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Noodlelady's blog

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Noodlelady

In March I demonstrated 19th century Pennsylvania German Open Hearth Cooking at a historic site near me. I mixed up a batch of my favorite sourdough the night before and brought it along to rise near the fire in my rye straw baskets. My sourdough is now over a year old and very reliable. It's always amazing to me how well the loaves come out. (Sorry no photos this time.) The site does not have oven, so I baked a loaf at a time in a pie dish inside my cast iron dutch oven. I also baked a batch of sticky buns with a sweet dough. Visitors were amazed that the baked goods came out of the dutch oven. While I was waiting for things to proof and bake, I boiled up some chicken bot boi (pot pie), fried up scrapple, and boiled eggs in water and onion skins to color them (it was an Easter event). Being able to bring history alive by baking and cooking as historically accurate as I know, gives me great satisfaction. More events to come this spring and summer. Fun!

At home I've been hungry for cinnamon raisin bread, rye bread, and oatmeal bread. So those were baked in the last few weeks. I also baked a fennel seed bread. Wow, you really have to like the anise flavor! Interesting though!

Noodlelady's picture
Noodlelady

This weekend I made the Fresh Herb Twist from Daniel Leader's Local Breads. It uses 3 fresh herbs — thyme and rosemary (from my garden) and basil. It was delicious with my beef vegetable stew!

Fresh Herb Twist

Fresh Herb Twist

Fresh Herb Twist crumb

Fresh Herb Twist crumb

Noodlelady's picture
Noodlelady

Sourdough and Garlic Sourdough

Sourdough and Garlic Sourdough

This past weekend I baked 4 loaves of sourdough; 2 plain and 2 with roasted garlic. The 2 garlic breads (middle) I baked on my stone and the other two I baked one at a time in my cast iron dutch oven. I'm used to baking in my dutch oven with coals from a wood fire, but I wanted to try it in my home oven since reading all about it here on The Fresh Loaf. I baked them about a half an hour with the lid on then about 20 min with the lid off. The texture of the crust is a bit crunchier than the ones baked on the stone, but otherwise not much difference.

Noodlelady's picture
Noodlelady

My interest in the 19th century comes from researching my family history. Four of my ancestors were soldiers during the American Civil War (1861-1865). This peaked my interest in doing more than just researching names and dates. I have been participating in living history events and reenactments (with my Civil War reenacting unit) and teaching the ways of a typical 19th century Pennsylvania German woman since 2000. I dress the part and strive for authenticity by using reproductions or originals items.


Preparing and cooking 1800s-style food (mostly Pennsylvania German food) became my passion. I first began by making homemade noodles (hence the nickname Noodle Lady) and drying herbs at my tables. Now I can prepare an entire meal using my cast iron dutch ovens and fry pans using a wood fire and coals. At first, I always made some sort of bread at home and brought it with me. Then I began baking potato rolls at events, which are now a staple with my beef vegetable stew, but I've always wondered about the homemade yeast my ancestors would have been using during that time period.

 Potato rolls baked in the Dutch Oven.

Potato rolls baked in the Dutch Oven

 

Sticky Buns

Sticky Buns (of course the "sticky" is on the bottom!)

 

So this year I began my first sourdough starter and read through almost every sourdough post on theFreshLoaf! Now a “teacup of yeast” in those old recipes makes sense! In June I was brave enough to take my starter with me to an event and bake a couple of loaves. People were fascinated. It sparked a lot of conversations. The loaves came out great. I had to have rye straw baskets to proof the dough in, so I took a class and made my own. This year I even grew my own rye straw to continue making baskets.

Dutch Oven Sourdough

Dutch Oven Sourdough

 

Sourdough in Rye Basket

Sourdough in Rye Basket


Of course I can't do a Pa. German impression if I don't have some kind of rye bread. I've made the recipe for Pumpernickel from P. Reinhart's book, "The Bread Baker's Apprentice" and received the greatest compliment...a German exchange student visiting one of my events tasted the bread and remarked that it reminded her of home. I was thrilled!

I now also have the opportunity to do cooking/baking demonstrations at the hearth in a farmhouse at a historic site. It's much better and more controlled when I'm not battling the wind or rain.

Hearth

Hearth


I continue to learn as I bake and feel more connected to the family members who came before me. And my collection of old cookbooks and "receipts" continue to grow!

In "Early American Cookery–The Good Housekeeper–1841" the author says, "There are three things which must be exactly right, in order to have good bread–the quality of the yeast; the lightness or fermentation of the dough; and the heat of the oven. No precise rules can be given to ascertain these points. It requires observation, reflection, and a quick, nice judgement, to decide when all are right...the woman who always has good home-baked bread on the table shows herself to have good sense and good management."

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