I made a Georgia Peach Pound Cake from the CF Peach Cookalong but I made an orange glaze rather than cream cheese frosting. Peaches were local ones right from the orchard and we certainly have been enjoying them this year.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/discussions/2441821/cookalong-32-peaches

Yum, it all sounds good, but especially that peach cake, Ruthanna.

I made a dozen spice cupcakes with cinnamon cream cheese frosting and one giant cupcake, white with sprinkles and frosted white buttercream with more sprinkles. Yeah, it's Maci's family party, only about 3 weeks late, LOL. The theme is......cupcakes. She likes them and that's what she wanted.

Annie

Two apple pies and another Potluck German Apple Cake.

I tried a new version of an old recipe Friday for Gluten-Free Wacky Cake. I needed an egg-free, dairy-free, gluten-free cake to serve to friends, and at the last minute this is what I came up with after a quick search on-line. I made a spice version using Penzeys Cake Spice Mixture (which is also a great spice mixture to use on French toast). You can also make chocolate, and many other variations - just like the original Wacky Cake recipe. Topped it with Palm Sugar Caramel Sauce with chopped spiced pecans I make in the dehydrator.

-Grainlady

Last week I checked out from the library, Rose Levy Beranbaum's book, Baking Bible. I haven't made any of the cookies in it yet, as they seem really fiddly, but I'm in the process of making her 100% Whole Wheat Walnut Loaf. It looks really good. I haven't baked much for a while as it's just too hot here in the summertime, but it's cooled off enough (high's only around 90 to 95) to get me in the mood to bake.

I may decide to try one of her cookie recipes to see if they're worth clarifying the butter and using bleached flour, which she insists on for cookies.

I'd love to be able to make peach anything from peaches picked from my own tree. I'm jealous.

Annie, wouldn't a giant cupcake be a cake? (tongue in cheek)

Sally

I made a German plum cake and also did a loaf of rustic bread. They are calling for the 90's next week so the bread will round out any salad meals to beat the heat. Temps this past week have been in the 60's and 70's so perfect weather to bake and can the tomatoes.

Tonight, unless I'm too tired, I'm going to make bread pudding to clean my fridge of aging eggs and milk. I might go savory, but I think, more likely, I'll do something with blueberries because the family have tired them, and I have most of a big box. Blueberry hard sauce is one idea... :) Maybe just mixed dried fruit and almonds in the pudding. Then I wouldn't have to add sugar and it's too hot for sugar.

We were finishing off a peach puddingcake that I made earlier in the week so skipped baking any desserts. Dh announced that he wanted biscuits, because what he really wanted was some of the peach jam. He had the cookbook out to do it and the butter softening on the counter. I kicked him out and made a triple batch from the recipe I like (uses less butter, therefore cheaper and still tastes good). While eating the biscuits, I tried to explain why you use cold butter when cutting butter in but do not expect the explanation to stick.

Baked a cherry cobbler early this afternoon.

Two batches of whole wheat rye french rolls using a biga, which I would say is a PITA. I hate dough, but I like eating good bread!! Typical for me, I overbaked the first batch, since I was following directions for a loaf of bread. Let's hope the next/last batch is better. Hopefully later in the week I will have time to make some seafood chowder to go with them, (the tomato based kind), to use up some aquatic things I have taking up needed space in the freezer.

Devil's Food 1 bowl cake w/ Glossy Chocolate frosting from my old 1960s Betty Crocker Cookbook - for my mother's birthday celebration last night. It was a hit too! I sprinkled walnut chunks over the top before baking so they would be toasty & crisp - this was per Mom's request = )

Baking our weekly loaf of seed/nut bread today - 4 pts whole wheat, 3 pts unbleached, honey, olive oil + walnuts, sesame & sunflower seeds.

All organic too

I did pita bread this evening--putting my baking stone in the gas grill works great except I am constantly fiddling with the temperature. It's a Goldilocks thing, too hot, too cool, never just right.

