Berlinsbreads

Given that this is the time of year I feel like making pies, I decided to buy the book Pie by Ken Haedrich. I have a ton of recipes for pie dough but I found his explanations and instructions very helpful. One thing that made me wonder, however, is that he doesn't recommend using a food processor unless it's a large capacity one---the 14-cup Cuisinart or the like. He says that the large one has enough room for the fat to be cut in properly. I have been making pie dough in my 11 cup for years and found this to be an interesting point since I haven't noticed a problem. I tried making pie crust in my Kitchenaid today for the first time and found that the butter didn't cut down very small. I was using the whisk attachment since that's what the author recommended, noting that this would simulate the cutting in of a pastry blender. I also have a lot of experience doing it by hand, as well. So I'm wondering what all of you prefer? Any tips or experience with these various methods?

Hi! I, too, have looked for the perfect cookie recipe. And I agree that it seems the more I tweak and make a big deal out of it, the weirder they turn out! My friend that isn't a baker by any means, makes these chewy, perfect looking cookies (although they taste a bit like commercial ones) and she puts Vanilla Pudding Mix in them. She swears by that. I really don't want to go that route. There is a great recipe in the book, CookSmart by a former CI tester, Pam Anderson. Like CI, she tests every recipe like crazy and when I made her cookies they were very, very good. However, they take a little extra time and I only go to the trouble for special cookie occasions! I do like the Cooks Illustrated recipe a lot and haven't tried Alton Brown's, yet !

I received my aebleskiver pan yesterday and made them this AM and they were yummy:biggrin: ! I bought The Great Scandinavian Baking Book and used her recipe. They tasted wonderful. I put a little drop of homemade strawberry jam in the middle. The recipe suggested applesauce but I liked the jam. I'll have to try the apple, though! I read in a few places that people often use a knitting needle for turning so that's what I used and it worked wonderfully. They were fun to make, too! I'm definitely going to continue to make them...

Thank you for the information! Coincidentally, I ordered The Great Scandinavian Baking Book last week and it should be showing up today from Amazon. I didn't put the 2 and 2 together that she's the same person in my 'Baking with Julia.' I have made that Danish recipe in there a few times and just love it! I'll have to check out her other books, as well. Especially that bread one. On a related note, I also ordered an Aebleskiver pan! I'm looking forward to continuing that tradition, too. Have any of you made those? My grandfather used to make them for us. He was so proud of his pan as he had inherited it from his baker father (unfortunately, it "disappeared" when the movers moved their belongings to a storage unit, though). I will be getting the green cardamom then! Thanks for the help.

I have a renewed interest in Scandinavian baking after two recent events: 1) At our most recent theme-based potluck we hold, the theme was Scandinavian cooking/baking and among other things, we made Aebleskivers and 2) recently finding out my Danish great grandfather was a famous/successful baker in Denmark before immigrating to the US (explains a lot for me). Anyhow, after looking through various recipes calling for Cardamom and then opening my new Penzey's Spice catalog today, I am wondering which type of Cardamom I should be using for Scandinavian-style baking. In Penzey's they carry "Scandinavian White Cardamom" in the pod and the only ground one is a Guatemalan Cardamom. At the bakery where I bake, the owner has a thing for Cardamom and we sprinkle it on everything but it is a dark color. Has anyone out there used the white kind? I'm assuming I would grind the little seeds from the pods before using it in baked goods. Is there a difference? Your help & discussion on this matter would be greatly appreciated !

Well, I ordered a pan---it was from Golda's Kitchen via Amazon. It was a little cheaper than KAF but also made by the same company. I'm curious, helenjp, you said that the bread was close to a bread machine loaf. Do you mean in texture? I find that bread machine loaves often seem dry to me. Anyhow, I'm looking forward to trying it!!

Greetings! I am always trying some new baking adventure and would like to get one of those Pullman pans to make Pain de mie. The pans are square with a lid to force the bread to have a denser crumb and light crust. I'm guessing my kids would love this bread. Does anyone out there have one of these pans and what feedback can you give me? I'm looking for comments and possibly recipes !! Thank you!

Today I had the opportunity to actually look at many of the cookbooks I had only previously been able to view online (I live in a small town). I saw many more HUGE cookbooks (I didn't realize that The French Laundry Cookbook is just as HUGE as Bouchon) and couldn't help but wonder, again, if this is the future of cookbooks? I have one of those cookbook holders, too, but the likes of Bouchon will probably kill it! I also realized that I am very picky about cookbooks---I, too, like to see pictures of the recipes in the book for both inspiration and reference but not at the expense of ease of use. But can't we have both---useful pictures and a useful book? While looking through Bouchon, for example, there are many pictures that, to me, seem superfluous. My assumption is that the pictures are there merely for the ambiance that the cookbook evolks. I can truly appreciate the pictures from an aristic standpoint but I thought that cookbooks are created for practical use, too? In defense of Bouchon, though, I love the recipes and the premise of this cookbook. I just wish the publishers hadn't made it so inaccessible for the home cook. I wish they offered a pared down version, too!

Okay, thanks, that idea makes sense... I'm glad we just bought one of those copier/printer machines---I'll just copy the recipes. Like I said, I love 'em and hate 'em at the same time!

