Sourdough Crumpets

 Folks- 

I got on the sourdough train later than a lot of other people, but I'm starting to catch up!

Today I decided to make sourdough crumpets because the recipes I found online were ridiculously easy compared to, say, a sourdough boule or something similar.

Personally, I decided to split my starter this morning to make sure I had enough to make crumpets for everyone, since the original recipe made something like 4. This recipe makes about 12 of you're using 3 inch rings, 10 if you're using 4 inch rings.

It goes without saying that you need a sourdough starter to make this. If you don't already have one, and don't have access to someone else's, it takes about 2-3 weeks to get one going.

Here's my variation on the King Arthur Flour Sourdough Crumpets!

Ingredients:

100g sourdough starter discard

175g all purpose flour 

175g water

2 teaspoons granulated sugar

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

The night before mix the sourdough starter with the flour and water and leave in a warm place to ferment loosely covered for 8-12 hours. The next day heat a griddle to about 300 degrees F. Mix all ingredients to a smooth dough. It should start to bubble and become billowy. Lightly butter the inside of the crumpet rings and lightly oil the surface of the griddle. Divide the batter evenly among the crumpet rings (a scant 1/4 cup or a scant ice cream scoop for 3" rings, a heaping 1/4 cup or heaping ice cream scoop for 4" rings.) Allow crumpets to bake on the top of the griddle until the bubbles are set and the tops are no longer glossy (about 5 minutes), then carefully flip them and remove the crumpet rings and continue to cook for another 3 minutes until golden. Serve immediately, or store in the fridge for about a week, toasting as wanted.

Old-Time Ice Cream

 My dad used to make really good ice cream back in the '80's and '90's using an old recipe that was not cooked, but contained raw eggs.

"Wait, did you say raw eggs? In food? You'll get sick from that!" you say.

 I ate that ice cream for roughly 30 years completely safely, so no, raw eggs do not automatically mean salmonella poisoning by a long shot.

Actually, my French Silk Pie recipe also is served using raw eggs.

Having said that, don't prepare or serve this to young children, pregnant women, or the elderly. There is a risk, however small.

I consider the ice cream safer though, because freezing helps kill pathogens.

I had to find this recipe online, and it's fairly close. I changed a few things about it here and there, but that was mostly about the method, not the ingredients.

Rant incoming. You've been warned.

You do need an ice cream freezer (sometimes called an ice cream maker) to make this recipe. I know that the industry is pushing us towards the kind that uses a bowl you stuck in your freezer for 24 hours before making the ice cream, but I freaking hate those. There is nothing terribly convenient about being forced to either plan your frozen dessert at least a full day before making it, or being forced to sacrifice freezer space to hold your ice cream freezer bowl all of the time.

Just let me use ice cubes and salt fercrissake!

Luckily Nostalgia has a countertop model that uses ice cubes and salt (table salt is fine.)

So, here's the recipe!

Ingredients:

3 eggs (cold)

3/4 cup granulated sugar

3 cups whipping cream (cold)

1 cup milk (cold)

1/8 Tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla extract*

Beat eggs and sugar for 5 minutes until thick and pale. Mix in the whipping cream, salt, and vanilla extract. Add mixture to the bowl of your ice cream maker and follow the directions for your unit.

Note: Counter to what you'll find on the internet, there really isn't any reason to chill the custard before freezing it if it's never cooked and the ingredients are cold. It's a total waste of time. I've tested both ways and got the same results. The few degrees of warmth you add by beating the eggs makes no material difference. Now, if you intend to just let this sit on the counter for a couple of hours before sticking it in your ice cream freezer while you catch a game on TV, that's something else. Chill it.

*You can make this with other flavors, such as a nice maple pecan by adding 1 tsp Mapline and toasted pecan chips. I'll post a chocolate version later.

Crumpets

 I’ve been experimenting with a new electric griddle my wife had me buy recently, and I was inspired to try to make traditional English Crumpets. I found a recipe at The Spruce Eats that works well, and then (here it comes!) modified it. I’m going to post the less modified version, and then my modifications to make it a shelf-stable mix for the pantry!

You will want a set of at least 4 stainless steel crumpet or English muffin rings to make this. Don’t get cheap aluminum ones. Stainless isn’t that much more, and won’t deform in your cabinets or drawers.

Crumpets

3-½ cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons sugar

1-1/2 cups warm milk

1-¼ tsp active dry yeast

1-1/2 cups warm water

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

Mix together flour, sugar, powdered milk, and yeast. Mix in warm (not boiling) water and milk until batter is thick and smooth. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm, draft-free place until it doubles-1 to 2 hours. Wisk the baking powder and salt into the batter. Heat a griddle to 350-400 degrees, or a heavy bottomed frying pan over medium to medium-high heat. Brush oil onto the griddle or pan bottom, and the inside of your crumpet rings. Fill crumpet rings about half to three-quarters full of the batter and cook for 5 minutes until there are many tiny holes on the surface. Flip crumpet and ring over and continue to cook 2-3 minutes.

To make as a mix, replace the milk with 6 tablespoons of powdered milk and add it to the flour, sugar, and yeast, and increase the water to 2-1/2 cups. I store the baking powder and salt together in a small ziploc bag, and the other ingredients in a large ziploc bag (throwing the small one inside it.)

