Sourdough Buttermilk Dinner Rolls

This was one of those fortunate accidents.  I suppose this is how many new recipes are made.

I have a couple friends who also like to experiment with sour dough recipes.

One friend, Gretchen, gave me some 130 year old sour dough starter and it is such a good one.  She got it about 40 years ago from a former employer when she was in college and working at a family owned cafe.  It was handed down by the cafe owners family for generations.

Another friend gave me this recipe for Buttermilk Biscuits saying they were experimenting with adding sour dough starter to the mix in varying amounts.

2 cups plus 2.5 tablespoons all purpose, unbleached white flour
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar,  (I substituted raw honey)
1 tablespoon plus 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons cold butter  (oops forgot this part)
2/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons buttermilk
1 farm fresh egg

My addition:
1 1/3 cup room temperature sourdough starter which has been left out of the fridge and fed each day for 5 days.  Last feeding was one day ago.  I also have been using it for sour dough pancakes to keep it used up.  That wonderful recipe will be posted later.

Mixed dough ingredients together at noon and let it sit in a bowl to raise at room temp.  At 4 P.M. I put the dough into the heart shaped Demarle tray and let sit in the oven with the light on for warmth until 6:30.  Then I turned the oven on to 350 degrees and baked 20 minutes.  Perfection...unless you were expecting biscuits.

I set out to make the buttermilk biscuit recipe and I was expecting company that night...the very company who had given me the recipe.  We were looking over the recipe just before dinner. The biscuits were almost done.  That's when I realized I forgot the cold butter.  How could I do that?

Well whatever, it is what it is and dinner is almost ready.

We sat down to eat and we were so surprised at how good they were.  They were like a chewy gourmet french bread.  Wow!  That was Monday...this is Friday.  I made them again tonight and this time took photos.

I will go back to this recipe lots and lots.

I used up the rest of the dough in the Demarle Hamburger Bun Tray.

Sourdough English Muffins with Whole Wheat

I have some extra sourdough to use up and wanted to do something different.

I also had some left over milk that was poured off a butternut gratin recipe a few days ago.  I should post that recipe too.  I thought it was really good but I couldn't get the others in my household to agree.

1 cup warm water, 120 degrees

1 Tablespoon active dry yeast
1 cup milk
2 Tablespoons honey
1 cup sourdough starter
3 cups white flour
4 cups Prairie Gold Whole Wheat Flour
1 cube butter
1 Tablespoons sea salt

Spread dough on Roul' Pat, cut with large round Demarle cutter.

Bake on Silpat at 350 degrees for 22 minutes.

They disappeared quick.  They must have been good.  I thought they were anyway.

December 15, 2022 Daughter made this recipe again.  She raised the dough 40 min. In warm oven before using the cutter.  Then make the cut outs and raise 30 minutes in warm oven.

And then bake as written above.

This dough was rather stiff.  Could add more liquid.

Something Cold, Soft and Nutritious

My friend had her tonsils removed today.  I wanted to offer something that would help her.

She said they were trying to think of something for her to eat that would be cold, soft and nutritious.

Here is a peach smoothie we came up with:

1 15 ounce can organic coconut milk, 
1 quart size ziploc bag of frozen peaches, still frozen
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons calcium powder
3 tablespoons Maca powder
1/4 cup raw honey
1/2 teaspoon real vanilla
1/4 cup fresh ground flax seed flour
1/2 teaspoon REAL sea salt with minerals
5 drops Doterra Lemon Essential Oil
1 tray of ice cubes. 

Blend together until slushy. Taste test and may need to add more honey.

No photo so far.  When I redo this I will take one.  She said it was great.

Bonda's Kitchen Is Enhanced With Bonda's Garden

Over the years I have been adding to this blog you will have seen how I have enjoyed the garden.

While I won't get prizes for the tidiest, weed free garden, I might get the prize for enjoying my garden on several levels.

Here are a few...

1.  I have discovered the relaxing and healthy aspects of earthing/grounding.  So I spend as much barefoot time as I can in the garden.

2.  We have a very elderly friend who has gardened all her life as a family business and even when she entered an assisted living care center she found a way to garden nearby.  She told us how special Ogallala strawberries are.  They are smaller and harder to pick than mosts varieties, however, they make up for it in flavor and a long growing season.  Ogalalla strawberries produce from June to October and sometimes November.  Many of my suppers have been spent simply eating fresh strawberries in the strawberry patch.  They are never better than fresh picked.

3.  The garden is ever changing and I often go out without my gathering basket and end up using my shirt to bring in the bounty.  Take this shirt full of peas for example:

Blueberries

 

 Bintje Potatoes
See 8-30-14 post for more details.

 

We can make a gourmet salad from our garden from March thru November because of the volunteers.

This photo was taken in March and even the volunteer squash starts made it into the salad.

Each spring we purchase heirloom plants, especially tomatoes and cucumbers from our neighbor's greenhouse.  As frosty weather hits in October or November, we save the unripened tomatoes in the garage and let them ripen on their own.  Each year we are still eating our own tomatoes in January.

