Baking Frenzy

Look what happens when you separate the spent grains from crystal malt and chocolate malt, and make separate doughs out of them...and then swirl them together.

The pic is a bit deceiving. I think I have a lot to learn about food styling and photography. I should have put something nearby for scale. The dish the loaf rests on is a large serving platter. I thought maybe retarding the loaf all day in the cold fridge-like garage wouldn't be so conducive to out-of-control rising. And make a nice, dense loaf. Well, the finished loaf was roughly the size of the Titanic.

Not that I didn't make lots of dough to begin with, of course. I also turned out a double batch of oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. One batch didn't sound like nearly enough to provide comfort for all the anxiety and angst that's been going on at work lately. No, it had to be double. There was so much dough that oatmeal spilled out of the mixer bowl and onto the floor, adding to the mess of brown sugar I'd already dropped there. I used an ice cream scoop to make the cookies. No little cookies from this kitchen. No, these were the size of salad plates. Things just weren't going too smoothly all morning, and one of them ended up sliding off the pan and into the crevice at the base of the oven door. I couldn't have dropped it there if I'd been aiming for it, but there it went. Another mess to clean up before that hopelessly burned and smoked up the place.

I also made two loaves of Irish Soda Bread in honor of St. Patrick's Day. I sent one to work with Tim along with a pile of cookies and one went with me to work. Some parsely butter provided a touch of green.

We bottled the batch of cherry wheat beer we started last week, too. That wasn't exactly a tidy job, either. I spilled some on myself and the floor while I was transferring from the pail to the bottles. The kitchen went from smelling like a bakehouse to a brewery in no time.

No cooking today, I'm tired and going to bed!

No recipe for the spent grain bread, I just made that up as I went. But the soda bread is really easy and good. Just before popping in the oven, use a sharp knife to cut a large cross in the top of the loaf.

Irish Soda Bread

Recipe courtesy of Jill Novatt on Food Network

2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
2 tablespoons cold vegetable shortening
1 egg, beaten
1 cup buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix well. Cut the butter and shortening into small pieces and add to the flour mixture. Using your fingers, work the cold butter and shortening into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs. Add the egg and the buttermilk and mix into the flour mixture until it is incorporated. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead gently until the dough forms a smooth ball. Place loaf on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Place loaf in the oven and bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown.