83
votes
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Can one bake a cake with a cooked egg instead of a raw one?
I would say no. The function of the egg in the cake is to go in raw, mix with the other stuff, and once the raw egg has penetrated and coated the other ingredients thoroughly, bind it all together ...
- 7,082
58
votes
Which measuring scale should I buy?
Get a flat one.
You can put a bowl on the flat one & use tare weights*, or even negative weights (put a full pack of something on it then spoon out -150g etc.
The one that's got a built-in bowl ...
- 29.7k
56
votes
How do I get something sticky like honey or Golden Syrup off measuring spoons or measuring cups? Is there a better way?
It's possible to get specialized equipment for this: a plunger measuring cup. The base is adjusted to the level you need to measure, the sticky honey or syrup is poured in, and then the cup is upended ...
- 8,392
55
votes
What to use instead of cling film to wrap pastry
It is less useful than what you think
Frame challenge incoming...
Cling film is very light and made especially for such purposes. The environmental damage is extremely low - which limits what ...
- 734
52
votes
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How do I get something sticky like honey or Golden Syrup off measuring spoons or measuring cups? Is there a better way?
As, since this answer other suggestions have abounded, let me clarify.
These methods assume you want no wastage & also no cross-contamination of your source jar of the sticky component. They also ...
- 29.7k
50
votes
How do I get something sticky like honey or Golden Syrup off measuring spoons or measuring cups? Is there a better way?
Your concern is NOT getting the measuring item clean.
Your concern is ensuring the right amount of ingredient goes where it is desired.
If you have decent accuracy digital kitchen scales (relatively ...
- 441
49
votes
Baking at a lower temperature than the recipe calls for
Convert 350°F to 175°C - I don't think there's any lower temperature issue here.
If your oven goes up to 260 degrees, I'm guessing that's 260°C, not 260°F. (260°C is 500°F, so that's not a surprising ...
- 58.2k
49
votes
Is there any way to bring an egg to its natural state (not boiled) after you cook it?
No, there is no way you could do this in a kitchen. The process of denaturation is usually considered irreversible, a boiled egg stays boiled.
Ok, it is possible to un-denaturize proteins if you have ...
- 58.6k
49
votes
How do I get something sticky like honey or Golden Syrup off measuring spoons or measuring cups? Is there a better way?
What I do, if the recipe calls for any sort of oil, measure that first, then the honey slides out pretty well.
- 491
48
votes
Do modern ovens bake the same as the old ones? Is the new oven the reason popovers don't rise?
I'd guess it's not the new oven that's wrong, but the old one.
Older ovens has less accurate thermometers & were maybe 20° hotter at the top than the bottom. The chances are your hand-me-down ...
- 29.7k
45
votes
Accepted
Is it okay to measure flour by weight by converting from volume?
Short answer: YES. Measuring by weight is actually the better way to measure flour.
In fact, measuring flour by weight is the preferred method of measuring it in most places. This is because while ...
- 3,045
39
votes
Accepted
Beating egg white and whipping cream
I assume by 'rise' you mean 'can be beaten into a foam' (rather than increasing in volume like leavening bread or a cake in an oven).
Egg white and whipped cream both trap air bubbles when whipped, ...
- 11.9k
38
votes
Accepted
How was the usage of yeast for bread discovered?
The first yeast was "just there" - in the environment, everywhere. People discovered very early on that leaving the dough (or just a flour-water slurry) out would lead to it getting "...
- 58.6k
38
votes
Accepted
How did replacing flour in muffins go so wrong?
Muffins and cakes rise because of chemical leavening agents and the expansion of hot gasses, they stay risen because the flour and sugar forms a structure which traps the air, then solidifies enough ...
- 75.4k
35
votes
Accepted
Is there a trick for softening butter quickly?
Use a grater
If your butter is too stiff, try using a cheese grater on it. The mechanical action will warm the butter slightly and soften it, and the huge increase in surface area will allow the room'...
- 669
34
votes
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Wood versus marble rolling pin 'performance'
Yes, in my experience it is almost impossible to coat a marble rolling pin with flour. However, like flour many doughs tend to stick less to the very smooth surface, and because a marble rolling pin ...
- 661
32
votes
Accepted
I accidentally added butter into flour/cocoa powder/baking soda without beating first
Think shortbread / pie dough:
If you have a food processor, dump the butter & dry ingredients in, pulse until you have a coarse crumble. Add some liquid - either your egg (beaten!) or, even ...
- 58.6k
32
votes
Accepted
Mystery ingredient in cookies with cream tartar
It's "spry"... which is actually what it looks like.
Spry was apparently a brand name shortening.
This related question "Is there anything special about "homogenized" shortening?" ...
- 16.5k
32
votes
Accepted
Is it safe to wrap food in aluminum foil before baking it?
Not only is it safe but there are entire collections of recipes developed around "foil pack" cooking. Mostly centered around 'campfire' cooking, where one prepares all of the ingredients, wraps them ...
- 18.2k
32
votes
I want my potatoes to be baked within an hour, but I forgot to preheat the oven. Should I put them in while preheating or not?
In the UK, we call these 'jacket potatoes'1.
As already mentioned, putting them in a cold oven as it heats might win you five minutes, but not much more. It's very slightly more efficient overall than ...
- 29.7k
32
votes
Accepted
Cocoa vs cacao pâte vs 100% dark chocolate
First, let's get the English terms straight. What Pierre Hermé meant is chocolate liquor, and the translator should have researched the term, instead of simply using a French word where an unambguous ...
- 136k
31
votes
Accepted
Why does dough and its ingredients need to be cold?
It's not drastically important in making it workable, it's more important in the texture of the finished result.
When you roll out pastry dough, you are created interleaving layers of fat and the ...
- 43.5k
31
votes
Accepted
Why not make sourdough bread from young starter?
The advice to let the culture mature before you use it is targeted to getting reliable results. A mature sourdough culture has a relatively small number of strains of microorganism, which have ...
- 26.9k
30
votes
How do professional bakers handle rotating trays while mass producing cookies/muffins/cakes/etc.?
Swapping and rotating baking trays is recommended in order to account for differences in temperature inside residential ovens. Typically, the top of the oven is significantly hotter than the bottom. ...
- 7,369
30
votes
Accepted
What causes dough made from coconut flour to not stick together?
Gluten is what makes a dough stick together and have structure. Coconut flour has no gluten, so the resulting dough will be a crumbly mess. Intentionally gluten free recipes usually contain any number ...
- 10.6k
30
votes
Do these lines in ceramic pie plate mean cracks?
TL;DR: that's just surface crazing, it's probably fine, but ...
Potter of 30 years experience here.
What you're seeing there is called "crazing". It happens because the glaze doesn't "...
- 61.4k
30
votes
Accepted
How would I manipulate this recipe (or another) to make Jäger Bomb flavoured macarons?
Macaron halves aren't pastry, they are a type of meringue, I'm assuming you aren't making pastry too.
You can't add red bull to the macaron sides, it will ruin the consistency and you won't get lift. ...
- 75.4k
29
votes
How much do egg yolks and whites weigh, in grams?
The rule of thumb to divide an egg is:
60% egg-white
30% yolk
10% shell
So it depends on the size of egg you use (note that the size definition varies between countries).
Example:
For a ...
- 58.6k
29
votes
Accepted
How can I tell the difference between unmarked sugar and stevia?
Don't throw it away. Worst case you use up the mystery sweetener on yourself, and use a new pack of Stevia for your wife and anything you share. That's what I recommend if you're not convinced by my ...
- 43.7k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible