TGIF... Baking Edition :-)

[ninamari]

Happy Friday my fellow bakers!! The week is coming to an end and the weekend is just starting!

I thought it might be fun to share what baking adventures we've had this week or what we're planning to bake this weekend. It can be just about anything: cakes, cookies, pastries, breads, desserts..... Pictures are worth a thousand words so feel free to post those too So let's pull up a chair, pour some coffee (or tea!) and let's have some fun!

Work is keeping me way too busy during the week so no bakes for me this past week. I guess I'm really more of a weekend baker. I'll have to put in additional hours this weekend (I'm working on a project with a very tight deadline) but I do want to squeeze in some baking, even if it isn't for humans! I'm planning on baking some treats for my dogs. I'm also planning on starting a sourdough starter this weekend. Fingers crossed!!!

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Yay, another obsessed baker! I've been working on a gluten-free chocolate cake so I baked three of them this week. Still not happy with it. I got the cocoa flavor right, but it's still kinda bland. Another couple of rounds and it should be a keeper.

I was in the grocery store the other day and saw all the beautiful fresh cherries. I bought a couple of pounds and wondered how would they would be in a pie. So I baked a cherry pie yesterday. I have to admit I still prefer sour cherries for pie. But you can't get them on the west coast

My cherry pie was gluten-free as well. I didn't have all the ingredients for the GF crust, so I winged it.

 

[ninamari]

Your chocolate cake looks light and airy, it reminds me of a chocolate sponge cake. And that cherry pie looks absolutely tempting!!

What about frozen sour cherries? Not available either? I know I've seen them canned but I wouldn't go that route. My husband's birthday is in March and he insisted in having a black forest cake. I tried to get him to change his mind because cherries are not in season then but was unsuccessful. I used canned tart cherries instead. The cake was good but the cherry flavor just wasn't there.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Your chocolate cake looks light and airy, it reminds me of a chocolate sponge cake. And that cherry pie looks absolutely tempting!!

What about frozen sour cherries? Not available either? I know I've seen them canned but I wouldn't go that route. My husband's birthday is in March and he insisted in having a black forest cake. I tried to get him to change his mind because cherries are not in season then but was unsuccessful. I used canned tart cherries instead. The cake was good but the cherry flavor just wasn't there.

Lol! You have a good eye. Because gluten-free baked goods have so little rise to them I use the chiffon method for my GF cakes and cupcakes. There's nothing worse than a flat cake

I've always been very wary of canned filling.. I've seen them in the grocery store but I've never tried them. My fear is that they're going to be thick and gooey. I have used frozen fruit with excellent results. I will frequently use frozen blueberries for hand pies during the winter. I'll have to look to see if there's any frozen sour cherries. I love sour cherry pie!

 

[ninamari]

I haven't tried the canned filling either, I'm afraid it'd be overly sweet. I meant just regular canned cherries. They were canned in water, but I wouldn't recommend them. I found them to be blah. Hopefully you'll find them frozen!! Now I'm craving some cherry pie... yum!!

 

[ninamari]

Happy Friday my fellow bakers!!

It's time to hear about your baking adventures this past week

I made it a point to make time to bake last Sunday. I baked my doggies some yummy treats (banana, peanut butter, and oatmeal). I had run out of their treats a few weeks ago, so I neglected them a little. They are very happy now that they have a fresh batch of treats to enjoy!

I also tried my hand at making Swiss Meringue Buttercream for the first time. It was quite the experience and I even enlisted my husband to help keep the bowl steady over the simmering water. I want to experiment a bit with it, now that I've made it at least once. We'll see how it goes this weekend I also made a batch of chocolate cupcakes because, well, I had to but the buttercream on something. My husband took some to work and they were a hit.

I'm hoping to squeeze in some baking time this weekend

How about you guys?

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Happy Friday my fellow bakers!!

It's time to hear about your baking adventures this past week

I made it a point to make time to bake last Sunday. I baked my doggies some yummy treats (banana, peanut butter, and oatmeal). I had run out of their treats a few weeks ago, so I neglected them a little. They are very happy now that they have a fresh batch of treats to enjoy!

I also tried my hand at making Swiss Meringue Buttercream for the first time. It was quite the experience and I even enlisted my husband to help keep the bowl steady over the simmering water. I want to experiment a bit with it, now that I've made it at least once. We'll see how it goes this weekend I also made a batch of chocolate cupcakes because, well, I had to but the buttercream on something. My husband took some to work and they were a hit.

I'm hoping to squeeze in some baking time this weekend

How about you guys?

