Forest Gleaner

I baked these the other night, and they turned out better than I expected, and I thought I'd share the recipe here. The reason why I thought they'd disappoint is that this is another super-fast, super-overdose of yeast recipe! In the past, when I'd try any of those recipes, the yeast taste would be apparent in the finished product - but that didn't happen with these, perhaps because of the acid in the buttermilk/sour milk (I used sour milk) and the baking soda - don't know why, but they don't taste of yeast. They do however, go stale quickly due to the excess yeast, so eat fast, or freeze. OK, here’s the recipe – but first the legal stuff: This recipe is from “Mrs. Witty’s Home Style Menu Cookbook” By Helen Witty 1990, Workman Publishing ISBN: 0-89480-690-4 (pk’bk) Recipe is called, Cookout Buns (p. 266) Makes about 15 large or 20 medium buns Ingredients: 2 cups Buttermilk or sour milk (I don’t throw out “soured” milk – it’s great for baking) 3 Tbs yeast (3 envelopes) 1 Tbs salt 2 tsp sugar ½ tsp baking soda apx. 6-7 cups AP flour (I only needed 5 cups – it all depends on the moisture content of your flour – err on the wet side, you can always add more flour during kneading) 6 Tbs (3/4 stick) butter, melted and cooled but pourable 1 egg, beaten with 1 tsp water Process: Warm the buttermilk/sour milk to lukewarm (100-105 degrees). Whisk together the yeast, salt, sugar and baking soda in a bowl. Add buttermilk or sour milk and whisk until the dry ingredients are dissolved. Stir in 2 cups of flour, then the butter. When well mixed, stir in enough of the remaining flour to make a soft dough. Rest the dough for 10 minutes in the bowl, covered with a towel. Flour a kneading surface, and turn the dough out onto it. Knead the dough for 2-5 minutes, just enough to make it smooth and elastic – if the dough is sticky, add some more flour, but don’t overdo it – you want the dough to remain soft. Cover with a towel and rest for 5 minutes. Pat or roll out dough to apx 2/3rds of an inch – cut rounds with a 3” (med roll) or a 3 1/2” (large roll). A standard biscuit cutter is close to 3”, and a tuna can (w/o top and bottom) is about 3 ½”, as is a wide mouth Mason jar lid ring. Place them 1” apart on a baking sheet or pan – You should be able to get all 15 large or 20 medium buns on a standard half-sheet pan – it’s OK if they touch once risen. Cover with a towel and let rise for 45 minutes or until double in size. Turn your oven on and let it heat to 400 degrees while the buns rise. Beat the egg and water and brush on the tops of the buns. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes or until the tops are well browned (mine were done at 18). Move the buns to a cooling rack within a few minutes so that the bottoms don’t soften. When cool, either eat right away or freeze. Making hot dog buns. You can use this same dough to make hot dog buns – just the shape is different. Roll out dough to a rectangle 12” by 15”. Cut this into 3 equal pieces 12” by 5”. Then cut each smaller piece into 6 strips 2” by 1”. Flatten each strip until each is about 6” long. Brush each strip with water, and fold over lengthwise, seam to one side. Place these on a greased baking pan ½” apart – these should touch each other once risen. Cover with a towel and let rise for 45 minutes, or until double in size. Brush the tops with the egg glaze and bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes or until well browned.

Ah, nice info - now I've got a clue or two on how to show a tiny bit of respect to this modest but otherwise worthy knife. I think I'll pass on the $45 DVD though - given the fact that I myself pretty much match this knife, if I started getting too uppity with my knives, god only knows what might happen! No, I believe I'll follow your direction with the single bevel, and use the old Chef's Choice for all others. Thanks once more for the good instruction. john

Perhaps I'm not being clear re this knife - I know next to nothing about it, and I am trying to learn something. I have only used it a few times for cutting fish, but I think it should be sharper than it is, because instead of making a fine straight cut as a really sharp knife would, it tends to turn as it is cutting. I was hoping to get some practical advice re the proper way to sharpen it before I used some improper way and ruined the knife. What I'm missing here is that in my experience sharpening knives with a bevel on two sides, the goal is to progressively hone the edge from each side until the edge is so thin that it easily bends to one side or another - thus the use of a steel. If I'm wrong about this, please correct me. What's confusing to me is that if, with a single bevel knife, you only sharpen one side, how do you avoid, without using a steel, bending the fine edge away from the sharpened side? In short, how do you sharpen a one sided bevel knife? I appreciate your indulgence with a novice who is unable to engage in sophisticated knife banter. jm

OK, the Chef's Choice is out - my only other option, short of buying something new, is to use a general purpose sharpening stone - I'm guessing that's OK? My only remaining question then is, once the single side is sharpened, how does one go about working with a steel? Do you ever use the steel on the unsharpened side? Seems to me if you don't, you may leave an edge toward that side - right? Thanks guys - appreciate your input. john

I have a reletively cheap ($20) Japanese sushi knife with a single bevel (right side of blade as held). I also have a Chef's Choice 100 sharpener that I have not used yet on this knife because I'm not sure the sushi knife is ground at the same angle as the Chef's Choice uses. Anyone have any expert opinion on this? jm

I weigh 230 and recently had to have a heart valve replaced - they always prep you with an angiogram, to see if your arteries are clogged as well- and if they are, they do two operations on one cut. My doc was absolutely sure that I'd have to have at least one by-pass done. However, the angiogram showed no plaque buildup at all. Now, even I find this amazing, since I've never shied away from foods with high fat content - in fact our butter use is probably about 2 lbs a week. I should be the doomsayer's prime example, but apparently my arteries are lined with teflon. Conclusion? This issue is obviously much more complex than many would have us believe. jm

Studies of real cooks' behavior in real kitchens has shown that regardless of the number of knives any chef/cook owns, he/she tends to use one more than 90% of the time. I tend to agree, since I find myself using my flex boning knife for almost everything I do - it's very adaptible.

Jason, Thanks for responding, and for adding the link to the rest of this very fascinating piece. jm

I'm apparently confused - Either this is a dead end thread or I need some help in finding the rest of the diary. And if it is a dead end, why is it listed as a "Special Feature" on the home page when it is apparently a failed project? Somebody help me. jm

I do a lot of mushrooming in SW Oregon, but mostly in the fall and for chanterelles. That's not morel country, which is further to the east in the Cascades. However, I do a lot of reading and remember that morels seem to appear in larger numbers in areas that have experienced forest fires in the previous year or two. Even areas that have been logged and burned off make good spots for the year or two after the burn. It's just as well that morels are not more readily available hereabouts, 'cause spring is garden time and I'd have a conflict if I tried to carve out 'schrooming time as well. john