Sour Dough Start
I’ve had a few of requests for the recipe for the sourdough pancake start. The recipe we have is obviously for a crowd a bit larger than you would usually have around your breakfast table. In an effort to whittle down the recipe, (so that you don’t have to be mixing up your breakfast in 5-gallon buckets) Miranda, Aunt Lisa (Jeff), Aunt Mara and I have been doing test batches of start and pancakes. What we have found is that you can make sour dough pancakes, that taste pretty dang awesome and incredibly close to the authentic MDB ones with just a one-week-old sour dough start. Which means you don’t have to begin your sour dough start until about May 17th.
We have tweaked the start recipe a bit, but it is basically the same thing. I will say that in doing this, we have learned that sour dough is not an exact science. So, the feeding process can be a little variable. Some days you may need to feed it more than on other days. The more start you have, the more you need to feed it. The temperature of the room also affects its growth. You’ll need to check on it and feed it daily.
Begin the start at least 1 week prior to making the pancakes. Make sure that the container you are using is not metal and has enough room for the start to grow in.
Combine 1 C. warm whole milk (we have used whole, 2% and skim. We don’t recommend using skim), ½ tsp. instant yeast and 1 c. all-purpose flour. Whisk until yeast is dissolved and flour is well incorporated. Cover lightly, and let stand at room temperature. Do not put your start in the fridge or it will inhibit its feeding and growth.
Each day, feed the start about ½ c. warm water and ½ c. all-purpose flour. Mix well until the flour is completely mixed in. A little while after you feed it, it should start to bubble up and rise. This is the sour dough start “feeding”. It will last for 3-4 hours and then the start will fall. Totally normal. If when you go to feed your start and you find that it has separated and has liquid at the top, it just needs to be fed more. Just add a little extra flour the next time that you feed it.
About every 3 days, you will need to discard about 1 cup of the start before you feed. This just keeps you from having to feed it an increasing amount every day and from ending up with buckets of start. For the scaled down pancake recipe, which makes about 15 5-inch pancakes, you will only need 1 cup of start.
After 7 days, the start is ready.
The night before you make your pancakes, combine: 1 c. sour dough start, 1 ¼ c. warm water and 1 ¾ c. flour. Mix well, cover lightly and allow it to set at room temperature overnight.
Morning of, add in: 3 Tbsp. melted butter or margarine, 2/3 c. sugar, 1 ¼ tsp. baking soda, ½ tsp. salt, and 2 beaten eggs and mix until everything is well combined. Lightly cover and let it sit in a warm spot for 1 hour. DO NOT stir afterwards. Ladle onto a hot griddle or pan and cook until golden brown.
Love you all, Jami Lyman Key
Aunt Lisa’s Friday Night Stew
½ c. all-purpose flour
½ c. butter
2 lbs. stew meat
8 c. water
8 ish oz. of Better Than Bouillon roasted beef base
1 c. beef broth
4-5 stalks celery, chopped
½-1 lb. baby carrots, chopped
3-4 tsp. Montreal Steak Seasoning
1 lb. potatoes, cubed
1 head cabbage, chopped into 1-inch pieces
Melt butter in a large sauce pan, then add flour. Cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring constantly.
Add 8 c. water, bouillon beef base, and beef broth to the roux and stir until well combined.
In a large skillet, brown the stew meat and season with a little salt and pepper.
Add all the ingredients to the crockpot except for the potatoes and cabbage. Stir to combine, and cook on low for at least 6 hours. Add the potatoes to the crockpot about 1 hour before eating and the cabbage about 30 minutes before eating. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.
“Auntie did not leave a recipe per say, more of a list of ingredients. So, I have pieced this together with the help of Uncle Mike and Cassidy. Uncle Mike assured me that I could cook it in the crock pot instead of on the stove in a giant stockpot all day long. So, that is exactly what I did, since I wasn’t trying to feed 200+ of our closest relatives. If it does not live up to Auntie’s stew, I offer my most sincere apologies. Feel free to change amounts and ingredients as you see fit.”
Grandma Angie’s Red Velvet Cake
2 cubes + 2 Tbsp. margarine or butter
¼ c. + 2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1 ½ c. hot water
3 c. granulated sugar
3 eggs, beaten
¾ c. buttermilk (no substitutes)
1 ½ tsp. baking soda
1 ½ tsp. vanilla extract
2 Tbsp. red food coloring
3 c. all-purpose flour
In a small sauce pan, melt margarine then add cocoa powder and hot water. Mix well and set aside to cool slightly. In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, eggs, buttermilk, baking soda vanilla and food coloring. Mix until well combined and then add the chocolate/butter mixture. Once those are well incorporated add flour and mix until batter is smooth. Spray a sheet cake pan with non-stick spray and pour in batter. Bake @ 350 for 25 minutes. Allow to cool before frosting with cream cheese frosting.
“I started the red velvet cake from a recipe book that Phil and Debbie got in high school. Mother (Grandma Angie) loved it so much she started it in Rexburg. It became a tradition there. I think mother made it into a burnt bake there. Lisa made it into a sheet cake at some time in Oak City.”
MDB Cream Cheese Frosting
6 oz of cream cheese, softened
½ cup butter, softened
2 tsp vanilla
4 ½ - 4 ¾ cups of powdered sugar
Beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until light and fluffy.
Gradually add 2 cups of powdered sugar and beat well.
Slowly add 2 ½ to 2 ¾ cups additional powdered sugar to reach spreading consistency.
Tip: This recipe also goes perfectly for graham cracker sandwiches when going on outings to the beach, park or on a hike. Add fun food coloring and slap it between two graham crackers. Delicious!
Uncle Rodger’s Magic Tang
Designed for a 10 gallon water jug, so you’ll have to figure out the correct ratio for your container.
1 ½ cans of the 4 lb. Orange Tang mix
6 cans Hawaii’s Own Passion Orange juice concentrate
1 bag of ice
Mix with water until concentrate and Tang are dissolved.
Side note: the Orange Dream mix is about 1/3 milk to 2/3 Tang.