Category "baking"

Crusty french bread

The crust on my french bread never turns out "crusty" like it does in restaurants, what am I doing wrong?

How to prepare butter for baking when time is limited?

From my experience, the best way to use butter when baking is to let it soften to room temperature. However, sometimes one is short on time and must use the mic

How can I make my own small pie dishes and still cook pies effectively?

I need to make individual pies this week. I would usually use pre-bought tin foil containers, approximately 10cm diameter, 3cm high. I can't buy these anywher

What is room temp Butter

Many of my baking recipes call for room temp butter. In general this just means butter soft enough to be creamed with sugar, but is this a specific temp range?

How can I make this very low hydration bread more home baker friendly?

The recipe is something like that: 400g of flour 180g of water 2g of yeast 7g of salt Part of the flour and water can be used to prepare a biga or a poolish, l

How much dough will I need in order to fill a loaf tin?

I'm going to be making a loaf of bread in a 900 g tin (11" x 4.5" x 4" deep). What is the total weight of the dough I will need (when mixed) for a tin this siz

Commercial Sponge Cake Improver?

Many years ago (35+) my grandmother received a container of a 'sponge cake improver' from a family member whom was a commercial baker. She describes it as look

Making madeleines without the special pan?

I don't have the special pan or any cupcake or muffin tins. Can I just plop spoonfuls on a cookie sheet? Does anyone know whether I have to alter the recipe?

What is the glaze on a bakery-style fruit tart?

I am looking to re-create a bakery-style fruit tartlette. I was wondering what the glaze on top of the fruit tarts you find in US bakeries is and how you can cr

My cake batter always comes out sticky. Is this normal?

When I was growing up, mum's cake batter was always smooth with a consistency like honey -- enough to pour in to the caketin. Now I'm living out on my own, I'm

Can I use guar and gelatine together?

I am baking a fancy cake recipe for the first time, and have trouble with it. Basically, the cake has three layers. The first one is a flourless bisquit. Then

Safety of Egg Yolk Glaze

Yesterday I baked a special loaf of bread with an egg yolk glaze. After it was mostly cooled I covered it with plastic wrap and set it on the counter to be ser

converting pure chocolate to "bittersweet" chocolate

A chocolate cookie recipe I'm looking at calls for melting down a cup of bittersweet chocolate chips. However, I happen to have a brick of completely unsweetene

How to cut a crumbly baked item (e.g. cereal bar) without it disintegrating?

When baking something which needs to bind - like a (British) flapjack / cereal bar - I have mixed results when it comes to cutting it, even if I repeat the same

What's the best way to stick sprinkles to cookies without icing?

I am making sugar cookies that I want to decorate with sprinkles, but I don't really want to mess about with making royal icing, which is what the recipe calls

What can I use instead of corn syrup?

I saw the question about UK, but I don't think I can find treacle of any kind in Germany. I am looking for a substitute which will keep the physical qualities

How can I avoid windswept muffins in a convection oven?

I have a very small multi-function oven (about the size of a microwave) and for baking, the recommended setting is the "convection" one. Things bake fine in te

What is seeping out of my key lime pie?

For Valentine's Day this year I attempted to make my wife a Key Lime Pie. I followed Emeril's recipe, with one small modification: I replaced the granulated su

Why don't my cookies flatten?

I have baked Betty Crocker's Giant Honey and Oat Cookies three or four times now, and every time, my cookies do not spread out, I just get thick cookies. Is the

Baker percentages, weights, volumes, and such

So a basic bread recipe might look like (off top of head, not sure if these amounts make any sense) 100 Bread Flour 30 Water 1 oil .... I know the flour i