Sally, I guess a giant cupcake WOULD be a cake, LOL. This was just baked in a special pan, so it was really a giant cupcake shaped cake. The kids loved it.

Annie

Sounds very cute.

Lars, the loaf I baked yesterday had no oven spring, either. I wonder if something was, or wasn't, in the air.

Lpink, I have difficulty with rolls, too, but I love playing with dough. I think that's what I like most about baking.

I want what a bite (or more) of what everyone has baked. It all sounds so good.

Sally

The rolls were a bust, too hard. Every time I make this recipe it turns out different. I hate that about making bread. I am lousy at it and no amount of practice improves my skills. I just turn out more lousy bread. Oh well, that's why bread pudding was invented. If I had the money and a good freezer I would never make a loaf of my own bread again and never look back. There are some excellent bakeries out there!!

Lars, would you mind posting your recipe for rye bread. My granddaughter and I were just talking about wanting a loaf of rye bread. I thought I had a recipe, but can't find it. Would enjoy trying your tried and true one. TIA. If you don't want to post it on the board, you can send it to me via e-mail.

L, baking bread is something of an art, but when it won't come out more or less the same way after you've made it several times, either you're really not making it the same way or there's something wrong with the recipe. Some recipes are just bad. And your antipathy for dough might be showing in the product. Plus, maybe your weather is variable enough, or your ingredients are different enough, that it's not really the same each time.

My go-to daily bread is my own multi-grain version of this no knead bread: http://www.instructables.com/id/100-Whole-Wheat-Crusty-No-Knead-Artisan-Bread/

Have you tried that one? You can make it as written, with 3/4 whole wheat and 1/4 whole rye. Try making it a couple of times before making rolls, etc. You can do a half recipe for a single loaf. As whole wheat bread recipes go, I think it's one of the most foolproof. The most important thing is not to handle it much -- don't de-gas it. The thing about 100% whole wheat/grain is that it doesn't rebound. The bran cuts the gluten.

I was given 1/2 of a honkin' zucchini so I shredded it and made Chocolate-Zucchini cake. We love it, moist and dense. Neither of us like icings, so it's plain, either on its own or with ice cream.

I made a cake from a mix not long ago, and wow what a difference. Cake mixes are so fluffy. We missed our zucchini-chocolate one.

Plums are in season and Italian plums are perfect for baking!

I made plum upside down cake. Recipe from Epicurious.

Hint: use half almond meal for an even moister dense cake.

I'm an apathetic, bread machine, dough-cycle kind of gal. I have my tried and true basic recipes, but I struggle to crank out a good artisan loaf. What I get is mostly edible, that's about it. On the flip side, I am somewhat of a jam, muffin/quick bread and soup/stew goddess . . . I specialize in stuff you can hack up and throw in a pot or pan.

I posted my rye bread recipe before when I had a bread machine, but now I make it by hand and so I use the same ingredients but combine them somewhat differently. My recipe uses both caraway AND fennel, which gives a very intense flavor, and so if you want it milder, you can use just one or the other instead of both.

Rye
Bread with Caraway and Fennel

1-1/2
pound loaf:

2
tbsp caraway seeds

1
tbsp fennel seeds

1-1/3
cups water

2
tbsp onion powder (can substitute 1/4 cup pureed onion)

1-1/8
cups dark rye flour

1-7/8
cups bread flour

2
tbsp semolina flour (or whole wheat flour)

2
tbsp VWG

2
tbsp brown sugar

1-1/2
tsp salt

2
tbsp olive oil

1
tbsp IDY

Grind
caraway seeds and fennel seeds in a coffee grinder that is used only
for spices. Add the seeds to the water (I use a 2 cup Pyrex measuring
cup) and microwave for one minute. Stir and microwave 20 more
seconds, and then add the onion powder (or pureed onion if you are
using that). If using pureed onion instead of onion powder, reduce the water by 2 tablespoons. Allow the ground seeds to sit in
the warm water until the water has cooled to about 100 degrees.

