What caught your eye today.

[anacortesdamp]

I guess we're fortunate with our availbility of decent bread. There's a west-coast bakery chain called Franz that makes quite a lot of the bread the grocery stores label as their "house" brand. In Mount Vernon (20 miles away from home, but somewhere we go fairly regularly for stuff we can't get in Anacortes), Franz has an outlet store.

When fresh bread delivered in the early morning hasn't sold in the grocery stores by early afternoon, the roundsmen pick it up and bring it to the outlet store.

If we go on Senior discount Wednesday we get an additional 10% off. We typically buy four of their speciality loaves, a bag of their brown-and-serve dinner rolls, a bag of onion bagels and one of English muffins. After we run through the till, the total is about $11, so we get two freebies off the 2-day-old rack. We usually end up with five loaves (one freebie), the dinner rolls, bagels, muffins and maybe a freebie pack of 8 hoagie rolls (like a hot-dog bun but more substantial) for our $11 spend.

We can get something very much like the British white bread (either one made with potato flour or one made with buttermilk) and then there's a multitude of brown bread. We typically will get one loaf of "Ezekiel" bread, made to a biblical recipe, one nine-grain, one oat & barley and one whole wheat. After having the choice of "brown" (usually Hovis) and "white" in the UK, I find the wide range of bread recipes to be quite intriguing.

Also, we have a bread machine. We use it to make the dough and then knead, proof and bake outside the machine. The only problem with the home-made stuff is that it's so good, you eat a lot more than you should.

The only thng we haven't been able to find in the northern reaches of Washington is barmcakes. There is a British-oriented restaurant/store in Redmond that has them, but it's a 120-mile round trip.

If anyone has a decent recipe for barmcake dough, we'd love to get a copy.

Frank

[noel]

The trouble is Home made bread goes off inside a day, you could build houses with the stuff (not that it would last a day in our house). The stuff we make tastes more like a cross between cake and bread, can't get the open texture commercial bakers achieve.
The way commercial bread makers make their traditional loaves is to use a high speed stirrer to beat air into the dough, with the addition of ingredients to accelerate the yeast fermentation process and antioxidants to ensure the bread is still good days later.
Despite all this Warburtons Toastie Bread spread with a good quality butter is heaven on a plate.

[Spitfire]

Frank, Like to try this?


Lancashire Barm Cakes
*4 cups flour (Frank -that`s Strong White Bread Flour).
*1 teaspoon salt
*1 teaspoon sugar
*1 package dry yeast
*1 quarter cup lard
*1 1/2 cup water

Set the yeast working with the sugar and half the water warmed to tepid. Sift flour and salt. Rub into the lard. When the yeast is frothy add it to the flour with the remaining water. Mix to a soft dough; cover and leave to rise for one hour. Punch down, knead lightly; divide into small pieces 2 by 3 inches. Leave for about 20 minutes. brush with water dust with flour and bake at 425 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes makes about one dozen."

As a matter of interest, if you travel east,beyond Burnley, they suddenly become `oven-bottoms`.

[Karen]

I have no problem with bread ....
I don't eat it! Haven't eaten it for
20 years.(Injested yeast affects my
heart)

Geoff makes his own but there are
local bakeries that he will buy from
if nec. ie. ...when the family visit
and eat their share before they take
their coats off!!
His loaf lasts for two days and for toast
for breakfast the 3rd day.
He uses Best for Bread flour(has more glutin)
He tried the finish it in the oven but
much prefers the full machine thing,
making sure that the loaf is removed
as soon as the machine finishes and
allowed to cool on the rack before
storing in a zip lock ... NOT in a
breadbin.
This is a VERY finicky male eater!

He has almost never eaten bread sold
in a plastic wrapper either in England
or Canada.

T.D.

[Karen]

Alan ... I found the cheese you recommended,
They sell it at The Real Canadian Superstore
too ...they have one here in Mission.

