Good morning, Fare weather friends. As summer rounds the corner and heads toward August's beginnings, I am thinking of summertime mealtime memories ... and wondering about yours.
How did you prepare the pricey corn you found in local markets? Got any tips for barbecue? What did you cook from your garden, and how?
Here's one Exchanger's memory that hopefully will jog your grateful memory of a repast. "Envision a sunset cruise on a Lake Chickamauga boat with a meal of bourbon-glazed salmon and roasted veggies, strawberries and whipped cream and chocolate chip pie. It actually happened. And the best part: The young captain of the boat is also the chef and sits at the head of his ship's table with a hearty prayer of thanks." We hope there will be more than one of you — you who are reading — who will get such an invitation.
SALT-RISING BREAD
As we head into answers, it's nothing but bread — loaves and rolls from the bakery, online and even from ready-made dough. (Nothing from scratch today, but maybe next week.)
N.C. was in Tracy City, Tennessee, and found an answer to a recent query. "Dutch Maid Bakery in Tracy City has salt-rising bread. We bought some two weeks ago." This is the bread one requester loves for its toastiness.
Then came Mary Ann McInturff with the same source and some buying options. "I've been enjoying salt-rising bread since I was a child. My current source is the Dutch Maid Bakery, 109 Main St., Tracy City, TN 37387, 931-592-3171, www.dutchmaid.net. I order online from their website, usually four or five loaves at a time since there is a fairly substantial shipping charge. I freeze the loaves, then keep one loaf in the refrigerator to slice, toast and butter to enjoy with my breakfast every morning.
"Go online to read about the history of the bakery. It was opened by the Baggenstoss family in 1902. The current owner, Cindy Day, uses all the old equipment and the old recipes."
Day and the bakery were recently featured on Guy Fieri's "All-American Road Trip."
CINNAMON ROLLS
The delight of kneading one's own bread is a fine thing. However, even frozen yeast doughs can yield memorable results. For Margaret McNeil, who is at the helm of margaretsmorsels.blogspot.com, frozen roll dough makes a versatile template.
She explained, "They are a real time saver and can be used for monkey bread, cinnamon rolls and a myriad of other dishes. Although I don't have to make the bread, I still need to plan ahead of time since the rolls have to be thawed overnight in the refrigerator."
Watch for Bridgford and Rhodes brands in the freezer section of the supermarket; both sell three-loaf packages of bread. (Watch also for Ms. McNeil's garlic rolls next week.)
The recipe that follows calls for using one loaf, but the designer of this recipe, Feathered Nester, added, "Triple the recipe and make all three loaves of frozen bread dough and you'll have 36 cinnamon rolls."
Easy Cinnamon Rolls
This recipe uses frozen bread dough for the cinnamon rolls.
1 loaf (1 pound) frozen bread dough, thawed (see notes below on thawing frozen dough)
¼ cup (4 tablespoons) butter, melted and cooled
½ cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Thawed bread dough should be cool but pliable. On a floured surface, roll out the dough into the shape of a rectangle, about 18- by 12- by ½-inch thick. If the cinnamon roll dough is difficult to roll, use your fingertips to dimple the dough and let it rest for 15 to 30 minutes to warm. Then lightly smooth the dough with the roller, keeping the rectangular size of 18- by 12- and ½-inch thick. Using a pastry brush, spread the melted butter on the dough, leaving a ½-inch margin around the edges.
In a small bowl, stir together the granulated sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle evenly over the butter. If needed, use the back of a spoon or spatula to level out the sugar mixture.
Carefully roll up the dough lengthwise. Start at the bottom edge of the dough, and slowly work your way to the other side of the dough, rolling as you go along. Starting in the center of the roll of dough, use a sharp knife or waxed dental floss to cut the dough in half. Then cut each roll into 6 rolls, for a total of 12 cinnamon rolls. Place the rolls into a greased casserole dish, leaving about 1 inch of space between each cinnamon bun.
For make-ahead cinnamon rolls: Let the rolls rise overnight in the refrigerator, then skip to the next step in the morning. Be sure to use a refrigerator-to-oven-safe baking pan.
To make now: Cover and let the dough rise in a warm, draft-free area for 45 to 60 minutes until doubled in size (Rolls should be almost touching). Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until deep golden in color. Let cool while you prepare the butter icing topping.
For the butter icing:
2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons butter, melted
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 tablespoons heavy cream, half-and-half or whole milk
Using a hand or stand mixer, cream together the powdered sugar and butter on medium speed for 30 to 45 seconds. Add the vanilla extract and cream or half-and-half or milk to the bowl, and continue mixing at medium speed until smooth and creamy. Once the rolls have cooled for 15 minutes, spread the icing over the top of the rolls. Serve warm.
Notes: To make ahead cinnamon rolls (as overnight cinnamon rolls), I recommend thawing the frozen dough on the countertop. Pull it from the freezer, and let the loaf (or loaves) thaw before dinner. That way you can prepare them after dinner and let the dough rise overnight in the refrigerator.
As today's Exchange ends, I am thinking of frequent contributors over the years. Some of you make yourselves known by name, others are more mysterious: say, Signal Mountain Rose or Mr. and Mrs. Sunday. Please keep writing, cloaked in anonymity or by name. You simply ARE this column.
Requests
— Recipes for summer corn, other crops
— Barbecue tips
(READ MORE: What is barbecue in Chattanooga? It's a little bit of everything)
To Reach Us:
Fare Exchange is a longtime meeting place for people who love to cook and love to eat. We welcome both your recipes and your requests. Be sure to include precise instructions for every recipe you send, and know we cannot test the recipes printed here.
Mailing address: Jane Henegar, 913 Mount Olive Road, Lookout Mountain, GA 30750
E-mail: chattfare@gmail.com