Yes, it rains in paradise

(12/8/17) The rain started in before we finished our walk.  The skies were heavy laden when we set out at 6:15 so we started by walking the 7 docks.  We finished with a brisk walk around the neighborhood nearby.  It has some beautiful homes built around a canal enabling the home owners to have a dock and access to the Sea of Abaco.  

What to do when it rains in paradise? Steve worked on installing his Sirius Radio Weather.  I am sure many of you would like to hear about that.  If I can get him to slow down enough, I will get him to write about this source of weather. 

I worked on making some sweet rolls using Steve’s grandmother’s recipe as well as a recipe on the internet.  Meo’s recipe calls for enough flour to make a dough–I need more specific measurements when baking.  Another recipe with the same ingredients called for 3 1/2 cups of flour so I followed that recipe specifically.  

The recipe called for a stand mixer.  Well, I don’t have room in my one butt galley to store a stand mixer.  I have one at home that I adore, but not here on the boat.  Can you see the tiny dough hooks on my hand-held mixer?  They are little but they can really mix up a the dough.  The recipe also called for mixing the dough on the lowest speed.  This mixer has two speeds–fast and faster.  

Flour was covering every spot of the galley once I finished.  I was left with a major clean up job while waiting for the dough to rise.  

Not only do we not have a stand mixer on the boat, we don’t have a great assortment of bowls.  We also don’t have a rolling-pin.   I had to use my fruit bowl for the dough, but it seemed to work out just fine.  Steve found a stainless steel rod for me to use as a rolling-pin.  It worked out well.  

Once the dough doubles in size (about an hour later) it is time to punch it and roll it out into a rectangle, sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon, slice and put in a pan.  

At this point  the recipe suggests baking or placing in the fridge until ready to bake.  I covered and put in the fridge to hold for breakfast on Saturday.  I made an icing out of powdered sugar, vanilla extract and milk before finishing up for the day.  

On Saturday, I pulled the sweet rolls out of the fridge for about half an hour before baking.  They went into a 375 degree oven for about 35 minutes.  The icing spread nicely and I served this for breakfast.  I was terribly disappointed.  Perhaps the humidity and rain affected the dough, or those fast flying dough hooks kneaded the dough a bit too much.  Whatever the cause, I wasn’t pleased.  Steve says that his grandmother rolled out the dough thinner and put more sugar and cinnamon in them.  Maybe I should have divided the dough and rolled it out thinner.  I will have to try them again on a sunny day.  

I welcome your comments for baking on a boat.  

Joy