Frypan “baking” on an induction hotplate (or Refleks diesel heater top or stove top)

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by LostBiker

Ok - heres an old recipe for yeast rolls that my Mother made every Thanksgiving and Christmas.
2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast.
1/4C warm water
1/3C white sugar
1/4C softened butter
1 teaspoon salt
1C hot milk
1 egg lightly beaten
4 1/2C all purpose flour
2 tablespoon butter for brushing on rolls

Dissolve yeast in warm water in a large bowl and let it foam for 10 minutes.
Add sugar, the 1/4C butter, and salt to the hot milk and stir till dissolved.
It says to cool the mixture to 110 degrees.
Add milk mixture to yeast and then mix in egg.

Beat in the 4 cups flour, ONE cup at a time to 4 cups. The last 1/2 cup of flour is for to dust a pastry cloth.(?)
Knead dough for 5 minutes.
Dust hands and pastry cloth.
Put dough and cover in warm, buttered bowl and let double in size.
Punch down and knead for 5 minutes on the lightly dusted pastry cloth using very little flour for dusting your hands.
Cut dough into 4 pieces and then pinch off dough from each piece to make a ball about 1 3/4 inches.
As you roll the balls, pull sides down and under to shape the roll.
Place rolls bottom side down and in rows not quite touching in a buttered 13x9x2 inch pan.
Cover rolls and let double in size in a warm place.
Brush with melted butter and bake at 375* for 18 minutes or nicely browned.

I had to poorly translate this from Polish, so I hope I got it right and you can understand what it all involves. I really miss these rolls. Time to learn!

John

Progress report:

The dough is now rising .

I followed your recipe fairly closely. The main difference was that I used bread flour, not all purpose flour (I have consistently found it gives a much better result when using yeast). Also, I needed about ¼ cup less flour to produce a totally non sticky dough once I had kneaded for a couple of minutes, so I didn’t add it all. Given the dough was specified as being left to rise in a buttered bowl, I had no idea what the pastry cloth was for, so the extra ½ cup of flour wasn’t used either.

It is not warm on board, so it will take a few more hours until the dough has risen after shaping. I may speed things up with a hot water bottle. I am not known for my patience .

Meanwhile, another batch of soup is simmering on the Refleks. Its hotplate will be used non stop today, probably why it has not heated the boat as much as usual by this time in the afternoon.

SWL

[LostBiker]

Good morning! Yes, SWL she made Paska every Easter. I have the recipe if you would like it.


Blueberry upside down cake - I got one small piece before starving children ate it all. Next one will be pineapple. Does look about right?




I was up at 0400 to make biscuits this morning in the iron skillet using your method. I put the buttermilk, flour and butter out on the deck to get cold. Then when I cut in the butter in with a knife, I also put my hands in and rubbed the butter into the flour a bit. Added the buttermilk and gently mixed and then gently folded the mix a few times to make sure everything was combined. I used just a bit more buttermilk to make it a bit more wet.


Gently patted the dough down on the counter (very lightly dusted) to about 1/2 inch high (guesstimate). I used a little butter in the skillet and put the biscuits in the pan - flipped after 6 minutes and they came out golden brown on each side. Came out 1 1/4 inch in height








You can peel the biscuits apart easily by pulling gently on the crisp bottoms. Splits right down the middle. Makes 12 by the way.

I immediately ate 4 of them with orange marmalade. That will be an extra mile to run today.

I have you to thank for the added boost of confidence to just jump in the deep end as I call it and just start baking!

John

[LostBiker]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

Progress report:

The dough is now rising .

I followed your recipe fairly closely. The main difference was that I used bread flour, not all purpose flour (I have consistently found it gives a much better result when using yeast). Also, I needed about ¼ cup less flour to produce a totally non sticky dough once I had kneaded for a couple of minutes, so I didn’t add it all. Given the dough was specified as being left to rise in a buttered bowl, I had no idea what the pastry cloth was for, so the extra ½ cup of flour wasn’t used either.