Happy Friday Ninamari,

Your puppies are pampered! You'll have to post your puppy treats recipes. My grand puppies would love to get a care package from me.

I was focused on gluten free experiments this week. Two flops, and one TBD.

Flops were with a gluten-free donuts and gluten-free cinnamon roll.

In Scandinavian and Japanese breadmaking they use a cooked flour roux to add moisture and softness to the bread. In Scandinavian bread it's referred to as scaled flour; in Japanese bread it's called tangzhong--which is actually a Chinese word, so I'm guessing it originated in China. Japan is a string of islands. On the island of Hokkaido they make a very light delicate super fluffy bread with an in Ridgedale. The tangzhong method is used in Hokkaido milk bread. So I thought the method might make a gluten-free donut and cinnamon roll a lot lighter and fluffier.

I've experimented with tangzhong in wheat flour cinnamon rolls with pretty decent results. So I thought I would try to adapt it to gluten-free. While the donuts were edible, they overly browned given the 70/30 starch to whole grain flour blend. I did achieve a soft crumb and good rise. I just need to tweak the flour blend to keep it from over browning.

The cinnamon roll dough was a total flop. My hydration was only 60%, but that still was too much with the tangzhong. The dough was to wet to handle. Not wanting to waste it, I placed it in a loaf pan and baked it into a bread. It was OK bread--nothing to write home about.

I have a batch of gluten-free cookie dough resting in the refrigerator now. I wanted to make a chocolate chunk oatmeal chipper reminiscent of this miniature cookie I used to buy years ago at a cookie shop at my local mall. The gluten free batter is delicious. I'll have to wait and see how it bakes up. Gluten free cookie doughs always need a long rest since the flours are resistant to hydration.

 

[ninamari]

Ah, I'm sorry to hear two of your experiments were a flop! How did the cookies turn out? Still working on the gluten free chocolate cake from the previous week?

This is the recipe (well, recipes) for the doggie treats. They have slightly different methods but the end result is equally canine-approved. At this point, I just use them for the measurements of the three ingredients. Sometimes I even make the peanut butter for these myself, but the last couple times I've used natural peanut butter to cut down on time.

http://munchkinsandmilitary.com/2015/02/homemade-peanut-butter-banana-dog-treats.html
http://www.craftymorning.com/3-ingredient-puppy-treats/

This time around, I weighed each of the ingredients after measuring them out, just so I could have it in grams. The dough is quite sticky, so after it comes together, I shape it into a disc and stick it in the freezer for a few minutes. Then, during the rolling and cutting out the shapes process, I place it back in the freezer (in a disc form) as needed to facilitate the rolling.

Here are the weighs I got:

• Rolled Oats = 170g
• Peanut Butter = 143g
• Banana = 140g

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Ah, I'm sorry to hear two of your experiments were a flop! How did the cookies turn out? Still working on the gluten free chocolate cake from the previous week?

This is the recipe (well, recipes) for the doggie treats. They have slightly different methods but the end result is equally canine-approved. At this point, I just use them for the measurements of the three ingredients. Sometimes I even make the peanut butter for these myself, but the last couple times I've used natural peanut butter to cut down on time.

http://munchkinsandmilitary.com/2015/02/homemade-peanut-butter-banana-dog-treats.html
http://www.craftymorning.com/3-ingredient-puppy-treats/

This time around, I weighed each of the ingredients after measuring them out, just so I could have it in grams. The dough is quite sticky, so after it comes together, I shape it into a disc and stick it in the freezer for a few minutes. Then, during the rolling and cutting out the shapes process, I place it back in the freezer (in a disc form) as needed to facilitate the rolling.

Here are the weighs I got:

• Rolled Oats = 170g
• Peanut Butter = 143g
• Banana = 140g

Thank you so much Ninamari. My son and daughter-in-law just bought a new home. They have three puppy babies. Once they get settled I want to send a care package for the family. Doggie treats are always appreciated by them

I soooo appreciate the metric weight measures!!! I wish all of America would get on board of metric weight in baking.

My cookie turn out very cake like. I don't like cakey cookies at all. I thought it odd that it turned out cakey given that I reduced the amount of whole-grain flour and increased the starches specifically so it would be crunchy. And I used baking soda, not baking powder. So I did a double take, bit into three or four to confirm they were all cakey, then tossed them. Did i mention I really, really, really hate cakey cookies?

