Every Monday, I answer a few of the questions that my readers send me. If you have a question you want me to answer in a future Q&A post, just leave me a comment here or email me(thefrugalgirl [at] gmail [dot] com) and put Q&A in the subject line. Your question doesn’t have to be about frugality per se…if you wonder something about photography or homeschooling or about me, among other things, ask away and I’ll do my best to answer. 
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First off, a lot of you asked about my granola and yogurt recipes. I try to categorize my posts so that you can find things by looking through the categories list, but there is also a handy-dandy search box up in the right corner of my blog. I mostly use that when I’m looking for a particular post. So, give that a try if you want an answer right away.
For some reason, my yogurt post is loathe to come up in a search, so here’s the link for it: Yogurt Recipe
And those of you looking for my granola recipe can find it here.
Now, onto some other questions!
Calimama from Compact By Design wrote in with two questions.
I was thrilled to make your buttermilk waffles this weekend, they were delicious. I was wondering though, what else do you use buttermilk for? I wouldn’t know what all to use it for before it went bad. I used powdered and although the taste was great the consistency was definitely looser than yours.
I don’t usually have a problem using up my buttermilk, as I have to make two or three times the waffle recipe to feed the six of us! There are a number of other things you can use it for, though. You can make buttermilk pancakes, whole wheat buttermilk pancakes, buttermilk biscuits, and also you can use it in the quick bread recipe I posted recently.
Buttermilk actually keeps surprisingly well…I’ve had some open for two weeks before and it was still fine. However, if you fear yours is going bad, you can freeze it. The thawed buttermilk will not be as thick as it was when it was fresh, though, so I’d probably use it in the quick bread recipe instead of in pancakes.
Powdered buttermilk is definitely tastier than the old vinegar/milk option, and it’s a good waste-free way to have buttermilk. However, around here, it’s a lot more expensive than regular buttermilk, so I almost always use fresh.
Also, for your pizza recipes I notice you use a peel and stone. Any recommendations or advice? I have a small gift card to Crate & Barrel so am mostly considering their products, in addition to maybe getting extremely lucky on craigslist or freecycle.
I actually have a cheapie pizza stone and peel from Bed Bath and Beyond. I think it was $15 for both the stone and the peel, but they work just as well as the more expensive Pampered Chef stone I used to have (I broke that one).
I would totally ask on freecycle…there’s probably someone out there who bought a stone and a peel with great intentions of making pizza, but who has never managed to get around to it.
I do highly recommend getting a pizza peel (the link has a picture of a more expensive one than I have), not just the stone. If you own one a peel, you can heat the stone up in the oven first and then, using the pizza peel, you can slide the dough right onto the hot stone. This will give you a nicely browned bottom crust.
Kristin from KlingtoCash left a comment with this question:
This is probably a really silly question but how do you slice your sandwich bread so that it doesn’t get all crumby? I’ve tried making sandwich bread a number of times but slicing becomes a huge mess. Maybe there is something wrong with the bread itself?
The most important thing is to have a good bread knife. In order to slice the bread properly, you need a knife with at least a bit of a serrated edge, preferably with deep serrations. Something like this knife would work well…that’s very similar to what I have.
Also, you should use a sawing motion instead of applying a lot of downward pressure, especially if your loaf of bread is really soft.
Lastly, it’s much easier to slice bread when it’s been allowed to cool. It’s awfully tasty hot from the oven, but fresh loaves tend to be so soft, it’s difficult to slice them without squishing them!
It’s possible that the texture of your bread is a problem, but that’s hard for me to say without seeing the loaf. If you send me a picture, I’d be glad to look at it and let you know what I think. And I’ll post my sandwich bread recipe as a Wednesday Baking feature at some point.
For slicing bread you could also use an electric knife, since it moves so quickly. I think generally they are a waste (since I like to keep things pared down in the kitchen gadget wise, but my mother bought us one for Christmas last year), and since they are rarely used, it gives them another task.
I use buttermilk for cold cucumber soup. And I have been drinking it with a little salt and alot of pepper since I was a kid.
Slicing sandwich bread – Things that can affect how “crumb-y” your slices will be:
– moisture content of the loaf – the longer it sits out (and dries out), the more crumby the slices will be
– moisture content of dough – if you make the dough too dry before shaping and baking, the slices will also end up crumby. Remember, it should be slightly tacky to the touch, but come away from your hand easily when kneading.
– kneading time – gluten strands become developed through two processes – absorbing water and being stretched during kneading. Make sure you are spending a sufficient amount of time kneading the dough, whether by hand or in the mixer.
– knife (as Kristen described it)
– gluten content of the flour – if nothing else seems to help, try adding a tablespoon or two of wheat gluten to your dough, or replacing some of the flour with bread flour (which has a higher gluten content).
I used to have a lot of trouble with super-crumby slices, even though I have a good, sharp bread knife. The things I changed to solve the problem:
1. I make a sponge (2 c. water, 2 c. flour, 1/4 tsp yeast) that I let sit for 1-3 hours in a warm place. This lets the gluten absorb lots of water.
2. Use a higher-quality flour – I switched from Target brand to Gold Medal. It’s a little more expensive, but my baked goods, especially bread, turn out so much better.
3. Only keep enough bread out of the freezer that we can use within 2-3 days. I make a bunch, but freeze most of it and take out what we need as we need it, so it doesn’t get dried out.
Buttermilk – I use the leftovers for making cake or muffins! If you don’t have enough for even one batch of muffins, just add enough milk to bring the liquid up to what you need. You can usually get away with a straight 1:1 replacement, buttermilk for milk, in muffin batter, but if you’re nervous, try reducing the baking powder by half and putting in 1/4 as much baking soda (example: recipe calls for 1 tsp baking powder – reduce to 1/2 tsp baking powder and add 1/4 tsp baking soda).
Wanted to drop in with my $0.02. I use buttermilk for… everything! When I have it, that is. I use it in my omelettes instead of milk or water. I use it in corn bread or any other baked good, substituting for milk. It adds a richness and depth of flavor that I really enjoy, and lovely moisture to corn bread.
As for the sandwich bread question, check out a technique called Autolyse. If you google for it, you’ll get great explanations on the how and why; the short of it is, you let the dough rest after you mix but before you knead, and one of the results I’ve noticed in my own breadmaking is a far less crumbly bread, with no other changes to the recipe.
Now I have a question of my own. I just started making my own yogurt this week, and I have had a hard time making it as thick as I like. Its got great flavor, but is really runny and syrupy. I’ve added dry milk on a friend’s recommendation, and it didn’t help. I’m wondering if my temperatures are too low – I let it sit at about 115 for 7 hours, because I read somewhere that the yogurt cultures die above 120. Do you have any suggestions for how I can try to make it thicker?
I use my electric knife like this and it works perfectly every time. I’m completely useless with a real knife and bread.
Kristen, thanks for the answers! I’m looking forward to your sandwich bread recipe. I’ve been thinking about it since you posted the picture last week! I’m still wary of kneading but I’m ready for some bread from my loaf pans. They just sit except for the (very) occasional banana bread, such a waste of good looking pans!
Calimama, you could try the no-knead yeast recipe I posted…it’s called English Muffin bread.
Do you know that Pampered Chef stones have a 3 year guarantee. If it breaks within the 3 years, just send a piece back to the company with your receipt and they will send you another one.
Thanks for answering my question!