Meanwhile,
add the flours, wheat gluten, sugar, and salt to the bread machine
pan and stir gently with a plastic spatula. Add the oil to this
mixture and stir slightly. Insert pan into the machine and lock in
place.

When
the seeds have soaked for at least 15 minutes, add the seed/water
mixture to the bread machine pan. Close the lid and add the yeast to
the yeast dispenser. Set the machine for small loaf (1-1/2 pounds),
medium crust, and regular loaf, or you can use the pizza setting if
you want to shape the loaf yourself. Start the machine.

When
the bread is done, remove from pan and rub all sides with butter, and
then allow the loaf to cool on a wire rack before storing it in a
bag.

2
pound loaf (for Pullman pan):

2-1/2
tbsp caraway seeds

4 tsp fennel seeds

1-2/3
cups water

2
tbsp onion powder (can substitute 1/4 cup pureed onion)

1-1/4
cups dark rye flour

2-1/4
cups bread flour

2/3
cup whole wheat flour

3
tbsp semolina flour

3
tbsp VWG

2-1/2
tbsp brown sugar

2
tsp salt

2
tbsp olive oil + 3 tbsp butter

4
tsp IDY

Combine the ingredients as for a normal loaf of bread, allow it to rise in a warm place until doubled (about 1-1/2 hours in my garage), and then form the dough into a long log, to fit into the pan. Cover the pan and allow it to rise one hour more and the place in a 400° preheated oven, turn the temp down to 375° and back for 25 minutes with the lid on. Then turn the pan on one side and bake 5 minutes more; turn the pan on the other side bake 5 minutes more, and then take off the lid and bake uncovered for about 15 minutes, or until internal temp is 195°.

I think the next time I make it, I will try it with caraway and no fennel.

This sounds really good Lars. What is IDY? I gather it is some kind of yeast . . . ?

Instant Dry Yeast (though I'm not Lars). The kind you use in bread machines.

The Kitchn has a straightforward comparison: http://www.thekitchn.com/whats-the-difference-instant-a-54252

Thanks so much for the recipe, Lars. It sounds great. Just have to get some rye flour. My regular grocery store no longer carries rye flour.

I just copied and pasted your recipe, Lars, thanks for sharing.

I have a question. If you substitute the pureed onion, do you cut back on the liquid in the recipe?

Sally

" If using pureed onion instead of onion powder, reduce the water by 2 tablespoons. "

I do reduce liquid if using pureed onion, but for some reason, I prefer the onion powder.

If you cannot find rye flour, you can order it from King Arthur. I ordered pumpernickel flour from them once - not sure how different that is from rye flour.

Okay, I feel like an idiot. I should have read the recipe all the way through. Thanks, Lars.

Sally

Well this weekend its suppose to be rainy and cool. So, I'm trying to muster up some baking mojo. I'm thinking of making sticky buns (or maybe I'm just hoping they'll magically appear!)

The sticky bun fairy didn't come this morning, so I wound up making them for lunch!

Another weekend.... I made a new recipe for G-F Pumpkin Bread yesterday that will need a number of alterations the next time I make it. The recipe called for one cup of honey and I reduced it to 3/4 c. palm syrup, and the next time I'll use 1/3 c., and bet it only needs 1/4 c. and maybe 10 drops of English Toffee Stevia. I'll also add 2 T. of coconut flour, the recipe called for all almond flour. At least the flavor and texture is "right". Sometimes gluten-free versions are less than what their wheat flour versions were, so it will be back to the drawing board until I have it a little lighter. One thing going for it, it only has 2 T. oil in the recipe (I used coconut oil).

I may have another go at a recipe from the Beranbaum book I still have checked out from the library. I don't know what I'll do, yet. I may attempt one of her cookie recipes. They call for clarified butter, which seems a bit fiddly. They also call for bleached flour. I've been so conditioned for so long to NOT use bleached flour, I don't know that I can bring myself to buy some. I almost did the other day, but my hand just wouldn't reach out and grab the bag.

