Broccoli four leaf clover buns...no scratch that... Zucchini, onion, rosemary & garlic bread

I am diverting from my usual format for the HBin5 Bread braid which was scheduled for August 1st.  So since I am posting this on August 8th...yes, I am late.  My inspiration for swerving from my usual format for our bread braids is primarily time and free thinking writing.  I finally had the time this morning to make read the other blogs from our HBin5 group and the time to compare what I had seen on tv recently.  Hope you enjoy taking the trip with me. 

I love baking bread, as anyone who reads this blog knows, and particularly love making no-knead breads from Healthy Bread in 5 minutes a Day by Zoe Francois and Jeff Hertzberg.  But theirs is not the only no-knead bread recipes or cookbooks out there. 

Yesterday I was watching Chuck's Day Off on the new Cooking channel.  Chuck is actually Chuck Hughes multitalented owner and chef of Montreal hot spot Garde Manger. 

Chuck's Day off on the Cooking channel
Chuck Hughes bio

He featured a no-knead bread recipe that used a bit of a different technique that intrigued me enough to give it a go.  The ingredients were pretty much the same though.  He plopped the first rise dough ( he only gave it 50 minutes!) into bread pans gently so as to not deflate the dough and baked it at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.  Usually I put the first rise dough (about 2 hours) into the frig for at least a day, and sometimes wait up to five days to use it based on my time constraints.  Additionally when I bake the dough according to instructions in ABin5 or HBin5 I bake it at 450 for 30 minutes and add water to a pan in the oven at the beginning of the baking to steam the bread and give it a very crunchy crust.. 

So I decided this morning to incorporate several different things.  As stated earlier I had missed the assignment date of August 1st for the latest HBin5 bread braid, due to time constraints.  The assignment was four leaf clover broccoli and cheddar buns found on page 174.  But Danielle, who did get the assignment done, pondered using zucchini in the dough instead.  She had also used all purpose flour instead of whole wheat and all purpose flour.  See Danielle's blog here

I decided to make the assignment in the following manner:

1. still used the HBin5 recipe on page 174 but used all purpose flour only and substituted zucchini instead of broccoli. 
2. the substitution of zuchhini for the broccoli required an increase of 1 cup of flour.  According to Mary Bell's Complete Dehydrator cookbook, zuchhini is 94% water while broccoli is only 89% water.  That 5% makes a difference to the recipe I found.
3. also added onions, garlic and a sprig of fresh rosemary (leaves only no stem)
4. added 1 tsp of dried minced garlic to the flour mixture
5. instead of putting the dough in the frig after the first rise, I put it into 2 bread pans and baked it for 50 minutes at 350 degrees.
6. opted for baking the bread in loaf pans instead of forming into dough balls for the buns.  This was primarily because this dough is very loose and wet if it hasn't been refrigerated.  That would not be a bad thing if making a pizza by the way, but I wanted loaves of bread from this dough, not buns.
7. did not use a waterbath in the oven
8. used eggwash on the dough after sprinkling white and black sesame seeds on the top
9. instead of cutting the dough with a serrated knife, used scissors to cut into the dough after putting seeds and eggwash on top
10. did not use steam in the oven

The recipe calls for cooking the broccoli for only about 4 minutes. I found I needed to cook the mixture of zucchini, onions and rosemary about twice that amount of time.

Once I had it cooked I let it cool a bit, then pureed it and then let it cool again before adding to the flour, salt and yeast mixture. This was due to knowing the mixture was still too hot and would have killed the yeast. Even though I had added the 2 3/4 c of cool water to the veggie mixture it was still too hot and definitely needed to be cooled more to room temp. I was still worried about it being too hot so once I had everything mixed together (remember this is no knead) I left the plastic wrap off the top to let the heat dissapate from the dough more.

My one mistake was letting the dough rise for two hours the way we usually do in the recipes from AB and HBin5.  By letting it rise 2 hours it had risen much higher and had alot of spring in it.  That's usually a good thing...but was difficult to move the dough to the two breadpans! 

As I tried to cut the dough in half to remove it easily I realized my mistake.  I then used a spatula to try to lift the dough out of the bowl in one fell swoop..HA!  I came out with a glob of very stretchy dough with so much stretch that I had to put it back in the bowl and try smaller portions!  It was funny!  It took me 4 "scoops" to get the dough into the first bread pan. 