It is not warm on board, so it will take a few more hours until the dough has risen after shaping. I may speed things up with a hot water bottle. I am not known for my patience .

Meanwhile, another batch of soup is simmering on the Refleks. Its hotplate will be used non stop today, probably why it has not heated the boat as much as usual by this time in the afternoon.

SWL

Oh! Sorry. The pastry cloth was nothing but a piece of canvas cloth that she rolled things out on and used to cover the bowl with - I remember that much. They make silicone ones now, so nothing sticks on it. Sorry for the confusion. I just use the counter, but maybe its time for a silicone sheet to work on as Im getting flour all over things now.



I just ordered a lot of White Lily AP and Bread flour. My son and his wife are very interested in baking now - I guess my prior attempts were not as good as I thought. I need to start to translate a whole bunch of my Mothers recipes soon.



Are we having fun yet? Oh, yes! Yes indeed! Cant wait to get more space though.



John

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by LostBiker

Good morning! Yes, SWL she made Paska every Easter. I have the recipe if you would like it.

I would love to know how she made it. I have not tried making a Polish one.

Originally Posted by LostBiker

Blueberry upside down cake - I got one small piece before starving children ate it all. Next one will be pineapple. Does look about right?

That looks AWESOME! I bet the kids loved it! Just about any fresh fruit apart from citrus works. It you have several hungry anklebiters around, just keep filling the frypan. There is no time delay waiting for these to rise.

I have been truly surprised how well all these treats that are traditionally made in an oven, cook in a frypan. Apart from the cakes being thinner by necessity, the texture is perfect and they are absolutely evenly cooked, unlike full sized cakes that are often a touch drier at the edges by the time the centre is baked.

I am a convert!!!

Originally Posted by LostBiker

I was up at 0400 to make biscuits this morning in the iron skillet using your method. I put the buttermilk, flour and butter out on the deck to get cold. Then when I cut in the butter in with a knife, I also put my hands in and rubbed the butter into the flour a bit. Added the buttermilk and gently mixed and then gently folded the mix a few times to make sure everything was combined. I used just a bit more buttermilk to make it a bit more wet.

Were they any better than usual? They look excellent. My mouth is watering looking at them, remembering how good they taste.

Now keep in mind this advice is coming from someone who has precisely one batch of “Biker’s Scones” under her belt , but I think it may be even better not to mix until everything is uniformly combined. Next time be brave and just barely mix enough with only the cutting edge of a table knife to vaguely combine it all (kind of cut it together, the flour does not need to totally disappear), then tip it out and pat it down super lightly to a biggish rectangle and fold this over (with the help of a spatula) to make 3 layers before pressing out the rounds. I think you will be rewarded with an even flakier, lighter result. If not, I promise you the worst thing that can happen is that they will still be very edible .

I am a long way away so I don’t need to make a run for it if this is not the case .

Originally Posted by LostBiker

I have you to thank for the added boost of confidence to just jump in the deep end as I call it and just start baking!

John

It is a real pleasure to help introduce someone to baking. I hope it brings you a heap of satisfaction . I have learned lots too from you.

Your mum’s rolls are progressing here. I have just pinched off tablespoons of dough and formed mini versions of the balls as directed. Eight of these have been placed on my little frypan and now they need to rise again, then I will butter the tops and pop them on the Refleks.

SWL

[LostBiker]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

I would love to know how she made it. I have not tried making a Polish one.



That looks AWESOME! I bet the kids loved it! Just about any fresh fruit apart from citrus works. It you have several hungry anklebiters around, just keep filling the frypan. There is no time delay waiting for these to rise.

I have been truly surprised how well all these treats that are traditionally made in an oven, cook in a frypan. Apart from the cakes being thinner by necessity, the texture is perfect and they are absolutely evenly cooked, unlike full sized cakes that are often a touch drier at the edges by the time the centre is baked.

I am a convert!!!



Were they any better than usual? They look excellent. My mouth is watering looking at them, remembering how good they taste.