So I consoled myself with a batch of benne wafers. Benne wafers are not known very well outside of the Low Country. It's a lace cookie made with toasted sesame seeds. Being a lace cookie it is easily made into a gluten-free version. While I don't like things overly sweet the benne is my one exception. This little wafer cookie is a crunchy chewy little brown sugar bomb. It's absolutely perfect with a bowl of vanilla ice cream.

 

[ninamari]

I also wish things were in metric weighs (my husband also dreams of using the metric system, he's a CADD guy [computer-aided design and drafting], and often talks/vents about how things at work would be so much better if they used the metric system!). Once I started baking with recipes that were in weight rather than volume, I realized how much easier it is! Not to mention the consistency of the results. And recipes where everything just goes into the bowl? Man, talk about the reduction in cleaning - no need for additional measuring cups/spoons, I can weigh everything into the mixing bowl!

My plan going forward is, whenever I make a recipe that lists ingredients in volume, after I measure out a given ingredient, I'll put it on the scale to get the grams. I figure, if it came out great with that initial volume measurement, having the gram equivalent of that one time will at least allow me to replicate the same result the next time

Oh my, that cookie looks absolutely delish!! I'm with you on the cakey cookies... that's why we have cake I much prefer crunchy cookies... don't get me started on butter cookies... and shortbread....

 

[Norcalbaker59]

I also wish things were in metric weighs (my husband also dreams of using the metric system, he's a CADD guy [computer-aided design and drafting], and often talks/vents about how things at work would be so much better if they used the metric system!). Once I started baking with recipes that were in weight rather than volume, I realized how much easier it is! Not to mention the consistency of the results. And recipes where everything just goes into the bowl? Man, talk about the reduction in cleaning - no need for additional measuring cups/spoons, I can weigh everything into the mixing bowl!

My plan going forward is, whenever I make a recipe that lists ingredients in volume, after I measure out a given ingredient, I'll put it on the scale to get the grams. I figure, if it came out great with that initial volume measurement, having the gram equivalent of that one time will at least allow me to replicate the same result the next time

Oh my, that cookie looks absolutely delish!! I'm with you on the cakey cookies... that's why we have cake I much prefer crunchy cookies... don't get me started on butter cookies... and shortbread....

Oh, I like your cookie avatar! Cookie decorating is no of the most difficult things for me. Working in fine detail is effort. I'm so OCD that even the slightest jiggle in a line leaves me frowning and fretting.

Yes, metric is really the only way to go when it comes to baking. Your approach going from the measuring cup straight to the scale is probably the best way to convert recipes. Chefs have a tenancy to use different standards for the weight of ingredients. More so with flour than anything else. Since ratios of all ingredients are based on flour, converting the flour weight accurately is the key.

I use 136 grams as my standard for AP, unbleached pastry, and bread flour when creating a recipe. That was based on an average after weighing out a couple dozen cups of flour.

The differences in standards is significant among the most popular baking sources.

King Arthur Flour (KAF), which is most use as the standard

AP & Bread flour 120 grams / 4.25 oz = 1 US cup

Cake flour 114 g = 1 US cup


Dorie Greenspan, who I agree with given my experience:

AP & Bread flour 136 grams / 4.8 oz = 1 US cup

Cake flour 114 g = 1 US cup


America's Test Kitchen/Cook's Illustrated:

AP & Bread flour 142 grams / 5 oz = 1 US cup

Cake flour 114 g = 1 US cup


There's a 16% differences between KAF and Cook's Illustrated. That's significant enough that if one uses KAF's standard for a Cooks Illustrated recipe or vice versa the recipes isn't going to turn out as intended.

 

[ninamari]

Oh, I like your cookie avatar! Cookie decorating is no of the most difficult things for me. Working in fine detail is effort. I'm so OCD that even the slightest jiggle in a line leaves me frowning and fretting.

Thank you! It's kinda funny, I changed it by accident and was too lazy to change it back

 

[ninamari]

Happy Friday my fellow bakers! I hope you all had a wonderful week!