The rest of the dough went into the second pan a bit easier because I was able to pour it in.  But since I had lost some of the spring in these maneuvers, I decided to let the bread rise again in the pans for about 30 min.  I will say that at this stage the dough smelled wonderful already!

The dough rose beautifully in the pans as you can see in the pic below!

To make sure my bread gets baked thoroughly, I use an ACU*RITE (tm) meat thermometer.  I put the probe in towards the end of the bake.  ACU*Rite has an alarm that I set to 204 degrees and that lets me know when the bread has reached the temp I've set it to. 

I noticed with these breads I had to let them bake for over an hour.  That may be because I'm using bread pans that are larger.  I used the entire 4#s of dough in just two bread pans.  While the bread did not brown as much on the top as I expected, I took it out when internal temp reached the forementioned 204 degrees. 

We needed to get to the gym for swimming so it had to cool longer than I usually let it...come on...who can resist cutting into bread fresh out of the oven.  Sigh, in this case I had to. 

The crumb was excellent and the vegtables' flavor was subtle but definitely there!

This picture does not do justice to the color of the crumb

When we returned I sliced off a nice bit and spread "Lemon Bag Cheese" that I made based on the recipe I found on our HBin5 leader's website.  It's a great recipe and extremely versatile.  In this case I had added fresh basil, rehydrated minced garlic, and sea salt.  For Michelle's recipe click here: homemade lemon bag cheese. 

Excellent lunch with a bottle of my homemade Hopdevil IPA!  What a life eh? 

To see what others did with their versions of this assignment click here:

HBin5 Bread baking group

HBin5 July 15th Bread Braid-- Substitute-Vermont Cheddar Bread from ABin5

Assignment: REAL assignment was 1 full recipe of Gluten-free Cheddar and Sesame bread, pgs 244-245 of the Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. The full recipe was to be made into:
1 loaf of guten-free Cheddar & Sesame Bread, and 1 Gluten-free Parmesan Bread Sticks
We can make substitutions, but share what and how we substituted with the group in our blogs.

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What I REALLY MADE:  1 full batch of Vermont Cheddar bread from the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day (ABin5) made into 1 loaf of same and 1 focaccia.

What this session was really about for me was honoring those in our group and highlighting what I have learned from just a few of them.  I've been baking bread for umpty-ump years (you figure it out) but I am always delighted to learn new techniques and get new tips that help enhance my favorite passtime! 

Our fearless leader Michelle said she understood that some folks are on a tight budget and tight time constraints.  Therefore if we wanted (and I definitely did) we could make a cheddar bread from ABin5 instead of the costly Gluten-free assignment.  Don't get me wrong...I want to make the gluten-free breads, but the cost of the gluten-free flours and searching them out just are not do-able right now. 

If you turn to page 106 in the Abin5 book by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois you'll see a great Vermont Cheddar cheese bread recipe.  I followed the recipe except that I didn't have cheddar cheese labeled "Vermont".  Instead I had some left over cheese that Wanetta (my neighbor and featured person in many of these posts) gave me before she went out of town to a family reunion.  So I shredded that up and then tossed in an extra 1/2 c Kraft Parmesan (shaker dried kind). 

The day before I started baking the bread, I had made Lemon Bag cheese.  I procured the recipe from our forementioned illustrious leader Michelle's site:  http://bigblackdogs.net/homemade-lemon-bag-cheese-and-whole-wheat-pocket-bread-2/ .  One of the hints she gave is that when making the lemon bag cheese do not throw out the whey, instead use it for bread...seemed like a great idea to me so I substituted that for the lukewarm water.  I'll post about the cheese later, but let me tell you it was so easy and so delicious!  Thank you Michelle!

On my baking day I took out the dough and first made a focaccia that I topped with fresh tomatoes. 

Then I made the rest into a loaf.  I put on the dough chunks of fresh garlic, and fresh rosemary from my backyard. To shape this loaf I used a tip I found on Judy's blog (another HBin5 memeber).  I've often flattened my dough and then rolled it tight to get a good shape to my loaves. 

But I really liked Judy's idea!  Go to her blog for her version of it! 

http://judysbakeryandtestkitchen.blogspot.com/2010_07_01_archive.html

Next I borrowed an idea from Nancy (yes! another HBin5 member) and used one of my baskets for the shaping of the bread.  I floured the basket well first and then put the dough in to rise.  Looks pretty in the basket doesn't it?  Go to Nancy's site at:  http://flour-recycler.blogspot.com/2010/05/cane-brotform-style-bread-... proofing baskets to see all the different types of baskets she uses.  They are FUN! 