Now keep in mind this advice is coming from someone who has precisely one batch of “Biker’s Scones” under her belt , but I think it may be even better not to mix until everything is uniformly combined. Next time be brave and just barely mix enough with only the cutting edge of a table knife to vaguely combine it all (the flour does not need to totally disappear), then tip it out and pat it down super lightly to a biggish rectangle and fold this over (with the help of a spatula) to make 3 layers before pressing out the rounds. I think you will be rewarded with an even flakier, lighter result. If not, I promise you the worst thing that can happen is that they will still be very edible .

I am a long way away so I don’t need to run if this is not the case .




It is a real pleasure to help introduce someone to baking. I hope it brings you a heap of satisfaction .

Your mum’s rolls are progressing here. I have just pinched off tablespoons of dough and formed mini versions of the balls as directed. Eight of these have been placed on my little frypan and now they need to rise again, then I will butter the tops and pop them on the Refleks.

SWL

I'll post the recipe here in a bit then for the Paska.



Were they - the biscuits - better? Like night and day better - not dense at all, just soft, buttery tasting and tender inside with a crunchy top and bottom. Even the cats stole one from the plate - thats never happened before. I'll make another batch today as we have neighbors over and the rest are gone now . Its nice to be the popular kid for a change .


Ah, that makes a lot more sense to make a rectangle, fold over 2x for 3 layers like that and press down. Dont worry, I'll get there!



You making those rolls will be the first Ive seen with that recipe in over 20yrs.



John

[Seaworthy Lass]

Your mum’s yeast rolls are covered in the frypan on the Refleks and starting to smell delicious, so I will lift the lid in a sec and check how they look. The tops will be white, but may be cooked. Not sure if I should flip them or not.

SWL

[LostBiker]

Ok - heres the Paska recipe and instructions.

1.5C milk
1/2C sugar plus 1/2 teaspoon
1/2C lukewarm water
2 1/4 teaspoon active dry yeast
7 1/2C all purpose flour divided (thats what it says)
3 large eggs room temp beaten
1/3C melted butter
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 egg room temp for the egg wash


1 Scald the milk and cool to lukewarm.
2 Dissolve 1/2 teaspoon sugar in water and sprinkle yeast over it. Mix and let stand 10 minutes.
3 Combine yeast mixture with cooled scalded milk and 2 1/2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Cover and let rise.
4 Add eggs, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, melted butter, salt and 4 1/2 to 5 cups of the remaining flour to make a dough that is not too taut and not too slack. (she used the word "luzny", so not too "taut").
5 Knead until dough no longer sticks to hand and is smooth and satiny. (not shiny?)

6 Place dough in a greased bowl, turn to grease both sides, cover and let rise until doubled. Punch down and let rise again.
7 Save 1/3 of the dough for decorating.(?) Shape the rest into a round loaf and place in a 10 to 12 inch greased round pan.
8 Shape the saved dough into decorations and arrange on top of the dough.

9 Cover pan and let rise until almost doubled.
10 Heat oven to 400F. Brush bread with 1 large egg beaten with 2 tablespoons water. Bake 15 minutes.
11 Reduce temperature to 350 F and bake an additional 40 minutes or until a thermometer registers 190 F. If needed, cover the top of the bread with aluminum foil to prevent over browning.
12 Remove from oven and place onto a wire rack to cool completely.


Thats as good as I can interpret. I havent had to speak or read this for 20yrs, so I hope it makes sense to you.


John

[Seaworthy Lass]

Verdict: a great success!

They needed to be flipped, as the top was not just pale, but a bit undercooked and the bottom was already a little browner than ideal.

So the individual rolls ended up not retaining their rounded tops, but my tastebuds are oblivious to this .

I had to sample one immediately and it was yummy! We are about to share a few buttered with honey that was collected straight from a beehive drizzled over. The rest of the raw dough is chilling in the cockpit until I shape, leave to rise and cook another lot again tomorrow. There is enough for a few panfuls.

John, no wonder you have missed these! You need to get cracking making a batch .

Again, many thanks. I am gaining more and more confidence about just what can be “baked” in a pan. I think our gas oven is about to sit largely unused.

