Yeasted Waffles (with recipe!)

Adrienne saw this recipe in  Benjamin's Cook's Illustrated Baking Cookbook.   A quick look on the internet brought up several...  This is one I found:  http://www.smells-like-home.com/2014/06/yeasted-waffles/

The best waffle recipe we used to make involved separating eggs, melting butter, etc.  Benjamin used to make them.....very good, but a lot of mess!   So when we read about this yeasted waffle recipe we just had to give it a try!  Yes, they are the best, next to the buttery oat ones I mentioned above!  The leftovers are so easy to toast and warm up!  These were really good with grated sharp English Cheddar cheese mixed in.

NB:  choose your vessel well.   The first time we made them we ended up with batter oozed out into a cooler all over the ice bottles and kombucha bottles that were also being stored in the "extra fridge space on the porch"!   Make sure your bowl is large enough!   

Notes from Food.com:  The batter must be made 12 to 24 hours in advance. Texture of the waffles made in a classic waffle iron is better. But a Belgian waffle iron will work, though it will make fewer waffles. The waffles are best served fresh from the iron but can be held in an oven until all of the batter is used. As you make the waffles, place them on a wire rack set above a baking sheet, cover them with a clean kitchen towel, and place the baking sheet in a 200-degree oven. When the final waffle is in the iron, remove the towel to allow the waffles to crisp for a few minutes. These waffles are quite rich; buttering them before eating is not need and may be to much for some.  (NOT us!!!)

 

Yeasted Waffles

Yield: Seven 7-inch round or four 9-inch square waffles

Prep this waffle batter the night before you plan to make waffles and give yourself a break from prepping breakfast in the morning. This works especially well when you have house guests or if you're hosting brunch.

For the waffles:

• 1 ¾ cups milk
• 8 tbsp unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
• 2 cups all-purpose flour  (we used white spelt flour and a bit of oat flour)
• 1 tbsp granulated sugar
• 1 tsp table salt
• 1 ½ tsp instant yeast
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

 

Topping suggestions:*

• Pure maple syrup
• Peanut butter sauce and bananas
• Whipped cream
• Blueberry jam
• Fresh fruit
  

Instructions

1. Whisk the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast together in a large bowl. Warm the milk and butter in a heatproof liquid measuring cup in the microwave just until the butter melts. Allow the milk-butter mixture to cool until it's warm to the touch. Gradually whisk the milk-butter mixture into the dry ingredients until the batter is smooth. Beat the eggs and vanilla together in a bowl and then whisk this mixture into the batter until incorporated. With a rubber spatula, scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl to ensure there is no loose flour. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 12-24 hours.
2. When you're ready to make the waffles, heat your waffle iron according to manufacturer's instructions and then remove the batter from the fridge. Whisk it briefly to recombine the batter (it will deflate) and prepare according to your waffle maker's instructions. Keep the waffles warm directly on the racks of a 250° F oven while you make the rest.
3. Freeze any leftover waffles on a wire rack then transfer frozen waffles to a large zip-top bag. When you're ready to reheat, preheat the oven to 250° F and warm the waffles through directly on the rack.
   

the BEST pizza ever!

We found this recipe for pizza crust    (and the original recipe for the artisan bread) at Gwen's Nest blog.  Gwen goes into the benefits of long, cold fermentation and carbs and gluten.

 Our dough is much slacker, especially the longer it sits in the fridge, and wetter and we like a thinner crust that you see pictured at Gwen's Nest.   The photos of ours below are from before we worked into making it thinner and wetter.  Sorry!   Maybe one reason ours is thinner is we let the dough sit a lot longer in fridge before using, but we like it like that!   Even though it's thin, it's more soft and chewy than crispy.  Yum!!!

Our basic dough will make 2 - 15" thin crust pizzas:
 

Flour mix of:  approx.  ½ cup barley, 1 ½ cups oat, 4 cups +/- white spelt

1 T. salt

1 ½ tablespoons yeast

2 ½ cups warm water

Mix it up (it will be a wet dough - no kneading required!!!) and let it sit covered until it rises and starts to fall again.  Then put into a container and keep well covered in the fridge for at least a few days up to about 7 to 10 days or so.  It can get a dark gray liquid sitting on top of the dough like a sourdough starter does.  I just pour it off if necessary.    


Cooking instructions:  (details at links at the beginning of post)
450 degree oven - heat with baking stone.  Spread the dough on parchment paper and use a pizza peel to slide onto stone.  Bake for approx. 10 minutes.  Top the pizza and return to oven for about 10 more minutes.  Broil briefly if necessary.  

....one time we let it go so long (maybe 2 weeks?)  and it smelled very much like sourdough, even while baking, but the finished product didn't taste sour at all!  Not that we'd have minded, but our guests might have!  

We've topped it with ALL KINDS of things:  BBQ sauce, brisket (or chicken) and cheddar, sun-dried tomato pesto with mozzarella, cremini mushrooms cooked ahead in butter, olives, sauteed onion and red peppers, pepperoni or homemade Italian sausage....we've used homemade Arugula pesto, Basic pesto and regular tomato paste sauce recipe from Elana's Almond Flour cookbook.   It's our favorite dinner to have when company is coming because it's easy to have things ready ahead of time and the right guests like to help out and make the pizza!   Add a salad and dessert and there you have it!   It's so easy to heat up leftover in the toaster oven briefly and it's almost as good as fresh!   

We try to always have a batch in the fridge ready to go.  It also helps to save the space for the permanent container!  =)   One day soon we will try making some bread sticks like we've seen Julia Child make. 

 The dough is very soft/lax, and as long as your hands are wet, they won't stick too badly.