Frozen Yogurt

I like a good frozen yogurt as much as I do a good ice cream, and luckily I recently found, and slightly modified, a good recipe. You need some kind of ice cream maker to make this, but it generally takes much less time than any ice cream recipe I've made, either in prep time, or freezing.
This is not a low fat recipe. Substituting in low-fat ingredients will cause large ice crystals to form, which are poor for the texture of the frozen yogurt.
Enjoy!

Frozen Vanilla Yogurt

3 Cups Unflavored Whole Milk Yogurt
1 Cup Half and Half
2/3 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract (or put 2 Tablespoons Vanilla Sugar in the measuring cup before measuring out the sugar),

Mix all ingredients together and follow the instructions for your ice cream maker to freeze to a creamy texture.

English Toffee

Folks-
This time of year it's a tradition in my family to make my Aunt Carolyn's English Toffee. It's not the simplest candy I make (that would be the truffles) but it tastes SO much better than anything you could buy. If you like Heath Bars or Almond Rocha, you owe it to yourself to try this recipe.

English Toffee

Ingredients:

1 lb butter + extra for coating jelly roll pan

1/2 tsp cream of tartar

2 cups sugar

2 cups chopped almonds, toasted if preferred

Melted chocolate for dipping

Coat a jelly roll pan or cookie sheet with sides with butter and set aside. Melt 1 lb butter and add sugar and cream of tartar, stir until thermometer reaches 275 degrees. Add chopped almonds and stir to 300 degrees. Spread into the jelly roll pan and immediately score into 1" pieces with a sharp buttered knife. Cool for about 7 minutes and break into pieces. Dip into melted chocolate and roll in chopped nuts. Refrigerate for about 5 minutes.

Note: it appears most people don't realize cream of tartar is a powder, not an actual cream. You can find it in the spice section of most supermarkets.

Bread-Dough Cinnamon Rolls

Folks-

I make two different kinds of cinnamon rolls on a regular basis, bread-dough and pie crust. Both are good, but rather different. I'll post instructions for the pie crust cinnamon rolls later. Now, one of my family's favorite breakfast treats!

Bread-Machine Cinnamon Rolls

1lb batch:

2/3 Cup Water

1/2 Egg

2 Cups Flour

3 Tbsp Sugar

2 Tbsp Dry Skim Milk

1 Tsp Salt

4 Tbsp Butter

1-1/2 Tsp Dry Yeast

1-1/2lb Batch:

1 Cup Water

1 Egg

3 Cups Flour

1/4 Cup Sugar

3 Tbsp Dry Skim Milk

1-1/2 Tsp Salt

5 Tbsp Butter

2 Tsp Dry Yeast

Filling:

1/2 Cup Butter, melted

1 Cup Cinnamon Sugar

Put ingredients into a bread machine in the order the manual instructs (usually the order above) and set the machine to Dough Mode. When complete, roll out dough on a floured surface to about 1/4 inch thickness. Mix melted butter and cinnamon sugar together and spread on dough. Roll dough into a  cylinder and using a sharp knife, cut into 1 inch segments. Place segments into a greased pan giving them 1/2 to 3/4 inch space on all sides and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and immediately frost or glaze. Allow to cool for 3-5 minutes and serve hot.

Tips: These can be frozen prior to cooking. I find a full batch is too much for my family to eat before they start to go stale. I divide a 1-1/2 lb batch into thirds, put the cinnamon rolls into a pie tin sprayed with non-stick cooking spray, and freeze them. To bake them, put the pie-tin into a cold oven and immediately set the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for 20-30 minutes--until they just start to turn golden brown.

You can absolutely make 2 or 3 lb batches of these by doubling either of the recipes above, if your bread machine is big enough. Combined with the freezing tip outlined above, this has allowed me to bake 5-8 large trays of these in a single day before taking them to my co-workers as Christmas gifts.

Old Time Fudge

Folks-

The computer was on, so I figured I should power out another Zap 190 recipe. This one I intend to try soon, only I want to try it using whipping cream instead of milk. If I try it, I'll post the results!

-Edly

Old Time Fudge
P. Jones

Ingredients:
2 Cups Sugar
¾ Cup Milk
2 Squares (2 Oz) Unsweetened Chocolate, broken up
1 Teaspoon Light Corn Syrup
2 Tablespoons Butter or Margarine
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
½ Cup Coarsely Chopped Nuts (optional)

Line a 9x5x3” loaf pan with foil, extending foil over the edges of the pan. Butter the foil; set pan aside. Butter the sides of a heavy 2-quart saucepan. In the saucepan combine the sugar, milk, chocolate, and corn syrup. Cook over medium-high heat to boiling, stirring constantly to dissolve the sugar. Avoid splashing the mixture on the sides of the pan. Cook over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until a thermometer reads 234 degrees (soft-ball.) The mixture should boil at a moderate, steady rate over the entire surface. Remove the saucepan from heat. Add butter and vanilla but do not stir! Cool without stirring to lukewarm (118 degrees.) Beat vigorously with a wooden spoon until fudge is just beginning to thicken; add nuts if desired. Continue to beat until the fudge is very thick, and just begins to lose its gloss. Quickly turn the fudge onto the prepared pan. While warm, score it into 1” squares. When the candy is firm, use the foil to lift it out of the pan; cut candy into squares. Store tightly covered.