Everlasting Yeast and a Bread Recipe

I think you know by now that I want to encourage those who are yeast shy to at least try and make a loaf of bread.  I've posted a couple of recipes on my blog here that are perfect for beginners, no kneading and yeast batter breads, and then a couple of other breads once you've built up your confidence.  I am by no stretch of the imagination an expert, but I've made more homemade bread than a lot of folks so I say with humility that I think I have a feel for it.  And it's a good thing, because you'll need it for what I want to share with you.

If you ever wanted to try your hand at making homemade bread,  this is absolutely not the one you want to be your first. No, it's not difficult, there's no kneading, so that's not it, but it does require a "feel" when putting it together.  And it requires patience. 

I used a yeast starter called everlasting yeast.  My sweet friend Peggy, of Peggy's Pantry, had posted an interesting article on long term storage of  comfort food.  This is a subject I'm greatly interested in, and Peggy has been an angel about sharing information and resources.  She referred me to another one of her friend's sites, Jarolyn's Back to Basics:  Provident Practical Preparedness, and it was there I found an interesting article on making your own yeast.

When I did the post on homemade butter, I lamented about the cost of butter at the supermarket.  But have you seen the price of a decent looking loaf of bread?  Gasp!  Almost $6.00 here. For a loaf that is comprised of mostly air, it's $3.00.  Absolutely outrageous, in my opinion. The cost of yeast isn't exorbitant, but it's not inexpensive.  With some time and attention, you can have yeast that will last long enough to become a family heirloom, smiles.

Yet there was the tiniest issue with the everlasting yeast.  I wasn't able to find a bread recipe that specifically used it. I asked Jarolyn and she suggested I use the water and starter in place of the liquid in the recipe, and adjust the flour accordingly.  So, I had to experiment.

I loathe experimenting with recipes.  I am pretty much a recipe follower.  Oh, sure, I might add a little extra this or a little extra of that, omit an ingredient if it's something I don't like, or swap one thing for another, but that's about the extent of my creativity ~ and my courage. 

But I had a quart of starter and now I was committed to use it.  I figured I needed a big recipe because of the volume I had (and no where have I found does it say you can use less and keep the rest...but that's an experiment for another day).  I found one that worked satisfactorily, but let me cut to the chase to share the recipes for the starter and the bread, and the mixed reviews of the results.
We are talking a farm-sized recipe here.

Everlasting Yeast

1 quart (4 cups) warm, unsalted, potato water

1/2 tablespoon dry yeast (1 1/2 teaspoons)

2 tablespoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups white or whole wheat flour

Mix all the ingredients together in a glass, plastic, or ceramic container (not stainless steel).  Loosely cover the top with a cheesecloth (I just kept the lid to my container ajar and it was fine).  Leave in a warm place to allow the mixture to ferment. I stirred it a couple of times as the ingredients will separate, and then left it overnight on the counter.  You will see it start to bubble and if you smell it, it will smell yeasty and perhaps a little like alcohol.  Don't worry.  It's supposed to.  I then put it in the refrigerator and it sat there for a couple of weeks, and I stirred it every couple of days, while I looked for a bread recipe.

The night before I wanted to use the starter, I took it out of the fridge and let it set out overnight on the counter.  Stir well just before using. Use the entire starter, reserving one third cup of the to starter for the next batch of everlasting yeast. To your one third cup of reserved starter add everything except the 1/2 tablespoon yeast, and follow the steps as explained in the beginning.

The Bread Recipe

As I said I could not find a recipe that specifically required the use of the everlasting yeast. The following is an adapted recipe.

1/2 cup butter melted, warm
1/2 tablespoon (1 1/2 teaspoons) salt**
1/2 cup sugar
2 large eggs slightly beaten
1 full batch of everlasting yeast (minus 1/3 cup for next batch of starter)
11 cups all purpose flour, plus more to achieve appropriate dough consistency

In a very large bowl, combine the butter, salt, sugar, beaten eggs.  Add the everlasting yeast. Mix well.

