Old Fashioned Porridge Bread

While I was thumbing through my Cream of the West Cook Book a few weeks ago, I identified a few recipes that I wanted to try (and noted a few that I would never dare to make). I wrote a list of promising-sounding ones on a post-it note and stuck it to the cover of the book thinking I'd eventually make them all. One recipe, however, stood out -- old fashioned porridge bread. I decided I would make that the following weekend. I had everything I needed except for molasses, so I added that to my grocery list on my BlackBerry and picked it up with the groceries on Saturday morning.

My interest in the porridge bread was sparked by a trip to The Dancing Goat earlier this year. Two of my friends and I had decided that an adventure was necessary -- I think it might have been over the Easter long weekend -- so we hopped in the car and drove to The Dancing Goat for lunch. I had one of the most delicious sandwiches ever and it was on porridge bread.

The recipe in Cream of the West is slightly more involved than a traditional bread recipe. It's unusual in that you first make porridge as the base for the bread dough. If you've looked at the ingredients, you are probably wondering whether I followed it and used the shortening (since in an earlier post, I substituted butter). In this case, I stuck with the shortening -- not because I thought a substitution wouldn't work, but because I had shortening left over from a cake decorating class and wanted to use it up. I did think that there was too much salt in the recipe, so I cut that back by 1 teaspoon. Finally, I adjusted the process so that the salt was mixed with flour (and wouldn't kill the yeast when added). I admit that I used my Kitchen Aid mixer for much of the mixing and kneading (and was very thankful for it, given how heavy the dough actually is).

I do think that there is something "off" in this recipe. I didn't come close to adding as much flour as indicated. I actually can't imagine how one would be able to (and I do recognize that it partially depends on humidity and other factors). Nevertheless, I did end up with a very delicious tasting bread.

Admittedly, it didn't rise as much as I'd hoped. That could be a result of old yeast (mine hadn't expired, but it was close to the date) or not enough yeast given how heavy the mixture is. But without a doubt, this is a truly delicious bread. I plan to try it again very soon with fresher yeast and have no doubt that it will produce the ideal loaf. I'm thinking, however, that next time I may try cutting the recipe in half.

I'll keep you posted!

Rating for taste: 10/10

Rating for recipe: 6/10

Tea Biscuits

Yesterday, I was in the mood to bake something. I also wanted to use up some leftover green onions that I had on hand. I started thinking about savoury biscuits as an option and searched for a few different quick bread recipes online. Nothing really captured my attention. So, I went to my cupboard and pulled out one of the few recipe books that I own -- the Cream of the West Cook Book.

Several years ago, I was searching used book stores for a copy of this cook book because my mother's famous brownie recipe is in it. I felt that I needed a copy, and I knew there was no chance that my mother would ever relinquish hers. I told my friend Lisa about my search during one of our conversations and one day she presented me with my own copy -- it had belonged to her mother. I was thrilled.

So yesterday afternoon, in search of a biscuit recipe, I thumbed through the well-worn pages. Sure enough, I found a recipe that was simple and required few ingredients. It also listed several variations, including cheese. I decided to test it out.


Now, one of the criticisms I have of this cook book is that so many recipes call for shortening instead of butter. I decided it was fair game to update the recipe and made it as described, with the exception that I grated cold butter into the mixture instead of using shortening.

I made the cheese biscuits and chopped up my green onions to add to the mixture (obviously, that was a second variation on the recipe after the butter substitution). It formed a nice dough that was easy to work with. Thinking back to how we often cut out cookies and biscuits when I was a kid, I decided the right way to do it was once again with a small glass instead of a biscuit cutter. When I was finished, I had 15 biscuits ready for the oven (mine were thicker and wider than the recipe called for). Twenty-five minutes later, I had delicious savoury biscuits (and I had to freeze them immediately to avoid eating them all). I give them a 9/10.

While I had the cook book out, I noticed that it had a recipe for panettone. We've had panettone the past few Christmases, a new tradition following our vacation to Italy. I was surprised by the recipe; it wasn't at all what I'd expected it to be. It was certainly involved in terms of a process and it had far less butter than I would have expected. I called my mother.



"Did you know there's a recipe for panettone in your Cream of the West Cook Book?"

"No?" she replied.

I laughed. My mother's response didn't surprise me. I was certain that she only used the cook book for three recipes: brownies, muffins, and dumplings.

I suggested that perhaps we should try making panettone next Christmas. That's when my mother said I should make it my mission to try all of the recipes in the Cream of the West Cook Book and blog about it. And so this blog was born.

I'm sure that I won't test every recipe in the book, either due to time constraints or because the recipe looks weird (none come to mind, but I'm sure any cook book published in the 70s has a few wayward dishes in it). And as I journey through the cook book, you'll be able to follow along with me through this blog.

But before we get rolling, tell me: How many of you own this Cream of the West Cook Book? Is it just a Newfoundland thing?