Well, I've done it again. I bought a cookbook with the intention of baking my way through it. I'll be baking the recipes from Baking with Dorie. Two recipes a month will be posted on Tuesdays with Dorie And you can choose the order you make them. Posting should be on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month. Unfortunately, life is a little complicated right now, we can only strive for strict attention to schedules. I am going to be late posting this.
I baked and cooked along with around my French table and learned a lot and made some recipes that I wouldn’t have tried. It’s fun to be part of a community that is trying the same recipes. It remains one of my favorite cookbooks, partially because I made so many of the recipes. When I moved, we didn’t have access to a real kitchen for several months and I fell far behind. I am excited that Dorie has a new book at a time when I can join in the baking fun. I am looking forward to this challenge. However, things have changed in my house since my last posts. Harper and Murphy are old dogs now. Still completely willing to try any foods, especially those that are bad for them. The kids are all adults and off on their own. We are lucky that some of them come by periodically and are willing to try anything that I bake. Conveniently, I have some neighbors across the way with younger metabolisms who have already agreed to help me eat any extras.
The recipes for November are English Muffins or Apple Pandowdy. I chose the English muffins. I want to make the apple dessert for Thanksgiving. I love English muffins. And I know that they freeze well so I didn’t have to worry about making any adjustments to the recipe.
It was an easy recipe for anyone who has experience with yeast. It came together quickly and rose nicely. I shaped 12 equal balls and after they rose, I really enjoyed squishing them in the pan. I mean really, go ahead, squish them, gently of course. My only question was if my pan was supposed to reach 350 degrees F or it that only applied to an electric griddle. I enjoy cooking in my cast iron pan, I got it pretty hot and cooked the muffins until I no longer saw a wet middle line on their sides.
We are looking forward to Sunday English muffins and have frozen some for later. This was a good recipe, get some yeast practice under our belts. I am hoping that some of the more fiddly recipes come around when my daughter is visiting. She has far more baking finesse and patience than I do. It’s a journey.
