Category "baking"

What causes the chemical taste in commercial bakery products?

Over the last 10 years or so, I’ve noticed a chemical taste in most commercial bakery goods (not packaged factory ones but rather the in-store bakery at a

1 baking pan, dough for 2 loaves. What do?

I am making bread from this recipe for 2 loaves. The recipe calls for placing the dough in the baking pan and leaving it for 1 hour until the dough doubles in s

How can I portion out frozen cookie dough?

A friend's kid was doing a fundraiser, and I now have two 3 lb tubs of cookie dough. It's frozen, which is great on one hand because it keeps for so much longer

Good qualities of ovens/microwaves for baking cake

My aunt wants to start her own bakery where she is planning to sell different kinds of biscuits, cakes, and desserts. But she cannot afford to buy an industrial

Baking chicken while respecting maximum olive oil temperature

I normally cook chicken on a pan with some olive oil (which supports a maximum temperature of 160C) but I am trying to bake on the oven instead. I've found a r

Why is gluten-free baking possible?

Maybe a silly question, but I've been trying to learn a lot of baking fundamentals and trying to understand specifically what makes a cake. Most explanations I'

Shelf life of homemade self-rising flour?

I have a recipe that uses self-rising flour which is not available where I live, so I make my own by sifting all-purpose flour, baking powder and salt together.

Substitute for vanilla caster sugar

I'm planning on making a lemon tart and the recipe calls for "100 g vanilla caster sugar". Over here (Netherlands) vanilla caster sugar isn't really sold in sup

Do I need to boil flax seed egg substitute?

Most recipes I've seen for flax “eggs” simply say to mix 1 tbsp of ground flax seed with 3 tbsp of water and chill, but I read a recipe (I think it

Can I save an undercooked loaf of pumpernickel?

I made this pumpernickel recipe from YouTube (recipe below) and I think I underbaked it: it has a little of that unpleasant chalky taste of raw flour. Can I re

bread dough rising without airing cupboard

I did live in a house with an airing cupboard which did work. However, I have a breadmaker and make the dough ready to shape into pitta bread pieces but how do

Are there disadvantages to storing bread in a vacuum box?

I love fresh bread, and when I buy it I store it at home in a plastic bag. After 2-3 days it has probably lost about 60% of its overall quality. I've been using

Dry Cookie Dough

I used this recipe to make chocolate chip cookies. I’ve made it many times and it usually is a hit! This time, I decided to use brown butter instead of ro

Is boiling or pouring better for emulsifying chocolate ganache

I am making a recipe that calls for emulsifying solid chocolate with a heated milk/butter mixture. Most articles online say to pour the hot milk on to the choco

Why are amaretti mixed as they are?

Most recipes for amaretti call for the sugar to be combined with the ground almonds and then added to beaten egg whites. When making meringue, on the other hand

Why are croissants brushed twice with egg glaze?

What is it about croissants that requires two coats of egg glaze? All the recipes for brioche buns for example just require one coat before baking. With croissa

Why combine AP flour and bread flour?

I've seen some recipes that call for AP flour and bread flour. What's the point of that? Assume AP flour has 10.5% protein and bread flour has 11.5% protein. I

Why refrigerate bagels after shaping dough?

I've noticed that recipes for bagels call for a refrigeration period after shaping. Why does it matter if the refrigeration is done after shaping? The shaped

Can you make croissants with compound butter?

Has anyone ever tried making croissants (or leavened puff pastry) with compound butter (e.g. basil butter, cinnamon butter)? Are there any practical issues with

Is no-knead bread method compatible with stretch and fold during the bulk rise?

Using the no-knead method (as decribed by Jim Lahey), instead of leaving the dough undisturbed during the initial fermentation period, would it be harmful to ad