Questions tagged [baking]
Questions about cooking by dry heat without direct exposure to a flame, typically in an oven.
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Xanthan gum in bread baking
I was under the impression that Xanthan Gum could be used in bread in order to increase the hydration and make it fluffier. I have tried it three times (0.5% - 1% of flour weight) in two different ...
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Differences between cloth, fiberglass and silicone baking mats?
There are various reusable baking/parchment paper substitutes on the market now, and a quick trawl through Aliexpress reveals at least three kinds:
Cloth, reinforced with fiberglass (very cheap, from ...
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What to use instead of cling film to wrap pastry
I'm trying to stay away from single use plastics for the environment. The only kitchen thing I have not yet managed to find a substitute for is wrapping pastry in cling film to let it rest in the ...
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Can I make buckwheat flour starting from toasted buckwheat?
My wife asked me to buy "buckwheat" and I did, but she meant buckwheat flour (for making bread) and I got toasted buckwheat instead.
I don't want to throw it out if I don't have to. We have a mortar ...
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Making clarified butter by removing water but not the milk solids?
People say that clarified butter doesn't taste as good as normal butter, but what if you were to make it in a way that retains the milk solids but still removes the water? So it would be something ...
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Removing that eggy smell from cakes
I've been baking for not that long now and I usually peruse the web and the hundreds of books I have at home before I attempt a recipe. However there is one thing I am just not able to get down right. ...
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Why is this croissant dough not behaving as expected?
I followed this video recipe for croissants, but whereas the video shows a soft, silky dough that proofs beautifully, I ended up with a dense, dry dough that has not risen appreciably after 90 min. I ...
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Gummy residue from baking spray/oil
I'm sure everyone's seen this - that brownish stuff left behind when you grease an area of a baking dish that gets left exposed to the heat. Soap doesn't bother it too much, and it likes to gum up my ...
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How to get rid of the taste of flour in homemade bakery?
I usually get random cookie and cake recipes from the internet and try them. They are good but all of them have floury taste to me. Possible culprits are the flour I use and how I mix and bake dough. ...
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Are lye and baking soda interchangeable (in varying quantities) for bagels/pretzels?
My understanding is that lye and baking soda are used in water baths when making bagels and pretzels in order to reduce PH. I got some lye and it is working wonders but it is a bit of a hassle to use ...
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How to bake bread and desserts without an oven?
Preface: I already read Is it possible to bake a cake without an oven? and Baking pizza without an oven.
The package of many prearranged, UNcooked frozen flour products presuppose the use of an ...
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Can I substitute whole eggs for egg whites in cake mix?
A box of white cake mix needs three egg whites. If substituting whole eggs for egg whites, how many whole eggs would I use?
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Combining melted chocolate with eggs
I've come across a number of recipes (the most recent of which was this) which suggest various combinations of adding hot melted chocolate to a mixture that contains eggs.
The problem that I have ...
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answers
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Preventing mug from breaking when making mug cake
I am making mug cake in a pot using steaming method and I will use normal tea cup.
I want to know what precautions I must take so that the cup doesn't break after baking
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How much dough (by weight) to make to fit my bread tin
My bread loaf tin does not have any labels on it (e.g. 1lb, 2lbs etc.). It does not have a lid. It is also not squarely shaped, so calculating the volume by its dimensions is not clear.
Instead, I ...
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Heat retention of parchment paper vs aluminum foil vs oven bag
Let's say a pepper is completely but loosely wrapped in either tin foil, parchment paper, or a Reynold's oven bag. Let's say the oven is maintaining a relatively constant temp.
Which would cook the ...
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Should you add some salt to flour when baking?
I was always taught to add a pinch of salt to flour when baking (mainly cakes / muffins and puddings).
I have recipes that specifically mention adding salt and others that don't.
Is there a ...
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Does yeast lose strength over time?
I make bread about 2-3 times a week (all the bread we eat) and get yeast in a small jar (Fleischmann's), kept refrigerated. For a mid sized bread, I use 5/8 teaspoon of yeast. However, I have noticed ...
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Does using less sugar fundamentally impact how a cake or pie comes out other than sweetness?
One of my favorite pies is Impossible Pie, named such because you need only mix the ingredients and bake in a greased pan and it will form three layers (bottom crust, middle custard, top crunchy ...
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How can I best bake cookies from cold dough?
I like to make chocolate chip cookies, and the first batch always turns out great. However I don't use all the dough at once, so I refrigerate the leftovers. When I use this cold dough to make another ...
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New Samsung range temperature fluctuation [duplicate]
My Samsung range (still under warranty) fluctuates as much as 50 degrees Farenheit in my personal experience. The technician has been here 3 times. He claims it is normal for the oven temperature to ...
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Is there a way to proof a wet dough in the same container?
I'm here not questioning that a second rising (a.k.a. proofing)
of a
wet
dough
is necessary. It is, or else you'll get what someone termed "elephant skin".
But I am baking a wet dough too ...
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What needs to be added to quinoa flour make it "behave" like all-purpose flour?
I'm a Type 2 diabetic who loves bread and pasta, so I'm exploring ways of making my favorite foods more "blood sugar friendly", hoping that I can re-integrate them into my diet in a healthy way.
...
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Dominique Ansel book - ambiguity in the recipe
I have this book https://www.amazon.com/Everyone-Can-Bake-Simple-Recipes/dp/1501194712 at home. And I wanted to try the "White Chocolate Glaze" from page 253.
But I am baffled about this ...
