Author Topic: OT: The Bakery (Read 8273 times)

grit · « **Reply #50 on:** August 12, 2020, 10:49:22 PM »

Macaroons and cinnamon buns sound delicious. They look like they came out great. That rye bread looks good too, a rye sourdough sounds like a nice flavor combo.

Here are the two recent sweet baking projects. The Great British Baking Show inspired me to try my hand at creme patissiere, and our vegetable box delivery service has been providing us with some top-notch strawberries recently, so I put it all together in a strawberry tart. The shortcrust case recipe I used was the best I've ever tried - it's made with powedered sugar (icing sugar).

My sister-in-law prefers chocolate cake, so I got in her good graces as well with this devil's food cake (which can be made without a mixer!)

Bryan · « **Reply #51 on:** August 26, 2020, 10:19:00 PM »

Those of you in the UK should probably stock up on flour and yeast. If you've seen my weekend photos lately there seems to be plenty of wheat here in the Palouse, but that's about half way around the world.

"Bread price may rise after dire UK wheat harvest"
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-53921121

Pete_R · « **Reply #52 on:** August 27, 2020, 06:47:26 AM »

Quote from: Bryan on August 26, 2020, 10:19:00 PM

Those of you in the UK should probably stock up on flour and yeast. If you've seen my weekend photos lately there seems to be plenty of wheat here in the Palouse, but that's about half way around the world.

"Bread price may rise after dire UK wheat harvest"
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-53921121

Yes, saw that. Problem now is people will panic buy and we'll get another shortage. Not that I would do that of course. I mean, I really do need that 30Kg of flour I've just ordered.....

Ed Wenn · « **Reply #53 on:** September 01, 2020, 05:02:18 PM »

Quote from: Francois on May 02, 2020, 02:34:10 PM

Besides, if Ed didn't have a camera phone, I honestly don't know what he would do?

Wait, there's a baking thread on Filmwasters all of a sudden?! Cool.

Ed Wenn · « **Reply #54 on:** September 01, 2020, 05:03:48 PM »

Quote from: gothamtomato on May 28, 2020, 07:13:29 PM

Here's my attempt at recreating Meghan & Harry's Lemon Elderflower Royal Wedding Cake :

Best cake ever!

(Yours, not theirs)

Ed Wenn · « **Reply #55 on:** September 01, 2020, 05:10:20 PM »

Quote from: gothamtomato on June 17, 2020, 03:55:14 PM

A couple of years ago I had the bright idea to make chocolate chip cookies, except replace the chips with blueberries. When they first came out of the oven they were great; crispy around the edges and chewy inside - really DELICIOUS. I thought, wow! I'm a genius! I invented Blueberry Chip Cookies! How did no one ever think of this before? I'm going to be rich! So I put them in a container overnight to take into work, but the next morning when I opened the tupperware, they had turned into soggy muffin tops and all stuck together in one big blob.

So these are the cookies that for a few minutes, almost made me rich...

Are dried blueberries a thing? Surely, they're worth a go instead of using fresh ones as I am guessing that they wouldn't cause a soggy bottom problem? I assume you used fresh blueberries that time you almost became rich?

Francois · « **Reply #56 on:** September 01, 2020, 09:13:22 PM »

We also have frozen ones here. Probably much better than the mush in a can! (A.K.A. Smurf paste)

I just made some more cupcakes. This time I tried my hand at cocoa frosting from scratch. It turned out a bit on the thin side but it was still yummy!

So Ed, What you been up to?

Ed Wenn · « **Reply #57 on:** September 02, 2020, 09:57:37 AM »

Working, wrangling children, baking (natch), helping my daughter get decent results from her Polaroid OneStep + (that's a work in progress!), more baking, oh and I recorded three hip hop songs at the start of lock down (https://thefightbackcommittee.bandcamp.com/releases. Am now back to playing guitar with the proper band.

Photography-wise I have a stack of quite expired FP-100 45 film that I'd dearly love to use in my posh ONDU pinhole, but which I can't due to a wrong-sized screw. If only I was a member of an active photography forum and could ask a question there to try and get it resolved.....

