Fitchefsusie

I'm combining Easter and April Fools Day this year.

I'm sending the kids out to look for Easter Eggs I haven't hidden.

The Milky Ways of Bread Making

Milk in yeast bread. Another possible ingredient to add to your bread making.

For the purposes of this article I am referring to homogenized cow’s milk. Homogenized milk is stabilized, emulsified milk-fat suspended in the milk. No shaking of the jug! (Sigh-memories).

Traditional pasteurization is HTST. (High temp short time) raised to 161F/72c for 15 seconds. UHT (ultra high temperature) is another form of pasteurization. 280F/138c for 2 seconds. For the purposes of bread making they can be used interchangeably. UT has a much longer shelf life and has a different flavour. This is common in organic milk.

Using whole milk, 2%, 1%, 0% As the amount of milk fat increases the rich dairy flavour increases. Countries have varying minimums in milk fat. You can substitute interchangeably.

- [ ] Fluid milk is about 88% water. It helps dissolve sugars and salts for gluten development.

What purpose does milk/milk products serve in bread-making?

- [ ] Dairy products include proteins, lactose, and milk fat; preventing staling and extending the shelf life.

- [ ] It increases crust softness. Recall French bread has a much crisper crust as there is no milk, no fat, no sugar. Milk proteins bind to the water and delay evaporation from the crust, thus creating a softer crust.

- [ ] Milk delays retrogradation aka staling.

- [ ] Whitens and tenderizes the crumb/texture.

- [ ] Flavour is richer and has slightly more nutrition. Milk is a significant source of calcium in North America. It also includes vitamin D, that aids in the absorption of calcium that dairy products, such as heavy cream contain high amounts of saturated fat, which increases blood cholesterol, etc.

- [ ] Crumb. The crumb will be finer and more even with milk added. It is even finer when one uses dry milk powder.

- [ ] Caramelization. Because milk has natural milk sugars you may want to lower the baking temperature as they brown more quickly.
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Using evaporated milk. Evaporated milk is canned milk that can be stored at room temperature. It is a concentrated milk product. 50% of the water has been removed from the milk.

Aseptic processing is like canned (evaporated) milk. That milk is UHT. It is boxed under sterile conditions and becomes shelf stable. Once opened, however, it must be refrigerated.

Should I scald my milk? Scalding milk is the process of heating up milk to 180F/82C.
This process denatures protein, glutiatione; that interferes with gluten development. Occasionally, I use this method for particular breads that I want a very strong crumb like: pain de mie aka Pullman pan bread.
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Dry Milk powder

Dry milk powder is most commonly sold as non-fat. Why? Because fat from whole milk turns rancid rather quickly. (Less than 6 months) If you choose to buy whole milk powder be sure and store in the freezer or refrigerator. Non-fat dry milk powder last 2-3 years possibly longer.
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Why use dry milk?

Likely, the reason dry milk powder is called for in recipes, is due to the fact that bread machines were created and manufactured in Asia. There, traditional liquid milk is not as common. Dry milk powder has much longer shelf life. It also is useful when the delayed start is used. You do not need to use dry milk powder in a recipe that you are preparing immediately. You may use the equal amount of milk for water.

It is best not to reconstitute powdered milk unless it’s instantized. (Dissolves upon contact.) Common grocery store products are NOT the instant style; they tend to clump. Grocery store dry milk powder should not be blended together with water. Dry powdered milk is therefore added with the dry ingredients such as flour. Ask me how I know! 😆

Dry milk solids (DMS) can be purchased with varying amounts of heat treatment. High-heat, is best, used for yeast raised baked goods and is often found in commercial bakeries.

The common DMS in grocery stores are an example of low-heat products; they taste fresher when reconstituted, however they do not offer the same benefits to baked goods. You can still use them but technically they don’t have the same benefits as HH-DMS.

Some people find non-dairy creamer powder used for coffee as a fine substitute for dry milk powder. it’s often easily purchased and affordable.