Add 3 cups of flour to the wet mixture and stir until well combined.  Add another 8 cups of flour, 2 cups at a time, mixing well in between. 

Now, at this point, the dough was still too gloppy for me, and I sifted in  1/2 cup of flour at a time, stirring with each addition, until I achieved a proper bread dough consistency.  There is where prior experience and a feel for bread making is important.  I can't tell you how much I added, but it was probably another 2 cups and even then the dough was very soft, more like a stiff batter dough, definitely too wet to knead.  At the risk of making the dough too heavy with flour and ending up with a doorstop I decided it was enough.  Plus, I had qualms on  how well the everlasting yeast would work in making the bread rise.

I greased my bowl and let the dough rise, until double in size, 90-120 minutes.  I punched it down, and divided the dough into thirds, putting two of the thirds in  greased 8x5 loaf pans and making a round loaf (slashing the top for decoration) with the remainder.  Let the dough rise a second time, until double in size, another 90 minutes or so.  Dough rose beautifully, but more slowly than "conventional" yeast breads.

Towards the end of the second rise, preheat the oven to 375*F.  Put the loaves on the middle rack and bake for approximately 45 minutes or until they are a deep golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. Remove from the bread from the oven and turn out onto wire racks to cool completely.

This made 3 loaves of bread, but only because I used one portion to make a round loaf.  That last portion could have been divided into 2 loaves, for a total of 4.

Bread Review:  The first thing we noticed is that the bread was not salty enough.  I followed the original recipe using only the 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and the bread was bland.  (I've since made another batch of bread using the starter,  1/2 white and 1/2 whole wheat, and a full 1 tablespoon of salt and  it was very good!). 

The bread was not particularly beautiful to look at, smiles.  It looks rustic but not artisan, if you know what I mean.  Perhaps it needs an egg wash to give it a bit of a glaze or some melted butter after it comes out of the oven.

This bread keeps very well.  Even after a week, the first loaf I had cut into still seemed fresh (though I wonder if credit could be due in part to those special amber colored bags produced just for preserving bread).  Also, while I generally don't like frozen bread, this bread froze and thawed beautifully without loss of flavor or texture.

As I hinted above, I have made a second batch of bread, with some changes and greater success.  I'll share that story in another post.  

Potato Pizza

I was having one of those blue, low energy, need-lots-of-carb days, and boy, oh boy, does this delicious pizza fill the need and then some.  If you are one who likes stuffed or twice baked potatoes and pizza, I believe you will enjoy this.  This pizza combines the best of two worlds and was a winner with both me and Sweetie-Pi.

The original recipe said to bake the potatoes; I boiled mine in unsalted water, but only because I wanted the potato water for something else I was making (everlasting yeast, a post to come soon).  For those who are in a hurry, the microwave would work well here. I think this recipe is pretty flexible; add more bacon, substitute with sausage, onions instead of the scallions.  Whatever you like on your baked stuffed potatoes would probably work here. I skimmed through the reviews on Allrecipes, and some of the folks said they used half sour cream and half ranch dressing.  Now doesn't that sound tasty!
I use an easy and simple pizza crust recipe  (found here)  that  requires no rise time and no kneading.  I have given up attempting to duplicate the wood-fired oven, pizza parlor pizza  (no wood-fired oven for starters and I don't own a pizza stone either)  so I've settled for ease and convenience as well as a good homemade bready crust.  This crust is thick enough to hold the heartiest of toppings.
Baked Potato Pizza
(adapted from  Allrecipes.Com)

Your favorite prepared pizza crust or recipe

3 medium potatoes, unpeeled, baked and cooled, cubed
1 tablespoon butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning (I used a mix of thyme, basil, basil)
1 cup sour cream
6 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
3 green onions (scallions), chopped
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Have a crust ready to go in a 14" round pizza crust pan.** (Make sure you have a bit of a rim on the crust because the toppings you are going to put on are going to make a thick pizza.)  Bake for 400*F for 5 to 6 minutes or until crust starts to brown and feels just firm to the touch.  Remove from oven and set aside.

