Do you like cheesecake? If so, you must try it with duck eggs – we did, and there’s no going back!While the seemingly endless supply of spring and summer eggs seems to be over, we recently began finding a few duck eggs in the coop again! While they’re wonderful fried and scrambled, duck eggs are unparalleled for their ability to enhance baked goods: think denser and richer…words made for cheesecake. Continue reading “Homemade Desserts: Duck Egg Cheesecake”
Tag: Baking
Baker’s Journal: Sourdough Rye
We like to buy local, so we’re fortunate to have a flour mill within an hour’s drive of our farm (and, as an added bonus, it’s in a postcard-worthy setting). We recently picked up some flour for our sourdough, as well as a bag of rye flour and a bag of white cornmeal. Today, we used some of the rye flour to replace the wheat flour in our sourdough bread. Was it scientific? No. But keep reading to see how it came out.
When we first starting making sourdough, the loaves came out rather brick-like, very dense, suitable to be used as pavers or wheel chocks. Ok, they weren’t that bad, but they weren’t lofty, either. Since then, with each iteration, the bread has improved, and now it’s superb. Our sourdough starter, Audrey, is also very happy and well-established, a critical part of making a good sourdough. Continue reading “Baker’s Journal: Sourdough Rye”
What’s Better Than Homemade Bread? (not much)
One of our favorite ferments is our recently-resurrected sourdough starter. It began as a dry powder, but with consistent feedings, has become a reliable producer of delicious sourdough loaves – no yeast needed!
Making a loaf starts with mixing the starter, which should be bubbly and sour-smelling, with water, salt and flour. The stand mixer does a marvelous job of creating the right elasticity, and once properly mixed, the dough is poured out onto a floured surface to be shaped into a loaf. After filling the loaf pan, the dough is covered and left to rise. With the cold temperatures, we find that letting it rise on a heating pad on the low setting really helps. Continue reading “What’s Better Than Homemade Bread? (not much)”
Goodbye, 2016…Hello, 2017!
It’s that time again – this year is coming to its end. We like to look back at the year because you can forget how much you learned and during that period. We also like to recognize our accomplishments, as well as identify needed improvements. We characterize 2016 as our year of learning on the farm.
Chickens
2016 started on a sour note, with about half of our small flock of layers lost to predators. We implemented deterrents and learned about the importance of having a vigilant rooster (or two) to keep watch over the flock. We hatched 4 groups of chicks and learned about integrating new chickens into an existing flock. We processed roosters, treated injuries, and let a (surprise) broody hen hatch some eggs.
Ducks
We started with a small group of Muscovies going into 2016, due to some predator losses. We were thrilled when the ducks began laying, and wanted to expand our flock. Continue reading “Goodbye, 2016…Hello, 2017!”
Today’s Ferment: Sourdough
A packet of San Francisco style sourdough starter has been in the refrigerator for years. We love sourdough bread, so we pulled it out and reactivated it.
Reactivating dry sourdough starter (which looks like dry yeast) basically involves adding water and flour to it daily until it becomes active. How can you tell if it’s active? It will look somewhat like bubbly pancake batter trying to climb out of the container. It’s really pretty cool. Continue reading “Today’s Ferment: Sourdough”
It’s Peach Season – Let’s Make Crisp!
We’ve been on a fruit crisp* kick lately. It started with a jar of cherry pie filling we bought on a whim…that became a very tasty cherry crisp (or crumble). Then we bought some apples at the farmer’s market and made an apple crisp. Yum.
The farmer’s market had both yellow and white peaches this morning. The farmer told us that the white were at peak ripeness and very sweet, so we bought mostly those, with one yellow thrown in for good measure. Continue reading “It’s Peach Season – Let’s Make Crisp!”