Any Home Bakers Here?

[N F C]

We're still in our hottest days, but gotta plan for the future Very soon we all will get some cooler days.

Shorter days and cooler nights are already here so I'm looking forward to soup nights at home soon!

 

[sunflour]

Shorter days and cooler nights are already here so I'm looking forward to soup nights at home soon!

- and hope you mean soup nights with just you and your DH

 

[N F C]

- and hope you mean soup nights with just you and your DH

Absolutely, 100%, for sure! While it's been nice to have lots of people show up for lunch and dinner at the golf course restaurant, soup night for two sounds like a perfect evening.

 

[N F C]

Yesterday's food preparation for me included rib platters for 35 (thats 6 smoked ribs per person) along with side dishes of potato salad, coleslaw, macaroni & cheese and smokehouse beans, all made from scratch. Also made up 2 dozen sandwich buns to have on the ready.

Just reading it over, makes me tired again

 

[sunflour]

Yesterday's food preparation for me included rib platters for 35 (thats 6 smoked ribs per person) along with side dishes of potato salad, coleslaw, macaroni & cheese and smokehouse beans, all made from scratch. Also made up 2 dozen sandwich buns to have on the ready.

Just reading it over, makes me tired again

Just wondering, why do you bake buns and not just buy them? With all you do, it would make things a little easier and no one would notice?

Coincidence - we're cooking ribs today - but only for 2 .

 

[N F C]

Just wondering, why do you bake buns and not just buy them? With all you do, it would make things a little easier and no one would notice?

Coincidence - we're cooking ribs today - but only for 2 .

We started by wanting to do as much 'homemade' as possible and baking is my thing so the buns seemed right. Well, things kind of evolved and grew. Now we have quite a number of regulars and trust me, they would notice. We get people in that come primarily for a certain non-meat item (like the buns or the coleslaw or the potato salad, etc.). And there isn't another bbq place around so the smoked meats are going well.

Here's what we make ourselves (besides smoking all the meat):
Buns
Coleslaw
Potato salad
Beans
Mac & cheese
BBQ sauces
Pizza dough (for our smokehouse pizzas)
Desserts
Tea (sweet & unsweet) from loose leaf tea
Lemonade
Ranch dressing
Corn bread

Probably left off a thing or two, but that is a pretty good picture of what I spend my days working on

 

[User395221]

Ranch dressing

how do you make ranch dressing? I've only ever had it bottled.

 

[N F C]

how do you make ranch dressing? I've only ever had it bottled.

We make it in big batches, it includes 8 cups of mayo, 4 cups of sour cream, 1 cup of buttermilk and a list of herbs/seasonings. Good stuff! I have the actual recipe at work but can give you a list of all the ingredients later when I get there.

 

[sfgwife]

pm your address and I will send you a start

What is your starter recipe? And feed recipe/schedule? My sourdough is not a traditional old one... it uses potato flakes, sugar and water to feed. I have been lookin for a good countertop one to give a go and just cannot decide on one. :/. I make bread twice a week usually if not more but yeast breads in summer and sourdough in winter. And we love the sour much more than just yeasties... but i just always neglect it in summer. So i thought maybe if it is out on the counter for me to see i will remember. Lol!

 

[ronott1]

What is your starter recipe? And feed recipe/schedule? My sourdough is not a traditional old one... it uses potato flakes, sugar and water to feed. I have been lookin for a good countertop one to give a go and just cannot decide on one. :/. I make bread twice a week usually if not more but yeast breads in summer and sourdough in winter. And we love the sour much more than just yeasties... but i just always neglect it in summer. So i thought maybe if it is out on the counter for me to see i will remember. Lol!

I do not keep starter on the counter. It goes into a spring lid storage container in the fridge. ideally it is replenished once a week but I have gone months without replenishing. It takes some work but you can get it going again.

To replenish starter


Add equal amounts of flour and water. Stir with a wooden or plastic spoon. Cover the container with a cloth. Set over night in a warm place free from drafts (85°F) a good place for this is inside an oven with the light turned on. In the morning stir down the mixture, cover with a lid and return it to the refrigerator until it is needed. Do not add anything to the starter except flour and water.


If the starter is not replenished every seven to ten days, it may spoil. If this happens, discard all but 1/2 cup and try to restart with 1 cup of flour and 1 cup of water. The starter is spoiled if it turns pink or if it loses it's sour smell. Do not discard starter just because you think it is too old. Always try to replenish it and if it becomes bubbly then it is fine. One of my sources claims that you can revive any starter with patience. He claims that it is possible to restart 6000 year old starter from the spores found at an archeology site. If your starter is in real bad shape, it may take six days to restart. Add ½ each a cup of flour and warm water to your starter every 12 hours and keep it in a warm place. The starter is ready when there is about two inches of foam on top of the starter and the starter is bubbly throughout the mixture.


Occasionally pour all but 1/2 cup of the starter into a bowl and wash the storage container to remove flour build up.