SWL

First photo was taken when flipped after cooking for 16 minutes covered. Second is the other side (the original top) after the lot was flipped and cooked another 4 minutes uncovered:

[Seaworthy Lass]

All I can hear are mmmmmmm noises coming from the other settee in the pilothouse .

SWL

[LostBiker]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

Verdict: a great success!

They needed to be flipped, as the top was not just pale, but a bit undercooked and the bottom was already a little browner than ideal.

So the individual rolls ended up not retaining their rounded tops, but my tastebuds are oblivious to this .

I had to sample one immediately and it was yummy! We are about to share a few buttered with honey that was collected straight from a beehive drizzled over. The rest of the raw dough is chilling in the cockpit until I shape, leave to rise and cook another lot again tomorrow. There is enough for a few panfuls.

John, no wonder you have missed these! You need to get cracking making a batch .

Again, many thanks. I am gaining more and more confidence about just what can be “baked” in a pan. I think our gas oven is about to sit largely unused.

SWL

First photo was taken when flipped after cooking for 16 minutes covered. Second is the other side (the original top) after the lot was flipped and cooked another 4 minutes uncovered:

I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo jealous right now. Dont you worry, I'll get there this weekend. I'm being accused of trying to make the women around here obsolete. Thats not good.



Flat or rounded - they taste good though, right? So brown the bottoms and flip and brown a little then should be good? You lucky your really far away otherwise I would be beating on your hull offering you many shiny things for a fresh baked roll like Mama used to make.



I used to go to reenactments of the War Between The States and many of the groups cooked with cast iron pans and dutch ovens over small fires. Wish I would have paid more attention then as they made authentic breads and biscuits and other things. The whole area smelled great in the mornings and evenings.


Im really glad someone else gets to try these recipes and likes them. I feel bad now because I've wasted a lot of years not learning something my Mom spent a lot of time doing for her family. Time to make up for it!



John

[LostBiker]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

All I can hear are mmmmmmm noises coming from the other settee in the pilothouse .

SWL

Ooooooooooooo - now thats just mean!



John

[LostBiker]

Not pretty, but it still smells good! I used fresh pineapple.




I believe this will the "best" all around type of cake from now on. So easy to make!


John

[Seaworthy Lass]

Originally Posted by LostBiker

Ooooooooooooo - now thats just mean!

I have a naughty streak .

Originally Posted by LostBiker

I am sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo jealous right now. Dont you worry, I'll get there this weekend. I'm being accused of trying to make the women around here obsolete. Thats not good.

Flat or rounded - they taste good though, right? So brown the bottoms and flip and brown a little then should be good? You lucky your really far away otherwise I would be beating on your hull offering you many shiny things for a fresh baked roll like Mama used to make.

I used to go to reenactments of the War Between The States and many of the groups cooked with cast iron pans and dutch ovens over small fires. Wish I would have paid more attention then as they made authentic breads and biscuits and other things. The whole area smelled great in the mornings and evenings.

Im really glad someone else gets to try these recipes and likes them. I feel bad now because I've wasted a lot of years not learning something my Mom spent a lot of time doing for her family. Time to make up for it!

John

As they say: Better late then never.
These rolls were absolutely delicious and are really quite simple to make. You just need to allow plenty of time for them to rise (and I would give it two lots of rises before shaping, as your Paska recipe does), but the actual hands on time is low. The dough description of “satiny” in the Paska recipe is absolutely spot on. This is exactly how the dough for the rolls looked and felt as well.

Yes, if you are not using an oven, cook covered in the frypan until the bottoms are coloured lightly brown (the low lid will create a lot of heat under it so the tops will cook at the same time a reasonable amount, but not fully). Don’t open the lid to check until it starts to smell good, as the heat on the top will be lost. Then flip and leave uncovered so the browned side does not go soft. It does not need long on the other side, as the frypan is by this time very hot and the dough itself is fairly warm. I found 4 minutes on the second side was about right.

