cteavin
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Posts posted by cteavin
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You might have something there. Pounding the butter into submission is the hardest part of making puff pastry for me. I don't get the marbling, at least none that's visible, but it's possible that's the problem. I'll have some time later today. I'll practice making a couple, take some photos and try your suggestions for getting them the same temperature and consistency.
Why change the fats? Only to see what happens. For example, when I changed to a mixture with lard it rose slightly higher but bled out which could have more to do with texture of the fat layer.
As for experimenting, I once had a mile high rise by adding bakers amonia to the flour before mixing the dough. For me, trying new things is half the fun of cooking.
And that photo, g e o r g e o u s.
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I'll make one later in the week and post photos. Interesting to me was that when I change the fat the amount of fat that seeps out is much greater.
Flour: I use a mix of AP to Cake, roughly 2 to 1 (trying to achieve something close to pastry flour). Now that I think of it, it could be that the protein content of the flours is to low to absorb the fat as it should. And I haven't tried a 70:30 but that would be fun to try this week.
For thickness, not very thin. I've not measured with a ruler; I usually roll it out the the same area each time. I'd guess half the thickness of the first phalange of my index finger which is greater than 10mm.
Has anyone used a mixture of butter and other fats?
It's funny Richard mentioned inverted puff pastry because I've been wanting to try that. My feeling is the extra flour in the butter will absorb that moisture I'm complaining about. What do you think?
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Thanks for replying.
I only make classic puff pastry.
The temperature depends on what I'm using it for, wrapped around, say, spinach and mushrooms, I bake at about 180 C for an hour, if I want small shapes 220 degrees until crispy and well risen.
Generally, I stick with a ration of 50/50 dough to butter or dough to fat but I occasionally do 60 to 40.
I sometimes make the dough over the day, do the first turn in the morning, as second and third around lunch, a third and fourth around dinner and a final two before bed. The next day I use the dough. Sometimes I can only chill the dough 30 minutes between turns.
Since this is Japan, I've always assumed that 1) the fat ratio in the butter is higher, so the oil at the foot of the pastry or 2) there is more water/moisture in the butter.
What do you all think?
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My well worn copy of The Flavor Bible isn't a cookbook, per se, but I couldn't live without it. I think most of us know how to do but this just opens up the imagination to that even better.
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I can roll a good puff pastry. However, I always get a a bit of oil at the bottom during baking and I've wondered if that was normal and if there were any techniques to prevent this or to sop up that extra butter oil after it comes out of the oven.
Also, has anyone here ever experimented with different fats in the puff? I sometimes do a 50/50 lard (with a bit more oil bleeding out) but this evening I used 50/50 butter and cocoa butter. The rise wasn't as high but it was extremely crispy, almost crunchy and quite a bit of oil bled away.
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Without stout it ceases to be a chocolate stout cake. I'd add the beer and not tell anyone.
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I've just read this thread and saw that started in 2007 and was never 'finished' with a final recipe. If the OP' did develop a final recipe, would they mind sharing?
m(_ _)m
I'm very interested in trying these out.
cheers,
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Thank you both for your replies.
I'm really surprised by the water/sugar ration in your formula Darieen, especially when compared to Tan's. Do you use your invert sugar for baking or candy making?
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The holidays are coming and I'm playing with tried and true recipes to see what new variations I can come up with (it's also interesting for me to see what happens when you change an ingredient).
I made some hard caramel and hard butterscotch and I ground them in the food processor to a fine powder and sifted it to remove any large pieces. The first experiment was to substitute all of the (powdered) sugar for this caramel sugar in my Mexican Wedding Cookies to see if I could affect a less sweet cookie (and also just to see what it did).
Any guesses?
They spread into flat, crisp cookies. They're actually very good in their own way. Myself, I'd like to understand better what happened. I know the caramel and butterscotch sugars melted. My guess is that when making the original caramel the sugar became inverse sugars and the melting point for those sugars is much lower, so the spread. Does this sound right?
Now I'm wondering if I lessen the amount of butter if the flour will absorb the melted sugar for a stable shape. Any ideas?
edit: It's been and hour and I've just eaten a couple of these flat cookies. They're really crisp. The wax paper I left them on to cool was a little oily from either the butter or the oil in the pecans.
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I'd be interested for the same service to Japan.
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Thank you much!
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I've been on a pancake binge the past couple of days. I've been making the American style and British Style. I have to say, having never eaten them with lemon juice and castor sugar the British style were a welcome treat.
I'm looking for a new dessert to take a party next week and pancakes are my inspiration. What do you think: Layering 12- 18 extra large pancakes, each one dusted with powdered sugar and almond powder and serving with several different flavored syrups and some freshly whipped cream? I imagine something that is as tall as a cake but looks like baumkuchen when cut. I also know the French do something similar with crepes. Does anyone know the name?
Cheers,
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Roasted Cauliflower has become my favorite vegetable. I just took some out of the oven. The florrets are all a nice crispy brown that goes crunch, crunch, crunch when you pop it in your mouth. So, they were pretty well cooked when they went in the processor.
What do you think of adding a few drops of lemon or lime juice on top of the mousse before I cap it? I'll be trying that later after I get some more puffs out of the oven. Ah, dinner: another reason to go to the gym.
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Would it work with roasted cauliflower to boost the flavour?
Well,I kind of mention that in the second paragraph.
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I finally did it and it came out really well but the recipe still need some tweaking and I'm looking for suggestions from our member here.