To keep this Off Topic thread on topic (as it were) here are some baking related photos from Monday and Tuesday of this week. I've been on holiday in Wales and Cornwall for the last fortnight and picked up some awesome flour from a water mill in Wales 2 weeks ago and couldn't wait to use it for some bread once I got home. While my sourdough starter reinvigorated itself overnight on Monday I made a standard, yeasted loaf which came out really well and tasted great, then yesterday morning I baked a sourdough loaf using the same wholemeal flour. Delicious.

Francois · « **Reply #58 on:** September 02, 2020, 04:16:34 PM »

These look really yummy.
Have you tried making swirl bread by using two different colored flours?
I had some of that when I was a kid and found it to be really fun.

So, still on the hunt for screws for that Ondu?
Should have come back here sooner, we might have been able to do something about those.

Do you still have to travel to work or can you reap the benefits of remote work?

Ed Wenn · « **Reply #59 on:** September 11, 2020, 10:11:40 AM »

I have been working from home for the best part of 3 years now, so the lockdown was no change for me on the work front...other than having a house full of people to share the experience with $:-\$

Francois · « **Reply #60 on:** September 11, 2020, 03:05:22 PM »

Well at least the kids are older now.
I know a guy who now works from home, but he's got three kids under 5 years old. His wife also now works from home. Have you ever tried to work with little monsters doing everything they can to get attention? Well, I think you have.... Stupid question

Last time I talked to him he would have done anything to drive to the office for some peace and quiet. (He lives 10 minutes away from his work place)

Francois · « **Reply #61 on:** September 15, 2020, 09:27:41 PM »

I think I need to quiz those baking brains of yours.

I just changed flour brand and I'm having a problem I never encountered in my life.
I was cooking cupcakes like usual. Same oven. Same recipe. I put in 1 teaspoon baking powder (which is included in the flour I usually use) and a pinch of salt. The usual 3 cups of flour. Same amount of milk, margarine, sugar, eggs.
That should all be fine. The cupcakes rise properly. I test them with a toothpick to make sure they are well cooked all the way to the middle.
But when you try and take the paper cups out, you see that the center is mushy and almost raw. Not enough to stick to the toothpick but too much to be edible.
The texture is more akin to play doh than anything else.
I usually cook them for 25 minutes. So I put them back in the oven. But at nearly the 40 minute mark and with a tan that's tough on the tooth, I take them out, check them again and they are still mushy.

I did blend everything together properly. My oven has a digital thermostat that I counter verified with an infrared thermometer, temperatures are OK.

What the heck is going on?

I'm quite frustrated by this one. I was expecting to eat something yummy but it all went straight to the bin.

Pete_R · « **Reply #62 on:** September 16, 2020, 12:51:38 PM »

If the mix didn't stick to the tooth pick then I would say they were cooked. The fact that longer cooking made no difference sorta confirms that. So, I would say it's not a problem of not being cooked, more an issue that the texture isn't what you expected. That could be the different flour or the baking powder you used. It was baking powder and not baking soda you used?

Francois · « **Reply #63 on:** September 16, 2020, 03:25:55 PM »

Definitely baking powder. I know that soda needs to have an acid added to the mix in order to rise.
The flour I usually use comes pre-mixed with baking powder and salt, so I don't have to worry about that.
My usual is Brodie, but this time I got some Robin Hood... they're made by the same company.
I'm starting to think that I probably didn't put enough baking powder in the mix. What I got is double acting powder. Since it's got both fast acting and slow acting agents in it, it probably takes more to get the same result. This would make the bubbles in the batter smaller and thus increase the wall thickness in between them. That would possibly make it longer to cook and keep more humidity.... But that's just a theory.

Does that actually make any sense?

Pete_R · « **Reply #64 on:** September 16, 2020, 05:14:49 PM »

Never heard of double acting powder. Google came up with this...

And really, the difference between double-acting and single-acting baking powder comes down to which type of acid is paired with the alkaline baking soda to make baking powder.

A double-acting baking powder will react and create gas bubbles twice: once when added to liquid, and again when exposed to heat. "That is, they inflate an initial set of gas bubbles upon mixing the powder into the batter, and then a second set during the baking process," explains food scientist Harold McGee in On Food and Cooking.

