The Baker's Blog


	*The Baker's Blog* at The Prepared Pantry Welcome to The Baker's Blog! Here you will find answers, tips, and neat finds—anything that we think you might be interested in. For more like this, see "Ask the Baker". - Dennis Weaver *11.22.05* In the pervious post, Jean reported mixing a two-loaf mix in her bread machine. That works. But yesterday, someone reported that her bread turned out “coarse” when mixing a two-loaf mix in her bread machine. We believe that in her particular machine, the paddle was not capable of kneading that much dough. If you are mixing a two loaf batch of bread in your bread machine to bake in the oven, whether from a mix or a recipe, we recommend that you check the dough to make certain that the gluten has been developed by adequate kneading. You can do that with the “window pane” test. Pinch a bit of dough and pull it from the dough ball to see if stretches to a thin sheet. If there is any question, knead it for a few minutes on the counter and let it rise. *11.16.05* Jean in Washington is making bread using our traditional mixes and the dough setting on her bread machine: "I made some of the Heritage Wheat Bread in the bread maker, took it out and finished it in the oven and it is wonderful looking!! Gotta hand it to this lady that she is learning new ways to make bread!!! We just LOVE homemade bread!" Most 1 1/2- or 2-pound machines have a large enough capacity to handle the two-loaf traditional mixes as long as you set the machine on "dough only" and bake the bread in the oven. Make two loaves and bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes or until done. *11.14.05* We had some great feedback to our "hot pocket" recipes. We thought we would share this grandmother's experince: "Just a note to let you know that we tried the hot pockets tonight. I felt as if I were a short order cook, as the grandkids each wanted something different. I used your sour cream/potato roll mix in the bread machine, and followed your instructions as closely as I could. We had bacon/cheese/scrambled egg, ham/bacon/cheese; chicken/broccoli/ cheese; and ham/mozzarella cheese. The bacon/cheese/scrambled egg one didn't turn out very well - the scrambled eggs were tough, but after my g-daughter took the eggs out of it, she said it was very tasty. All four of us decided that this is a keeper to serve a light supper or lunch." *11.14.05* Many bread machine owners use the dough setting on the machine and then let the bread complete the final rise in the pan. That's a great way to make bread. But when do you add the fruit and the nuts? Here is how one customer does it: "When I make your raisin bread I use the machine to make a quick dough. When it is done I start the machine again on the pizza cycle to mix in the raisins for a few minutes. Then to a pan for a final rise and into the oven." He could also knead the raisins in by hand. *10.21.05* In our last newsletter, we had a recipe for soft pretzels. We received more feedback on this recipe than any for some time. Some folks didn’t think our pretzels were properly soft. If you would like them softer and not as dense, let them rise a bit on the baking sheet before the first bake. We liked them the way they were but twenty minutes of rise time, until they have risen 50%, will make them much lighter. Several folks wrote to ask about making these pretzels by hand instead of with a stand type mixer. Yes, you can do that. Knead it as you would your favorite bread recipe. It’s the forming and cooking that makes the pretzel, not so much the ingredients. Almost any lean dough recipe would have worked. The quick bake sets the dough and makes them easier to handle without losing their shape. Boiling makes them chewy just as boiling makes bagels chewy. Finally, we had an error in the recipe. The ingredient listing called for one egg. The instructions called for an egg yolk for the wash. We goofed. We started the recipe with a whole egg wash and then decided that we wanted the more bronze color of an egg yolk wash and failed to go back and change the ingredient listing. (Yes, we do make every single recipe that we publish in our newsletter. We think that’s one of the things that sets us apart from most recipe sites. A tested recipe is a more reliable recipe.) *10.5.2005* How do you keep a pie shell from shrinking while baking?--Ann Hi, Ann. There are two conditions that will cause shrinking of an unbaked pie shell during baking: too much gluten and too much water in the water/shortening ratio. As the shell bakes, the gluten tends to tighten and pull the shell together. And as the shell bakes, water evaporates and causes shrinkage. Pie weights will help. You can buy pie weights on our site or in a specialty shop. So, here's what we suggest: 1. Use the right flour, a low protein flour. It's the proteins that form the gluten. An all purpose flour will work. A pastry flour is better. 2. Don't work the dough too much. Working the dough develops the gluten. 