I purred 350 grams of roasted cauliflower into a smooth past with 1/2 cup of water, a pinch of salt and a few twists of the pepper mill. I put 10 grams of gelatin into a 1/4 cup each of 35% cream and water and heated it in the microwave till it boiled then processed that into the cauliflower mixture until it was well incorporated. I whipped 1 cup of cream over ice until it was full volume and slowly added the (slightly warm) cauliflower mixture to the cream whipping it all in trying to minimize deflation; finally, I added 1/4 cup cacao nibs. When it was chilled I made the pate a choux but first melted the butter and sautéed 1 teaspoon of caraway seeds before adding the water to make the puffs. When they were done I filled the puffs with the cauliflower mixture -- voila!
Verdict: very good. You get the whiff of caraway when the puff comes to your mouth along with the crisp texture followed by the creamy soft mousse inside which comes as a surprise if you don't know you're getting a savory dish. Roasted cauliflower is it's own reward; the cacao nibs don't add their pinch of bitter flavor until the end but they add their crunch to the mousse an cleanse the palate of the cream and cauliflower. Finally, there's the breath of caraway to finish it. It's a really nice experience. It's not perfect, though. The cauliflower is a little too subtle, I think, and the mousse isn't light enough. I'm considering
1) double the cream to make it lighter
2) increase the salt to bring out the sweetness
3) dusting the tops with cocoa powder or powdered sugar
4) add a few drops of lime or something sour/acidic under the top
Those were some ideas on how to improve it. What do you all think?
fyi, the shells go really well with an olive oil/chocolate mousse I made.
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Thanks for all the replies.
Still, no one has really posted about restaurants and bakeries. Does anyone know how likely they would be to use imported or filtered water? I was at the local ramen shop the other day and saw them put water in straight from the tap. I didn't see a filtration system so I'm assuming it's pretty standard. But what about the more expensive shops? Could that be one reason for their quality?
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I live in Yokohama Japan and 95% of the produce I buy is local through the (organic) farmers market. Nothing beats the freshness. I'm very happy to know that I'm helping local farmers. That other five percent is usually for specialty items or -- the uber rare -- canned good, like tomatoes.
I do a lot of "foreign" cooking so a lot of my other foods are imported. I use import shops for my nuts, grains (except rice), pulses, etc. The meat and seafood I use tend to be from Japan. I don't know where it's raised or caught. I say tend to because there are times I want things that are hard to come by and I have to import. Cheek meat, liver, sweetbreads, turkey, buffalow....
For me it's less to do with the environment and more about getting the freshest food I can. That it does help the local economy is an added bonus I sometimes pay more for. It also keeps my cooking in tune with the season which I suspect is better for my body. Gazpacho in winter. Hmmm.
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I've been wanting to play with invert sugar in place of corn syrup (expensive to buy in Japan) and did several searches on Google and only came up with the basic idea of sugar + water + acid + 20 minutes at a boil = invert sugar. That's okay but I when the formulas listed a ratio there was disagreement. Some said one to one, others two to one, some 20 minutes, others 30 minutes. (sigh)
I did a 1:1 for 22 minutes to bring the final temperature to 200 degrees with a 1/4 teaspoon tartic acid. It's not very viscous. I'd really like to know what the water content should be for a proper invert sugar to be used in either baking or candy making. Can someone post The Definitive Measures, please.
Also, on an aside, could invert sugar syrup be used in place of sugar syrup to soak a genoise?
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Since water can make up a significant part of a dish I'm curious if restaurants, bakeries and even home cooks are using bottled/imported waters or water from the tap. If it's from the tap do they/you use a filter and if so, what kind do you recommend?
I just read two very informative forum threads here about how water in pasta cooking
and in pizza dough
and wanted more information on the topic of what kinds of waters are in cooking.
Cheers,
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I'm going to make this over the weekend. I'd like to know the shelf life. If it's long enough, I'd like to make it in bulk and store it.
How long should I be able to keep it outside the fridge, in the fridge or in the freezer?
Cheers,
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I'm curious. What good does posting that do besides reenforce the prejudices of people who wouldn't eat raw or rare foods, anyway?
(shakes head in disapproval)
I live in Japan and there's plenty that's raw on the menu including the lesser known horse and liver. Customers here would never put up with that kind of notice.
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Thank you for the advise. I'll start doing the research over the weekend.
cheers,
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Hi,
For the winter holiday I'm thinking about going to India to take part in a cooking class or workshop and I was hoping some of you out there could recommend some places that I can look into. I haven't decided which type of cuisine I'd like to study, yet. I'd like to keep an open mind while I look around at what's available. Ideally, I'd like to be able to practice yoga and learn how to cook.
Anyone out there have any suggestions?
Cheers,
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I go with idli. It's a whole protein, cheep and easy to make. If you happen to mess up the batter you can pour a dollop on a hot griddle, spread it out and still have something delicious. Even though it's traditionally eaten with sambar there are lots of flavor combinations out there for you to play with. Oh, they freeze really well, so you're just moment from a healthy snack if you've got a microwave. And there are non fermented versions available, too that much all the easier to make.
Minor emergency: children are coming to dinner
in Cooking
Posted
I just got a phone call from my very good friend. She asked me to baby-sit her kids this evening because she can't get away from office until late and day care closes at six. I love kids and her two kids and I get along really, really well, so I'm totally fine with it but I realized I have to feed them.
What do three and five year olds eat?
I'm actually serious. I don't want to give them sugar or caffeine and kids are pretty picky, aren't they?
I have four hours before I pick them up but I'll probably be doing this again, so any advice will be appreciated.
Cheers -- and wish me luck,