In the meantime, put the cubed potatoes in a large bowl.  Toss with the melted butter, garlic powder, and seasoning. 

Spread the sour cream over the pizza crust; top with the potato mixture and then scatter the bacon, green onion over that, and add the grated cheeses over all. 

Bake at 400*F for 15-20 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown.  Remove from the oven and let rest for five minutes before cutting into slices.

**Okay, I don't have a wood-fired oven, a pizza stone, and I don't have a pizza pan.  I just use my rimmed cookie sheet for a pizza pan and have a rectangular pizza, cut into squares to serve.  Tastes the same no matter how it's sliced, grins.  The crust recipe doesn't quite fill the pan from side to side, but that may be because I don't stretch it as thin as some might.  We tend to like a thicker crust for homemade pizzas and considering the weight of the toppings on this pizza, I would urge you to consider it if you are one who prefers a thin crust.

Pizza Crust
(found on Food.com)

1 1/4 ounce package yeast (equals 2 1/4 teaspoons)
1 cup water, warmed to about 110*F
2 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
Cornmeal for the pan, nice but not necessary

In a medium sized bowl, combine the yeast and water and stir to dissolve. The yeast should start to bubble after a minute or so.

Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.  Allow to rest for five minutes.

Sprinkle the cornmeal if you're using it on the bottom of the pan.  Press and gently stretch the dough into the pan.  (I might oil my  hands a little to give the dough a little more ease.) 

Bake at 450*F for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Fresh and Creamy Homemade Butter

Depending on which family member you talk to, we were (or we were not) fortunate enough to have a couple of farm animals: a cow, pigs, chickens, ducks, a goat at one point, while we were growing up. The Guernsey cow, Bossy, was my responsibility.  I milked her twice a day, cleaned out her stall, talked to her.  She would moo, look soulfully at me with her big deep brown eyes, and was ever so patient and gentle.

I'd bring the big stainless steel pail of steaming, foaming milk, trying not to slosh as I carried it with both hands in front of me to my mother who would take the pail to strain the milk through cheesecloth.  Into the refrigerator it would go and overnight the milk and the cream would separate, the cream rising to the top.  She'd reserve the cream to make cottage cheese, or my favorite, butter.  I can't stand the flavor of raw milk, I don't like ice cream made fresh on the farm (it all tastes the way a barn smells to me, yuck!) but creamy, pale yellow butter rises above all that. Mom would make loaves of homemade bread or dinner rolls, and I'd have a little bread with my butter.  Lawsy mercy, that butter was food for the gods.

I had a quart of heavy whipping cream that I wasn't going to use for it's planned purpose (and with the exorbitant price of groceries, I am not going to throw it away!!), so I decided to make butter.  Just like Mom's. The funny thing is, I don't remember my mother making butter.  For the life of me I can't picture it. I just remember it being on the table in a covered butter dish.  It was a white ceramic chicken with a red comb sitting on a white ceramic nest.  No, I don't want one.

Sooooooo, I had to do a little research, and believe me when I tell you, there's probably nothing easier that you can do that will yield such delicious results.

This is not a recipe, so much as a method.  You can use virtually any amount of cream so leftover heavy cream will never have to be wasted again.   And an added plus?  The liquid that is extracted as you whip the cream is real buttermilk, and can be used in any recipe that calls for it.  Cake, scones, buttermilk chicken, fried green tomatoes....oh the luscious uses of buttermilk.

Butter

A pint or more of fresh heavy cream or whipping cream , either will work fine
Pinch of salt, if you want your butter salted

Put your cream in the bowl of your mixer or in a bowl large enough to hold the cream (plus room enough for expansion as the butter starts to take shape.), whip the cream. That's it!

Mix at medium speed; it's the same as if for making whipped cream except you are going to go way beyond the stiff peak stage of whipped cream.

Once you get past the whipped cream stage, the cream is going to look curdled.  That's fine; it's supposed to, because now the cream and the buttermilk are beginning to separate. 

Things might get a little messy here, you may want to find a way to cover your bowl with plastic wrap while you continue to whip the butter.  I didn't run into this, but others do.  (It may be because I used a deep V-shaped mixing bowl so the heavy butter stayed at the bottom.) 

