Weezl's phase 1- recipe testing and frugalisation- come one, come all!

HowlinWolf

weezl74 wrote: »

g'morning aless

I have a couple more questions for ya!

The paul merrett bread, have you baked it without loaf pans before? a 3 loaf batch I mean, just hand shaped into a rounded loaf shape, slashed and then baked?

And if so can you say what the results were in terms of amounts of usable slices?

My guess is that it leaves quite a lot of pieces that are quite teeny at each end which might lead to wastage for shirl...

I'm tempted to suggest it as a method if not for shirl.

Thanks

Weezl, I don't know if aless has already replied to this as I haven't got to the end of the thread yet. If you split the recipe in 3 and make 3 bloomer type loaves they are fairly even all the way down so it would only be the crusts that were wasted. However, I also split the recipe into two and make two boule type loaves. Done this way you would only need two slices for a really substantial sandwich. Whereas with the three loaf bloomer style I think you would need four slices. I've just looked at the third of a boule style that I have lurking in the cupboard and I reckon that I can get 8 medium or ten thin slices out of it. I'll be making some more later today so I might try and make one of each shape and then slice to see how much I can yield from a loaf if that will help. Sorry is aless has already done this. I'll have caught up to the thread in about 30-45 mins.

weezl74

HowlinWolf wrote: »

Weezl, I don't know if aless has already replied to this as I haven't got to the end of the thread yet. If you split the recipe in 3 and make 3 bloomer type loaves they are fairly even all the way down so it would only be the crusts that were wasted. However, I also split the recipe into two and make two boule type loaves. Done this way you would only need two slices for a really substantial sandwich. Whereas with the three loaf bloomer style I think you would need four slices. I've just looked at the third of a boule style that I have lurking in the cupboard and I reckon that I can get 8 medium or ten thin slices out of it. I'll be making some more later today so I might try and make one of each shape and then slice to see how much I can yield from a loaf if that will help. Sorry is aless has already done this. I'll have caught up to the thread in about 30-45 mins.

many thanks for that Howlin

I'm glad you're reading, I wanted to ask your advice about the alfredo... I think I didn't make the sauce runny enough and that my photo will be a little misleading on the recipe.

I'll see if I can post one...

eta: photo published

Murrell

I managed to get 2 tablespoons of herbs weighed and it was 4g
so
1 teaspoon = 0.66g
2 teaspoons = 1.33g
3 teaspoons (1 tablespoon) = 2 g

Sandra
x

HowlinWolf

A photo would be good. I make the sauce really quite thin. If you were using a wooden or silicon spoon and you pulled the spoon out of the sauce there would just be a really thin coating on it so you could still clearly see spoon through sauce. If it's too thick it becomes more like mac and cheese rather than saucy. With the amount of pasta used there shouldn't be loads of liquid floating about once it's mixed into the sauce but once baked in the oven it should just spoon softly and loosely out of the dish and ooze a little rather than being firmer

HowlinWolf

Have just seen photo. Your sauce was definitely too thick.

weezl74

HowlinWolf wrote: »

Have just seen photo. Your sauce was definitely too thick.

thanks Howlin, I shall reword the recipe accordingly, I will put in the paragraph you've written above, In case anyone else is reading it wrongly like I did. sorry if I made it sound like your recipe was at fault, I think I just read it wrongly because it is a sauce with cheese in so I couldn't get my head round a really thin one, compared to normal...IYSWIM?

It's lovely though

DH really likes it and would eat it at least once a week

aless02

*comes running in*

Sorry!! Virgin was down across half of London all day yesterday so I was only back up this morning .

weezl, before this thread, I would usually make the Paul Merrett recipe into 2 free-formed loaves. However, we were naughty and only ate this bread with soups, chilli, etc. not as sandwich loaf, so the big thick pieces were lovely for that. Yesterday, I was a good girl and stuck to the recipe and made 3 bloomer-style in loaf tins. I got 14 slices per loaf (prolly could've gotten 15 if I had been paying attention), larger than the brick-slices I got from your recipe ! I'd say some slices are large enough for 2-per-sandwich, but there are some dinky ones that are best with either soup or double up for 4-per-sandwich. I just save the ends for snacking, too.

I confess I didn't make it with oats cereal as we only have the real-deal around here...plus after 2 bad batches of bread this month, I really didn't want to waste a 3rd. Sorry!! I have no idea why your recipe works great for some and terribly for others (though privately, Allegra, I was glad to see your batch went wrong so now I know I'm not the only one! )...

I feel like there was loads more to reply to, but my brain's forgotten it all. Oh and I was totally lost yesterday b/c I need to make some more weetabix loaf & apple cake but my internet was down so no recipes!! How sad am I :rotfl:

HowlinWolf

Weezl. If you can pm me your email address I will try to make one in the next three days and send you the photos if you would like? Don't worry i didn't take it as criticism at all. I think for anyone used to making mac and cheese or caulli cheese you would automatically make the sauce like that because that's what you imagine a cheese sauce should be.

