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"Baking With Julia" by Julia Child (2004)


SethG

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I needed to take a dessert to a get together this weekend, so I made the Hungarian Shortbread from Baking with Julia. It has a layer of rhubarb jam between two layers of shortbread dough that have been grated into the pan. It was easy, but I was a little disappointed. The flavor was good, but the consistency wasn't good. It was gooey, and I expected it to be more firm. I baked it at least 10 minutes longer than the recipe called for

I had the same experience with the Hungarian Shortbread recipe....it was one of the few recipes in that book that gave me less-than-favorable results. Whew! I thought it was just me!

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Thanks, Rhea, I appreciate that! Anyone who saw a picture of that first loaf of white bread I made in January would have to say I've come a long way. I don't know what's up with Imagestation.com, but it's just as well that you can't see that white bread any more. I'm a little embarrassed about it now.

I've heard no proposals for this week. How about Pebble Bread, p. 152?

Edited by SethG (log)

"I don't mean to brag, I don't mean to boast;

but we like hot butter on our breakfast toast!"

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Hey, out of commission for a few days. SethG, yeah, that rhubarb cake looks pretty ugly, but it looks like the others here as well. Maybe we need a thread for "ugliest food you've ever made (with pictures)." I know I could be a regular contributor!

Did make the rhubard upside-down cakes:

i5754.jpg

Made these in ramekins, and they worked out fine. My 11 year old loved them although they were a bit rich for me.

The Pebble Bread looks interesting. I also really want to try the oasis naan--love flatbreads and man, that photo looks good! What do you think?

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Naan's cool, I almost suggested that instead. That's two of us. Who's in for naan?

"I don't mean to brag, I don't mean to boast;

but we like hot butter on our breakfast toast!"

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I needed to take a dessert to a get together this weekend, so I made the Hungarian Shortbread from Baking with Julia.  It has a layer of rhubarb jam between two layers of shortbread dough that have been grated into the pan.  It was easy, but I was a little disappointed.  The flavor was good, but the consistency wasn't good.  It was gooey, and I expected it to be more firm.  I baked it at least 10 minutes longer than the recipe called for

I had the same experience with the Hungarian Shortbread recipe....it was one of the few recipes in that book that gave me less-than-favorable results. Whew! I thought it was just me!

Does rhubarb jam have a high water content? Just wondering 'cause I have used that recipe a few christmases now as par t of my selection but since rhubarb is not availabe to me at that time of year, I have used blackcurrant jam with beautiful results.

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I think I am mercifully free this weekend because I have loads of catching up to do. Naan or pebble bread are great for me. I've never made them.

Let's do naan! I'll probably try to make both kinds (same dough).

"I don't mean to brag, I don't mean to boast;

but we like hot butter on our breakfast toast!"

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I needed to take a dessert to a get together this weekend, so I made the Hungarian Shortbread from Baking with Julia.  It has a layer of rhubarb jam between two layers of shortbread dough that have been grated into the pan.  It was easy, but I was a little disappointed.  The flavor was good, but the consistency wasn't good.  It was gooey, and I expected it to be more firm.  I baked it at least 10 minutes longer than the recipe called for

I had the same experience with the Hungarian Shortbread recipe....it was one of the few recipes in that book that gave me less-than-favorable results. Whew! I thought it was just me!

Does rhubarb jam have a high water content? Just wondering 'cause I have used that recipe a few christmases now as par t of my selection but since rhubarb is not availabe to me at that time of year, I have used blackcurrant jam with beautiful results.

That must be the problem. Normally, when I stew rhubarb I don't add any water. The recipe called for 1/2 c water, I think. I'm glad to know that you like the recipe when you use regular jam. I'll give it another try, but make thr rhubarb jam without water, and let it cook down more, so it has a thicker consistency.

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Last night I went home and grabbed my BWJ thinking, "What was it that Seth suggested? page 150'ish or something." I opened the book and it fell open to the pebble bread. It's fate - I'm in. :rolleyes:

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Last night I went home and grabbed my BWJ thinking, "What was it that Seth suggested? page 150'ish or something." I opened the book and it fell open to the pebble bread. It's fate - I'm in. :rolleyes:

Hey Kirsten, we switched from Pebble Bread to Naan. See above.

Although I could be convinced to try both...

"I don't mean to brag, I don't mean to boast;

but we like hot butter on our breakfast toast!"

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Well, Kirsten, I feel responsible for your purchase, so if I can find some barley flour I'll make pebble bread too! I'll probably do both naan and pebble bread after the weekend, early in the week.

"I don't mean to brag, I don't mean to boast;

but we like hot butter on our breakfast toast!"

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i5921.jpg

here are my mixed starter walnut boules.

they taste slightly sour - definitly like them better this way. i made the second starter a bit sour by keeping it at room temp for 12hrs and under refrigeration for an additional 12hrs. this will likely become my new procedure.

