paulraphael

Fresh cake yeast is exactly the same organism that's in active dry and instant yeast. What's different is that in fresh yeast, a very high proportion of the organisms are dead. So to compensate, you use the yeast in a much higher proportion in any given recipe. The dead yeast don't contribute to leavening, but they taste like yeast ... hence the yeasty flavor and aroma. Most artisan bread bakers consider yeast flavor a defect, so this isn't something you often see them striving for . If you do want yeast flavor in bread, a more predictable approach would be to use instant yeast (which is just yeast that's been dried in a way that keeps virtually all the organisms alive) for leavening, and that add brewer's yeast (inactive) for flavor.

This will definitely be easier with an IR thermometer. In general, the lower in the oven you put that pizza steel, the greater the proportion of heat the pizza will get from the bottom. The steel is really effective at storing and delivering heat, so generally what will work is a position that's as high as possible, even with no broiler. Those stones you're putting on top are a wild card. They may even be reducing the heat the getting to the top of the pizza. Here's why: usually, the top of the pizza cooks part by radiation (IR coming off the top of the oven), and part by convection (hot air up there that's risen from the bottom heating element). But what heats the top of the oven and allows it to radiate IR is that same convective air. It rises and pools at the top of the oven before being vented. It's possible that those stones, separated from the top of the oven, will never get as hot as the oven top proper. It's also possible that they are weaker radiators of heat than the black steel of the oven, even when heated to the same termperature. I think you'll do best with either 1) steel in top rack position, and no stones, or 2) stones in top rack position and steel directly underneath. If I had to make a bet, it would be on #1. I'm curious to hear what actually works.

"On the page 351 example above, he lists examples of what non-fat solids are, and he does include "sweeteners", maybe meaning sugar? So maybe that is how he gets to the 15%-30%? Though he does add sugar separately at the bottom. So maybe not..." If he IS including sugars—which would be completely reasonable, just not the way i've seen it done—then 20–30% would be totally reasonable. Whether or not you include the sugars in the solids is up to you. You just have to make sure you're speaking the same language as whoever you're swapping formulas with. I think you have the right idea with figuring out percentages. It can just be an annoying amount of math when you're dealing with fruit and nuts and chocolate. Chocolate makers sometimes don't tell you everything. And with fruit, if you want to precise, you want to figure out the ratio of the different kinds of sugars. The chart on p. XXX cleared up all these issues for me.

How are the Sassos compared with the Bobo chickens? (I'm thinking the ones they called the black plume birds, that had the big thighs and small breasts. Jeffrey had them. Now I have wander around Chinatown).

I don't doubt the quality control was better with Hobart, but the design was identical for tilt-head mixers. And the few bowl-lift versions from that era were a lot less powerful. You'd be buying a machine that's 30+years old, probably with original grease, and who knows what history. Also, those machines weren't designed with a thrust bearing that allows you to use the spiral dough hook. This new design is much, much better than the old-style c-hooks. If you're working with dough, this is a big deal.

I've been trying to find a simple way to use the circulator to proof bread dough and starters. Something like what Rotus describes for mash seams reasonable. Might be kind of clunky in practice though.

Absolutely, 100% get a refurbished Kitchenaid. There's really no downside, if you plan to use a lot during the warranty period. If you're using it hard you'll know in the first couple of weeks if you got a bad one. I think the refurbed 600 costs a bit more than 179 now (I paid about $240 for mine in 2008, and they've gone up a bit). It's still a bargain. After the 6 month warranty, just learn to repair it yourself. You need a $20 set of snap ring pliers, $10 worth of grease, and whatever replacement parts (cheap). You can keep the thing running forever if you take care of it. The real secret to longevity: don't follow KA's recommended capacities. Those people are crazy. Use your judgement if you have good mechanical aptitude. If you don't, look up the recommended capacities for mixers like the Hobart N50 and Globe SP8. Know that these are much more powerful, much more expensive machines. And notice how the rated capacities in most case are lower than the KA's. These companies are conservative, and are telling their customers how to keep the machines running forever. KA is making promises it can't keep, for marketing purposes. Aim low. And if the machine gets hot or makes bad noises, back off.

I'd sous-vide. I haven't done Japanese Kobe, so maybe someone else can weigh in on temperature. My first thought is to set the circulator to 55°C, aiming for an internal temperature of 54°C. It's important to cook it far enough into medium-rare territory that you melt the marbling, otherwise you'll get a waxy, greasy mouthfeel. Cook only until cooked through. Any longer will just lose juices and mess with the texture. Cutting the steaks to 1.5" thick is ideal in terms of time and ease of browning. Finish on the stove. Go for browned, not charred and crispy. You don't want to mess with the delicate flavors. I'd salt the sv'd meat, let it sit while the griddle or pan preheats, and at the last minute dust with baking soda / glucose (I use a 1:5 ratio). This will speed maillard reactions so you can get solid browning without introducing burned fat flavors, or overcooking below the surface. The steaks can be served whole or sliced for service (won't matter which direction you slice). Sauce is up to you, of course, but whatever you do, think delicate, and serve on the side.