Back in June I had the opportunity to attend a pastry class, which was very good. One of the many recipes we did was a banana bread. However, the final product seemed to be dry... I didn't even eat it. Now, we all had partners during the class and, unfortunately, my partner wasn't the best. Due to the pace of the class, we would often split up recipes and he prepared this one from start to finish. For a while I'd been wondering if the less than stellar results for the banana bread from the class were due to a faulty recipe or the person making the recipe. Sooo, since I had plenty of bananas at home, I decided to find out

So this past week, I baked banana bread, following the recipe from the class. Not everything went according to plan, but that's how we learn, right? The recipe I got from the class doesn't have very detailed instructions and I should have reviewed my notes from the class more carefully. First oops!: I added all of the eggs at once instead of incorporating it little by little. Second oops!: The recipe calls for pastry flour and the only thing my grocery store had was whole wheat pastry flour from the bulk bins. When sifting the dry ingredients together, it became quite evident that maybe that wasn't the best idea, since the larger bits of the ground flour were not quite going through the sifter. Third oops!: The baking times were for mini loaves and I was baking a full loaf. My common sense didn't quite kick in before I had already opened the oven door earlier than I should have (in order to turn the pan around for even baking). But, despite my little oops, I'm happy to report that the recipe isn't faulty! Sure, my loaf didn't quite get that beautiful risen split dome at the top (it was pretty flat), but it was moist (unlike the ones from the class) and very tasty - the banana flavor was really coming through.

How about you? Any baking adventures this week?

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Happy Friday my fellow bakers! I hope you all had a wonderful week!

Back in June I had the opportunity to attend a pastry class, which was very good. One of the many recipes we did was a banana bread. However, the final product seemed to be dry... I didn't even eat it. Now, we all had partners during the class and, unfortunately, my partner wasn't the best. Due to the pace of the class, we would often split up recipes and he prepared this one from start to finish. For a while I'd been wondering if the less than stellar results for the banana bread from the class were due to a faulty recipe or the person making the recipe. Sooo, since I had plenty of bananas at home, I decided to find out

So this past week, I baked banana bread, following the recipe from the class. Not everything went according to plan, but that's how we learn, right? The recipe I got from the class doesn't have very detailed instructions and I should have reviewed my notes from the class more carefully. First oops!: I added all of the eggs at once instead of incorporating it little by little. Second oops!: The recipe calls for pastry flour and the only thing my grocery store had was whole wheat pastry flour from the bulk bins. When sifting the dry ingredients together, it became quite evident that maybe that wasn't the best idea, since the larger bits of the ground flour were not quite going through the sifter. Third oops!: The baking times were for mini loaves and I was baking a full loaf. My common sense didn't quite kick in before I had already opened the oven door earlier than I should have (in order to turn the pan around for even baking). But, despite my little oops, I'm happy to report that the recipe isn't faulty! Sure, my loaf didn't quite get that beautiful risen split dome at the top (it was pretty flat), but it was moist (unlike the ones from the class) and very tasty - the banana flavor was really coming through.

How about you? Any baking adventures this week?

Wow it's FRIDAY already! Where did the week go?

I love your positive attitude about the oops in life. I'm going to put a sticky note on my fridge that reads: "OOPS is how we learn."

I was busy this week experiencing with tangzhong (scalded flour) for the cinnamon roll I want to develop. I think I finallly figured out the percentage of tangzhong to dough. I made the tangzhong with high protein flour and the main dough with a combination of pastry flour and high protein flour. I finally ditched the microwave cooking of the tangzhong. It's too iffy in the microwave. Too often the tangzhong was rubbery. So I made it on the stovetop and got a much better result.

It produced a bakery like fluffy soft roll. So next week I'm going to try an actual tangzhong cinnamon rolls. Made a batch of biscotti too. I'm going to retire my go-to American style biscotti recipe from King Arthur Flour. It's time to go di Prato...


Tangzhong roll test

King Arthur Flour American biscotti

 

[ninamari]

Norcalbaker59 - That roll looks amazing! I love how fluffy it is. Great job!!

What's di Prato?

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Norcalbaker59 - That roll looks amazing! I love how fluffy it is. Great job!!

What's di Prato?

Hey Ninamari, im really hopefull that the roll recipe will translate to a super fluffy and soft cinnamon roll. I have to go out of town for a few days so I won't get to do any baking until the end of the week.

Di Prato is the authentic Italian biscotti. Prato is the city where biscotti originated. So biscotti di Prato is the standard for biscotti. It's a very lean dough. Just flour, sugar, eggs, citrus zest, almonds, and/or pine nuts, and/or fennel seed. It is much drier and crunchier. It has a beautiful rustic open crumb. It's made with Tipo 00 flour; it's a finely ground soft wheat flour used for pizza and pasta. The cookie was developed to dip in Vin Santo wine. In fact most people in the Tuscany region dip in wine, not coffee.

The American biscotti is a richer dough, so it's softer and moister. It has butter and baking powder. So the flavor is great, but the texture is very different. It has a closed crumb. I want that rustic open crumb. And of course, we dip in coffee

 

[ninamari]

Hey Ninamari, im really hopefull that the roll recipe will translate to a super fluffy and soft cinnamon roll. I have to go out of town for a few days so I won't get to do any baking until the end of the week.

