I’m glad you mentioned this. I’ve used several hand-formed methods because I don’t have the rings (duh, guess I could get some) and although the flavor has been really good (this Brian Lagerstrom method in his Eggs Benedict recipe I’ve done several times), I’ve never gotten the texture right.
1 Like
I mostly make Stella’s which I form by scooping the dough onto cornmeal. They’re not perfect rounds, but close enough for me. The dough is nice and wet. I only use rings if I want those perfect circles. It’s a great recipe except I like cutting the honey in half. The full amount is distractingly sweet to me. The recipe in her book is my favorite for classic white English muffins.
I recommend giving the dough at least 24 hours for both bulk ferment and final proof for best flavor. I use a scoop (disher) rather than spoons.
I cook on a griddle with butter rather than bacon fat.
3 Likes
Many thanks; I’ll give it a try. The recipes I’ve used call for no sugar so I appreciate the watch-out on the honey, and the kids won’t care if they’re not perfect rounds so the dough scoop will be fine.
Edit - Do you recall if you use the cups measure, or the grams measure, for flour and milk? King Arthur etc. say 2 cups of bread flour weigh 240 g but this recipe calls for “2 cups (285 grams)”. Similarly milk masses somewhat more than water (due to solutes) at a bit over240 g/cup but they seem to be using 227 g/cup.
1 Like
The one in her book calls for a single ounce of sugar, so I typically cut the honey to that, but half is a good starting point since these are whole wheat and the honey does work nicely with the flour.
I don’t really use cup measurement for most things, but fyi King Arthur is an outlier with the flour measurement and it has a lot to do with their flour being really strong and absorbent compared to other AP flour. 129 grams is the standard measurement for 1 cup of flour (using spoon and sweep) with 140 g being less common (using scoop and sweep), but used by some sources (Cook’s Illustrated being one).
I always go with 227 g for milk.
Also Stella writes her recipes with weights. The cups are added on for courtesy for people who use them, basically. So her recipes are best made following the weights.
1 Like
Great, thanks again for the help.
1 Like
Sorry, I was thinking of another recipe when I mentioned the timing— it’s at least 24 minimum for final proof, but not bulk ferment. For bulk ferment just follow her timing, though if something comes up you can stick the bowl in the fridge to delay it. I’ve done 8-12 hours on the final proof and they’re good, but more flavorful when given at least 24.
ATK’s Blueberry Biscuits. This recipe was created to mimic a biscuit found at a southern fastfood chain. I’m not familiar with the original, but was drawn in by the photo and the technique (they are baked in a pan, and deeply scored before baking). From the photo on the website, it would appear a smaller, wild blueberry would do better here, but all I had were the bloated honkers from our backyard, so that’s what I used.
I made a half-batch in a 6” round, loose bottom pan (resulting in a slightly taller biscuit), and otherwise followed the recipe. The dough itself just barely fit in the pan, and my dough scraper just fit in the smaller pan to do the scoring. My bake time was 48 minutes, the last 5 minutes under foil to prevent over-browning.
These are tasty, and without a doubt generous. The texture is fluffy, like the inside of a drop biscuit – very tender. I think they will benefit from setting longer than the recommended 10 minutes (maybe 20?). While I wasn’t knocked out of the ballpark by them, they are good enough to share, and something I will probably make again – especially if I need a lot of something carby to go with breakfast or brunch.
13 Likes
I used to make Michael Rhulman’s English muffins free form.
I started using egg rings, not for the perfect circle, but for the thickness to be uniform.
1 Like
Had to make sour dough ciabatti buns. Yesterday i drove quite a distance from my home to a huge polish deli (starsky) havent been since 2020. Lots of good cold cuts bought. These are sour dough buns made with a recipe from Everything sourdough. The baker has an instagram and gives her recipes with the photo. Dont know if theres a blog. Good buns with very little effort.
14 Likes
Wow! Those look fantastic!
2 Likes
Thanks. We couldnt wait till tomorrow and split one buttered. Yummy. Noticeable sour dough flavour. Baker states her inspiration was from Alexandra’s Kitchen who has a recipe on her blog without sour dough. Oh and it a no knead recipe.
1 Like
Haha - I love when things end up in an easier place 
Thank you for the detailed info! I haven’t tried KAF’s gf pizza flour because I got sick after making pizza with Caputo Fioreglut, which also contains wheat starch. 
Sadly, I think I’m living the completely-wheat-free life now.
(I have been trying various pizza crust recipes from cookbooks I’ve found to be reliable - Baked to Perfection, for example - and they’re okay but missing something. I have a few more to try from No Gluten, No Problem Pizza [not the precise title!].)
The KAF Measure 4 Measure is… fine. I’ve been pretty successful swapping it into baked goods where flour, or gluten, isn’t responsible for providing a lot of structure - a mug cake or fruit crisp topping, for example, or even cornbread. But for baking yeasted bread, I’ve had better luck with buying the individual flours and blending them myself. Psyllium does help a lot with the structure. For anyone who’s interested in learning more about the science of GF baking, the Loopy Whisk blog is a fantastic resource.
4 Likes
Sorry to hear it. I’m not too up on the matter, but my daughter says people can be both gluten intolerant and sensitive more generally to remaining wheat proteins even if gluten is absent. I don’t know wheat components as well as I do milk’s various proteins, but I’d guess there’s more types of protein in wheat than just the gluten.
1 Like
I’ve made Bravetart’s recipe for English muffins but what is strange to me is that the recipe she has published on Serious Eats is different from the one in her book. I’ve made the book recipe several times with success.
2 Likes
Peach crisp! I used a recipe I’d saved from Chowhound, though my notes say I revised the original to use much less sugar. Tonight was a half-recipe with three peaches and a short 1/4 C almond flour in place of the all-purpose. It was delicious.
Since CH is long gone, here’s the recipe and if it was yours, please speak up!
Easy Peach Crisp
For the topping
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup rolled oats (not instant)
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon fine salt
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
For the filling
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon fine salt
2 pounds ripe but firm peaches (about 5 medium peaches), halved, pitted, and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices
Heat the oven to 425°F and arrange a rack in the middle.
Place all of the topping ingredients in a large bowl. With your fingertips, blend the butter pieces into the dry ingredients until large clumps form and the flour and butter are completely incorporated, about 3 minutes. Crumble the clumps into small pieces the size of kidney beans, then refrigerate the streusel while you make the filling for the pie.
Place the brown sugar, lemon juice, cornstarch, vanilla, and salt in a large bowl and whisk to combine. Add the peaches and stir until evenly coated.
Transfer the mixture to an 8-by-8-inch glass or ceramic baking dish and arrange it in an even layer. Sprinkle the reserved topping evenly over the peaches.
Bake until the topping is browned and crisp, about 20 to 25 minutes. Place the dish on a wire rack to cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.
8 Likes
Score!
Our small farmer’s market opens at 9:00. I couldn’t get there until 10:00 today, and nailed the last two boxes of Italian plums in the entire market. Yay! Last year I didn’t get a single plum.
I’ve too many irons in the fire this week to bake and eat a cake, so I’ll have to freeze these. No worries, looking forward to (not one but two of) Marian Burros’s Plum Torte this year. 
Price was $10 for the two baskets.
10 Likes
What’s your freezing technique?
Halve and pit, then freeze cut side up in a single layer on a parchment lined sheet pan. As soon as they’re frozen solid (24 hours or less), bag or box up in a jumble. I suppose you could layer them and separate with parchment when boxing, but I’ve found it to be over-kill.
ETA: I don’t thaw before using in baking.
4 Likes
So you put frozen halves into the Marian torte, and they don’t give off puddles of water …?