A few years back, when my husband was having the home rewired, he had the electricians add a flood light so I can garden after dark.  I've enjoyed that a lot when the summer is hot and I want to stay out after dark.

 

In the photo just above, you can see the french parsley given to me by a neighbor several years ago which reseeds itself every year, the garden cloches to protect early starts and the three peach trees that showed up this spring as volunteers from the peach seeds I dumped last fall.  There were about 30 trees this spring. We saved three and pulled the rest.  I love my volunteer garden.  Less work and more produce.  It means earlier spring lettuce, spinach and kale and this year it meant I have lettuce in November.

Healthy Homemade Bread and The Garden in September

This Demarle tray makes 20 mini loaves

What an absolute treat it is to have the smell of fresh baked bread in the house on these cooler summer days as we head toward fall.

This healthy recipe makes enough for 20 mini loaves and one large loaf.

3 cups fresh ground Prairie Gold Whole Wheat from Wheat Montana
6 Tablespoons vital wheat gluten from Bob's Red Mill
4 teaspoons active dry yeast
2.5 cups very warm 125 degree water
1 Tablespoon Sea Salt
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup local raw honey
1 large lemon, juiced
3 cups fresh ground Prairie Gold Whole Wheat from Wheat Montana

In a Bosch Kitchen Center using a dough hook Mix together the first 3 cups of flour, vital wheat gluten and active yeast.  If you have veggie water left over from something, this would be a great place to use it.  Add the warm water and mix for about a minute.  Make sure it all got mixed in.  Cover and let rest for 10 or 15 minutes.
Add sea salt, coconut oil, honey and juice.  Run mixer for a minute.  Add the remaining 3 cups flour about a cup at a time.  Knead on low speed for 10 minutes . The dough should be smooth rather than sticky.

Warm the oven slightly but turn it back off before it gets hot.  Place the dough in a Demarle shape tray or bread pans such as the Demarle mini loaf tray.  If you use a regular bread pan you will need to grease it or use parchment paper.  With Demarle, no greasing should be done.

Let raise until it is how you want it to look in the end.  It will not raise during baking.  This should take about 30 minutes or so depending on how warm the oven is.

Now turn the oven to 350 degrees and time it for 23 minutes for the mini loaves or 30 minutes for large loaves.  It will begin baking as the oven is heating and it is done quick like.


And for the record, what the garden looks like in early September:

Funnel Cakes

Warning:  This is not one of our healthy choices.

They wanted to eat funnel cakes.  I am content to stay home and didn't want to take them to the fair.  They REALLY wanted funnel cakes.

They went to the store for vegetable oil because I didn't want them using up the coconut oil for this.

Anything would be good with this much powdered sugar.

This turned out really well.  I said they could not do it inside and they could not use the good pans over the fire.    They got a cast iron skillet out of the camping supplies.   This recipe made more than  double what the two of them could eat.

 

 Recipe came from Food.com

Momma's Fair Funnel Cakes

• 3 eggs
• ¹⁄₄ cup sugar
• 2 cups milk
• 3 ²⁄₃ cups flour
• ¹⁄₂ teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• vegetable oil, for frying

Directions

1. Beat eggs and sugar together and then add the milk slowly--beat. Add the dry ingredients and beat until smooth and creamy.
2. Pour batter into a funnel and at the same time, use your finger to plug the hole. In a large cast iron pot, add 2 inches of oil to the bottom.
3. When the oil becomes hot, move your hand over the pot and slowly release your finger so the batter can start cooking.
4. Move the funnel around to make designs.
5. Brown on both sides--then immediately remove and drain extremely well.
6. Top with brown sugar, or honey, or cinnamon sugar, or powdered sugar as a topping.
7. BE CAREFUL AND DO NOT GET BURNED!

Nectarine Crisp

 Going into the oven.

When I decided a few years ago to plant a peach tree and a nectarine tree I didn't think about what a big deal it is to harvest that much fruit all at once just as we are celebrating our wedding anniversary and having a busy vacation rental season.  I am thinking it would have been okay to buy a box of fruit from another grower.  That being said, I also like the shade these trees give through out our warm summers.  And the fruit is oh, so sweet when tree ripened. 

What to do with it? A lot went in the freezer.  Which mainly goes into smoothies.   I don't want to can it.  Today I decided to make a 9 x 13 dish of Nectarine Crisp.

This recipe is our family favorite so far.

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees:

Streusel topping:
1 cup all-purpose flour (next time I will try 1/2 cup all purpose flour and 1/2 cup oatmeal)
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon sea salt
2.5 cubes butter, between soft and melty


1.  Mix all the above ingredients and set aside.

Fruit filling:
6  pounds peaches (15 or so) peeled, pitted and cut up.
4 teaspoons potato starch (next time use 5)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest

2. Gently stir and put in a 9 x 13 baking dish.

3. Sprinkle with:

1/2 cup sliced, toasted almonds

Bake at 375 degrees for 50 minutes.

Serve with vanilla ice cream or sweetened, whipped cream. 

 

Sweetened cream made from raw cream.  Put in the cream canister for dispensing.