"Baking With Julia" by Julia Child (2004)

[Dahomechef]

JanKK that braid looks awesome! Are you a professional, or have you made these before?

I've been out of action the last few days and didn't get to the danish yet, but the photos are inspiring.

yorkshire, I guess the second baking of the brownies did the trick. How long were they in the oven altogether? I wonder if there is a problem with the recipe?

Although I always bake with an oven thermometer, the thermostat on my oven can be off as much as 50-65 degrees (which is why I always bake with a thermometer.)

[yorkshirepud]

yorkshire, I guess the second baking of the brownies did the trick. How long were they in the oven altogether? I wonder if there is a problem with the recipe?

I can't be exact with the time as the second time around I just kept baking until I felt they were ready. I'd say between 40 and 50 mins. I plan on redoing them (not sure when though -- too many brownies recipes I wanna try) with my new oven and try to eliminate oven error. I would start checking after 30 mins though.

I did wonder too though if the fact that I had a baking stone of the bottom rack effected the heat distribution to the brownies.

Like you though, I do wonder if it is recipe error. When I was debating about what to do last week, I checked out other brownie recipes with similar ingredient amounts and they seemed to be around the 40 - 50 min bake time. Having said that though, the recipe does say they should be taken out of the oven when barely set and that if you bake them longer, they'll be good too.

Edited May 5, 2004 by yorkshirepud (log)

[JanKK]

JanKK that braid looks awesome! Are you a professional, or have you made these before?

Hi, Dahomechef,

Nope.......not a pro .......just love to bake :) And yes ...I have made them before ...it's one of my favorite recipes. But ya know ....even the first time, they turned out pretty good. That dough is a lot of fun to work with.

There is one thing that makes me crazy though, and if anyone knows how to fix this, please speak up! When I do the individual pastries - no matter how tightly I seal the points together, they almost always pop open! Do you see the picture in the book of the pinwheel pastry ---------perfect. Do you suppose it took them 120 of them to get it to look that way, or is there somthing I'm doing wrong?

Fortunately --they taste so good, nobody really cares. But it just annoys me ;)

[SethG]

I've been falling down on the job this week.

Somebody proposed genoise a few days ago. I would suggest the French Strawberry Cake (p.273), except that strawberries aren't really in season here in New York, and the ones that are currently on sale taste like ass.

What about Glazed Mini-Rounds (p.271)?

[Marlene]

I have the book now. I can play too!

[alacarte]

I'd be in for the glazed mini-rounds

[yorkshirepud]

I'll be passing on this one. Doesn't really appeal to me, plus I got other recipes in there I want to catch up with, plus 3 other dessert books I should try something out of next week.

Btw, almost done with the Apple Tart. I've had to put it back in the oven as the slices aren't browned or cooked enough.

I also made the Country Bread.

Will post pictures over the weekend.

Edited May 7, 2004 by yorkshirepud (log)

[Dahomechef]

JanKK, more power to ya! I have to try that braid, it just looks awesome. I haven't done the danish yet, so I don't know if the recipe instructs to use an egg wash or some water to stick the points together. Do you think this would help?

Yorkshire, I also have a big stone in my oven, and have often wondered what effect it has on baked goods. It does a great job of evening out the heating in my oven which otherwise heats very unevenly. OTOH, it takes a loooooong time to heat up. I'm going to try the recipe again without the stone and see if I have better results.

almost done with the Apple Tart. I've had to put it back in the oven as the slices aren't browned or cooked enough.

I also made the Country Bread.

You've really got the pedal to the metal on your baking!

Unfortunately, my SO just went on a version of the (shudder) Atkins diet. Oh well, more for me, I guess! But people on these diets do personalize things. I've been accused of trying to sabatoge earlier diet efforts just because I baked up a big yummy pile of cookies--where's the justice?

Have to check out the glazed mini rounds, but sounds good to me.

[yorkshirepud]

You've really got the pedal to the metal on your baking!

Yup! I'm really enjoying myself though which is the important thing.

Did you make the tart? I can't remember now. My bloody apple slices didn't get as soft as I would of liked (and I baked it for an extra 20 mins or so). Perhaps I sliced them too thick. I should of also used that extra apple as once baked, the apples strunk and now I have gaps. Oh well. Won't stop me eating it!