Once it looked really curdled, I strained the butter/buttermilk through a  fine mesh strainer and then a double layer of cheesecloth into a container.  It takes a bit of hand strength to do it, but you want to get out as much of the buttermilk as possible.  The butter squeezes out of the cheesecloth, but I don't know of another way to do it, so you'll have to scrape some butter off the cheesecloth if your frugal, as I am, smiles.

I put my now-lump-of-butter into the bowl I whipped the cream in, and rinse the lump under cold running water.  I want to rinse out as much butter milk as possible because removing the buttermilk will help to preserve the butter.  I smoosh the lump around a bit until the water runs clear.  If you are really particular about this, you can use a large wooden paddle and press the butter against the inside of a bowl to remove any extra liquid.

Refrigerate!  The entire process probably took only about 15 minutes, but I was a little fumble fingered with all the squeezing of the butter in the cheesecloth, so it may take you less time.

Looks like a lot of instruction, but it's not, honestly.  Whip the cream, strain the buttermilk out, rinse the lump of butter, add salt at this point if you are going to use it.

With one quart of heavy cream, I had 11 ounces of sweet, creamy butter and 2 cups of buttermilk.  Is it less expensive?  Yeeessssss and no.  A pound of store bought butter is running about $3.59 and that would be the store brand; the national brands are closer to $4.00. I would have to take out a second mortgage on my house to buy the European butter.   The quart of cream probably cost me just under $4.00 and it only gave me 11 ounces of butter.....but I did have 2 cups of buttermilk as a by-product that I didn't have to purchase separately and will now use in other cooking projects.  So, yes, it's worth it to me. 

Cinnamon Biscuit Fans

I've made cinnamon biscuits for you before, but I was intrigued with the fan presentation of these.  Who can resist the sweet layers of cinnamon and sugar in these pretty breakfast  fan biscuits?  These look fussy to make but are easy peasy, lemon squeezy to make.  A knife, a ruler, and a muffin tin, a bowl, and you are nearly there! Let me show you how.

Cinnamon Biscuits Fans

(BettyCrocker.com)

Makes 8 Biscuits

For the Biscuits

2 cups flour

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup butter, cold (equal to 16 teaspoons, or 5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon)

3/4 cup milk

For the Filling

3 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened

3 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the Glaze

1/2 cup powdered sugar (confectioners' sugar)

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

2 to 3 teaspoons milk (or amount required to drizzle)

Preheat oven to 425*F. Grease 8 regular sized muffin cups. 

In a large bowl, mix the flour, 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, baking powder and salt.  Cut in the firm butter using a pastry blender (or pulling 2 table knives through the ingredients in opposite directions), until the mixture resembles fine crumbs.  Stir in just enough milk so the dough leaves the side of the bowl and forms a ball. 

The the dough onto a lightly flowered surface.  Knead lightly 10 times.

On a lightfly floured surface, roll dough into 12 x 10 inch rectangle.

Spread 3 tablespoons butter over rectangle.  Mix 3 tablespoons granulated sugar and the cinnamon and sprinkle over the rectangle.

With the long side of the rectangle facing you, cut crosswise into six 10" x 2" strips.  

Stacks strips.  Cut strips crosswise into eight pieces.

I cut in half, lay the two stacks of strips in front of me, cut stacks in half again, cut in half again. 

Place cut sides up in muffin cups.

Bake 15-18 minutes or until golden brown.  Immediately remove from muffin cups to cooling rack.

In medium bowl combine all the glaze ingredients and stir until smooth and thin enough to drizzle.  Place the cooling rack over a large plate lor cookie sheet to catch any dripping glaze (I just rested my cooling rack on  my muffin tin ~ no point in dirtying up another dish.).  Drizzle glaze over warm biscuits.  Serve warm.

I hope you enjoy these.  These are quite sweet, but go down a treat!

