Artemis gifted Michael a new book for Christmas.

He’s been wanting to try out some of the flatbread/cracker recipes, but lacked some of the ingredients.

He read up on ammonium carbonate. According to his research, this was one of the first commercial leavening compounds (that wasn’t yeast), first used around 400 years ago. It is used in crackers and flat breads that should remain crisp. Sodium bicarbonate, aka baking soda, leaves sodium in the finished product. Since sodium is hydroscopic, baked goods made with baking soda or powder will absorb water from the air and become soft. Ammonium carbonate produces little gas bubbles, just like baking soda, but totally bakes out of the product. It does produce a strong ammonia smell while baking. It leaves no taste behind. Because you really want all that ammonia gas gone, it is only used in thin things, like crackers.

Artemis gave Michael Danko rye berries for his birthday. Today was his first chance to play with them.

Half rye flour. Half bread flour. A little salt and a lotta butter. Leavening. Cut the butter into the flour until it looks like course meal. Add ice water until it makes a stiff dough. Think pie crust.

The recipe said to roll it to 3 mm thin. Nordic metrics. We took out a Leatherman and measured the rubber bands on the fondant rolling pin I got for creating birthday cakes. The orange band fit the bill. I’ve had the marble for a while. Our basement is COLD, which is what we needed to keep that butter from warming up. I have a feeling crackers are a wintertime treat. Nordic baking. Go figure.

My pastry cutter made the edges pretty. Fork dimples to keep them from puffing up in the middle and deforming.

Who makes crackers?!? Michael does. Oh yum. These have a wonderful nutty full round flavor. Crisp without being hard. Not too salty. Stands up to Gorgonzola. Makes you wish you had pickled herring. I might have to figure out how to make pate. Good thing we are due 15” of snow to work off the baked goodness.

Since Michael was baking, I decided I would too. I made more tofu this past week so I have okara in my fridge. The NYT has an almond cake recipe which I have been modifying. It’s a work in progress.

I first tried this recipe (think egg yolks whipped with sugar, add okara and almond flavoring and zest from an orange and a lemon, then fold in the whipped egg whites) on February 4. I didn’t use a mixer and my eggs settled to the bottom. It was akin to a tres leches cake, without any milk.

Today I used a mixer, cut the citrus zest in half and added some vanilla. The flavor was better and by making thinner cakes I eliminated most of the settling while baking. Neither the thin cake nor muffins came out of their baking tins well. I think I need to make this as a sponge cake (use that buttered parchment paper!) and fill it with a whipped cream/mascarpone frosting. Perhaps cut the citrus zest back a little more. Michael wants to toast the okara so we can grind it finer. The coarseness of the soybean meal bothers him. I’m okay with it but recognize that this is still a work in progress.

I can hardly wait until we get to bake with these little cuties.

Thirty eight years baking happiness into our lives, experimenting all the way.