Using Buttermilk and Clabbered milk

Cultured buttermilk is made by adding lactic acid to milk, it is thicker than regular milk, because of the effect it has on the casein proteins. It is often used in buttermilk biscuits and other baked goods for flavor however, it also tenderizes, whitens and leavens in some cases. Traditional Irish soda bread is leavened entirely with buttermilk and baking soda. No yeast is used. You may wish to purchase dry buttermilk powder. Be sure and store in the fridge.

Milk products made of lactic acid such as buttermilk, and sour cream contribute an excellent flavour, excellent texture, and help recent spoilage. If you don’t have buttermilk available you may wish to ‘clabber’ milk. Add 1 tbsp vinegar to 8 oz liquid milk. No need to let sit for 5 minutes. You may use immediately per KAF.

Kefir is similar, it just offers distinct from buttermilk.

Often recipes that utilize buttermilk call for baking soda. Why? Baking soda reacts with the acid in the dairy to produce carbon dioxide. This gives a significant rise to some baked goods. If there is more acid in the dairy than needed to react with the baking soda, the excess lowers the pH causing a whitening and tenderizing of the resultant loaf.

Actual shelf-life of milk varies, depending on many factors, including how the product was stored, uv light damage, temperature fluctuations, etc. Always refrigerate milk with ideal temperature of 34 to 38°F or 1° to 3C. Codes and dates on milk are mere guidelines. Milk products degrade; they don’t truly expire. You can often smell an off product.

Milk substitutes

Although there is no true non-dairy substitute that will have all the same properties of milk, there are some good substitutes.

The key to choosing a non-dairy products is to choose one with a neutral flavor and that is unsweetened. Soy, almond, and rice milk are often good choices. A nutty flavour is imparted with coconut and cashew milk.

Oat milk is a popular choice. It extends shelf life, however when substituting, use slightly less oat milk than reg milk; as it is a thinner product. Therefore, you may also need more flour. You may wish to lower the sugar as oats have a natural sweetness too. Oat milk, is popular in breads that are sweeter in nature, such as cinnamon rolls, brioche , and Hawaiian buns.

Soy milk is most like milk with a similar protein structure, and a more neutral flavour profile. Thus, it is recommended with all yeast recipes.

This information was gleaned from various culinary textbooks, King Arthur Flour, and other legitimate sources.

Please keep it kind. T.H.I.N.K. Is it Thoughtful? Is it Helpful? Is it Inspiring? Is it Necessary? Is it Kind?

Happy baking

Susy

These are so good. 😊 Do you like meatballs? What’s your favourite? Sweet and sour? Spicy? Thai?

Spinach-dip Stuffed Meatballs FitChefSusie Spinach dip is damn good. It's quite possibly the best way to enjoy spinach. Turkey meatballs are a huge hit in our house and filling them only seems a natural fit. Be sure and do a test meatball, you want those flavours to sing. Ingredients Spinach filling: 10 oz defrosted spinach, squeezed dry 1 s...

I manage a bread group here on Facebook. It’s a wonderful group of like-minded individuals. I posted the commentary noted below, yesterday. The feedback I received has been very positive. Several members suggested that this could be used for every group on social media. That statement makes me very proud, indeed.

We can be good to others. It starts with being personally accountable, gaining an understanding of a subject, and giving grace. Do everything with kindness.

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Did you hear the latest news? You shouldn’t eat olive oil, butter is back. Margarine is toxic. Lard is bad. Shortening is better oh wait it’s changed. Eggs are bad. Eggs are good. That green container of Parmesan is wood. The list goes on and on.

This group is a RECIPE group, it is not your opportunity to ‘educate’ others about their food choices from a health perspective.

Talk about something — anything else. Before you comment on someone’s ingredients, ask yourself why you feel compelled to do so.

- [ ] Did they ask for my opinion about said ingredient?
- [ ] Did they ask if it was healthy? Safe?
- [ ] Practice Empathy. Would you want someone to call you out on your choices in a public forum; having no prior knowledge about you and your situation?

Unless a person specifically asked for your advice in this regard. Do not reply with your comment. -“I would never use blah blah blah. It’s toxic.” Or “you shouldn’t use blah blah it’s terrible for you.”

