Baking

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi - Thanks for your question! Clotted cream is a silky, golden-yellow cream made by slowing heating unpasteurized milk (or heavy cream) until a thick layer of cream forms on its surface. It is then cooled and the cream that rises to the surface and “clots” is skimmed off and served with scones, berries, or desserts. The best clotted cream is said to have a good, firm crust atop smooth, thick cream. I hope that explains it! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Suzanne - We haven't tested this, but I think it would probably work fine. Just make sure to use full-fat yogurt. Good luck and let us know how it turns out! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Judy - When I'm out of cake flour I always substitute following this method using all-purpose flour and cornstarch since I think it's the closest recreation of cake flour in texture. Once I've sifted the flour together twice, I weigh the flour according to the amount listed in the recipe (in this case, 320 grams). If you are using volume measurements, dip and sweep the 2 2/3 cups from this pile of sifted flour. Good luck! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Mildred - If you are making recipes that call for flour by weight (which we highly recommend!), you can just use the weight called for in the recipe. When we did testing to determine our standard weight for 1 cup of a variety of flours we didn't find a huge difference among bread flour brands. For Milk Street recipes, we consider 1 cup of bread flour equal to 137 grams. But, we always call for weights in our recipes anyway. For recipes that call for a volume measurement it's a little bit trickier since the weight of flour is determined by how it's measured. Some people measure using the dip-and-sweep method, others use the spooning method. These methods and how heavy-handed each person is affects the weight of the flour. To determine our standard weights we had dozens of people measure flour and took an average of those measurements. Since weighing methods and standards vary by recipe author, you can't really transfer the weights from one recipe to another. Hope that helps! Best, Lynn C. #

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi John - I'm not sure what you've tried, so it's hard to make suggestions about ingredients and technique. I think a yeast-based dough rather than a baking powder dough is going to give you better rise and texture. Also, a good naan recipe will have fat in it, usually in the form of dairy and, specifically, yogurt. The fat in the dairy serves to impede gluten development. This, in turn, yields a much softer-textured dough. Assuming you've got a tender dough already, there are a few areas where things could be going wrong. How are you measuring your flour? We recommend measuring by weight, especially in baking and bread-making. By using volume measurements, you could be adding too much flour causing the dough to be dry. Second, are you rolling out the naan (and rolling too thin)? This would yield a more crisp, bread-like dough. By rolling you deflate some of the air the yeast has produced in the dough. We prefer pressing out and forming pizza dough and flatbreads by hand to ensure they stay light and airy. Have you tried our flatbread dough? I use this all the time for flatbread-style pizza and I think it could be the right style of dough. I'd probably divide the dough into four pieces rather than two to turn it into smaller naan. Cook the dough on a pizza steel or in a cast-iron skillet and brush with melted butter after it's cooked. You may want to replace some of the water in the dough with olive oil to add a little more richness. It may take some experimenting, but I think it could be a good place to start. Good luck! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Donna - We asked Christopher Kimball this question and you can find his answer here. Good luck! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Kerry - We aren't familiar with this particular pie but the confusion is certainly interesting. I found this version of the recipe that claims to be direct from the owner and calls for both cornstarch and eggs. Based on the technique listed here this would seem to be more of a custard filling. However, I did watch this video of them putting the pies together and it looks like they do line a pre-baked pie crust with a thin layer of red "custard looking" mixture. Then they add a pile of fresh strawberries, top that with a pile of confectioner's sugar, and then cover the whole thing with a thick layer of fresh whipped cream. So, while commenters may say it doesn't include eggs or cornstarch, I think it's worth trying this version of the recipe to see what you think of this first since it is purported to be the original. Good luck and let us know. I'm very curious to hear how it turns out and if it's close to the original! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Brenda - I think that rule may date back to when flour had more of a tendency to clump. All of our Milk Street baking recipes assume that you have not sifted the flour before measuring and we strongly recommend weighing dry ingredients in baking for accuracy. When I did recipe testing a few years ago for an Angel Food Cake recipe, I found that sifting and whisking achieved the same basic results. So, for ingredients that might tend to clump such as cocoa powder, confectioners' sugar, and cake flour, you can simply whisk them to break up any clumps after measuring. The only exception is if a recipe you are using calls specifically for sifted flour, since the weight of sifted flour is quite a bit different than unsifted flour. Here's a great article about sifting in which several chefs are interviewed on their opinions as well. Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi JS - Cake flour is lower in protein than all-purpose flour (between 3-6%, depending on brand) and, therefore, yields a cookie or cake with a fine, delicate crumb. You can try substituting cake flour for all-purpose by either weighing the flour - use the amount in a recipe written for all-purpose flour - or using 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of cake flour for each cup of all-purpose flour. Obviously this is not a perfect science and, therefore, not a perfect substitution but it may get you closer to the texture you are looking for with all-purpose flour. Hope it works for you! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Lynn - 1.) The Ripe Test is actually gently inserting two fingers into the dough and, if the indentation remains, the dough is "ripe" and ready to move to the next step. If the indentation does not remain, continue rising and retest. 2.) The ripe test to determine if a proofed and shaped dough is ready for the oven is a little different than the method used after the first rise. Simply touch the side of the dough lightly with your fingertip. If the indentation remains, the loaf is ripe and ready for the oven. 3.)  A properly baked loaf should register a temperature between 195 and 210 degrees on an instant-read thermometer, depending upon the type of bread. Generally speaking, leaner breads will be done at the lower end and richer breads are done at the higher level. For cakes, we prefer the visual clue of poking the top of the cake gently with your finger and if the cake bounces back, it's done. However, the temperature should be around 200-210 degrees at the center of the cake. Quick breads are in the same range. 4.) "Proving" is used interchangeably with "proofing" to describe the process of rising dough. It can also refer to "proving" active dry yeast, which is the step of combining yeast with water and sugar to remove the outer layer of dead cells to activate the yeast before adding it to your dough. This step is only necessary with active dry yeast. Rapid Rise or Instant yeast has already had the outer layer removed and can be added directly to the dry ingredients. Best, Lynn C.