Since the alkaline baking soda in baking soda will always immediately react with liquid, creating that initial lift in the batter, whether or not a baking powder is single-acting or double-acting depends on what type of acid is added. "There are several different acids used in baking powders, each with a different pattern of gas production," explains McGee, adding, "Most double-acting supermarket baking powders are a mixture of sodium bicarbonate [baking soda], MCP [monocalcium phosphate], and SAS [sodium aluminum sulfate]." Single-acting baking powders use acids that are primarily heat-activated, not released after mixing with liquid.

Fortunately for the still-confused bakers out there, you're more likely to run into double-acting baking powder in the grocery store, since most single-acting baking powders are only available for commercial use. But if you do stumble upon a canister of the commercial-grade stuff, or have a recipe that calls for single-acting baking powder but only have double-acting, feel free to use the the two types of baking powder pretty much interchangeably. But keep in mind that when people are referring to "regular" baking powder, it's usually the double-acting stuff.

So looks like double acting is just the normal stuff.

Given that you've used two new ingredients, I think you need to change one and see what difference it makes.

Francois · « **Reply #65 on:** September 16, 2020, 09:20:24 PM »

When you do a cake, how much baking powder do you put in it?

Pete_R · « **Reply #66 on:** September 16, 2020, 09:59:27 PM »

Personally, I don't. I always use self-raising (as we call it) which has the raising agent included.

Here's what I use https://www.wessexmill.co.uk/acatalog/Self---Raising--Flour-1.5kg-X010S.html#SID=3

There's plenty of recipes around that use AP flour and baking powder, like this one, that gives quantities. How does this compare to what you used?

http://www.grouprecipes.com/420/yellow-cake-cupcakes.html

Francois · « **Reply #67 on:** September 16, 2020, 10:22:39 PM »

That's way more than what I used!
So there was my problem.
I found it odd that Fleishmann don't put any recommendations on their boxes and none on their website...

Pete_R · « **Reply #68 on:** November 07, 2021, 08:22:15 PM »

This thread is under used so just bumping it up.

I normally knead my bread by hand but a recent rotator cuff repair (don't click the link unless you have a strong stomach) is making that difficult so I thought I'd try the KitchenAid. Seems to work OK. In fact, probably better.

Francois · « **Reply #69 on:** November 07, 2021, 08:57:24 PM »

Shoulder problems are always a real pain.
Once had capsulitis. It took 6 months of physio and three cortisone injections to unlock it.
Thank god the doctor prescribed some marcaine along with the shots as that made it not too bad.

Bryan · « **Reply #70 on:** November 08, 2021, 03:14:02 AM »

The bread looks great, the Rotator cuff, not so great. I separated my rotator cuff about a decade ago snowboarding. Went off a huge jump and crashed hard. My friend said I was on the ground twitching. I hurt from head to toe after that. Luckily my rotator cuff popped right back in and healed on its own. I don’t do huge jumps anymore. I hope you have a good recovery from that.

Pete_R · « **Reply #71 on:** November 08, 2021, 08:17:04 AM »

I was wondering if anyone else had experience using a stand mixer to knead dough. It doesn't look like it's doing a very good job and I have to keep stopping it and getting the dough off the hook but the results seem fine. I normally do my white bread in a dutch oven but can't lift it at present so I'm using a tin so I've got nothing to compare with. Bread texture is a bit different to my normal but the rise is good.

Sandeha Lynch · « **Reply #72 on:** November 08, 2021, 01:32:28 PM »

Quote from: Pete_R on November 08, 2021, 08:17:04 AM

I was wondering if anyone else had experience using a stand mixer to knead dough. It doesn't look like it's doing a very good job and I have to keep stopping it and getting the dough off the hook but the results seem fine. I normally do my white bread in a dutch oven but can't lift it at present so I'm using a tin so I've got nothing to compare with. Bread texture is a bit different to my normal but the rise is god.

I don't have the same kind of mixer you posted above, but given some developing osteoarthritis in the base of one thumb I started making my sourdough rye in a regular food mixer. The Estonian dough mix is on the wet side and has to be beaten with a spoon anyway rather than kneaded with 'hands', but the Moulinex 1.5 litre with a knife blade (rather than a hook) does it very well in 60 secs.

