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isomer

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Posts posted by isomer

    Recipe instructions you have ignored for years to their detriment

    in Cooking

    Posted

    Okay, with everything the same, except for triple-sifting the flour, the cake rose an inch above the edge of the angel food pan, almost an inch higher and it was very tender.

    I can't really get my mind around how this could have an effect on the end product but it did.

    Hi andiesenji,

    The purpose of sifting the flour three times is to aerate it, which is why your cake rises higher than when you don't sift the flour. Same with beating the bejeesus out of the eggs (beat them until they just start to fall) - you are strengthening the protein structure and whipping in as much air as possible.

    Salamanders & Broilers in the Home Kitchen

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    I'm spending a lot of time thinking about options for replacing ovens at the house I'm moving into soon, and I realized this weekend, while hanging out in the kitchen of the restaurant where I bartend, that I'd really, really like me a salamander.

    Chris, if you get a salamander in your home kitchen, well.... I'll be mighty jealous. Man, that is an amazing idea!

    Greweling's "Chocolates and Confections at Home"

    in Cookbooks & References

    Posted

    I got this book a couple of weeks ago, and have been liking it quite a lot. The big advantage to these recipes for someone making chocolates at home is that there are no difficult-to-obtain ingredients in any of the recipes. Ok, except coconut fat for the meltaways, which is a bit hard to find. Also, the instructions are very clear, and the illustrations actually illustrate the techniques!

    My only two complaints, and they are minor, is that there are no metric weight measurements, only imperial, and that there is no mention of water activity or shelf life for the various recipes.

    In any case, here is a riff off of his basic chocolate ganache truffle: An homage to the best cookie in the world, these are World Peace truffles :)

    CIMG1192.JPG

    World peace cookies in very small batches

    in Pastry & Baking

    Posted

    I don't know about you, but it's far too dangerous (healthwise) for me to keep a batch of World Peace Cookies on the counter. They're far too addictive. So normally I only make them when I plan to give away most of the batch and just keep a few around for nibbling.

    So in the interests of health, I tried an experiement. I cut 3 cookies from the log, put them on a plate, and microwaved them on 70% power for about 90 seconds. And it worked!!! They cooled on the plate, and were almost as good as out of the oven!

    So now I can keep the cookie dough safely out of reach in a vacuum bag in the freezer, and make as few cookies at a time as, uh, needed. :blink:

    Seventh Taste?

    in Cooking

    Posted · Edited by isomer (log)

    What does metallic taste like? What foods set off this sensation?

    Some raw oysters have a metallic taste. I'm thinking specifically of Belons (European flat oysters) which taste a little bit like licking a battery, but not in an unpleasant way... at least not to me.

    OXO Good Grips Kitchen Tools

    in Kitchen Consumer

    Posted

    What's the 411 on Oxo's pop-up containers? They seem a bit expensive, especially if you buy a bunch of those containers.

    Do they really work, ie does it really create a air tight seal?

    They are indeed air-tight enough to keep smells from fenugreek, mace etc... away from everyhing else. That's what I use them for.

    Cooking in your Thermomix

    in Cooking

    Posted

    I think I can safely say that dark roux is not something that can be done in the TMX. At four and half hours at the highest temperature I had a lovely blonde roux - tasted great - but it wasn't getting any darker no matter how much time went by.

    Kerry, recipezaar insists you can make a roux in the microwave. I've had this bookmarked for years, but still have never tried it. Probably worth a shot!

    Which ONE Bread Cookbook to have

    in Cookbooks & References

    Posted · Edited by isomer (log)

    There is little point in weighing out accurate quantities of flour and water (yes, do weigh the water for accuracy), only to have the proportions upset by a variable amount of flour pickup during kneading (or stretching & folding). Maybe he now needs to consider water pickup! I prefer to use a bowl with a couple of spoonfuls of oil to grease my hands and tools.

    The matter of required, but quantitatively undefined, pickup of extra flour during kneading is something I find particularly frustrating about his recipes/formulas in his Whole Grain Breads book - which does introduce a genuinely novel technique (his own 'epoxy' method).

    My girlfriend watched - quite perplexed - as I weighted ingredients to the gram in the beginning, and then at the end said "well, the dough is a bit too wet", and dumped in a handful of flour to fix it.

    I don't think the problem is so much the kneading for me (i knead almost entirely with the mixer), but rather in the choice of grains for the breads that are about 40% other-than-flour (for example multigrain struan or multigrain hearth bread). Different grain mixtures absorb different amounts of water. So the same recipe with a different grain mix yields different hydration bread.

    Having said that, I really enjoy the book, and I bake from it all the time. But I would be very frustrated if this was my first bread book.

    My favourite bread book is Daniel Leader's "Local Breads". Artisan breads from across Europe. My family thinks I was an artisan baker in a former life. The truth is, I just make the breads from the book :)

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