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I've been very busy and haven't had a chance to get back for about a week to this thread. I'm still catching up wth you guys so I did a few things this week. I made the baby cakes where I used apples instead of rhubarb. The cake is so scrumptious! I used 6 ramekins and a small springform that was about the size of 2 ramekins since I didn't have the right number of them.

i6038.jpg

I also did the ka'kat which were pretty yummy too. I sprinkled them with black and white sesame seeds. When they came out of the oven I didn't resist trying them for long and as a result burnt my mouth a bit! They were wonderful dipped into babaganoush. I took them to work like I do with many of the things I bake. I think people at work must want sweet stuff instead because these took longer to disappear.

i6037.jpg

I tried the mixed starter this weekend with the frozen piece of dough to start. The bread turned out tasty when it was finally done but I think if I use the frozen starter again I'll make sure it's at room temp and fluffy before I start the recipe. The way it was I just worried about it for 2 days until the final dough where I ended up adding not as much flour and added more water to get the dough consistency I thought they were describing. The dough was actually too wet and the baguettes almost collapsed but the final bread tasted good. I'm not giving up on that one. I'll try it again soon.

I made babas for dessert last night. They also didn't turn out quite like they were supposed to because the cream filling wasn't thick enough. However my guests LOVED them. They kept exclaiming at how light they were. Whew!

A good cook is like a sorceress who dispenses happiness. – Elsa Schiaparelli, 1890-1973, Italian Designer

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The naan was pretty simple, although the first one I made came out super ugly. We ate it to put it out of its misery. :wink: I really like the saltiness of the this bread.

My pebble bread sponge is doing its thing. Won't be baking it until tomorrow.

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I would like to join too if there's a spot. I am always interested in trying new recipes and sharing results with others.

Did I understand that we will all make the same recipe? How will the recipe be shared?

Forgive me if that information was there and I totally looked over it.

If you are providing it please email me at celenescuisine@aol.com

Thanks

Believe, Laugh, Love

Lydia (aka celenes)

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Forgot to mention that I tried the pita bread this weekend. (Sorry I've so gone off on my own tangent a few times). I did it initially to make the lamb pizza things that follow the pita recipe. I added spiced yogurt dollops on the top. It was very very tasty!

i6112.jpg

I used the rest of the dough a couple of days later (I LOVE that you can keep it in the fridge for a week!) and made the normal pitas. Super easy. I'd make them again. Only thing about them was that they're thicker than I was thinking they'd be and therefore very filling. Shoulda eaten less than I did.

A good cook is like a sorceress who dispenses happiness. – Elsa Schiaparelli, 1890-1973, Italian Designer

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Arbuclo, you've been bakin up a storm, yes. The ka'kat look especially good. I haven't made this recipe yet, still searching for the mahlab.

Did you make the naan? If you liked the pita, I bet you'd also like the naan--it was easy to make and quite good. I'll post my pics later today.

What's on for this weekend?

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Oh yeah, the mahlab. I didn't go in search of that for my ka'kat. I used some ground up lemon myrtle leaf but I couldn't taste it in the bread.

I made the naan a while back. It's excellent also with dips. Mmmm. Can't wait to see your pics. My naan looked a bit scary!

A good cook is like a sorceress who dispenses happiness. – Elsa Schiaparelli, 1890-1973, Italian Designer

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Well, here's what my naan looked like:

i6140.jpg

I could not keep the scallion bits from burning and still get the bread done. But the combination of the scallions and coarse/flaky salt with the cumin seeds was awesome when they were warm. Opens up lots of possibilities for different types of flatbreads with various flavors.

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Arbuclo: when you get around to baking, you really get around to baking!

I'm making naan dough tonight and I'll bake them tomorrow. I haven't found barley flour locally, so I can't make the pebble bread yet.

Anybody want to propose something (preferably non-bread) for the next thing?

"I don't mean to brag, I don't mean to boast;

but we like hot butter on our breakfast toast!"

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Hi everyone!

I'm the new kid on the block here and I think I'm ready to stop lurking and start baking! ;) I've stumbled on this site one day while looking for info on a recipe in Sherry Yards book and I got hooked and joined up!

I'm not a professional pastry chef (or any other kind!), but I love to bake and do it passably well. (Of course, anybody who makes anything better than box cake is hailed as a goddess these days ;)

I also have cookbooks stacked up everywhere! So, of course, I have Baking with Julia. And it's one of my favorites!! I was excited to see y'all baking from it. If I might be so bold as to offer a suggestion, I saw, several pages back. that someone had suggested the Danish Pastries and I would heartily endorse that recommendation. They are absolutely superb and actually pretty easy. My favorite filling is the Almond, but they're all good.

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