We like to top the crust with fresh Parmesan, some times we only sprinkle the edges, instead of the whole thing.

 Yum...

Rehoboth Ranch is in trouble

 Hi Friends~ Remember the Hutchins family over at Rehoboth Ranch???

We met most of you at their Field Day/Open houses over the years...read on...

 "Please help the Robert and Nancy Hutchins Family and their family business, Rehoboth Ranch, recover from the tornado which struck their home and ranch April, 3rd 2014. The complete scope of damage is currently unknown. Their house was severely damaged; losing most of the roof, causing interior ceilings to fall in and resulting in significant water damage. All of the barns were completely destroyed and the dairy sustained significant damage as well. Most of the moveable chicken pens were destroyed including the "egg mobiles" and the laying flock was destroyed. Please see the Rehoboth Ranch Facebook page for more details and pictures.

Rehoboth Ranch is the Hutchins family livelihood, and beyond the basic repair cost, this will seriously impair their ability earn their living. Any donations, great or small will be appreciated, but most of all your prayers are coveted during this time."

(This photo is a little old- it is short 2 in-laws & 5 grandchildren.)

Thank you Lord, for keeping the family safe in the storm, and for your protection as they (& their friends) clean up and rebuild.  Amen.  

 

http://www.gofundme.com/RehobothRanch

Please consider helping out our dear friends (here) ~ it's hard enough when a family looses their home, but when your home is quite damaged, and have such losses to your family business (working ranch) & only income source ....that is really hard and you need Friends, Family, Neighbors and Strangers to help you get on your feet again!   The Hutchins have been working the Ranch for 19 years. (We've known them for like 21+ years...)

   http://www.gofundme.com/RehobothRanch

 

 Thank you.

An Original DUCKumentary...

...from the Nature show on PBS!

Watch it here:   http://video.pbs.org/video/2289741878/

We hope that you enjoyed that!

The New Kids

 We got a few chickens for bug/grasshopper control:

 

The ducks are wondering: "Who are you?!?".  

2 of the cottontail bunnies were out at the same time. =)

Cottontail Bunnies

Last year the pair of cottontail bunnies had a baby...they hung out in our yard and we even got to watch the mama nursing the baby under the peach tree nearest to our back porch...we sat on the steps and enjoyed....Our ducks would go up to their fence and visit with them and watch them...it was quite a sight to see...we'd know the bunnies were near when we saw the ducks up next to the fence visiting!  The baby used to hop back and forth through the duck's electric fencing!    

This year all three bunnies still come hang out every evening and into the night...our yard is a safe refuge for them and they don't seem to mind us sharing their space!  Debbie always says 'hi bunnies" to them as she walks through the yard or to the garden. 

Also this year there are three young ones that play "leap bunny" and "chase"!  

Our garden is safely fenced and we've never seen them eat anything in the various flower beds that we'd care about...one good thing about not having a dog...yard bunnies.  =) 

 

One evening last week, one of "our" yard bunnies was just sitting in the back yard, facing the house, perfectly still listening to our music...."A Thousand Years", "Village Lantern", "The Motion Waltz", "Send Me On My Way", "If it's Love", "Barking at the Moon", "All Over Now", and the bunny left during an Ed Sheeran song. =)  Is a wild bunny listening to 7&1/2 songs a record? He was really cute~ a little statue- head just slightly cocked, not even chewing his cud! =)

The latest news!  Our "Yard Bunnies" had 4 baby bunnies! ♥ We are so happy and proud of them!  Pleas discovered them under the trees behind the compost bin and nestled in a deep pile of leaves!  So cute!  

 

 Watch your step!

Want some kids of your own?

 Remember our "We Went Visiting~" post?  I was asked how to connect with Rick, and phone is best.

Rick's number is 972-722-7545

Rick has some sweet kids-

Debbie makes Sourdough...

To see the photos, how-to and recipe, please follow this link!

Golden Beets

 We ordered a 25 LB sack of Organic Golden Beets from Azure* this month. (We have never done that before.)  A 25 LB sack of beets is large!

 Debbie & Adrienne scrubbed almost all of them (a few are in the fridge for roasting another time), and then gave them a boiling water/cold water dip, to make them easier to peel. This process took longer than we thought it would, but it was not bad. The peeled beets looked like peaches! =)

Beets, boiling water, 1/2-1 teaspoon salt per quart jar and ONE INCH head space!  (we had beets left over, Debbie cooked & pickled them!)

Pressure can them....

 I'm not sure that Golden Beets are supposed to be canned- they lost all their color!  But we are now the proud owners of 6 quarts of beets, that will get turned into pickled beets later in the year.

*Azure is a buying club that delivers to Greenville once a month. They also deliver to Rockwall, and other places in the DFW Metroplex. (click here for info)

Rice Milk

(please don't give it to your baby as a milk replacement!)

We basically followed the Vita-Mix directions.

1 cup cold cooked brown basmati rice (cooked with salt and rice bran oil - 2 cups rice per 6 cups water)

4 cups warm water

2 Tablespoons Sucanat

Blended as per directions.  Decided it was a little on the thin and watery tasting side so we....

added another 1/2 cup cold cooked brown basmati rice and poured the rice milk back and processed it again.....

....we were delighted to see there was nothing in the strainer, so we can dispense with that step in the future! 

We bought the rice at a store called "India Market" in Irving off Hwy 183 on the way to the DFW airport.

From the recent news concerning arsenic levels in rice (from Ag use such as pesticides and feeding to conventional poultry - then using the manure for fertilizer) in rice grown in the good ol' USA, we might be better off getting our rice from India, although it wasn't organic.....