Individual Baked Omelet

One of Ole Sweetie-Pi's favorite breakfasts is omelets.  The one breakfast I least like to make is omelets.  I can never get them to look beautiful.   Frankly, by the time I get done with it, it's a scrambled egg mess.  All the ingredients are there, it's just kind of unattractive, smiles. Sweetie-Pi is aware he is not to comment on presentation; he just dolefully eats what he asked for.

I received an e-newsletter from Allrecipes for Baked Omelet, and I had to immediately investigate. After reading how simple it was, I wasted no time and set out to make our Sunday breakfast.

This recipe is so easy.  You can add just about any ingredient to the basic egg and milk mixture to personalize your omelet. For us, this is a good way to use those tiny bits of vegetables and meat from other cooking projects. I am loathe to waste food, and this offers an opportunity to use them in a new and delicious format.

The original recipe calls for 8 eggs and  to be baked in an 8" x 8" casserole dish, way to much for us, so I eyeballed ingredient amounts for two, and  used my over-sized muffin tins to make individual omelets.  Sweetie-Pi gave his hearty approval.

Individual Baked Omelet for Two

Preheat oven to 350*F.  Generously grease whatever type of casserole or baking dish you are going to use. As I mentioned, I used over-sized muffin tins and sprayed with nonstick cooking spray.**

In my four cup mixing cup, I added and then mixed together:

3 eggs
a splash of milk
a small handful of pizza cheese mix
1/4 onion, finely diced
1/4 green pepper, finely diced
3 slices of cooked ham, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon baking powder**

I poured the mixture into the individual cups, about half full. Bake at 350*F for about 30 minutes or until nice and puffy and golden brown.  Run a thin-bladed knife around the edge of the muffin cups and use a small spatula to scoop them out.  One of these was more than enough for us, as the cheese seems to make this rich.

**There is one caveat to use the muffin tin ~ the omelet was a bit of a stinker to get out, even though I generously sprayed the cups.  And of course, that left me with an crusty, eggy muffin tin to clean.  I would still make this again; I think the presentation is worth the effort.

The original recipe does not call for baking powder; it is an addition that I've seen with other omelet recipes and is an ingredient I chose to add here.  The baking powder helps to make the eggs fluffier and gives a nice height.

Blueberry Crumb Bars

I've been chuckling off and on all week at the comments and emails I've received after my last post of Perfection Salad.  Most agreed they could live without salad in a gelatin mold, and that's okay; I still love it.

Here's a recipe that's probably a little more universally appealing.  This  recipe that is pretty darned simple to make and the results are greater than the effort expended.  Ole Sweetie-Pi loved this for breakfast, remarked several times how good it was, and he's one not to emote over how much he liked what he ate.  I shared several pieces with my next door neighbors and they ate for dessert, reported back to Ole Sweetie-Pi that it was declared delicious.  No matter when you eat indulge, this is good!

I was perusing the King Arthur Flour's Baking Circle, and a member had posted this recipe. The poster attributed the recipe to Smitten Kitchen, who had adapted it  from one she discovered on Allrecipes.  The recipe on the KAF forum had a slight change (no egg was used), and that's the recipe I went with.  The crust is similar to a shortbread cookie, and works well here.

Blueberry Crumb Bars
(King Arthur Flour Forum)

For the crust topping:
1 cup of white sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt (a good pinch)
Zest of one lemon
1 cup of cold butter

For the filling:
4 cups (2 pints) fresh or frozen blueberries
1/3 cup sugar
4 teaspoons cornstarch
Juice of one lemon

Preheat oven to 375*F.  Have ready an ungreased 9 inch x 13 inch pan. (There's enough butter in the crust to preclude the need of having to butter the pan.)

Rinse the berries, pick out anything that looks undesirable, such as stems or berries that look too smushed.

Combine the dry ingredients.  Cut the butter in using two knives in a criss-cross cutting motion, or a pastry blender, or freeze it first and grate it in.** Mix until the mixture is crumbly.  Pat half the mixture into the pan and reserve the remaining half for the crumb topping.

To make the filling, combine the dry ingredients with the blueberries.  Sprinkle the lemon juice over the berries and gently stir.  Pour the berries over the crust in an even layer.