As a side, this is my best looking tart crust yet. No shrinkage!!! Woo hoo.

Oh, and the country loaf, it's a monster!!! That thing had it own heart beat I swear. Smells yummo! Now I just have to get my arse up North so I can't eat it all (I'll share of course! ).

Edited May 7, 2004 by yorkshirepud (log)

[yorkshirepud]

Yorkshire, I also have a big stone in my oven, and have often wondered what effect it has on baked goods. It does a great job of evening out the heating in my oven which otherwise heats very unevenly. OTOH, it takes a loooooong time to heat up. I'm going to try the recipe again without the stone and see if I have better results.

Perhaps because the heat has to go through the stone, it's taking longer to get to the goodies inside. What do you think? Oh course, with bread, it would be different because typically it's directly on it. Mmm ... I don't know.

[Dahomechef]

As a side, this is my best looking tart crust yet.  No shrinkage!!!  Woo hoo.

So how 'bout some pictures?

I haven't made the tart from BWJ, I usually use the recipe in (I think it's called) Great Pies and Tarts. Did you use a mandoline or similar to slice the apples? Although possible with a knife, it's much harder and the slices are not as uniform. Just a thought.

[Dahomechef]

Perhaps because the heat has to go through the stone, it's taking longer to get to the goodies inside.  What do you think?  Oh course, with bread, it would be different because typically it's directly on it.  Mmm ... I don't know.

Yorkshire, I think once the oven heats up to the right temp, it wouldn't make much difference having the stone in. Don't think much of the heat goes through the stone, but circulates as heated air around the stone. Just guessing.

[yorkshirepud]

So how 'bout some pictures?

Now now, be patient!!! The pictures are taken, but I can't download from here as the wires are on another computer (why, I don't know ). I'll post them on Sunday when I get back.

I think I've seen Great Pies and Tarts. I plan on getting RLB Pie & Pastry Bible (I think that's the name) very soon.

Nope, no madoline (but after today it's coming ). It was a pain in the arse to slice those things. Impossible to get them uniform (though I knew that, but it annoyed me nonetheless) and sweet looking.

Edited May 7, 2004 by yorkshirepud (log)

[yorkshirepud]

Yorkshire, I think once the oven heats up to the right temp, it wouldn't make much difference having the stone in. Don't think much of the heat goes through the stone, but circulates as heated air around the stone. Just guessing.

Ooooohhhh *YP's light goes on!*

[Dahomechef]

Nope, no madoline (but after today it's coming    ).  It was a pain in the arse to slice those things.  Impossible to get them uniform (though I knew that, but it annoyed me nonetheless) and sweet looking.

Yorkie, try the Benriner--it's cheap and does a great job. Those big stainless ones are pretty pricey and, from discussions here, not that much better.

And watch your fingers!!

Edited May 7, 2004 by Dahomechef (log)

[JanKK]

Yep Dahome ...the recipe does call for brushing some beaten egg white on the edges to seal the pastries, but it mostly doesn't help.

And I'm in for the Glazed Mini Rounds. They look marvelous. I was interested to see that the recipe is Flo Brakers --if anyone DOESN'T have her "Sweet Miniatures" cookbook ...you should! (Hell ...I have *2* copies ..the 1st and 2nd editions ;) There's a similar recipe in that book that I've made before - but it doesn't have the wine/sugar syrup ---could be interesting :)

[yorkshirepud]

Reviews

French Apple Tart

Wow, this was fantastic. The perfect balance of tart and sweet. Everyone who ate this thought it was wonderful. Two of us mentioned (myself and MIL) that we prefer this over apple pie.

The crust was divine. Typically, my tart crusts have always shrunk (user error though I imagine), but not this one. It was tender and flaky.

I made a bit of a boo with the fanned apples on top. I didn’t take into account they would shrink while in the oven, hence gaps. But that is minor and just requires an extra apple next time. One more thing, the apples took way longer to brown that the recipe stated, though this may be due to my slices being too thick (Note to self: must get a mandoline).

The first night we ate this by itself (the ice-cream had melted – electricity must of gone out during the week) and the second night with blueberry ripple ice-cream. FIL thought it was better with ice-cream as he found the tart alone not sweet enough. Personally, I liked it both ways but I think with ice-cream you get that extra yum factor. I imagine it would have been even better had the tart been slightly warm from the oven.

