Grandparents like to regale friends with stories about their grandchildren. I’m no exception, although wife Beverly occasionally reminds me that I sometimes go a little overboard.
Perhaps, but I need something to crow about.
So, let me tell you about my youngest grandson, Maddox, and his expertise in the kitchen. He’s about — “BAM!” — to put Emeril Lagasse on notice.
A few weeks ago he spent Saturday night with us and learned the art of making bread. He and Beverly whipped up the dough and let it sit an hour or two for the yeast to do its thing. Then Maddox learned the process of kneading.
Being a K-State fan, he added purple food coloring to the dough. The loaves and cinnamon rolls came from the oven with colorful marbling that made them all the more appealing.
Last weekend Maddox was ready for another session at the bread board, with a request to go a step further. He wanted to make homemade doughnuts.
Beverly, up to any challenge when it comes to grandkids, got out her iPad and set to researching.
First off, they used biscuit dough, the kind that comes in a cardboard tube, and pizza crust fixings. After cutting appropriate shapes, they were plopped into sizzling oil in an iron skillet, cooked enough on each side to turn golden brown and then iced with either chocolate, glaze or powdered sugar, all prepared by our enterprising grandson.
I was the taster, the best job of all.
Next, they whipped up a batch of raised dough and that’s when the doughnut making got serious.
Maddox was hands-on from start to finish and decided that golf ball sized edibles were easier to predict in the cooking cycle. When finished he had a tray full, all neatly glazed and very tasty.
Professional pastry cooks better be looking over their shoulders. There’s a new kid on the block who’s deft with dough.
Kneading something to do