Di Prato is the authentic Italian biscotti. Prato is the city where biscotti originated. So biscotti di Prato is the standard for biscotti. It's a very lean dough. Just flour, sugar, eggs, citrus zest, almonds, and/or pine nuts, and/or fennel seed. It is much drier and crunchier. It has a beautiful rustic open crumb. It's made with Tipo 00 flour; it's a finely ground soft wheat flour used for pizza and pasta. The cookie was developed to dip in Vin Santo wine. In fact most people in the Tuscany region dip in wine, not coffee.

The American biscotti is a richer dough, so it's softer and moister. It has butter and baking powder. So the flavor is great, but the texture is very different. It has a closed crumb. I want that rustic open crumb. And of course, we dip in coffee

Safe travels this week Norcalbaker59!!

Thank you for the info... I had no idea and when I googled Di Prato, I got results for restaurants in Columbia and New York I think I might have to "borrow" some of my husbands 00 flour to try this. He is obsessed with Italian cuisine (the savory side of things) so he taught himself how to make pasta and has a nice stash of semolina and 00 flour! I'll have to peak in his book to see if they have this Italian biscotti.

 

[Norcalbaker59]

Safe travels this week Norcalbaker59!!

Thank you for the info... I had no idea and when I googled Di Prato, I got results for restaurants in Columbia and New York I think I might have to "borrow" some of my husbands 00 flour to try this. He is obsessed with Italian cuisine (the savory side of things) so he taught himself how to make pasta and has a nice stash of semolina and 00 flour! I'll have to peak in his book to see if they have this Italian biscotti.

If he has the Tipo 00 your half way there! 00 makes a great pizza crust too

 

[RedShoe]

boy, i feel like i'm trying to skip rope with Double Dutch champions! You two are doing some awesome stuff here! I was all excited because i'm trying out two new experiments this week, but after the Japanese and Scandinavian breads, dog treats and whatnot, i'm just gonna sit over here in the corner! LOL!!

I guess i'm a simple baker. I use boxed mix because i like it, it's good and it's consistent. Then i add whatever flavors i'm feeling or that my clients ask for. This week i'm trying out a cuba libre and a mojito (in honor of my upcoming trip to the rum capital of the world, Puerto Rico!). I've made a soda pop cake before for family and it was decent, so i'd like to experiment with it a little for the cuba libre to bring out the cola taste, but keep the rich fluffiness my cakes usually have. Perhaps this is where a simple syrup would come in? I've never used it before, but reading all the posts on here about it, i'm curious. For the mojito, do you think a chiffonade of mint in the batter would be too strong? I'm not a big mint fan, so i don't have extract on hand. I'd rather pull some fresh from my mom's garden.

I'm kinda scared to ask, but what are your thoughts on these?

 

[Norcalbaker59]

boy, i feel like i'm trying to skip rope with Double Dutch champions! You two are doing some awesome stuff here! I was all excited because i'm trying out two new experiments this week, but after the Japanese and Scandinavian breads, dog treats and whatnot, i'm just gonna sit over here in the corner! LOL!!

I guess i'm a simple baker. I use boxed mix because i like it, it's good and it's consistent. Then i add whatever flavors i'm feeling or that my clients ask for. This week i'm trying out a cuba libre and a mojito (in honor of my upcoming trip to the rum capital of the world, Puerto Rico!). I've made a soda pop cake before for family and it was decent, so i'd like to experiment with it a little for the cuba libre to bring out the cola taste, but keep the rich fluffiness my cakes usually have. Perhaps this is where a simple syrup would come in? I've never used it before, but reading all the posts on here about it, i'm curious. For the mojito, do you think a chiffonade of mint in the batter would be too strong? I'm not a big mint fan, so i don't have extract on hand. I'd rather pull some fresh from my mom's garden.

I'm kinda scared to ask, but what are your thoughts on these?

Don't ever feel bad about you baking approach. There's plenty of room in the kitchen for every type of baker.

Olive Magazine published a mojito cake recipe that has a syrup using fresh mint. Link below.

You can't use anything you want to flavor the syrup. The key is the texture and color. Obviously some fruits, juices, etc will add color. Example, I recently baked an event cake with each layer a different pastel color. So using blood oranges was out as it put ruin the color of the cake.

Some ingredients may thicken, so won't absorb well into a cake, so you have to consider the finish texture of your syrup.


http://www.olivemagazine.com/recipes/baking-and-desserts/mojito-cake/