Rachel Ann Dittenber

Well this bread is amazing. I used milk and lemon juice instead of buttermilk, butter instead of margarine, increased the cranberries and walnuts, and probably added another 1/4 cup of flour while I was babysitting the kneading cycle (I sprinkle it in until the loaf stops sticking to the walls). I also added the cranberries and walnuts right at the beginning because I like them well blended in. It turned out great! The top was a little flat, but my yeast expired two months ago so I’m going to blame that. It tastes delicious and I will definitely make it again!

Ok. I know that some people say it’s silly to review a recipe if you haven’t made it as written, but I read reviews to gather tips to make the recipe better, so I’m leaving this review for exactly how I made this recipe, which made it 5 star worthy. I used a pork butt, rubbed it with Penzey’s Barbecue of the Americas spice, and seared it. Then I put it in the crockpot with everything else. I used Trader Joe’s Carolina Gold BBQ sauce, and I only used like a tablespoon and a half of brown sugar (the BBQ sauce is already sweet) and less than a teaspoon of thyme (I didn’t want to leave it out but I also didn’t want it to be overpowering). I also used four cloves of garlic because I always double the garlic. I realized it didn’t have any salt, so I threw in some kosher salt and some Penzey’s Smoky 4/S seasoned salt. I cooked it on high for 2 hours, then switched to low. After 7 hours, I shredded it and picked out the fat and adjusted the seasonings (more salt). Then I left it cook in the juice on low till dinner time! It is amazing. I actually hate the taste of pork (I grew up around a pig farm and I think that unseasoned pork tastes the way the farm smelled, which grosses me out) and this has such a lovely smoky sweet tangy taste that I can’t even taste the meat!

This turned out perfect. I used King Arthur bread flour. I didn’t change any of the ingredients, but I did microwave the milk for 30 seconds first because it’s winter, and I didn’t think room temperature milk would be warm enough for the yeast. I also added the raisins closer to the beginning of the mix cycle, after the dough had formed a ball, because I wanted to make sure they got mixed in well. It’s delicious!

I have made this as written, and I’ve also made it making the biscuits and gravy from scratch. Honestly, there’s not that much of a difference. I will say that now that I’ve made it a few times (for potlucks) I’ve tweaked it. I now use 10-12 eggs, and I never use grands, I usually use Annie’s organic canned biscuits and I cut each biscuit into four pieces and cover the bottom of the dish with them. They cook through better.

This is delicious!! I used a bunch of green onions because I love them and two didn’t seem like enough, chopped the bacon before cooking it, and blanched the broccoli before cutting it up. I also made my own favorite coleslaw dressing: 2/3 cup mayonnaise, 3 Tbsp vegetable oil, 1 Tbsp white vinegar, 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp poppy seeds. It hasn’t even been thoroughly refrigerated yet but I tasted it and I didn’t want to stop eating it!!!