We had this on both the day of baking and after. I didn’t notice any dramatic change in eating this tart the following day, though if I were to be serving this to guests, I would make it the day of.

Regardless, this is an absolute winner and will be repeated often.

Country Bread

This bread had a life of it’s own. Absolutely huge. It was a nice bread with a nice crust. I preferred this toasted as opposed to untoasted. This was made the day before so I can’t say if it dried out somewhat, but I don’t see it lasting several days as they recipe states as by Saturday night (I made the bread Friday morning) I found it dry (if not toasted). I won’t be in a rush to repeat this recipe but it was good nonetheless.

[yorkshirepud]

Nope, no madoline (but after today it's coming    ).  It was a pain in the arse to slice those things.  Impossible to get them uniform (though I knew that, but it annoyed me nonetheless) and sweet looking.

Yorkie, try the Benriner--it's cheap and does a great job. Those big stainless ones are pretty pricey and, from discussions here, not that much better.

And watch your fingers!!

Thanks for the heads up. I'll see if I can find that particular brand.

[claire797]

Yorkshire, those are GORGEOUS! Thanks for the pictures. Maybe food photography is your calling.

[alacarte]

I'm delighted to read about yorkshirepud's victory with the apple tart. It looks great.

I thawed my pastry dough and made the apricot danishes over the weekend. Nearly set my *&%^#$#@! oven on fire -- I must have used too much egg wash, and it wet the parchment paper and started smoking in the oven. Nobody should have to use their smoke alarm as their oven timer!!

Is anyone else having trouble with using parchment paper? Am I handling it badly or using a sub-par brand?

Though after all that, the danishes didn't burn.

[JanKK]

Is anyone else having trouble with using parchment paper? Am I handling it badly or using a sub-par brand?

Though after all that, the danishes didn't burn.

I usually use the Reynolds store brand parchment and have never had any trouble with it burning. I have used other brands, though, that seem to burn more easily.

Glad the danishes didn't burn!!!

[alacarte]

Thanks Jan. I used Reynolds too.

Maybe the parchment was too wet (does that make sense?), or the oven temp was too high -- you know how ovens can vary, and 400 degrees already was on the high side....though mine tends to range on the low side.

[Dahomechef]

Yorshire, your tart looks great. Another apple and more overlap (check some pics of these tarts) and you'd be perfect.

Country bread looks good too. Have you tried the trick of storing the bread on the counter, cut side down? It actually works as well as or better than wrapping in foil.

[Dahomechef]

alacarte, I haven't had parchment go up in flames in the oven, although at a high temp they will char. Maybe it was the surplus eggwash that was burning?

BTW, I've switched over to buying parchment from King Arthur Flour, where they sell it 100 sheets at a time, pre cut to fit a half-sheet baking pan (about 13 x 18). Much more convenient than the rolls at the supermarket, and none of that tightly rolled stuff near the end of the roll that's just impossible to flatten out. Much better!

[yorkshirepud]

Yorshire, your tart looks great. Another apple and more overlap (check some pics of these tarts) and you'd be perfect.

Country bread looks good too. Have you tried the trick of storing the bread on the counter, cut side down? It actually works as well as or better than wrapping in foil.

Thanks for the compliments on the tart. Did you mean to post a link ... ? You mention 'check some pics of these tarts'. I wasn't sure if you was referring to previous pics posted here.

Re: country bread. I did read this bread would fair better cut side down on the counter but it ended up in a plastic bag over Friday/Saturday. It was really cold on Saturday up at the cottage so we had the wood stove going. I'm sure that dried it out too as it was close by until I clued in and moved it into a cooler room at the other end of the cottage.

What did you get up to this weekend?

I'm taking a break from BWJ this weekend in favour of a divine looking Caramel Orange Ice-Cream Chocolate Terrine thingy! Roll on Saturday I say! I've been dying to try it.

And thanks alacarte. I don't recall the name I use for my parchment though you'd think I would considering I just purchased a box 30 minutes ago while at the kitchen store. I believe it's something along the lines of 'Bakers Choice'. I've never had my burn up. Glad to hear the Danish was okay.

Edited May 10, 2004 by yorkshirepud (log)