In my own personal lexicon, which I don't expect anyone else to adopt, I think of additives as anything that isn't fundamental to the flavor of food. So, for example, leavening agents and texture modifiers. In ice cream, I think of egg yolks as additives, because I don't want the flavor of eggs. So when I consider gum-based stabilizers, I don't see them as the addition of an additive; I see them as replacing one additive (eggs, which work in large quantities) with another (gums, which work in tiny quantities). In this model, an additive isn't a bad thing, but it's something that has the possibility of interfering with the flavor of the main ingredients. So additives that work in smaller quantities, or ones that are by their nature less intrusive, are better. But these are all just types of ingredients. There is no fundamental problem with an additive, no matter how you want to define it. You can't make a cake without a leavener; you can't thicken sauce without a thickener; you can't cure meats without curing salts, etc. etc.. Of course there are crappy additives, just as there are crappy ingredients of every type. They are not crappy by virtue of someone labelling them an additive.

I always use hot water from the tap to save time. It also saves money, at least in my situation. I'm in a building where hot water costs are included, but we have our own electric meter. This is a bit of selfish gaming of the system, but in the big picture it probably uses less energy overall. There's the issue of water waste, but I usually use old sous-vide water for the plants. Especially in the summer, when the patio garden drinks a lot. This water has the advantage of being mostly dechlorinated, which some plants prefer.

Anova people, are you talking about the first model (still for sale I think) or the newer one?

I had habaneros once that were grown oddly (maybe too much water?) and had virtually no heat. Fantastically delicious. Super cool that you can basically deconstruct a chili and use the various components separately.

Is this something that could be useful in softening pizza dough (making it less tough and elastic) without actually weakening the gluten? Making a decent faccimile of a Neapolitan pizza in a home oven is difficult, because baking times are long and the dough cooks through and toughens. Added oils tenderize the dough, weaken the gluten structure so you get smaller, less convincing bubbles.

Also, next time I hear the word "additive," I'm going to hang the person from a nail by their underwear waistband and challenge them to make a distinction between additive and ingredient. What the hell is an additive? If your answer has anything to do with whether you can pronounce it or not, I'm not letting you down from the nail.

The one I'm thinking of used xanthan, guar, and locust bean gums. I don't recall one with glycerin. Where did you see it? I used the stabilizer portion of Migoya's blend but not the emulsifier portion. I've started to think that xanthan, in spite of its magical versatility, isn't a great ice cream stabilizing ingredient. Using a pre-made stabilizer mix is fine ... it's what every pastry chef I know does. I like to make my own so I can tweak it and get the exact qualities I like. Also, years of being a photography taught me that mixing your own recipes offers some protection against manufacturers messing you up by discontinuing or "improving" what you've grown to rely on.

I've found the Migoya book interesting, and one of the only non-food-science industry books that tries to get into the nitty gritty. But it seems unreliable on many details. I'm not sure I'm going to keep my copy. The erata link posted by Gap may clear up some issues. Aside from errors, I've found some of his formulas, like his basic stabilizer formulas, to be not very good. I used them as a point of departure, and ended up very from that point when I finally got things working well. Your two specific questions that I can answer: nonfat solids should generally be between 8 and 10%, and that does not include the sugars (except for the lactose in the milk). Non-lactose sugars are usually above 14%.

What they said. The real value of a commercial unit is durability and longevity. And people haven't had too many complaints about the Anovas in those regards. I'd save the money. You'll get something light and compact. And if you end up being a mad-hatter sous-vider, you can get a second Anova. The two together probably won't take up much more space or cost much more than a commercial unit.

Envy. That is one helluva crockpot.

Here's a Wiki ... quite a few unusual entries.

What have you done, and how long has it lasted? Anything you've found it particularly useful for?

I should have mentioned MSG. There doesn't seem to be a shred of evidence that anyone's ever had MSG sensitivity, so to hell with the haters. If the powder made you sick, then so would all the foods that contain natural glutamates. I don't think of MSG as a universal solution, because as a pure chemical it lacks the complexities of glutamate-rich foods. Just as I'll use pure citric acid for some things ... but generally prefer lemon or lime for the added layers.

I'm interested in all of it, but especially preparations that are ready to use, whether you buy them or make them yourself in bulk. I'd never heard of Maggi. And I left Marmite off the list. An idea I'd like to experiment with: make tomato paste out of sun-dried tomatoes and keep in a small jar. Anyone heard of this? Maybe it can be preserved by using some vinegar?

I just like that this sci-fi looking piece of lab kit has a button marked AUTOeasy. It's like seeing that label on a time machine or a doomsday device.

I had a conversation with a friend who cooks mostly Japanese-inspired food. He thinks there's a conspiracy against umami in Western cooking. "What are your choices, besides a bag of Doritos?" The conspiracy theory didn't sit well—I could name a lot of things, from sun-dried tomatoes to parmigian cheese. But he had a point. Look to the east and there are countless preparations in a bottle or jar, always at the ready to fill holes in a dish's savoriness. Fish sauce (in its infinite varieties). Dashi. Soy sauce. Anchovy paste. Seaweed. Bonito Flakes. When I thought about non-Asian equivalents, the closest was worcestershire sauce, which tastes so much like worcestershire sauce its use seems limited. Other things seemed hard to use for other reasons: parmigian, tomato paste, pan drippings, bacon. What are your go-to concoctions? Anything unusual that you have to make?

Just push the AUTOeasy button.