Being able to condemn and criticize every time we see a food decision we don’t agree with shows a lack of empathy, understanding, and respect for others. Do not do it.

To criticize someone’s food selection is not only insensitive, but it can make a person feel unwelcome and uncomfortable about what they eat and use. You do not know this person’s diet, their budget, their culture , access to food, etc. Therefore, it is incumbent on YOU to scroll on by. If you wish to discuss these kinds of topics, join another group. I will delete these comments under ‘post hijacking’. Stick to the question at hand. Don’t go off on some food shaming tangent.

If you see a food shaming comment in our community. Report it.

T.H.I.N.K. Is it Thoughtful? Is it Helpful? Is it Inspiring? Is it Necessary? Is it Kind?

Susy

It’s Mill Time! Freshly Ground Flour Insights

Many people love freshly ground flour and its lovely taste and flavour. How does one get the best results possible? Read on. 🙂

Winter wheat is sown in autumn, and grows over winter and is harvested in the spring or early summer. Spring wheat is sown in the spring and harvested in late summer, quite often grown in Canada and the northern Plains of the USA.

Hard wheat (known as bread flour/pizza flour) is determined by its moisture content. It is hard with low moisture and grows best in cold drier climates. Soft wheat (less gluten and starch)-(cakes pastries and desserts) has high moisture and low protein and grows in warm, wetter climates. All-purpose is a mix of these.

Be aware, freshly ground flour, spoils quickly. It’s been shown that rancidity has been found as soon as 2 to 14 days. This is caused by oxidation and the breakdown of the oils.

Red wheat is stronger and nuttier. White wheat (labelled white whole wheat) is milder. They can be used interchangeably.

Graham flour. You may have heard of this. It is a wheat flour that is ground slightly coarser than whole wheat flour. You can use a regular whole wheat flour as a substitute.

Fresh whole wheat flour bread results in a sticker dough, and baked goods that aren’t quite as high as a commercial whole wheat flour.

KAF recommends adding a small portion of all -purpose flour to your whole wheat recipes to give structural integrity to your bread when using freshly ground flour.

Heat, degrades gluten and when you mill flour, it will heat up therefore it’s recommended that you chill the grains after grinding. Once cool then use. Warm grains, can interfere with fermentation.

Should you use vital wheat gluten in freshly ground flour? Maybe.

Weather greatly affects, moisture and protein content in wheat. Baking quality in results, therefore can vary year to year and farm to farm.
1/4 tsp per 1 cup of flour. In fact, one professional baker is contacted by a wheat mill and told how the wheat is looking for the upcoming season.

Generally, fresh milled, flour, absorbs more moisture, so you may need more water. (Higher protein flours absorb more water in general.)The dough is thirstier. It’s recommended that you soak your flour in your liquid for up to an hour before starting your recipe. Orange juice is said to help temper the bitterness that some people notice. Others prefer milk or water.

When substituting all-purpose flour with freshly ground, in a recipe, it is recommended that you use approximately 1/4 cup less.

1 pound or 500 g of wheat berries is said to yield approximately 3 cups of flour.

If you would like a smoother softer texture, it is recommended to add lecithin to your bread. It will give you a more store-bought texture. (Don’t comment below complaining about this-please!) Some people want a softer smoother crumb. Don’t yuck someone else’s yum.

Happy baking!

Please keep it kind. T.H.I.N.K. Is it Thoughtful? Is it Helpful? Is it Inspiring? Is it Necessary? Is it Kind?

Susy

Gluten free bread. 🥰

Gluten-Free Sandwich Bread Gluten free sandwich bread can be delicious when made fresh at home

https://www.kitchenadore.com/post/chicken-pot-pie-soup

Chicken Pot Pie Soup Chicken Pot Pie is a perennial favorite. The soup concept is easily adaptable from a stew. I like to have my meals fresh and delicious so I work a few 'pots" at the same time. Recipes often have particular ingredients, frankly as long as you like the mixture add it. I have added mushrooms, fresh spi...