gfron1
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Posts posted by gfron1
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On 12/11/2020 at 3:53 PM, MokaPot said:
@gfron1, when you have the time, I'd be interested to know which one(s) of those fruitcakes you liked. I've always been curious about stuff made in the monasteries, like fruitcakes and fudge.
I never circled back to share the video I made: HERE ON YOUTUBE
And here is my list. Note that just because it's on the list doesn't mean I particularly enjoyed it. Details are in the video.
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1 hour ago, Kerry Beal said:
Then maybe turn it down to 77 so there is enough time for the form IV and V crystals to form before it heats back up again.
This is one of the things I've been doing. Once I realized where the thermometer probe was I realized that not all of the chocolate was at temp. So I drop an additional degree and manually test at my spout and also center of the pool. With those three probe points I have confidence that I've hit temp.
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3 hours ago, bor said:
I started with the same book! But haven't had much luck with it. Most of what I have learned so far is coming from rus brot blog and youtube channel (in Russian). A throve of knowledge, the guy is truly unique. Heavy on technology, but with a specific focus on home baking.
The flours are so variable. I zeroed in on a local (MN) supplier and just use their whole grain flour all the time, adapting all recipes to it.
Now I'm curious what troubles you've had. Like I mentioned any troubles I have had were related to needing to add or delete moisture levels to match my grains. I'm currently using Great River Milling organic dark (via Amazon).
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I've been on a rye kick lately, although my attention span is not allowing me to do a starter. I've been using THIS book which is really, really good. I've mostly done my Finnish rye and Icelandic, but lately have been branching out. Most recently a hard apple cider rye. The biggest challenge for me has been remember, as with all bread baking, that flours vary in their milling and dryness. A few adjustments normally gets me back on track.
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59 minutes ago, Jim D. said:
I was thinking of you but didn't want to reveal your inmost secrets on eG.
They're not MY pantyhose...they're my mom's (seriously)
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2 hours ago, Jim D. said:
Some people also strain the mixture afterward to get out any remaining lumps.
I'm still in the group that strains through pantyhose
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10 hours ago, curls said:
Interesting, that is the mould that I use for cherry cordials and it works well for me.
I've been saying for years I need to spend a week in someone else's kitchen, especially someone with a vertical wheel tempering machine who does painted molds. We all have such different circumstances that I have never felt competent, especially since I only make chocolates a few times a year in spurts.
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15 hours ago, Jim D. said:
But which one do you use?
CW2116
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5 hours ago, Jim D. said:
I just remembered that @gfron1 uses domes that look deep (I don't know the weight). Perhaps he could weigh in on any unmolding difficulties he has had with them. I think @pastrygirl uses them as well.
CW2116 Pain. In. The. Ass.
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41 minutes ago, Muscadelle said:
I have a general question for you guys. Is there a minimum waiting time before you pour the chocolate after painting your molds? In fact I'll go ahead and ask: What are the general waiting times in between steps for you. Do you follow a precise guideline?
Personally, I know you have to wait 12 hours for fillings to crystallize and maybe 1 hour before unmolding, but I've never really though about how long I have to wait after painting or how long I have to wait before filling the shells.
For me it depends on the room temp. If I remember your comment correctly, you keep a cold room like me (no higher than 20ºC). That means my color is set quickly so by the time I'm done painting/spraying I'm good to go on shelling - 5-10 minutes max.
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17 minutes ago, JoNorvelleWalker said:
The only fruitcake I have made was from the NY Times recipe. To my taste the texture was ruined by fig seeds. If I ever make fruitcake again* I'd probably use the NY Times recipe but omit the dried figs.
*which is by no means assured.
I agree, and I bought the fancy french plums and some seed shards made it in so now I'm eating at my own peril. I would likely just just regular American ones next time.
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40 minutes ago, Anna N said:
And?
Still lots to digest (literally and figuratively), but I just finished my ingredient analysis which I can share tonight:
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33 minutes ago, Anna N said:
Had to look that one up but it sure does sound tasty.
In a previous life when I was trying to become a professional climber/alpinist, I spent quite a bit of time down in Peru, and my hub was the Comboni monastery where their local cook taught me all sorts of recipes - all peasant food, not fancy. Aji de Gallina was one of the weekly standards.
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For those of you on the edge of your seats, here are the ones I tried:
Assumption Abbey, Ava, MO
Gethsemani, Trappist, KY
Sisters of St. Benedict, Ferdinand, IN
My own from the NYT, Good Fruitcake recipe
June Taylor Company, Berkeley, CA
Frog Hollow, Brentwood, CA
Abbot's Table, Conyers, GA
Date Lady, Springfield, MO
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Peruvian Aji de Gallina always uses day old bread.