OK at this point I have to say that I put way to much dough in my basket...it didn't look that way when it was still in the basket just before I inverted it onto a silicon matt...but as you can see it definitely was when it was done baking!  LOL.  I really should have taken a picture of the finished loaf next to the basket.  It was twice as big as the basket.  Very tasty though! 

Looks like something one of King Henry VIII's cooks would do doesn't it? 

But let me tell you it made great hamburger bread! 

Those tomatoes are from my backyard!

Ken digs in. 

That's "agua de sabor" in the glass...in this case it's watermelon water, very refreshing on a hot day! 

Can you get any better than a hamburger like this!  YUM!

To see what everyone else did with their dough...go to:

http://bigblackdogs.net/

Or click on the HBin5 symbol seen here on my page! 

You'll be delighted with what you see and learn! 

July 1st Bread Braid with HBin5

Assignment:

1/2 Recipe of Whole Wheat Mixed Berry Bread, pgs 197-200

1/2 Recipe of Whole Wheat Banana Bread, pgs 200-203  (this one will be a post at a later time)

While we can not put the recipe on our blogs, due to our agreement with the authors of Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day, we can share what and how we substituted with the group in our blogs.

I've been using Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois two books, Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day and Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day since their books came out. I love the ease of the recipes, and the wonderful way they come out. I very seldom buy bread anymore.

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Substitutions:

Canned sour cherries for the frozen berries.

1/2c honey instead of 1/4c.

2 tsp almoond extract.

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OK, so the July 1st assignment is a whole wheat berry bread or muffins using frozen berries that are thawed out.  I have about 1 cup of frozen raspberries which I refuse to use in a bread...they're for Ken to eat with some Splenda on them.  So next I looked at the supply of dried berries.  Not much there either, and the little there is needs to be saved for our trail mix we carry when kayaking. 

But I did have 3 cans of sour cherries that I had just picked up at Ollie's one of our discount stores.  I love sour cherries!  I love a good sour cherry pie with almonds best.  So why not make a sour cherry almond bread?  Ooooh!  Now that sounds good. 

I mixed up the dough as instructed and it came out very good.  Instead of 1/4 c honey I upped it to 1/2c because I knew with the sour cherries I would need just a bit more sweetness.  Two cans sour cherries are just right.  I reserved the juice from the second cup of cherries because I did not want to make the dough overly wet and this dough is very wet as it is. 

Next day I took the dough out.  It's a very moist, loose dough.  So what to do with it?  Still thinking about the cherry pie, I decided I HAD to take it a step further.  LOL.  So I rolled a section of the dough into a circle.

I spread ricotta cheese on the circle of dough, add some extra sour cherries (from a third can) and chopped almonds.  The dough is so soft that I lift a quarter of it with my flat dough scraper.  I go around lifting and laying the dough into the center, until I am all the way around.  The I pinch the dough together to keep the fillings from bubbling out, I hope!  I lift the entire thing with my dough scraper and place it gently in one of the big muffin silicone cups I love to use for small round loaves. 

Ken couldn't wait once I took the cherry almond ricotta muffin out of the oven!  Pssstt I didn't even whisper the word whole wheat to him!  The bread was so tender and delicious!  BTW no, he didn't use the raspberry jam next to the plate. 

The filling is well distributed plentiful! 

 

I made 6 of these huge muffins, and then decided I needed to try a loaf but decided I would fill it with ricotta, cherries and almonds also.  But I remembered an episode of Everyday Italian : Giada De Laurentiis on Food Network.  She explained how she loves ricotta cheese for dessert with a drizzle of honey.  So that's what I did!

Again, I had to use the dough scraper to bring up each 1/4 side and continue all the way around. 

Once I had it all wrapped up I gently lifted it with the scraper and dropped it into a loaf pan that I had rubbed butter on the inside.  I brushed extra cherry juice on it just before I baked it.  There was no reason to slash the dough that I could see. 

The breads did not come out burned but they look like it in this picture.  Also that white spot is ricotta trying to escape.  

