Apple pie, applesauce and soft bread

Today was a good day although it didn't feel like it. Even better is this day when I can finish this writing in time. The past few days (weeks?) I've been going to bed later and later. I usually don't go to sleep until after 1 a.m. and that is way too late for me.

The more the sun shines, the more time I spend outside, although I am also indoors in between to do the most necessary things. I often have everything in mind that I want to do and cooking, baking, and trying out certain things are part of this, although I am usually a few days or weeks behind, partly because of the garden and what I am trying to plant also creates extra work.

I finally baked the apple pie I had in mind more than a week ago. For this, I used apples that were still there and I cooked applesauce from the peels. It's the first time I've used apple peels to make applesauce and it turned out well (I also had some pieces of apple leftover that were meant for the apple pie).

How to make applesauce from peels and cores?

This is no different from cooking apple pieces.

Once cooked/soft (with a little water) I put everything through a sieve and stir until only the skins and seeds remain. No waste is the motto and because there are no chickens yet, this would otherwise end up on the compost heap (other times perhaps).

What is left after using the stirring sieve.

The applesauce is nearly ready. I added some extra water, cinnamon, 1 tablespoon of sugar and cooked it for a few minutes.

So I baked an apple pie from the apples I had plus I made applesauce. This was enough for two jars, but because I only have one empty jar, the remaining applesauce has been put in a Tupperware container. We will eat this tomorrow. Applesauce is delicious with Brussels sprouts and also on the pancake. The applesauce made from the apple peels and cores is by the way quite thick. It's easy to make thinner applesauce by adding more water. Because the apples I used didn't have much taste, I added some cinnamon and 1 tablespoon of sugar.

The stirring sieve has three sieves of different sizes. I always use the middle one, but when you use a smaller size, the applesauce also has a finer texture.

I bought mine used on the market a few weeks ago. These sieves are quite expensive new but this one does the job well enough. My last one was stolen from my house years ago. Who knows, I may have bought back my own stirrer? By the way, these sieves are also great for making tomato soup, tomato sauce and jam. You throw in the fruits and stir and that's all you need to do. It also does not cost electricity, which is nice too.

Coincidentally, I came across a baker's site on the Internet when I was looking for soft rolls. As a kid, I loved poppy seed sandwiches and wanted to try making these. I don't know if these soft rolls are typically Dutch but I haven't seen them in any other country. Frankly, I have no idea why they are so soft because like the other sandwiches I used to bake and the Turkish bread there is little difference in the recipe. Could it be the milk or the fact that no sugar is used to make the yeast rise?

Ingredients

You need 400 grams of flour (I have the cheapest one and it worked out great), 272 grams of lukewarm milk, 2 teaspoons of salt, 8 grams of dry yeast or 20 grams of fresh yeast (I used fresh yeast) 25 grams of melted and cooled butter.

How to?

Mix everything (I added the salt last) and knead to a smooth dough. Let the dough rise with a clean cloth over it until it has approximately doubled in size.

Divide the dough into equal pieces (you can weigh this, I made 10 balls next time it will be 12), make balls and let them rest for 25 minutes.

"Bulb" the balls again and roll them over a wet cloth. Next, you push them through the poppy seeds (or sesame seeds or whatever you like. You can also make without seeds.).

Place the balls on a baking tray about 3 centimetres apart (cover with a clean cloth) and let rise until the balls have doubled in size (they will be next to each other).

How long the rising time should depend on the temperature at which the dough rises. The first time I let the dough rise outside because it was warmer there than inside. The second and third times I did it in the kitchen and made the apple pie and applesauce.

The balls are baked for 12-15 minutes at 230 degrees Celsius. So you need the most time to let the dough rise. The baking time is very short (and my gas bottle is now empty) but I ha

The end of the story? My children are extremely happy with eating this soft bread which makes my day a good one even if I didn't do what I had in mind.

If you don't know how to make a ball (rolls) you can watch this video

#kittywu #life #homemade #food