Right now I'm testing recipes for doing similar things with fruitcake. Ideas welcome
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I dug in deep this year. I made the NYT "Good Fruitcake" sourcing each ingredient with the best I could find (meaning the best candied cherries, pineapple, etc). Right now It's wrapped with cheesecloth and dotted with bay leaves - something I stole from (If I remember correctly) Collin Street Bakery.
But the other funny thing that happened is that my posts on social media (bizarrely) led to random strangers sending me money, so I've now bought 10 different fruitcakes that I'll be trying out next week. Since I now have a Patreon of Fruitcakes, I posted this ad this morning to thank them.
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For the record, I think this is funny and ludicrous
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My last round all dark chocolate came out just fine, but my whites were atrociously stuck to the mold. I know exactly what I did wrong - didn't get the white to proper working temp and piped too cold. I won't do that again. And not to beat a dead horse because it's been covered sooooo many times on this forum, but when you spray, aren't most of you just microwaving, shaking and spraying...versus tempering (heat, cool, warm)?
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I still struggle with this. 1) Cold room. 2) Proper temper. 3) Tempering my cocoa butter each use for spray or brush. 4) Alcohol polish. Not sure if all are needed or if I could let some of these habits go. I've had so many great teachers and they all do things a bit differently. Most lately I've been thinking that tempering my cocoa butter each time can be let go. Don't most of you just melt and shake?
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2 hours ago, EvgenyP said:
did you finally understand how it works?
Never could get it to work
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42 minutes ago, Tri2Cook said:
Hmmm. Cleanliness definitely isn't the issue. Temp, I don't think so but possibly. It's rarely above 70 in my house during the winter but it's rarely below 65 so I think I should be ok there. I've never had a batch go bad, it just never really ferments. It ends up being a spicy cabbage salad. There's a point where I start to worry about spoilage and toss it in the fridge but I've gone as long as 2 weeks before panic fridging with no real signs of fermentation. I've had some very light bubble action a couple times but still never got that good kimchi funk. Anyway, don't want to steer the discussion off course but I am tempted to give the sauercorn a shot. Worst case, I just have the same success I've had with kimchi. Thanks!I'm forcing you to do it again
like the good ol' days. But be more patient. It's corn. It won't go bad. Worst case - you pitch it. But you know what sauekraut smells like so you'll know if it smells off.
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20 hours ago, Tri2Cook said:
I'm in the club as well, never heard of it before Rob brought it to our attention. Of course, now that he has, I want to try it but I seem to have bad luck with fermentation. I still haven't managed to get a batch of kimchi to ferment properly.
Cleanliness and stable temperature seem to be the most important variables. Our sauercorn is fermented at room temp in our kitchen so around 71ºF
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16 hours ago, Anna N said:
Talk to us about sour (sauer?) corn!
Sauercorn is simply lacto fermented corn. In the restaurant, our technique is keeping the kernels on the cob and instead of jarring/canning, we vacuum pack and store. By keeping it on the cob we have more options for plating - meaning strips of corn kernels v. individual kernels. You can control the level of sour by the amount of time you allow it to ferment (avg 2 weeks), and we love pairing it with traditional creamed corn, but mostly we use it on our version of pickle plates.
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Can I just say that running a restaurant during a pandemic certainly teaches you to not cling on to anything. Open today. Closed tomorrow. Sorta open the next.
But we keep kicking:
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I love fruitcakes and my theory is most of the people who don't have only had those dry ones with neon fruit. Last year I summarized, "The Frog Hollow cake is great - sort of like a black cake, meaning boozy soaked cake with just a bit of fruit. In the more traditional camp I still prefer the Robert Lambert cake from last year which is not fruit packed either. I guess that means I just don't like fruit packed fruit cakes." I also tried and liked Collin Street and Bien Fait. Other suggestions from friends that I haven't had yet: Assumption Abbey and Claxton. So for 2020, here's my question: Small, truly artisanal fruitcakes that ship? Suggestions? Here's some I'm eyeballing for this year: Date Lady, Ackroyd's, June Taylor and Red Truck. Surely eGers know of some small town bakeries that are off-radar.
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Orange peels and glacé cherries for baking
in Pastry & Baking
Posted
I found mine on amazon and purely based my decision on reviews, but I was very happy with both. PEELS. CHERRIES.