Sprinkle the remaining crust topping over the blueberries.  Bake for 45 minutes or until golden brown.  Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.  Cut into squares when cool.  Refrigerate unused portion.
Still very good the next day.

**My Notes:  Depending on how tactile you are, using your impeccably clean hands, first dice the cold butter and add to the dry ingredients.  Rub the butter into the flour mixture with your fingers.  The flour will start to look raggedy, and once that happens, grab a wee handful and gently squeeze it; if it holds together, stop, and go on with the rest of the recipe.

Perfection Salad

What do you think of gelatin molds?  Are they something better left to our cooking past or should they be brought to today's table?  Did you know that one version or another of Perfection Salad has been around for almost 80 years?  From what I read, the good folks at Knox and the good folks at Jello had a bit of a competition going on for their gelatin products, and in all fairness some pretty forgettable gelatin molds were created.  But Perfection Salad is one that should be remembered.  Fairly low calorie, veggie good, with a little creamy tartness from the mayonnaise.  It reminds me of a cole slaw in a way, just in a gelatin mold.  And I love the colors; it adds a little sparkle and shimmer to the plate.

I brought this to a family outing a while back, knowing full well the Sweetie-Pi's grandsons wouldn't go near this gelatin if their life depended on it (and I was right), I wasn't too sure about his young adult daughters (there were good sports and ate polite nibbles, smiles), but I figured we "older" folks would certainly reminensce and enjoy this old fashioned Perfection Salad. 

As it turned out, I was the only one who liked this, and I liked this a lot.  Sweetie-Pi's sister, Susan, was honest and said she didn't like this even when their mother made it, and that's fine. I'm sure, without my mentioning it, you know that Sweetie-Pi couldn't even look at it (even though green is his favorite color!).  I brought most of the salad back home, and yes, I polished it off all by myself. At the next to the last minute, as I was about to eat the last slice, I decided to throw it on a bed of lettuce and photograph it, just in case I decided to post it. Hence, it's not beautiful, but I can assure you its lack of aesthetics didn't stop me from enjoying it to the laste bite.

I may as well tell you, if you come to my house and we're having a ladies' luncheon, I want to make this for you.  I'll try not to go too Donna Reed with the pearl necklace, high heeled pumps, and shirt waist dress, but you never know.  This recipe is an inspiration.

Perfection Salad
(http://www.saveur.com/article/Recipes/Perfection-Salad)

2 tablespoons unflavored powdered gelatin, softened in 1⁄2 cup cold water

1⁄2 cup sugar
1⁄3 cup rice vinegar
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon. kosher salt
 
2 cups chopped celery
1 cup finely shredded cabbage
2 jarred pimentos, minced
1 green bell pepper, cored, seeded, and minced

Canola oil, for greasing

In a  custard cup or other similar small bowl, soften the gelatin in the water.

Add the sugar, rice vinegar, lemon juice, salt and softened gelatin to a small sauce pan.  Heat over medium heat until the gelatin dissolves.  Remove from heat and chill for 30 minutes (gelatin will be thick, but not thoroughly set).  Stir in remaining prepared vegetables.

Grease a 12" x 4 1/2" x 2" pan (or use individual custard cups, etc.) and transfer gelatin mix to the mold.  Chill until set, about 6 hours.

When it comes time to unmold the salad, take a thin-bladed knife and gently slide it along the edge of the mold.  Set the mold in a pan of hot water for about 5 seconds.  Remove from pan from the water and turn the mold onto the serving plate. 

Served 1, but really is intended to serve 12
**My Notes:  I used an 8" x 5" bread loaf pan and it worked fine.  I would love to make this salad in individual custard cups just because the presentation would be prettier.  I rarely have success unmolding gelatin, so I would hesitate to use a mold that is too intricate.  Even  using the loaf pan, the first attempt at unmolding was unsuccessful.  I returned the pan to the hot water for another five seconds, and it was a tad too long because the unmolded gelatin had started to melt.  I put everything in the refrigerator for 30 minutes or so and it set up fine.