Monthly Archives: September 2007

Make My Batter Better

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The children heartily approve of the cake batter for Bette Hagman's gluten-free Chocolate Pound Cake. The mixing bowl, beater, and spatula have been licked clean with much gusto. The cake is in the oven; I was afraid of the pan being too small, but apparently gluten-free cakes rise less than their counterparts.

I'm a little dubious about the chocolate chips, as I like my chocolate evenly dispersed in the batter rather than in little melty dribs and dabs. Still, it is chocolate, and it is a cake, so Marcus should be quite satisfied on his birthday tomorrow.

A Funny Thing Happened

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On my way home from class today, I stopped by the Manassas School of Dance and enrolled Rebecca in Ballet I. Drove home, unloaded the groceries from Costco (I was so well behaved, I only got milk and eggs and butter and half-and-half), nursed Madeline, and then threw everyone back into the car to get Becca her uniform leotard and tights and ballet shoes, oh my!

I do not think that there is a way to remove the pink stain from my soul. The dancewear shop… so… pink. And frilly. And full of pointe shoes and tutus and little girls' dreams and satin ribbons, oh my dear God!

No-knead Bread

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Ingredients

  • 3 C all-purpose or bread flour
  • 1/4 ts instant yeast
  • 1·1/4 ts salt
  • 1·1/2 C water
  • additional bench flour

Procedure

  1. Mix flour, salt, and yeast in a large bowl. Add water and stir until thoroughly combined; this will produce a very sticky dough. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise at room temperature (70F) for 12-18 hours.
  2. When the surface is dotted with bubbles, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Fold over itself once or twice, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rest for 15 minutes.
  3. Using just enough flour to keep the dough from sticking to you, shape it into a ball and place seam-side-down onto a generously floured pastry cloth. Cover with another cloth and allow to rise for two more hours.
  4. Half an hour before the dough is ready, preheat the oven to 450F with a 4-6 quart heavy covered pot inside it. When the dough is ready, carefully remove the pot from the oven. Sprinkle the bottom of the pot with cornmeal or flour to aid in release. Turn the dough out into the pot, seam side up. Cover with the lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove the lid and bake an additional 15-30 minutes. Cool on a rack.

Source: Recipe: No-Knead Bread, New York Times