You might have noticed that in my posts so far, I have emphasized the importance of scaling the heavier ingredients. Especially when I am baking, I weigh my heavier ingredients EVERY time. Well…not quite EVERY time…let’s stick with ALMOST every time (I’ll cover one exception in an upcoming post). This short post examines WHY that … Read More →
Reading the history of how the Nestle Toll-House Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe sprung into kitchen consciousness in the 1930’s is like reading a culinary Hallmark card. Unfortunately, a single Hallmark card is seldom appropriate for all occasions. What I’d like to do in this post is see what I can do to make this famous … Read More →
In my second posting on bread fundamentals, I made a couple of 9″ pan pizzas. Although they were delicious, the individual pizzas were a little petite for my taste and my crusts were too thick. In this post, I want to remedy both of those problems. The solution isn’t rocket science: (1) use a bigger … Read More →
Now that we have examined the basic ingredients in a loaf of bread and experimented with using some milk and oil to soften the texture of bread, I want to follow-up with a short post on how to adapt this information to the baking of whole wheat and rye breads. In order to do this, … Read More →
From the summary I gave in the previous post: Instead of using a recipe, I decided how much bread I wanted to bake and then worked backwards to determine how much of each ingredient (by weight) I would ultimately use. I determined that I would need to use 16 oz. of flour as a starting … Read More →
I get the impression that most home cooks are scared of bread. I think the two primary contributing factors involved in this fear are (1) a daunting array of recipes and approaches…what works and where do you start, & (2) a less than stellar personal bread-baking experience based on a desire for instant bread gratification. … Read More →
Most definitions of a “Meatloaf” get the basic outline technically correct: (1) ground meat, (2) with other ingredients, (3) and seasonings, (4) baked in the shape of a loaf. By changing the last part of that definition to (4) formed into patties and pan-fried, you have essentially defined “Hamburger Steak.” Since I don’t believe that … Read More →
Whenever I look out over the all the cooking books and blogs and websites that have been published “out there,” I see a LOT of recipes. An overwhelming wealth of recipes. Recipes as far as the eye can see. While all that diversity can be exciting when you run across something that looks interesting or … Read More →
I’m writing this blog entry as a cautionary tale for anybody out there who, like me, is addicted to watching cooking shows on television. Chapter 1 – Background I’m a big fan of Christopher Kimball and the folks at America’s Test Kitchen – I highly recommend becoming a subscriber to their site at www.AmericasTestKitchen.com. I … Read More →
I have a bird feeder outside my kitchen window – we have a gorgeous array of songbirds here in eastern Virginia that makes for delightful viewing. A couple months ago, right around the onset of winter, three different breeds of woodpeckers started visiting my bird feeder. As beautiful as they were, their instincts overpowered their … Read More →
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