Bit of a relief, tbh.

Pete_R · « **Reply #73 on:** November 08, 2021, 03:54:05 PM »

Thanks Sandeha. I've used the mixer previously for enriched doughs which tend to be wet too and definitely good for that. I haven't used a blade though. Maybe I'll try that next time.

AJShepherd · « **Reply #74 on:** November 09, 2021, 09:51:30 AM »

I've got a hand mixer which came with two dough hooks. Normally I'd just bung the ingredients in my breadmaker and shake out a loaf four hours later, but I find the breadmaker just doesn't produce a decent loaf of granary bread.
So I've been using the mixer and dough hooks to make a granary loaf, and the ones I've made so far were nice.

Though this has made me regret not buying a stand mixer when I had the disposable income, because that'd be easier.

Pete_R · « **Reply #75 on:** November 09, 2021, 11:55:07 AM »

Two dough hooks sounds like a better idea. The stand mixers (well mine anyway) has a single hook and it starts out OK but as the dough comes together it just wraps itself around the hook and goes around in circles. So I have to stop it and take it off the hook then continue. With wetter doughs it does better as the dough sticks to the side of the bowl and gets stretched as the hook pulls at it. I've tried running it at a higher speed so the dough gets thrown against the side of the bowl which helps but then the mixer jumps up and down and gets hot. Maybe I should try making the dough wetter.

With a few months for my shoulder to heal, I'll have plenty of time to experiment.

Pete_R · « **Reply #76 on:** June 02, 2022, 04:00:30 PM »

Any excuse to bump this thread.

Of no interest to anyone outside the UK and of marginal interest to those in the UK, today marks 70 years of the reign of the Queen. We celebrated with our own private afternoon tea which gave me an excuse to get baking.

Three types of bread, three types of cakes and scones. Took a week to make it all and a lot less to eat it.

Francois · « **Reply #77 on:** June 02, 2022, 09:29:08 PM »

It does look really yummy!
I feel that no matter what people's position is concerning the Queen, it is still a remarkable thing to have the same duties for so long.
This morning they were talking about her coronation on the radio. Back in the days, they had something like 80 cine cameras filming the entire event. They processed all the film, did a cut, duplicated it, put it on a fast plane to send the reels to Montreal. All this took only 4 hours plus the time zone difference.

EDIT: My mom just saw the picture and went "Wow! And we aren't even invited?"
She's wondering what the bread (with possibly cheese) that's in between the two strawberry shortcakes really is?

When it's really warm, we make some cucumber sandwiches and sometimes eat them under the trees with a nice "cuppa"

Bryan · « **Reply #78 on:** June 02, 2022, 10:18:02 PM »

That looks delicious! It's of interest in the U.S., we're always looking for reasons to party. We celebrate Cinco de Mayo more than the Mexicans. by the way, she only needs 2 more years to beat Louis XIV as the longest serving monarch.

Pete_R · « **Reply #79 on:** June 02, 2022, 10:35:51 PM »

Quote from: Francois on June 02, 2022, 09:29:08 PM

She's wondering what the bread (with possibly cheese) that's in between the two strawberry shortcakes really is?

The bread with the cheese (and home made pear chutney) is my version of a granary bread. So lots of seeds and grains. The other two are poppy seed knot rolls with coronation chicken (also home made and you can't have a royal event without coronation chicken) and rye bread with smoked salmon and lemon and dill mayo.

And those strawberry things are mini Victoria sponges made originally for Queen Victoria (I think).

Oh, and the cheese is vintage Isle of Mull cheddar. One of the strongest cheddars I know of and my favourite.

Pete_R · « **Reply #80 on:** June 02, 2022, 10:39:49 PM »

Quote from: Bryan on June 02, 2022, 10:18:02 PM

she only needs 2 more years to beat Louis XIV as the longest serving monarch.

I'm not sure she's gonna make it...

Francois · « **Reply #81 on:** June 03, 2022, 09:04:32 PM »

I must admit that she's been quite frail ever since Phillip passed away.
But who knows... she could still hold the throne for some time if Charles does all her civic duties.