Category "baking"

why is my bread too tough?

trying to get the hang of making good artisan bread, and my last loaf tasted great. But it stayed flatter than previous efforts, and was very tough. I am doing

Ingredients or techniques to a more solid lasagna

What are the crucial ingredients or cooking techniques to a more solid, or "brick" like lasagna? Most lasagna I've seen tends to get a bit sloppy in the pan as

Can I always use butter instead of margarine when baking?

Some recipes says use butter or margarine, some say use butter and some say use margarine. My question is, can I always use butter or does margarine have some p

domestic bread steaming -> will my stone be okay?

Trying to maximise the oven rise of my loaf, and think I will try the steaming method, but what is the best way to do this in a domestic electric oven, and will

How to make softer biscotti?

I made this biscotti recipe yesterday - Fruity Christmas Biscotti. It contains plain flour, baking powder, mixed spice, golden caster sugar and eggs. The recipe

Can I freeze muffin mixture?

I am making these muffins but would like to freeze half the mixture - will this be ok or will it affect how they cook/rise/taste when I cook my second batch (fr

Baking bread ... without crust?

My fiancee doesn't like to eat the crust of bread. I like to bake bread. But she ends up cutting off like half of each piece in the process of de-crust-ifying i

How to convert a recipe calling for active dry yeast into rapid rise yeast?

I have a recipe for rolls where the first stage calls for 2 packages active dry yeast, 1 tbsp sugar, and 1/2 cup warm water to be mixed until the yeast is proof

Pumpkin Roll Technique

How do you roll a pumpkin roll cake without it breaking mid-fold?

yeast subtitution in a recipe with no water

I have found this recipe, but I want to use dry active yeast, rather than easy blend. My question is can I proof (right word?) the yeast in the milk? and how mu

For reheating stuffing in the oven, how long would you bake it and at what temperature?

I've made Bread Stuffing with Fresh Herbs from Cooks Illustrated this year for Thanksgiving, and I'm going to need to reheat it to serve. It cooked for seventy

can i bake pine nuts?

I was thinking of adding pine nuts to a caneloni filling, but wasn't too sure if the heat would make the nuts release anything nasty.

How to melt butter most conveniently?

Many cake recipes say to add melted butter and mix it in. In my experience butter needs to be melted to a temperature of about 50-70 degrees Celsius to be soft

If I have much lower than normal humidity, how should I change the amount of flour that dough needs?

I made some rolls that came out dense, rather than light and fluffy, and with much thicker crusts than I would have preferred. After the second of 3 rises, the

Dangers to continuing to cook an unfinished torte?

I made the mistake of assuming a torte would be done when the timer went off. I removed it from the oven and turned off the heat. Forty minutes later I discov

Would these ingredients work for a Gift In a Jar?

I am planning on making a Gift In a Jar for a cake. An example of a Gift In a Jar can be found here. Basically I would be putting the following ingredients in t

What is a French Rolling Pin?

I was recently given a 'French Rolling Pin' as a gift. To me, it just looks like a fancy dowel-rod. What exactly is it, and what is it useful for?

My bread is tasteless

I'm in the middle of trying to tackle making baguettes without all the fancy equipment of a typical bakery. I'm getting closer and closer to a perfect texture

Why do some pies call for two crusts, and some do not?

Most fruit pies call for two crusts, whereas most custardy pies do not. However, my apple pies with one crust or two or substantially the same. Is the number

Why use metal cake pan instead of silicone one?

I've been using silicone cake pans in my electric oven for a while and they work great and cakes come out easily and washing then is also very convenient. Howev