My mum did not reach a ripe old age. She died 20 years ago this past May, but her recipes live on, as I tried to record them as best I could. It was hard as she would rarely follow a written recipe and would simply often refer to quantities as “a bit” or “a reasonable amount” or “a handful or two”, which didn’t help me at all when I first tried to replicate these. When my nephew married, I wrote out all these old recipes in a leather bound book for them and this is now dog eared and treasured.

I bet your grandchildren and great-grandchildren would find your mum’s recipes fascinating, even if your kids haven’t been very interested up to now, so consider translating them all for posterity.

And in the meantime post any possible suitable ones here .

SWL

[LostBiker]

Originally Posted by Seaworthy Lass

I have a naughty streak .





As they say: Better late then never.
These rolls were absolutely delicious and are really quite simple to make. You just need to allow plenty of time for them to rise (and I would give it two lots of rises before shaping, as your Paska recipe does), but the actual hands on time is low. The dough description of “satiny” in the Paska recipe is absolutely spot on. This is exactly how the dough for the rolls looked and felt as well.

Yes, if you are not using an oven, cook covered in the frypan until the bottoms are coloured lightly brown (the low lid will create a lot of heat under it so the tops will cook at the same time a reasonable amount, but not fully). Don’t open the lid to check until it starts to smell good, as the heat on the top will be lost. Then flip and leave uncovered so the browned side does not go soft. It does not need long on the other side, as the frypan is by this time very hot and the dough itself is fairly warm. I found 4 minutes on the second side was about right.

My mum did not reach a ripe old age. She died 20 years ago this past May, but her recipes live on, as I tried to record them as best I could. It was hard as she would rarely follow a written recipe and would simply often refer to quantities as “a bit” or “a reasonable amount” or “a handful or two”, which didn’t help me at all when I first tried to replicate these. When my nephew married, I wrote out all these old recipes in a leather bound book for them and this is now dog eared and treasured.

I bet your grandchildren and great-grandchildren would find your mum’s recipes fascinating, even if your kids haven’t been very interested up to now, so consider translating them all for posterity.

And in the meantime post any possible suitable ones here .

SWL

Yep! The old recipes are in a box and we're going thru them, but many of them need some translation. I told Liz that anything with the word "chleb" will go in the bread pile. We need to get a diary and write everything in. Some of the notes are as you say - "about a cup" and "just a bit/little" and so on. No worries - they will be posted.



Sorry to hear about your Mother - Our kids were young teens when my Mom died of cancer back in '96 at 64 years of age, so they didnt get to see as much of her as we wanted. We were usually half a world away most of the time. Our twin grandkids however, are spoiled rotten by us now. Our daughter hasnt married yet, but we keep hoping!


One really great thing is that the entire boat smells like bread.



We just bought a 24 set of the lock and lock storage containers - Engel sent us a coupon and it was a really good deal. We've heard nothing but good things about them.



Im going for a run in a bit, but when I get back I'll get on the recipes. Theres still some pizza dough left, so pizza again tonight - I know, its terrible to have to eat pizza all the time.



Later


John

[LostBiker]

Found my Mothers lost khruchiki recipe. Its just a simple Polish cookie that has to be tasted to believe. I would be sent a big box from Mom every Christmas when deployed or TDY. It can be made in a skillet or pan on the Refleks Im sure, SWL, but you have to cook with oil.



4 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt
1 Cup cold butter
4 lg egg yolks
1 Cup evaporated milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Oil for deep fat frying
Confectioners sugar


1. In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. In another bowl, beat egg yolks until foamy; add milk and vanilla. Stir into crumb mixture until dough is stiff enough to knead.
2. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; knead 8-10 times. Divide dough into 4 pieces. Roll each portion into a 1/4 inch thick rectangle; cut into 4 x 1 1/2inch strips. Cut a 2 inch lengthwise slit down the middle of each strip; pull one of the ends through the slit like a bow.
3. In an electric skillet or deep-fat fryer, heat oil to 375°. Fry dough strips, a few at a time, until golden brown on both sides. Drain on paper towels. Dust with confectioners’ sugar.
Thats it!

John