As usual I wanted to share the fun and flavors...so this time I took a few of the muffin loaves into the gals that work in the cafe in the building where I work.  I always have a great time with the crew of the Coffee Company cafe. Even if I am not getting something to eat I stop in and we exchange laughs and jokes.  When I told Bev and Carolyn that I wanted a picture of them "cheek to cheek"... meaning their two heads together...they immediately went into this pose!  LOL. 

They loved the bread and the filling! While they were waxing on about how good it was a customer heard them, and she ended up sharing in the bounty also!

Here is Carol, a customer of the cafe proudly showing her portion of my latest bread...I am still not sure what to call it!

Be sure to click on the HBin5 logo to view all the other blogs in our group! 

June 15th Whole Wheat Bread w/ Olive Oil, Pizza and Ciabatta

Assignment:

I full Recipe of Whole Wheat Bread Dough with Olive Oil

Pesto Pizza w/Grilled Chicken on the Gas Grill, pgs 213-215

1 loaf Seed Encrusted Pita Bread, pgs 223-224

Oven Baked whole grain Pizza w/Roasted Red Peppers & Fontina cheese

While we can not put the recipe on our blogs, due to our agreement with the authors of Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day, we can share what and how we substituted with the group in our blogs.
 
I've been using Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois two books, Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day and Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day since they books came out. I love the ease of the recipes, and the wonderful way they come out. I very seldom buy bread anymore.

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Substitutions:

5c WWW (white whole wheat) for the whole wheat

2c AP (All Purpose) for 2 c of the WW (whole wheat) measurements

Instead of pesto I used fresh herbs from my garden that will be listed out below

Thank you to all those who wished me luck on my final exam for the SQL class I completed mid-June.  I got a B for the semester!  Woohoo!  Then shortly after that I had to travel to Pittsburgh for my job.  So I am just now getting back to participating in the HBin5 Bread Braid! 
 

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Pesto Pizza w/Grilled Chicken on the Gas Grill

 
When we made the Pesto bread back around St. Patrick's Day, I decided I didn't care for the pesto in the dough.  So for this recipe I put fresh herbs in the dough when I first mixed it.  I am very fortunate to have a few herbs growing in my back yard!
 
Clockwise from the top:  thyme, basil, rosemary, oregano and garlic in the center.  The garlic is the only herb not from my garden.

 
I also added a full cup of Kraft Parmesan Cheese (in the shaker). 
 

Since I had mixed the dough using my Kitchen Aid mixer I let it rise in the bowl.  Then transferred it to a Hefty Jumbo bag.  I have been wanting to try this for a couple of years. A few years ago I stood watching the gals at one of the pretzel stands in a local mall.  I noticed that the gal took her pretzel dough out of a plastic bag and then started cutting the dough into pretzel size chunks.  Since my frig was packed I decided to give it a try this time.   

 

As you can see in the two pictures above the plastic bag works great!  It still allows room for the dough to expand and conforms to the shape of area alloted to it on the shelf.  Of course it does look as though it was trying to slither down in the bottom picture!  LOL. 

The next day I made pizzas.  I didn't try grilling the chicken or the pizza due to the thunderstorms in our area, plus I still had some roasted chicken in the frig to use up. 

                                               

                                 

I warmed up about 4 ounces of goat cheese and spread it on the dough, then added sliced onions, mushrooms, black olives, and roasted chicken thigh pieces.  I then sprinkled Reggiano parmesan cheese that I had shredded very fine, and finally topped it all with mozzarella.  It only took 15 minutes to bake the two personal pizzas in a 500 degree oven.  Wonderful flavor and crust! 

Whole Wheat Bread w/Olive Oil Ciabatta

Ciabatta is one of my favorite forms of bread!  Especially the way I make it.  In this case I used a portion of the same dough I used for the pizzas.  I flatten it out on a cookie sheet that I put a Wilton silicon mat.  I usually spray the mat but I don't think it's really necessary.  I do roll the basic shape out on the counter first, transfer to the silicon mat, and then press out the dough to fit the pan as much as I can. 

Since I was using the herbed dough, the only thing I did to the ciabatta dough was dimple it with my fingertips when it had risen sufficiently, and sprinkle olive oil on the dimpled dough.  Finally I sprinkle a bit of kosher salt on.  Just before putting in the oven I score the dough into squares.  This makes for easy breaking after it's baked.  I do add hot water to a pan in the oven to get a good steam and nice crisp crust.  You can see in the pictures below how nice and flaky the bread comes out.  What a delicious bread! 