Bit on the pricy side but good stuff[:p]
(K. licking her lips)[]

[muffers]

John I ordered my cheese from Igourmet yesterday. It is a little pricey and delivery is expensive but once a year wont break the bank. Lancashire and Cheshire on the way. I could have ordered others but chose the ones I really love. I will buy some beetroots and pickle them and buy a jar of pickled onions and find a really nice crusty loaf from one of the expensive stores in town. I will be all set for Christmas. When I worked in Chester we would go to the Pied Bull for a ploughmans lunch. It was so good.

[Spitfire]

Avril, You can say that again. Wasn`t the Bull on Northgate Street? I worked there several times before retiring and can echo your recollections of the food.

With regard to cheese, I was looking at a Christmas selection in Aldi, yesterday. Seven different ones from England and France. I put the box back on the shelf when I saw that it included both Brie and Camembert.
I LOVE cheese and can eat it until it`s coming out of my ears - with the sole exception of the runny ones. Before you ask - yes, I REALLY have tried to eat them.[:0]

[anacortesdamp]

Jim:

Brie we quite enjoy occasionally, but Camembert is beyond my personal standards of edibility.

Thos of you in yhr UK might want to check out the website of the cheese shop in Kirkby Lonsdale, "churchmousecheeses.com". They have quite a good delivery by courier service, but their prices make your eyes water more than their cheeses do! Adding in shipping to the western US, we'd be looking at £30 a pound.

Eileen says they're good people, based on renting the apartment over the shop, where they lived as they developed the business. Their main thrust is to make artisan cheeses available to a wider clientele.

If you're travelling through the area, it might be worth a visit. The shop is on the High Street, on the corner of Church Street, whcih of course leads to the Parish Church.

The clock tower of the church is interesting. When originally built it didn't have a clock, and they put in a window so the bell-fingers could see out. It's right on the centerline or the tower wher a clock should be, but they installed the clock off to one side so as not to impact the window.

There's also an interesting notice on the church door that says "Please keep the door closed, otherwise the swallows will fly in."

Definitely small-town England!

Frank

[sandyship]

New Zealand breads are generally very good and delicious both the commercial and the freshly baked without the plastic ones too.
I agree with the commenbts about home baked bread. It is like rock cake within a day and i am not fond of hard crusty bread.

Do you guys in the USA/ Canada have many people with the Gluten problem- ie Coeliac disease because this seems to becoming a very common problem for people who become intolerant to wheat. I think wheat generally is the cause of many allergies, especially in young children. Sandy

[Spitfire]

If the barm cake recipe didn`t do the trick, then this one for Christmas cake CERTAINLY will.


Christmas cake

Ingredients:

* 2 cups flour
* 1 stick butter
* 1 cup of water
* 1 tsp baking soda
* 1 cup of sugar
* 1 tsp salt
* 1 cup of brown sugar
* Lemon juice
* 4 large eggs

* Nuts
* 1 bottle wine
* 2 cups of dried fruit

Sample the wine to check quality. Take a large bowl, check the wine again.

To be sure it is of the highest quality, pour one level cup and drink.
Repeat.

Turn on the electric mixer. Beat one cup of butter in a large fluffy bowl.

Add one teaspoon of sugar. Beat again. At this point it's best to make sure
the wine is still OK. Try another cup... Just in case. Turn off the mixerer
thingy.

Break 2 eggs and add to the bowl and chuck in the cup of dried fruit.

Pick the frigging fruit up off floor. Mix on the turner.. If the fried druit
gets stuck in the beaterers just pry it loose with a drewscriver. Sample the
wine to check for tonsisticity. Next, sift two cups of salt. Or something.
Check the wine. Now shift the lemon juice and strain your nuts. Add one
table.

Add a spoon of sugar, or some fink. Whatever you can find.. Greash the oven.
Turn the cake tin 360 degrees and try not to fall over. Don't forget to beat
off the turner. Finally, throw the bowl through the window.
Finish the wine and wipe counter with the cat.

Bingle Jells!