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"Baking With Julia" by Julia Child (2004)


SethG

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If I ever have a free weekend again, I'll get back in the game. But for now, I will continue to live vicariously through the rest of you. Arbuclo, bravo on the pumpkin cranberry!

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I made the French apple tart this weekend (sorry, no pic), hoping to have friends over for dessert after going out, but they balked due to the hour. I wound up sending the whole thing off with DH to share with friends he was hanging out with yesterday, so I didn't get to taste any of it! I made a basic caramel sauce to go with it. He said it was gobbled up and one person asked for the recipe, so I must have done something right!

I made half a batch of the Flaky Pastry Dough to start with and for the first time in a long while, the dough was too wet. It was OK once I'd let it rest in the fridge and I rolled it out with flour (I usually use waxed paper). I found that it tore quite a bit when I transferred it to the tart pan, and I didn't quite understand the instructions for making the ledge. I must not have had enough beans in the pan, either, for the blind bake, as the bottom didn't get baked through, and some of the sides did shrink, also shrinking my pie pastry hubris a bit as well. :wacko:

I must have bought the "never break down" variety of Granny Smiths because I found they took MUCH longer to cook than the recipe said. I eventually took them out of the oven after 30 minutes and put them in the microwave for another 6 minutes to finish cooking. Even then it took considerable muscle to break them down. :angry:

The apples on top didn't blacken on the edges either, in spite of an extra 10 minutes of baking time.

I know from earlier posts that most of you did not have the picture perfect results either. So is it a flawed recipe?

I plan to make croissants this weekend, as I've heard that you can freeze the croissants once they're shaped, before the final rise. That way I don't have a whole batch of them on hand.

"I just hate health food"--Julia Child

Jennifer Garner

buttercream pastries

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foodie3, how pretty those brioche are (even if you don't think they're perfect)!

A good cook is like a sorceress who dispenses happiness. – Elsa Schiaparelli, 1890-1973, Italian Designer

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arbuclo, that pumpkin cranberry bread looks fantastic. Is it very sweet?

Re: trying to make the potato bread loaves look like the pic in the book--I have this same disease, but I think I'm getting over it. Now I'm more likely to ask myself if I like the way it looks, and the usual answer is "yes". But aspiration is good for the baker's soul, so if you get one that looks like the book, do post it.

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I baked this not too long ago... a Lemon Merengue Pie for my grandfather, who loves them...

Enzian, welcome and thanks for the blow-by-blow pics. I really enjoy these photos but have hesitated to post mine. Do others enjoy them, or think it's a waste of bandwidth? Curious.

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Enzian, welcome and thanks for the blow-by-blow pics. I really enjoy these photos but have hesitated to post mine. Do others enjoy them, or think it's a waste of bandwidth? Curious.

I love the pictures, Dahomechef....it's fun to see what everybodies stuff looks like. Sometimes it gives me something to aspire to .....sometimes it makes me feel better to know that I'm not the only one who has stuff turn out kinda funky!

Of course, I have cable modem, so it doesn't take long to download stuff .....how do people on dial-up feel about it?

(of course, pictures taken on digital cameras tend to have large file sizes - you can reduce these without any ill effect (using any graphic program or, most likely, the software that came with your camera), which will help lighten the download times :)

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I LOVE LOVE the pics. I want to see what everyone else's attempts turn out like even if they don't look perfect.

Dahomechef, the pumpkin cran bread isn't too sweet. Lightly sweet, I'd say. You could reduce the sugar if you didn't want it very sweet. I made the 3 loaves that the recipe called for with the intention of giving a loaf to some friends. BUT I liked it so much I decided not to share! We're going to a time share unit next week and we'll take the 2 remaining loves to have for breakkie. Yummmmmmmmm.....

A good cook is like a sorceress who dispenses happiness. – Elsa Schiaparelli, 1890-1973, Italian Designer

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Well, I love the pics too! Even if you only get to see 2 square feet of somebody's kitchen, I find these fascinating documents, a peek into another world, and I confess to be as interested in the kitchen, applicances, tools, notes stuck on fridges, and anything else that makes it into the frame at least as much as the food prep. And if there's an unfamiliar method, the step-by-step can really be a lifesaver. I plan to do this on my next bake project, and you people can be the peekers!

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ven if you only get to see 2 square feet of somebody's kitchen, I find these fascinating documents, a peek into another world, and I confess to be as interested in the kitchen, applicances, tools, notes stuck on fridges, and anything else that makes it into the frame at least as much as the food prep.

Oh, so I'm not the only kitchen voyeur out there! :laugh:

I love seeing other people's pics, and if I thought about it more, I'd document my efforts better. I've spent the better part of the afternoon baking, fer cripes sake!

I'm making bagels, but from Baking Illustrated, not BWJ. I guess the next stop is making them from BWJ and comparing results. These do their entire rise in the fridge (after forming). Man, that high gluten flour is STIFF stuff!

I am still planning on doing the croissants this weekend, but would also be willing to do a group project if a consensus can be reached.

"I just hate health food"--Julia Child

Jennifer Garner

buttercream pastries

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Unfortunately I won't be able to join in this weekend on a group project but would be happy to do something next weekend.

