Baking
When I was growing up both my Nan and my Mum both did a weekly bake. It was a necessary evil to prepare meals for during the week like a Lasagna, Steak pie, fruit pies, crumbles, cake, small cakes, fruit loaves, making curds for cheesecake, scones, bread etc. Nan would always be up early no matter what day of the week. That was her. She had a big Rayburn cooker in the small kitchen that was the workhorse of the house and quite frequently there was always some baking done by the time the rest of the family put in an appearance. If you woke up early when staying with her you often heard her trying to quietly move about the house (but often clunking) so that she did not wake you up. However that first part of the morning was her time when she preferred to be alone and come too so you never ventured in before a certain time. If I remember rightly it was Saturday afternoon when she did her main baking for the week.
My mum was slightly different in that she did her bake on a Sunday morning whilst the main oven was on for the Sunday roast which was always considered the main treat of the week meal wise. That baking was used for Sunday afternoon tea and also for the pack-ups during the week. I am aiming to get back to this strategy and the only reason I really got out of it I think was because we extended our day on a Sunday in order to maximise time to do things and ended up having our cooked lunch on a Sunday evening. One of my aims this year is to get back into the old routine i.e. Sunday bake on a Sunday morning. I think OH will be happier with this in the long run although it was his idea in the first place to move Sunday dinner.
However today we are having the roast later on. I am going to be doing a little baking. I need to make those scones, some bread buns for OH's packup (the old fashioned way), a bread loaf (in the panny), maybe some butterfly cakes and a Victoria sandwich, some shortbread and some Rock cakes. I think that will do for today but in any event I may make some pastry things tomorrow like mini apple pies, coconut cheesecakes, jam tarts (after all I have plenty of jam to hand) in the Pantry, egg custard tarts. I also have a strawberry trifle to make, and a gooseberry crumble.
Right off to get started.
Catch you all later on.
Pattypan
x
My granny always baked on Sunday morning, she was an early riser but on Sunday she was up an hour earlier. As soon as I was big enough I was with her. pastry goods first, sponges and small cakes into the top range oven and then bread into the wall oven. A couple of pound cakes would follow the bread and then a huge rice pudding went in to use the last of the heat. The first ones down would have a warm sausage roll or a cheese and onion pastry if they were lucky.
ReplyDeleteHappy memories for both of us Pam. I used to have to be with mum on a Sunday morning to do the bake from the age of 11 and help with clearing up etc. That's really how I learned to cook being with her. Dad decreed I had to as part of earning my pocket money but it was a win win situation in retrospect as I learnt to cook, earned my pocket money and helped my mum who was not terribly well at the time. So there was a method to his madness. We always had thick chunks of toast made from her home made bread slathered with Pop's home produced honey from his bees. I remember that honey. Sadly after being stung badly he became allergic and had to give up keeping them. I still intend to have my own. Hope you are keeping well Tricia xx
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