Baking comes to an end...
The baker comes back in Sunday night and I told him before he left that he doesn't have to come in to work till Tuesday so he would have Monday to rest so I may get to bake a little more on Monday BUT...
In my two weeks of being able to cover that 'baking' side of things I managed to bake quite a lot while also getting my other responsibilities done as the galley manager. I still took weekends off because I had baked enough bread to carry me through Saturday & Sunday. I enjoyed myself.
In the last 2 weeks in bakery:
- Baked approximately 1200 loaves of bread (white & wheat combined total)
- Biscotti 300-400 pieces
- Dinner Rolls 400
- Herb & Olive Rolls 400
- Focaccia 400+ pieces
- Jalapeno Cheddar Bread 400+ slices
- Cinnamon Rolls 700+ (Twice @ 350 average)
- Brownies 350
- Pieces/slices of Pizza 1100
Back to cracking the whip next week and maybe working on some new recipes for the menu. It was a good time to renew in my mind the possibilities of what can and could be done in the bakery...maybe in the future I can get around to a few things I was thinking of but didn't have time for such as: coffee cake, muffins, breakfast breads, garlic cheese biscuits, breakfast biscuits, etc. Just to name a few things I was considering.
Jalapeno Cheddar Bread
For this bread you want to actually add the jalapeno's into the flour/dough...but add the cheese later when tri-folding and rolling the loaves of bread up. Kind of like when I talked about making the cinnamon rolls except with cheddar, not a cinnamon-sugar mixture.
In this one, we see the bits of Jalapeno...
Ingredients ~ the rolling pin is just for looks, I just smashed this one out with my hands as well, notice no flour everywhere...I like to work 'clean'. Cornmeal in the bowl is to lay down on trays so loaves do not stick as bad. Usually, they never stick especially with well-seasoned trays, but some of that cheese melting out of the bread makes a difference.
They 'sprang' a little more than I expected from the oven so I have MONSTER BREAD but you know nobody was complaining.
See that cheddar and Jalapeno goodness oozing at you...
The cheddar is trying for an escape...
Yeah, I had a good time and got carried away...but they didn't leave any leftovers.
Just a good ole rolled ugly home loaf with easy ingredients: cheddar, jalapeno, flour, salt, sugar, yeast, water. Yep, that's it.
Biscotti
BiscottiWell, I guess you could say that I made my biscotti with nuts, coconut! Below is my coconut and orange biscotti. Using desiccated coconut (extremely dried out) and orange oil, extract, and/or peel. Again, I needed about 300 to 400. Gone quick.
The word "biscotti" in Italian is the plural form of biscotto, which applies to any type of biscuit, and originates from the medieval Latin word biscoctus, meaning "twice-baked": it defined biscuits baked twice in the oven, so they could be stored for long periods of time, which was particularly useful during journeys and wars. Through Middle French, the word was imported into the English language as "biscuit".
American biscotti are indeed crisp cookies often containing nuts or flavored with anise. Traditionally, biscotti are made by baking cookie dough in two long slabs, cutting these into slices, and reheating them to dry them out. A basic recipe is a mix two parts flour with one part sugar with enough eggs to create a stiff batter. To the mixture baking powder and flavorings such as anise, chocolate, or nuts are added. The slabs are baked once for about twenty-five minutes. They are then cut up into individual cookies and baked again for a shorter period. The longer this second baking is, the harder the cookies will be. In contrast to the Italian version paired with wine, American biscotti more frequently accompany Italian-style coffee- and espresso-based beverages, including cappuccinos and lattes.
Below is a simple process of how it's done, first bake is approximately 25 minutes at 350 F, second bake for 15 minutes at 325 F.
Now enjoy with coffee, espresso, tea, hot chocolate, milk...
Stephanie took some of them, melted chocolate chips in the microwave then slathered them on one side with the chocolate and waited for them to cool again. Try doing this with a lot of chocolate (semi-sweet, dark, milk, or white chocolate) or any other melt-able addition that tastes yummy and dips, drizzle, and/or both for a more 'gourmet/fancy looking' delicious biscotti.
My heart...
I wish you could know them, I wish you could hear them laugh and sing. They do both wholeheartedly with smiles that make my heart melt.
Cortu is 16 and has been raised by the Suzanna (Mama Victoria's daughter) and has a wisdom that goes far beyond her years. When she speaks she does so with confidence. She reads the chapter that we study every night for the 7 nights that we are gone and writes down what she learned, then she shares her best insight with the group. I often find myself taking notes when she shares. I love Cortu, and I find myself drawn to her.
Regina is a HAM! She is about 4'8" and has this explosive energy. Anytime there is a camera she is in front of it posing. She is the one out of the group that makes them laugh so hard that they literally fall over. When she was on the ship she used the bathroom and it has a vacuum flush that is quite loud. Apparently it scared her and she came flying out of the bathroom and proceeded to laugh so hard we thought she might suffocate.
Alice is quiet and a little reserved. She is one of the younger girls and listens intently in Bible study but does not say much. She has a sweet spirit about her.
Mary is a unique blend of being motherly yet very playful. She listens intently when you talk and truly wants to know us. She is conservative but yet is in the middle of the whooping and hollering when they all get riled up (which is often).
Ruth is the seamstress of the orphanage and loves to cook. She really wants to go to school to be a caterer. Ruth does not say much during Bible study, she usually is catching up on her reading.
Annie is the oldest of the girls and definitely the big sister of the group. She is very sassy and definitely sets the tone for the group. She is taking her entrance exam for nursing school on August 30th. Annie always knows her memory verse perfectly and she contributes with her own life experience, even the hard parts.
Betty is one of the younger girls, she usually doesn't know the memory verse and is a typical teenager that is very chatty. Her energy is contagious and she gives the best hugs.
Gerilyn has been the hardest for me to get to know. She is an observer by nature and doesn't compete for attention like some of the other girls. The more I get to know Gerilyn the more I see her authenticity. She told me yesterday that she wants to be nurse like Jenn, Jeanne, Becky, Sarah and I.
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