CommunityBot
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Why won't my bread rise much during baking?
I'm trying some bread making for the first time and am having a hard time getting my bread to rise during baking. Here is the recipe I'm following: http://www.food.com/recipe/5-minute-artisan-bread-...
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How many cake mix boxes would I need for to make a 9 inch cake with 6 layers [closed]
I am baking a 6 layer 9inch birthday cake for my daughter. How many cake mix boxes would I need to do this please? X
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Why use a poolish and dry yeast?
I'm in the process of trying a new pizza dough recipe that calls for a poolish (equal weights flour and water, with a small amount of dry yeast, left at room temperature overnight), as well as dry ...
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Adding baking powder as a final step
Being someone that bakes infrequently I prefer to have plain flour on hand and add baking powder rather than purchase self-raising flour. Something I've noticed recently by experimentation and further ...
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How to bake crushed peppermint into cake?
I'm still fairly new to baking and I'm making cupcakes for a Christmas party on Thursday and I couldn't seem to find a recipe online for the the kind I want to make, which is a peppermint cupcake. ...
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Does simply grinding malt make diastatic malt powder?
I am looking to make some bagels. I already have malt powder which I believe to be nondiastatic but I am also interested in adding diastatic malt powder, which I'm having a hard time finding.
I have ...
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What methods for cooking fish with dry heat remain after eliminating oven, cast iron, and Teflon?
Though lately quite fond of experimenting with different marinades on fish steaks (of various kinds), and briefly baking in a preheated 400F/200C oven, I'm unhappy with how wasteful it is to do this ...
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Vegan substitutes for eggs in baking [duplicate]
What can I use instead of eggs for baking, ie, I need very close vegan alternatives.
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Best way to bake a breakfast casserole and reheat a ham in the same oven
I’d like to bake my breakfast casserole & reheat ham chunks at the same time in the same oven. I fear the breakfast casserole may taste like ham. If I cover the ham will that help?
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How to have a swiss roll keep its shape
I made a bûche de noël this Christmas, using a rolling technique, like a swiss roll. I tried my best to get a good shape: I rolled the sponge sheet right out of the oven and let it cool down in the ...
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how do you thicken cheese fillings so it doesnt melt when baking
i am stuffing cream cheese inside chicken. i would like to bake it off in the oven. what can i add to the cheese to make it not melt out
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My stuffed turkey is almost cooked but really no juices
Stuffed turkey crown is almost cooked but there is virtually no juices how can I rectify this
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What kind of flour is needed for strudel/fillo dough?
In Hungary, they sell "rétesliszt", strudel-flour. What makes it better for strudel? Is it higher gluten? Lower? Softer? Harder? Which flour in a typical (USA) supermarket comes closest to rétesliszt?
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How to heat up already baked french bread in oven to get a crispy crust
Where I live I do not have access to great quality bakery breads. Is there a way to heat up an already baked french sandwich baguette in oven to get a crispy outer texture? Water mist on top before ...
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answers
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Cornbread recipe: keeping fat separate?
I made this cornbread recipe from Mark Bittman. It calls for heating the fat (butter/olive oil/lard/bacon drippings) in the baking pan and then pouring the cornbread batter in. It came out great. I ...
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Protecting gingerbread house windows from humidity
We made some pretty good windows for our gingerbread house this year, by putting crushed boiled sweets (hard candy) in the cut holes for the last few minutes of baking.
But since then they've absorbed ...
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How do I achieve an even color on my pastry – without fats?
How do I achieve an even color of my pastry without using fats (oil or eggs)? Is it even possible? This patchy look kind of puts me off these otherwise decent pirozhki.
I baked them in a convection ...
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DIY Alphabet and Number-shaped Cereal
Out of curiosity, is there a way to recreate alpha-bits cereal and number-shaped cereal from scratch at home? I want to make the cereal in these flavors: Plain, Frosted, Cocoa, Cinnamon-Brown Sugar ...
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Are there any substitutes for Shortening?
I was specifically thinking about the Crisco shortening that is used in baking.
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Toasting dry rosemary
When I want to flavor my focaccias or bread loaves with spices or herbs, I add them dried to the dough instead of topping the final product before baking. In this way, I don't lose them when I slice ...
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Pavlova trypophobia
I just finished baking my third pavlova and it seems fine except that there's a strange circular pattern covering the exterior which is triggering my trypophobia!
Does anyone have any tips on how to ...
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Why won't my pizza cheese brown?
I'm trying to make pizza that's comparable to ones you get at restaurants. It's pretty good, but it's lacking those classic brown spots on the cheese.
I'm using pre-shredded mozzarella cheese, so I ...
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How fast does an oven cool?
I've got a pumpkin pie recipe that calls for baking at 425F for 15 minutes, then 30-40 minutes at 350F. When I bake it in my countertop oven, the crust comes out underdone in the middle.
I think this ...
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How to get cracks in my ginger molasses cookies
I used this recipe to make ginger molasses cookies. Though the cookies tasted great, my cookies didn't develop any cracks in them like the ones in the picture. I tried baking them for longer, but that ...
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Change cake recipe (or technique) to improve consistency after freezing
I'm interested in how I can improve a recipe for better freezing capabilities. For freezing I follow pretty much this answer. The cake however still lacks a lot of "fluffyness" compared to ...
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Why is my spatchcocked chicken bloody?
I cooked a medium sized chicken spatchcocked with the backbone removed and the bird flattened after I cracked open the breastbone "star" with a sharp knife. The bird was placed skin side up ...