A good cook is like a sorceress who dispenses happiness. – Elsa Schiaparelli, 1890-1973, Italian Designer

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[

I'm making bagels, but from Baking Illustrated, not BWJ. I guess the next stop is making them from BWJ and comparing results. These do their entire rise in the fridge (after forming). Man, that high gluten flour is STIFF stuff!

That high gluten flour just makes things tough. Have you tried the Montreal bagels in Alford and Duguid's HomeBaking?

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I'm going to be gone this weekend too --- will be at my sister's house for my niece's 1st birthday ........and I volunteered to make the cake ...oh my!

But I'll catch up with y'all next weekend :)

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I got this from the library and made croissants, baked them at 3:30 this morning. Holy holy holy crap that was a lot of work. And butter! I didn't roll it thin enough the first time when I cut them into triangles so I was forced to reroll each individual triangle until it was a workable thickness. I put a few chocolate chips in the middle of each and rolled it up. Some I just made into box shaped things, but the majority I attempted to make true croissants. I made them on the small side but I saved half the dough in the freezer and I'll know next time what to do differently. The book calls it to rest in a warm place for 3 hours until tripled in volume, so I put it in the oven after preheating to 150 and turning off the heat. I was aghast to see the butter start oozing all over the parchment paper, and I feared all the work of rolling and all the thousands of flaky layers (hoorah exponential growth) would be lost. Fortunately, they baked up fine but again they oozed butter and it made some smoke from the butter - I had to turn off the power to the kitchen to make sure the smoke alarm didn't go off at 3:30 in the morning and wake up the whole house.

They taste SO good, I only wish the people I'm giving them to could eat them warm from the oven like I did.

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Have you tried the Montreal bagels in Alford and Duguid's HomeBaking?

I haven't, but I also don't have the book. Mine seemed to turn out just fine, not tough once they'd risen, been boiled and baked. I was mostly remarking on how stiff the dough was since I was working it before it had risen at all.

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I was aghast to see the butter start oozing all over the parchment paper ... they baked up fine but again they oozed butter and it made some smoke from the butter

I have heard that's a problem with this recipe, though I don't know why. :unsure:

"I just hate health food"--Julia Child

Jennifer Garner

buttercream pastries

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I'm not really following what everyone else is doing but I just made the "Best Ever Brownies"... and I think she may be right. These are the most delicious brownies I've ever tasted

Edit- Croissants went over HUGE. Even in miniature and cold, people couldn't get enough. Someone who apparently knows Canadian/French pastries said the dough in particular was better than in some of the shops she'd gone to. She called it something, it's pain au chocolat in france, but something different in Canada..

Edited by I82Much (log)
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To I82Much and anyone else who has made the "Best Ever Brownies" from BWJ:

I'm planning on trying these out on Sunday night, to cap off a little potluck dinner with friends. I know the recipe calls for an unbuttered ceramic or glass 9x9 square pan, but what do you think would happen if I used (what I think of as) a traditional brownie pan: 8x8 medium-weight (Williams-Sonoma brand) nonstick metal? I imagine I might have to bake them a bit longer if I use an 8x8, but do you think that using a metal pan (and a darkish one at that) would cause them to cook faster than with glass or ceramic?

She blogs: Orangette

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Enzian, welcome and thanks for the blow-by-blow pics. I really enjoy these photos but have hesitated to post mine. Do others enjoy them, or think it's a waste of bandwidth? Curious.

I was apprehensive, too, to post my bandwidth choking pics, but I really love to see others do it, so I figured I'd go for it. If I caught any flak, I could remove them. No harm, no foul.

Meh.

I'm thrilled to hear everyone likes them! Wow! :D Thanks! I'm a kitchen voyeur, too, and it's strange to realize I've become an exhibitionist. ;)

I'd post more pics of my awesome French bread (I've yet to try Mr. MacGuire's advice - but soon!) but I've got to find the digital camera. I guess I should be glad my wife took four long months to lose something so expensive. She's usually much more efficient. The higher the pricetag, the quicker it's gone. :angry::blink:

:wub: I wub her, still. The fact she can't find her car keys on a daily basis is part of her charm.

Edited by Enzian (log)
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cheeseandchoc:

A 10-inch Springform Pan would probably be a better sub. for the 9X9 Brownie Pan, if you have it. Round brownies sound weird, but you could still cut them square and have a few curved bits to sample for yourself. The surface area of that springform is much closer to 9X9 than the 8X8 is.

rich

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I would not try them in an 8 inch square pan. The reason? These are HIGH brownies. It's a lot of batter and it rises a little bit (maybe the voluminous eggs?) so it might overflow. The cake pan suggestion is a good one - who knows, you could even present it as slices and top with ice cream or some such

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Wow after watching that video of making croissantsI am amazed at how well written the baking with julia book is - I did everything exactly the same way, well except without a nice marble countertop and rolling pin.

I guess I must have proofed it at too high a temperature, that must have caused the leaking butter..

Edited by I82Much (log)
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Wow after watching that video of making croissantsI am amazed at how well written the baking with julia book is

I have the croissant episode saved on my Tivo, and have been running back and forth between it and my kitchen (where I, too, do not have a marble pastry board). I love how Esther MacManus talks about how to handle the dough (authoritatively, "you are the boss") in the episode.

And now, off to make the first turn!

"I just hate health food"--Julia Child

Jennifer Garner

buttercream pastries

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