                                 

                                 

                                 

I didn't have time to try the pita bread.  That will have to come later. 

 

Please be sure to check out the other bakers blog in our HBin5 group.  Just click on the link below:

HBin5

Brunello Italian Wine ... Yes, you CAN do this Three!

Disclaimer: This is NOT a technical article nor is it meant to be. I am simply demonstrating how I make wine using Wine Expert kits. I also make wine from "scratch" but will post about that later.

I keep forgetting how easy it is to make wine using the Wine Expert kits!  It actually takes more time to write about it than to do it! 

Be sure to read my first two posts on this subject before going on.  You can go to:
http://brewmaven.blogspot.com/2010/05/brunello-italian-wine-yes-you-can-do.html
http://brewmaven.blogspot.com/2010/05/brunello-italian-wine-yes-you-can-do_16.html

I started the wine on 5-16-2010.  Step one was completed on 5-23-2010. 

Step 2 was completed on 6-3-2010.  This involved "racking" the wine, which just means transferring it to a smaller carboy.  So I transferred it using a siphon to a 6 gallon glass carboy. 

But first you need to make sure you check the wine using a hydrometer.  A hydrometer is an instrument used to measure the specific gravity (or relative density) of liquids; that is, the ratio of the density of the liquid to the density of water.  In this particular case we are using it to help us determine the alcoholic content and how much of the sugars the yeast have absorbed. 

For a more technical explanation go to:  http://www.timswineblog.com/

So the first reading on the hydrometer I had was 1.093.  After the fermentation "stops" the reading should be 1.010 or less.  This is all explained in the kit instructions.  Mine came in at 0.990 on 5-23-2010. 

After sanitizing any of the equipment I use, including the glass hydrometer, I poured about 8 ounces of wine into a 12 inch tall tube.  Then I recorded the number on the hydrometer that the wine comes up to.  The fun thing about testing with the hydrometer is I can not put the wine that I tested back in with the rest of the wine.  Oh darn!  That means I have to drink it.  ;-)  Even though the wine is just getting past the fermenting stage I can begin to taste some of the notes of it! 

If it matches the 1.010 or less on the hydrometer, you can transfer it to another carboy.  In this case I used a six gallon glass carboy.  To make it easier I used a syphon. 

Here you can see there is space left at the top.  Instructions say do NOT top it off at this point.  This is because the yeasts have just been moved around and could now be active again. 

So it's wait another 10 days. 

After ten days, check the specific gravity again using the hydrometer.  Again, I sanitized all my equipment before I began!  I checked it again the next day to make sure that it is the same.  If it is still going down, this means the yeast is still active. In my readings it was fine, and remained the same.

Then following the instructions I dissolved the contents of package package #2, the metabisulphite and #3 the package of sorbate in 1/2 c of cool water.  Yes, I did remember to sanitize my scissors and the cup! 

After carefully pouring this mixture in the carboy of wine I stirred it up for two minutes.  I use a stirring rod that my husband, Ken, made for me.  The stirring rod fits onto a standard electric drill.  The stirring drives off the CO2 and disperses the stabilizers.  I had to be sure to stir up the yeasts from the bottom. 

                                   

 
Next I added package #4, the isinglass clarifier.  Then I stirred again for two more minutes.  If I didn't add this and stirred it up very well, my wine may not clear so it's an important ingredient and step! 
 
That's it for this part which has been step 2 and 3.  Next step will be bottling! 
 
As I've said before, how is can you get?! 
 

Sad tale with Happy dehydrator ending...especially for a person with diabetes!

Disclaimer! This is not a medical article about Diabetes.  This is simply a telling of our experience with my husband's diabetes and one way we keep him healthy and active. 

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My husband, Ken, is a very active man.  He thinks nothing of bicycling 20 miles, kayaking for four hours, or sailing for days!  He and I both would rather be on the water, but anywhere outside is fine.  Camping, is a great weekend for us...depending on where our campground is we'll either bike, walk, or kayak the time away! 

About 7 year ago we were out bicycling on a section of the Rail Trail south of York.  I was back at the car when Ken came dragging in.  I mean really dragging, barely able to walk.  I ran over to him and he panted out that he had hit a real sugar low on the trail! 

