Tues. Dec. 20, 2022: Quick Catch Up (Especially on the Baking)
Tuesday, December 20, 2022
Waning Moon
Chiron, Uranus, Mars Retrograde
Partly sunny and cold
This won’t be our usual long Tuesday natter, because I’m limited in what I can do on my devices and where I can upload what.
The storm that came in at the beginning of last weekend wasn’t as bad as predicted for us, but I was still glad to stay home. I was in by mid-day of Thursday, although it didn’t start until about 11 PM on Thursday night.
But once I got home on Thursday, I stayed on the couch and read. And Friday, same. I was on the couch, alternating between watching the snow and reading. Because we are at an elevation (being in the mountains) and on the second floor, it’s lovely to watch the sky.
Saturday, I dug out the car. But, mostly, I baked. I made another batch of the brown sugar maple cookies with maple glaze. But the big thing was the Dresden Stollen.
Stollen is a big deal in my family tradition. There used to be a variety of bakeries on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and even in Westchester County, where I grew up, that made wonderful stollen. But they went out of business over the years. We used to order it from Swiss Colony, but it was mediocre. We tried several other places, including Vermont Country Store, but it just wasn’t that good, especially for the price. And the price makes sense, when you realize just how much goes into making it.
I use the Dresden Stollen recipe from Mimi Sheraton’s THE GERMAN COOKBOOK. It takes eight hours, so I have to put aside an entire day to make it. There’s an initial rise with only a few of the ingredients, and then two extra rises that should take an hour to an hour and a half each, but can take more.
This recipe makes 3 giant stollen loaves that are between 3 and 5 pounds each. When you look at the prices on store bought stollen, that’s usually hard and stale and about $30 for a single pound, it makes sense to make it, if you like it and don’t mind blocking off an entire day.
Even though I have a mixer and dough hooks, I don’t have a standing mixer, so it takes a decent amount of effort to get it kneaded properly.
This year, I decided that, instead of making 3 giant loaves, I would make 6 smaller ones. The yeast bloomed very well, which meant the rises worked well. So well, that, for the second rise, even though I had it in the biggest bowl I own (which is a party bowl/tray I bought on Cape), it rose so high and so fast, I was afraid it would overcome the bowl and start crawling across the counter.
I monitored the baking time closely. Again, with the 3 large loaves, it tends to over bake the edges, making them dark and crispy, while the center under bakes. With the smaller loaves, I could control the bake better, and the interior crumb was perfect, and the outer edges baked just right.
It tastes really, really good.
Dresden Stollen doesn’t use marzipan, which some of the other recipes do.
Sunday, I baked the orange rye rolls we like so much (from Marion Cunningham’s THE BREAKFAST BOOK). The recipe makes one loaf plus 10 small rolls; I usually prepare it so it makes 10-16 larger rolls.
We finished decorating the stairs on Sunday, with the garlands and lights on the banisters. We also put up the lights across the kitchen window in the back. We still have to set up the Santas; only the new Santas are out right now. And put up the lights on the front porch, before the Solstice tomorrow.
Monday, I had a slow start, but eventually got going. I dropped off a cookie platter at the college library next door, and they were thrilled. I went to the library and uploaded some material I needed to. Had trouble getting into Substack, and Gmail claims the password for the Devon Ellington account is wrong, which it’s not. I can’t change that password again until I get the main computer back, or everything in that account will be inaccessible.
But I got what I needed to done, and dropped off/picked up books. Then, I swung by the place where I get the car serviced, and dropped off cookies. They were thrilled.
I stopped at a store to pick up a few stocking stuffers, but found some other stuff I needed, including the Dutch oven I need for the coq au vin for Christmas Day dinner. It’s a gorgeous blue creation, heavy as heck, but I am madly in love with it.
Yes, this year is cod paella for Christmas Eve and coq au vin for Christmas Day.
I brought everything home, packed up the cookie platter for the post office, and took that over. They were thrilled, too.
Stopped at the dollar store, on a hunch, and, after some digging through stuff, found more cookie bags (I’d run out). Since I was over that way anyway, I stopped at the liquor store for what I needed for the holiday meals through New Year’s.
Hauled that all back, got it unpacked and sorted. Sorted out a new password for Substack, so I can get into it independently, and not using my Gmail.
Packed up the cookie platters for the neighbors and delivered them.
Worked on the short stories for a bit, and played with some ideas that I got in the past few days for pieces that would be fun to work on, but are a little out of my wheelhouse. I’m going to write a little bit into them in longhand to see if any of them are viable; if they are, I have to figure out how to fit them into the schedule.
This morning, I was up early. I should have gone to the Laundromat, but I couldn’t get my act together, so I will do it tomorrow.
Had to bake another batch of oatmeal currant lace cookies. I have a few more platters to deliver today, some work at the library, and then it’s about polishing the short story.
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