I am just writing my meal planner from now until the end of April and I am trying to include as many Weezl or Weezl inspired recipes as poss so I can give some more testing feedback and some more what's it like to make this on a work night comment if that would be helpful to you, afraid I can't follow bob and shirley's planner exactly as it is as there are things on it that I don't eat (sorry) but would like to be as useful to you as poss in and amongst work, energetic 3 year old and wedding planning? I'll continue writing shirl's tips and will try to tailor them to the recipes in planner 1.

Some of the thing I make this month won't be strictly to the recipe on the thread (like chicken suet pie as I prefer just crisp suet crust on top rather than a pudding type affair, and hm pizza as my own recipe isn't much different to yours but we know we like it) but the methods will be roughly the same to help with the tip writing. Some of the recipes are from the wider thread and not just bob and shirl's planner and some are my own but I know they are relatively cheap and cheerful.

But I will be making this month:
Pasta alfredo (as per thread)
chicken and onion pie with suet crust (will be made from leftover roast meat as specified in weezl's recipe but crust done a bit differently)
onion tart (as per thread)
frugal shepherds pie (in freezer, two pies made from one small pack of mince during january's big batch cook)
chorizo hash or chorizo and chickpea stew
chicken leg roast in a pan (leg is off whole chicken that I butchered in January and froze)
sausage and mash
roast chicken (will supply leftovers for the pie)
hm pizza (v similar to weezl original)
bacon and onion pudding (as per thread)
pasta amatriciana (as per thread)
baked bean curry (as per thread but will probably serve with baked pots rather than rice)
pasta carbonara (as per thread)
corn beef pie (pretty much corn beef hash with a lid)
hash browns and beans on toast (as per thread)
lamb chilli (close to spicy mince on the thread as I can go as I don't eat beef)
chicken curry with chicken breasts that I have in freezer from Jan's butchered bird, probably serve with saag aloo and hm paneer dusted with chilli and fried

We will also be having

lots of paul merritt bread, probably in the boule shape as I think it works better
oaty raising bars (a la weezl)
weetabix loaf (reduced sugar version)
farmhouse tea loaf (from the thread)
american pancakes (own recipe)
scones (masterchef aussie version with no butter)

aless02

Oh I remembered the other thing!

Sweetcorn fritters...personally, I prefer bean curry to the fritters. The curry is more filling and uses something other than potatoes as its starch. Might be because I'm not a huge fan of sweetcorn, but a few fritters on a plate, even with a large side of wedges, just doesn't look like dinner to me . (plus the psychological aspect of corn + potatoes = whoa starch heaven!) DH is a Heinz beans SNOB but he said the curry with Tesco Value beans was delicious!! :T :T

weezl74

HowlinWolf wrote: »

I can give some more testing feedback and some more what's it like to make this on a work night comment if that would be helpful to you, afraid I can't follow bob and shirley's planner exactly as it is as there are things on it that I don't eat (sorry) but would like to be as useful to you as poss in and amongst work, energetic 3 year old and wedding planning? I'll continue writing shirl's tips and will try to tailor them to the recipes in planner 1.

Some of the thing I make this month won't be strictly to the recipe on the thread (like chicken suet pie as I prefer just crisp suet crust on top rather than a pudding type affair, and hm pizza as my own recipe isn't much different to yours but we know we like it) but the methods will be roughly the same to help with the tip writing. Some of the recipes are from the wider thread and not just bob and shirl's planner and some are my own but I know they are relatively cheap and cheerful.

american pancakes (own recipe)
scones (masterchef aussie version with no butter)

wow howlin thank you so much for giving your time to this when you have other very important things going on.:T:T:T:T

it sounds like you will be able to chip in a great deal to the new thread as you will be doing so many of the recipes, if you have time, I mean. As you are working all day, I wonder what you do about batch cooking, is that something you find valuable and do you use it along with your meal planning? I'm hoping to get an idea of how best to help shirley do all this cooking if she works full time

aless02 wrote: »

Oh I remembered the other thing!

Sweetcorn fritters...personally, I prefer bean curry to the fritters. The curry is more filling and uses something other than potatoes as its starch. Might be because I'm not a huge fan of sweetcorn, but a few fritters on a plate, even with a large side of wedges, just doesn't look like dinner to me . (plus the psychological aspect of corn + potatoes = whoa starch heaven!) DH is a Heinz beans SNOB but he said the curry with Tesco Value beans was delicious!! :T :T

good stuff, thank you

corn, yes you're right it is a starch... I'm used I think to seeing it and peas as a veg, but they are more starchy/legumy really aren't they?

interesting thoughts as ever, thank you Aless :A