of the time

 

[Dothracki PE]

My wife and I made a German chocolate cake for her coworker's birthday. Haven't made this before, but it tastes good. I would expect so with so much butter and sugar in the cake and two frostings.

 

[ChebyshevII PE PMP]

My wife and I made a German chocolate cake for her coworker's birthday. Haven't made this before, but it tastes good. I would expect so with so much butter and sugar in the cake and two frostings.

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Mmm, good stuff. It’s a birthday tradition for my grandfather. I didn’t used to like it on account of the coconut, but I got over it.

 

[Dothracki PE]

Mmm, good stuff. It’s a birthday tradition for my grandfather. I didn’t used to like it on account of the coconut, but I got over it.

I don't really get why it's in there but I guess because American not really German? We are often extra with desserts.

 

[leggo PE]

Additional cookie tins have arrived, and nearly all ingredients for my cookies this year are in hand. Here’s the lineup:

1. Chocolate biscotti
2. Pistachio Sablés
3. Iced gingerbread cookies (only repeat from last year)
4. Lemon meltaways

With this lineup, I’m hitting a chocolate note, a citrus note, gingerbread, and a wildcard (I have mentioned these pistachio sablés in this thread before, I believe). I’ll probably be baking all these on Sunday this weekend. I need to double check my recipes to time everything right (like, which doughs need to be cooled, or things that can be made ahead).

Later on this month, I’ll definitely be planning some sourdough cinnamon rolls. Previously, I’ve made these:

https://centralmilling.com/recipes/brioche-cinnamon-rolls-with-cardamom-and-toasted-pine-nuts/
They are decadent and absolutely divine, very rich. This year, I’m thinking I might change it up a bit and go with this recipe instead:

https://www.theperfectloaf.com/sourdough-cinnamon-rolls/
I absolutely love Maurizio (the author behind The Perfect Loaf blog) and his recipes have literally not once failed me.

How are everyone else’s holiday baking plans shaping up?

 

[leggo PE]

P.S.,

I highly, highly recommend Central Milling flours. They are almost exclusively the only flours I will use these days, and their Organic Beehive AP is my standard all purpose flour, the Organic High Mountain is my go-to bread flour, the Organic Hi-Pro Fine is my absolute favorite whole wheat flour, and the Type 80 whole wheat lends an incredible and undeniable flexibility to my bread and bagel doughs. I also have smaller bags of their dark and medium ryes, durum, and spelt, and probably a couple of others. I can’t recommend their flour enough!