Current mood: Autumn is coming…
We were going to have Deirdre and family over for Sunday dinner but they got sick. I didn't know this until my pork was all roasted!
So I thought I'd take the opportunity tell you, if you didn't already know, that a roasted pork loin can be sliced and frozen and it will appear another day, all moist and tasty!
The way to roast it so it's moist in the first place is described here. Somehow I figured out that this seasoned crust is the secret to the loin, which is pretty lean, coming out tasty and not at all dry, quite the opposite!
I have taken a roast pork meal to a family in need many times and I always get compliments on how beautifully cooked it is — and yet, it could not be easier!
The main thing is to coat it with the paste and roast it at a relatively low temperature.
When it's done, if you want to freeze it or a portion of it, let it cool completely and slice it. Arrange a pan with heavy-duty aluminum foil, place the slices on there, pour the pan drippings over them, wrap it up well, and pop it into the freezer.
If you are using a pan you don't want to lose to the depths of the freezer, place the package in a plastic bag once it's all frozen. I used a disposable aluminum pan, lined with foil, topped with wax paper, and well wrapped with more foil.
When you are ready to reheat it, just remove the plastic (if you used it), let it thaw for a few hours, and reheat in a 350° oven for about 20 minutes or until everything is thoroughly warmed up. Take the foil on top off for the last 10 minutes.
Sourdough Practice Corner
This week I decided to make the sandwich loaves from King Arthur along with you.
To demonstrate how incapable I am of following a recipe or even reading it, I will tell you that someone in the Substack chat had to point out to me that the recipe calls for yeast in addition to the starter!
But actually, I think this turns out to be a good thing for our project.
Make the recipe again, and this time use half the amount of yeast. Make it a third time (I am assuming that you have all the demand where you are for sandwich bread, especially this tasty one that toasts up beautifully as well) — and leave the yeast out completely.
It's pretty hard to show you the steps of the recipe in photos — the blobs of dough in the bowl don't amount to much! — but I basically just took half my starter out of the jar, put it in the bowl and added the flour and water called for in the recipe, and then fed the starter in my jar.
Some people like to feed what's in the jar and then take out the amount called for in the recipe (it will say something like “one cup/200g mature starter”). But I prefer to do it in two parts for two reasons (and don't worry, we'll go over this again):
- It prevents me from accidentally using everything in my starter jar — i.e. using all my starter in the recipe! This is a tragedy that occurs more often than you would expect! If I leave a small amount in my jar, feeding the two amounts separately, the tragedy will be averted.
- I would need a bigger jar. There isn't room enough for feeding it enough to provide the levain for the recipe and leave some behind. But I like using this size jar. It's roomy enough for my small amount of starter to be fed and rise, and even for me to do that twice if I'm wanting to build it up, but not so big it takes up space in my fridge.*
*Some people keep an even smaller amount in the fridge and some have a big crock on the counter. We will talk about all that later. You insisted I tell you how I do it so this is it!
Here's what my levain looked like when I mixed it:
And here's what it looked like just three hours after (not 12 as it says in the recipe):
Here's all the ingredients in the mixer. Not going to lie, I probably did something wrong even though I was following the recipe, I promise you because the dough was pretty dry, so I did add more milk. By the way, I used milk, not dry milk powder, because we're always trying to use up our milk around here with just the two of us (virtual non-milk-drinkers).
And I also didn't do the sugar — I did 2 tablespoons of honey instead. Honey does somewhat suppress the leavening action, so there's that.
But what I want to say now is this:
As you make this recipe, note how full your mixer bowl (or whatever you are mixing in) looks. Note the level of the levain and the level of the flour in the bowl.
Personally, I would make this recipe with a bit more volume, as I think the two pans could be more full with dough. But the important thing is to train your eye as to the levels of ingredients, because someday soon you are going to learn to just put a certain amount of flour in the bowl without measuring out cups or grams — you'll do it by eye!
At least, that's how I do it! But you have to follow the recipe a bunch of times first.
Here's how it looked when it was risen:
You can see I have plenty of room in there for twice as much risen dough.
At this point, I put the whole bowl in the fridge, covered with a wet dish towel, because it was time for me to go to bed.
Here's how it looked when I took it out the next day and turned it out on the island:
I gently divided it in half (this is the one part I get OCD about and have to measure precisely, even though it actually baked up looking like one is bigger and one smaller).
Gently shape and put dough in the pans. I let the dough rise and then I put it in the fridge.
I think with the yeast these loaves probably rise more and so in the recipe, the volume is correct for the pan. Yeast loaves are just more airy overall. I might increase the flour and milk a bit next time.
It's very delicious and buttery with a great texture!
How did yours turn out? If you want to show me, you can post on Instagram and tag me!
Remember this week to try the recipe with half or no yeast! And if you are feeling “advanced,” try doubling the recipe!
Tell me how it's going!
bits & pieces
- Taylor Swift Does Not Belong in Your Christian Era —I agree that our daughters deserve better role models, and I would add that whoever they are, they should not come from pop culture.
- Book Summary: The Rape of the Mind by Joost Meerloo — I believe that this book is one recommended by, among others, Stella Morabito. If you can't read the whole book, this summary is a good one, with important points about how to resist mobs and totalitarian mind control.
from the archives
- When kids do dishes, they open up
- I had more about goldenrod in this post, plus there is a handful of Qs & As, Auntie-Leila style. I'm behind right now on answering emails, speaking of that! Sorry — I'll try to get caught up soon!
liturgical living
The meditation for the Ember Saturday in that link is well worth reading!
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Dixie says
I have never had a pork roast turn out anything other than dry, so I’m excited to try this method tomorrow! Thanks!
Leila says
Great! Let me know how it turns out!