Grainlady, good luck with your GF Pumpkin Bread. My sister is always experimenting with GF and sugar free baking. She sells cookies and breads at her local Farmer's Market, and people request those things. It's very hard to find good recipes, especially since she would like to make a profit.

Sally

sally2-

Bleached flour is often the flour-of-choice due to the finished color of baked goods, and possibly for the amount of protein in the flour (which is a mixture of soft and hard wheat). If you are not entering the cookies in the Fair where they will be judged, I'd go ahead and use unbleached.

If you are using King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour, use a little less flour (to lower the moisture-absorbing gluten), add a little more fat to the recipe to "shorten" the gluten strands, and keep mixing to a bare minimum so you don't develop too much gluten. King Arthur Unbleached AP is better suited for yeast breads and generally makes tough cookies. Before going GF, I liked to use Hudson Cream Unbleached Flour (a Kansas flour milled in Stafford County) - which is a better blend of soft and hard wheat that was a "true" unbleached all-purpose flour.

***I'll post back the results and the recipe of the GF Pumpkin Bread if I get the improvements I need.

-Grainlady

Sally, Ann T's chocolate meringue cookies are good and have no flour, so they can easily be made gluten free using the appropriate ingredients. Macarons are also naturally gluten free, made with almond meal, but they are fussy. I can also heartily recommend this lemon bar recipe, I made it for Amanda and it was so good that no one even knew it was gluten free. She had to sneak a couple to hold back so she'd have some for her work snack! I got it from a blog called "Faithfully Gluten Free".

Gluten Free Lemon Bars (the Way Lemon Bars Should Be)

Author: Jeanine Friesen

Ingredients

For the crust:

• 1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose gluten-free flour blend (see Note)
• 1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum
• pinch salt

For the Filling:

• 7 large eggs, at room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons grated lemon zest (4-6 lemons)
• 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (I needed 6 lemons to get 1 cup)
• 1 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour blend (see NOTE)
• Confectioners' Sugar for dusting

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, so the paper rises up the sides (I had it run up the 13" sides, and left the 9" sides bare). (This will make removing the squares much easier, as you can lift them out once they are cooled.)
3. For the crust, in the bowl of a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Combine the flour & salt, and slowly add to the butter/sugar mixture while the mixer is on low. Mix just until it is combined. Dump the dough into your 9x13-inch pan, and using hands dusted with gluten-free flour, press the dough evenly over the bottom of the pan, building up a 1/2-inch edge on all sides.
4. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until very lightly browned. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack. Leave the oven on.
5. While the crust is baking, you can prepare the filling. For the filling, whisk together the eggs, sugar, lemon zest, lemon juice, and gluten-free flour. Pour over your pre-baked crust and bake for 30-35 minutes, until the filling is set. Let cool to room temperature.
6. To remove from pan, cut along 9" edges, and use the parchment paper to lift the bars out to a cutting board. Using a sifter or wire sieve, dust the top of the bars with confectioners' sugar. Cut into squares, and serve.

Notes

The all-purpose gluten-free flour mix that I use is from Cybele Pascal. It is as follows: 4 cups superfine brown rice flour, 1 1/3 cups potato starch (not flour), 2/3 cup tapioca starch.
Adapted from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook.

I used King Arthur's gluten free flour mix, as that's all I had on hand. They turned out nicely moist, extremely lemon-y and altogether delicious.

Annie

Thanks, Annie, I'll pass these recipes on to my sister.

Grainlady, I do usually use King Arthur. Maybe I'll try a different unbleached flour, just to see the difference. I usually quite enjoy the cookies I've made with King Arthur. I bet a lower protein flour would be even better. I'll try your tricks, though, until I run out of the King Arthur, or at least get a new bag of lower protein flour. Thanks.

Sally

Oddly, I can buy ghee, (which is clarified butter) in my white-bread small-town Krogers store futzy dairy foods section.