I just received my copy of Bouchon by Thomas Keller today and was browsing through it. I love the book's concept (French Bistro basics taken to precision), the looks of the recipes as well as how beautiful this cookbook is. My one complaint, however, is that I am finding more and more of these cookbooks that are so beautiful that they fit more into the 'coffee table book' category which makes me wonder, are they for actual use? The other one that I recently bought was Home Baking by some of my favorite cookbook authors, Jefferey Alford and Naomi Duguid, and it falls into that same category----beautiful and HUGE. When I say HUGE I mean not only thick but plain old big all around. I love the pictures, though they also make me leery of getting flour or mishaps near them to avoid soiling their beauty. In my obsessiveness about my cookbooks, I almost feel like copying their recipes into my own book to preserve them. Does anyone else feel this way? Is this the wave of the future for cookbooks? I personally love them and hate them at the same time!

Wow, I knew there would be some great ideas out there for cornbread leftovers!! I still have a little leftover cornbread so I'll try some of your ideas---thanks!

Hi all-- I seem to find myself with this dilemna fairly often when I make cornbread with supper. It tastes great but our family can't eat all of it but the next day it is too dry and crumbly. I hate to throw things out, especially if they originally tasted great, so I'm looking for ways to reuse the leftovers. Or, does anyone have a good technique for reheating cornbread so that it is not too dry? What do you do with leftover cornbread?

I am making creme fraiche and I'm wondering if it's the right consistency. I combined a cup of heavy whipping cream and one tsp of buttermilk. I placed the container in a bowl of warm water overnight and today. It is just a little thicker than the whipping cream was before. Is this right? Or is it supposed to be thicker than this?

Thank you for that site---it's wonderful! I really like the Rifi tagine. Would it work on an electric stove as that is what I have?

Thanks, all. Since I am a kitchen gadget/cookware guru and love all things to cook with I will add a Tagine to my "wish list" to get at some point. Is the Le Creuset one a good one? I know the dome portion is enameled which seems like it wouldn't acquire the seasoning effect that a previous post mentioned with using clay. I don't know about the base of it. Where do you find good Tagine shaped cooking vessels?

I am interested in making a Tagine and I'm wondering how successful it is to substitute one of my Le Creuset French ovens instead of a true Tagine pot? Do I need a Tagine pot?

I made my first batch of yogurt last night using my new Yogourmet and it turned out absolutely great!! I used a couple Tbs of my all-natural Nancy's yogurt with some organic milk. I was pretty happy with the results. I also made some yogurt-cheese (can't remember the correct term) and I like that, too! I will be using that in place of some spreads and sour cream!

I found this topic with a search since I have been thinking about making my own yogurt at home. Are you still making yogurt at home? Do you like it? Is your homemade yogurt better than that you can buy or do you just enjoy making it? Locally, we have a very good kind of yogurt called 'Nancy's' which is all natural. I'm wondering if it would be worth it for me to make my own, both in taste, etc and also to save money! Feedback would be great! Thanks...

I was just making some guacamole for a side for dinner tonight and happened to pull out my 'How to Cook Everything' cookbook. The author says to put the avocado pits in the guacamole to prevent discoloration while it's in the fridge waiting to be served. I have never heard of this before?? So far, it seems to be working. Do any of you know more about this?

Thank you all! I do frequent Trader Joes when we go into "town" (the city 1 1/2 hours away) but have not seen them there. Does Trader Joes carry them? I have only noticed Muir Glen at TJs. The local gourmet/health food store in my small town pretty much tries to carry only organic products and from companies that they approve of. I guess I'm not sure if there are organic San Marzano canned tomatoes out there. Muir Glen seems to be the norm around here.

I'm looking for a good internet source to order San Marzano canned tomatoes as none of the local stores seem to carry this type. Does anyone have a good recommendation? Thank you!

I can vouch for what Mel's relating to us about the "dream of owning a bakery" v. "reality." I used to think I wanted to own a bakery since I absolutely love to bake (especially breads). I had that idealistic view of what it would be like---get up early, bake wonderful breads, sell wonderful breads to happy customers... Then reality struck---last summer I ventured out to bake in a local artisan bakery that opened last year. I filled in for the owner/baker who took two days off a week (but still came in everyday). She has my same love of baking but I learned that I don't want her life. She works constantly and is endlessly stressed about the business, employees, not making ends meet, her lack of time with her family, etc, etc. I just can't see her doing this for a long period of time---I don't think her body will hold out. I still fill in for her when I can and enjoy it from afar but have decided that owning a bakery, for me with kids, would not be a good choice. I wouldn't want to do that to my kids. However, I'm glad that others make that choice to take it on because I wouldn't want to see that art lost. I love bakeries and am so thankful that people put in the time and work that's required.

This Fall I bought the newest model of Kitchenaid Mixer---I think it's called Pro 6. I have an older 5-Qt one, too. I make A LOT of bread dough. So far, this new one works like a champ. I have made all kinds of things with it. It has the new style of bread hook. The only downside I have noticed is how loud it is!! But I think that is probably due to the all metal parts that this model has. I'm hoping that Kitchenaid is trying to win back their reputation ---we'll see!

I was making some Toffee and Brittle and I wondered if I can use my instant read thermometer instead of a candy thermometer? What is the difference (besides the obvious design) and why do recipes call specifically for the candy thermometer? If anyone knows, I would love to hear from you!

I read a little blurb about Criollo in the A&E section of Friday's Oregonian (Dec.10). Nice write up, too! The picture looked great---I can't wait to stop by your place to see your creations in real life! They mention how nicely the interior space is decorated creating a nice atmosphere and then remembering how much work you put into it I'm sure that's nice to hear!