3. After you have rolled the dough, let it sit for five minutes. That gives the gluten a chance to relax. 4. Check you water to shortening ratio. The shorting will inhibit gluten develop and will not evaporate and shrink as water does. 5. Don't stretch the dough to fit the pan. Stretched dough tends to have a “memory” and slips back into the original shape during baking. Hope that helps. *9.26.2005* We have long claimed that measuring cups intended for liquids are notoriously inaccurate. If a measuring cup is tapered and the calibration marks are equidistant, it can only be accurate at one level. Typically, we have found measuring cups to be accurate at one level and short at another level while long at another. We have assumed that dry measures, since they only have to be accurate at one level, were true. We may have been naive. This morning JoAnn called and reported dry measures that were inaccurate. How did she know? Her tried and true recipes were no longer true. The problem was the new measuring set that she had received. Let the baker beware. *9.21.2005* Jean in Washington State reports that Splenda is about to have a brown sugar substitute available. Watch for it in stores. *9.19.2005* Phyllis L reported that she made the Root Beer cake with a cake mix: "I did make the Root Beer Cake, using a cake mix, it was wonderful, fluffy and yummy. Thanks." *9.16.2005* "I have several bar cookie and brownie recipes that I bake regularly. Can I just stick my leftovers in a plastic bag and freeze them? What is the best way to freeze bar cookies?" Most bar cookies freeze particularly well. There are two ways to freeze bar cookies: wrap them individually or wrap and freeze the whole cake after it has cooled completely. Bar cookies should last for months in a freezer (not the freezer section of your refrigerator which is not as cold). We have frozen bar cookies or six months with no noticeable loss of quality. *9.15.2005* JoAnn wrote and asked for a good rhubarb pie recipe. We didn't have one on our site so we checked with Linda Kilbride of RecipeGoldmine.com. She was gracious enough to submit this one. (Here's another pie I've got to try.) ________________ This is my favorite rhubarb pie, and it is equally as good without the sauce. Rhubarb Pie with Hot Candied Cinnamon Sauce 6 cups fresh rhubarb 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon orange peel 2 tablespoons butter Pastry for 2 (9-inch) crust pies Hot Candied Cinnamon Sauce 1 cup red hot candies 1 tablespoon water 1 tablespoon butter Wash, trim and cut rhubarb into 1-inch pieces. Sift together sugar, flour and salt. Sprinkle 1/3 of dry ingredients over bottom of the pastry shell. Mix remaining dry ingredients with orange peel. Put rhubarb into pastry shell. Sprinkle with remaining dry ingredients. Dot with butter. Top with pastry crust. Make a slit in the top. Bake at 425 degrees F for 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees F. Bake 40 to 45 minutes longer or until crust is golden. Bring red hot candies, water and butter to a boil. Serve over warm pie. 9.14.2005 The salesman that sells us sugar and flour called Friday night: "Brace yourself. The hurricane wiped out a bunch of sugar refining capacity. The price of sugar is going to jump." We stocked up. You might want to also. 9.13.2005 Several weeks ago, we had a great recipe for Fried Apple Pie. Someone asked if they could bake them. Here's our answer: Yes, they should bake just fine. Try 375 degrees for about 20 minutes or until they start to brown. I would consider frosting them. Maybe add a little lemon zest or almond extract to the frosting. It should be good. 9.12.2005 Kimberly in Michigan used to work in an orchard and made apple pies for a living. Anyone that has made that many apple pies, I've got to pay attention to. We'll bake this and maybe add it to a future newsletter when we get time. But since it's the apple season, we thought we would share it with you now. (We don't put recipes in the newsletter without baking them first, even recipes from a pro.) Thanks for sharing, Kimberly Pie Crust 2 cups of flour (pastry or multi purpose) 1/2 cup of vegetable oil 1/3 cup of water (don't matter how cold it is) Mix and roll out, divide into two. Apple Pie 3/4 cups of sugar 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon 1/4 cup of flour dash of salt 6 cups of peeled apples Mix it all together and put it in unbaked pie crust and bake first at 425 degrees for 20 minutes than turn oven down to 350 degrees for 50 minutes. For an apple pie with caramel and crumb topping. 1 cup flour 1/2 cup soft butter 1/2 cup brown sugar Mix together till it is crumbly, sit aside. Bake apple pie without topping for 20 minutes at 450 degrees. Pull it out of the oven put 6-8 pieces of caramel candy around the pie. Put on the topping than bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

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Rhubarb Pie with Hot Candied Cinnamon Sauce