Ken is diabetic.  While he had eaten a good breakfast before we went out to the trail, he had overdone it and his sugar level dropped to a point that he had hit a hypoglycaemic low.  For a diabetic this can be serious! 

According to http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/diseases/facts/diabetesbloodsugarlow.htm
Hypoglycaemia is a condition where the level of glucose (sugar) in the blood drops below a certain point – about 3.0mmol/l.  This causes a number of symptoms such as dizziness, sweating, shaking and palpitations, that usually go away 10 to 15 minutes after eating sugar.

I took Ken immediately for some food at a nearby hamburger joint.  Once his blood sugar was back up he explained that he had asked several people on the trail if they had any candy, a power bar or anything since he was having a diabetic low.  NO ONE helped him.  He was asking adults, and had explained that he had diabetes and they just ignored him!  I was furious!  How could anyone talk to someone in distress and not help?  We weren't in New York City for pete's sake, we were on a biking trail, and Ken was dressed in biking clothes. 
 
Ok, sure I can understand that he could have appeared to be inebriated, especially looking at the description of the symptons of a sugar low two paragraphs above.  But still wouldn't YOU help out?  Usually he didn't go out on any kind of excursion without a piece of candy or something to combat this type of event, but this one time he did. 

After that incident, I read up on what was best to carry and I started dehydrating fruit for him to carry at all times, including even in the car.
 

On Amazon.com I found Mary Bell's Complete Dehyrdrator Cookbook.  What a great way to learn about dehydrating!  She lists each fruit and vegetable common in the USA, with an explanation of the water content of each, how best to prepare it and how to treat them to alleviate the browning for some fruits and vegetables. 

 

My research showed that our local Walmart had the best price on a Nesco dehydrator.  I couldn't believe how easy it was to get trays and trays of dedrated fruit for us to carry. 

I started with apples, went on to strawberries (one of my daughter's favorites!), pears, bananas, cantalope, even watermelon!  And speaking of pears...you haven't had good pears until you've had dehydrated Asian pears!  Oh, talk about flavorful and sugary!  Yummy!  Those are Ken's favorite!

The great thing is this is something you can do with you kids to get them off those sugar filled treats!  You cut the fruit and have them put it on the trays.  You can even get them to pick out their favorite fruits, or go to the orchards to help you pick them! 

OH!  I forgot to mention the money you save over buying dehydrated fruits!  For a 6 oz bag of dehydrated pear slices you'll pay more than $5.00!  Plus you don't have any chemicals added to the fruits when you do them at home.  I will sometimes use a mild lemon juice and water solution to stop my pears and apples from browning during the drying process, but no chemicals are used! 

One more thing...it's best to use fruit that is just slightly overripe...the more ripe, the more natural sugar content and the better the final product is.  So don't throw away those apples that are going soft, or that pear! 

One of our favorites is an idea I got from one of our local orchards.  They sell dried apples bits with cinnamon.  A four ounce bag will set you back $4.50.  I took gala apples, washed and sliced them and then tossed them with just a tiny bit of Splenda and a few teaspoons of cinnamon. 

I put the pieces on the trays and turned the dehydrator on. 

You don't want to over season fruit you are drying because the flavors intensify during the drying process.

Five regular size apples will dehydrate down to 5 ounces of dried fruit. 

I don't peel the apples or pears either! 

As you can see below, just about any fruit hits the dehydrator...red seedless grapes make the best raisins around!  Papaya and strawberries are always a great addition to our trail or gorp mix! 

You can also make some great fruit leathers.  Simply put your fruits in the blender, add a bit of apple sauce and whir!  Then pour onto sheets that fit over the dehydator trays. 

Dried apples are great for pies in the winter also.  Reconstitute them in a big of water, use like you would fresh apples...or add them to your favorite coffee cake or bread! 

By the way there are many other types of dehydrators out there, as well as other ways of drying fruite.  A recent episode of Good Eats had Alton Brown making a drying device out of a huge box fan and a few furnace filters!  At one of the Amish farms you can visit in Lancaster, PA, you can see a smoke house type of dryer that requires a wood fire, and Dorothy, a Mennonite woman who has had a stand at the East York Farmer's Market for 50 years, uses the wood stove that heats her house to dry her apples.  I've even just put apple slices on a cooling rack next to my gas furnace and dried the apples that way.  So give it a try!  It's easy, money saving and healthy!