Posted by Brandon Shook on March 10, 2010 0 Comments
Because the recipe tells you to…OK, it’s been fun, I’m going to go home now. Arg, what kind of baking guru (not really a guru) would I be if I didn’t explain why it’s important to separate the yokes from the whites. First off, lets make sure we’re on the same page, when you crack open an egg the yellow ball in the middle is the yoke and all the gooey clear substance around yoke is the whites. I’m sure you all ready knew that, but I’m here to thorough…that’s my job. Here are a couple reasons why people separate the yokes from the whites Health Ah yes, the main reason why anyone modifies or changes a recipe, because they want it to be healthier. The yokes have a very high fat content so people looking to slim down tend to eat just the whites. The whites have no fat, and is high in protein, which makes it a good source of energy when fueling up for cardio or strength training. Like with most things, there is another side to this story. While the whites contain no fat they also have little to no nutritional value. So if you’re looking... Check it out!
Posted by Brandon Shook on February 18, 2010 0 Comments
Not all butters and sugars are created equal Butter and sugar, the two basic ingredients you will almost always need for baking. If you’ve looked around, you might have noticed a wide variety of different butters and sugars sitting around at your local grocer. I’m not talking about the different brands like Land O’ Lakes butter or Domino sugar. I’m talking about different types of butters and sugars that you might be ignoring. Different Types of Butter Each type of butter has a specific use and can add a unique flavor to what you are making. Since their are several types of butters fighting for a chance to be in your recipes I’ve decided to do a few comparisons. Sweet Butter vs. Sweet Cream butter First off, don’t let the names fool you. Sweet butter is just another name for unsalted and sweet cream butter is just another name for salted butter. To me, the addition of the word cream to denote salted is odd, but I’ll play along. Both unsalted and salted butter is made from sweet, pasteurized cream with the only difference being one has salt while the other doesn’t. As a rule, it is always recommended that... Check it out!
Posted by Doc Kane on February 04, 2010 0 Comments
Meet the Durian: “King of Fruit!”
Since we’re coming up on pie season. . .
Actually, is there really a pie season? Yes! But, If you ask us, pie is good every day all day. . .right?
Right! Anyway, pie means fruit, and if you’re one to try your hand at baking with a few exotic fruits with which you’re not commonly familiar, you might want to take a look-see at Baldor Speciality Foods Culinary Council, and sign up for their free “Baldor Bites” newsletters.
Each month the company will highlight one of their unique products and outline how you can use each one. Not bad for those of us still looking up what a Mandarinquat is, or curious as to how to eat a Tamarillo, or a Sorrell.
Yum.
So, head on over to the Baldor Specialty Food site, and sign up for their newsletter. . .tell ‘em TheBaker.com sent you! Check it out!
Posted by Brandon Shook on February 03, 2010 0 Comments
Photo owned by NathanF (cc) Whether you live in a sky-reaching locale like Colorado, as our friends at Mermaids Bakery and Pie House do, or you’re just visiting one, you may have noticed that when you’re thousands of miles above sea level your desserts can end up. . .well, a bit flat. So what goes wrong? Well, it’s all about sea level, and being too far above it. Never fear, though, with some quick adjustments baking in the clouds can be a breeze. The reason why a cake tends to fall in high altitudes is because of the lack of air-pressure. With less air-pressure pushing down on the cake the natural gasses (CO2) created while baking, escape faster then usual. So, essentially, in this scenario, the CO2 escapes before the cake can set, leaving the cake with no air pockets to support itself. Neat, huh? So then, midway through baking the cake loses its structure and. . .boom! It falls flatter than a bad note in the first round of American Idol. To prevent this from happening, all you need to do is add less leavening ingredients. . .things like baking powder, yeast, or sugar. Additionally, because of... Check it out!
Posted by Brandon Shook on January 31, 2010 0 Comments
Every great baker knows the importance of cutting. The size and the shape of what you cut not only affects the ascetics of what you are baking, but the taste as well. Think of it like this, you wouldn’t put whole carrots into a carrot cake. That would be weird and not very appealing at all. The videos I’m sharing with you today are just some of the basic cutting techniques that all great bakers use to create their delicious masterpieces. As the videos say say, “start off slow.” Rome wasn’t built in a day so don’t expect to master these techniques after practicing them once or twice. Once you have mastered the basics you can ease your way into cutting faster and with more precision. Because there are a lot of pointy knives out there I’ve decided to focus on the Chief’s Knife also known as the French Knife. This knife is found in every restaurant and bakery because of the verity of cuts it can do. You mice, slice, and cut any thing from small vegetables like garlic to large cuts of beef like ribs with relative ease and is a must have for any kitchen. The Chief’s... Check it out!
Posted by Brandon Shook on January 31, 2010 0 Comments
How to Shrink Portion Sizes So we have all been there before, we find a recipe that looks really good, but when we look a little closer we realize that the recipe makes an absurd amount. I can say from personal experience that reducing a recipe can be a little confusing. Take for instance when I tired to make a batch of carmel sticky buns….Mmmmm sticky buns. The recipe made twenty-eight, but I only wanted twelve. What did I do? I’m not proud of this, but I freaked out a little. After regaining my composure I did some internet searching and I found that all it takes to reduce a recipe is to do a little high school math. I began furiously hyperventilating because math was never and still isn’t one of my strengths. So I began looking for ways to get around actually using math. I mean it’s the 21st century, the internet has all of the answers to my problems and I’m sure there’s an app for that some where. Sadly, internet had failed me and there wasn’t an app. I asked all my baking friends and I got the same answer. Cut the recipe into easy measurements... Check it out!
Posted by Brandon Shook on January 31, 2010 0 Comments
The answer is yes, but let me warn you, flour substations are not perfect. If you have the time you should go out and buy the correct flour the recipe requires. This will save you a lot of guess work, stress, and even a cake if you miscalculate the ratios. We’re going to focus on three types of flour, all -purpose, self-rising, and cake flour. Yes, yes I know, there are several other types of flour out there in the world, but if you’re like me and just want to cook something at home, then odds are you already have one of these three flours in your kitchen’s pantry. All Purpose Flour All-purpose flour (AP) can be used for all purposes as the name suggests. The flour itself contains an average amount of protein when compared to other flours and is good for cooking breads and pastries. With some simple modifications you can transform all purpose flour into both cake and self-rising flour. Self-rising Self rising is just like AP flour except it already has the salt and baking powder mixed in to make it rise. Self-rising flour is great for pastries such as scones, muffins, and biscuits. Cake Cake... Check it out!
Posted by Brandon Shook on January 31, 2010 0 Comments
Baking with Yeast So I’ve heard a lot that baking with yeast is terrible so I’m here to well….comment on how terrible it can be. Actually baking with yeast isn’t horribly difficult by any streach of the imagination. The only problem I’ve found is that it takes way to long and since we live in a world were things can happen in an instant, baking bread can seem like a laborious task. First lets take a look at yeast. According to that great encyclopedia of shared knowledge known as Wikipedia. Yeast, is a leavening agent that converts the fermentable sugars in the dough into carbon dioxide. In less academic terminology yeast is a bacteria that you put in dough. The bacteria eats the sugar in the dough and expands creating air pockets. When you bake the bread the heat kills the yeast, but leaves the air pockets giving the bread a soft spongy texture. I got a lot of my information from the video below. It’s from a TLC clip about proofing yeast. If you want, you can watch the video right now and listen the the melodious voice of the speaker. If you don’t want to spend time waiting... Check it out!
© 2010 TheBaker.com. All Rights Reserved. Powered by 
