BakingAsked Apr 15, 2020 by Lynn F.
I have always used the whisk to whip egg whites and cream. And, the paddle for everything else. Recently in a MSK podcast, Chris talked about how using the whisk for a cake makes for a far superior outcome.
Please demystify the use of a whisk vs. paddle -- guidelines on when to use each one, and please contrast the outcome. For example, given the same cake recipe, how will it turn out differently using the whisk vs. the paddle.
Thanks!
Answered by Chris Kimball
I use the paddle to make a batter - a thick cake batter for example since it will do a good job of incorporating dry and wet ingredients without overworking the flour mixture. (In. general, one does not want to overmix cake batters since yo can develop gluten which will toughen the final product.) I use the whisk for egg whites, whole eggs, creaming butter -0 anytime one is trying to incorporate air into a mixture.
Read MoreAsked Apr 15, 2020 by Lynn F.
Occasionally I end up with a sugar or almond paste "rock." In lieu of tossing it, I have softened it by adding a piece of bread for a day or two, in an airtight container. The moisture in the bread returns the original texture of the item. Is there a better way to accomplish this? Is there a reason I should not use bread, and instead go ahead and toss the offending ingredient?
Thanks!
Answered by Lynn Clark
Hi Lynn - You've got the right idea by using a piece of bread. For both, make sure to keep them stored as airtight as possible. You could also try a sugar saver for storing brown sugar. These work pretty well and are fairly inexpensive. They even sell plastic containers now with a sugar saver built in, which are an even better deal. Best, Lynn C.
Read MoreAsked Apr 14, 2020 by Marsha B.
Whenever I bake a sweet loaf bread such as banana, zucchini, brown, etc, the center takes much too long to set, so the edges get too brown. I've tried baking for the first 20 minutes at a higher temperature and then turning the heat down for the remainder, with some degree of success, but I still end up with a loaf that is too brown around the edges. What can I do to stop this from happening?
Answered by Lynn Clark
Hi Marsha - I would try lowering the temperature by 25 degrees for the full cooking time. This will help give the center enough time to bake through before the outside is too brown. Also, we recommend using a volume measurement for the main ingredient - bananas, zucchini, etc. Sometimes recipes call for "four bananas" or "two zucchini' but not all bananas or zucchini are of equal size, so you end up with too much weight in your batter and the cake won't rise properly. Look for recipes that call for a cup or weight measurement and make sure to measure precisely. If you haven't tried our Brown Butter Cardamom Banana Bread, definitely give that one a try! Best, Lynn C.
Read MoreAsked Apr 14, 2020 by Chi D.
After 7 minutes at 550°, my pizza came out well except for the cheese, which was fine when the pizza was hot out of the oven; however, after just a few minutes, the cheese became a rubbery mass. I did deviate from Milkstreet’s recipe by not including fontina and by using part skim mozzarella instead of whole milk mozzarella; could that have made so much difference?
I also noticed that Milkstreet’s recipe says to place the pizza on the upper rack of the oven near the broiler but does not say to turn on the broiler; is this correct? Without the broiler, the heat comes up from the bottom, and i’ve seen various recipes with instructions to put food on the lowest rack for a crispy crust (?)
Answered by Lynn Clark
Hi Chi - You are correct - it's the cheese. We call for whole-milk mozzarella because it melts better. Part-skim is great for browning, but its more likely to seize into a mass than flow when it melts. The fontina is there, not only for flavor, but because its also a great melting cheese.
We place the steel on the upper middle rack in the oven to better heat the baking steel. (It’s also easier to slide the pizza off the steel when the rack is in a higher position.) While an oven is heating up, the heat usually comes from the top and the bottom of the oven so this will really get the steel as hot as possible. It's the top of the steel that actually cooks the bottom of the pizza so getting this really hot is key to crispy crust. We don't call for using the broiler in our recipe, but if you want to turn yours on to get more browning on the top, definitely try it! Just make sure to keep an eye on it so it doesn't burn. Best, Lynn C.
Read MoreAsked Apr 14, 2020 by Michael R.
Hiya Milk Street,
So I've successfully managed to make as sourdough starter! But now I've got circa 3 quarts of discard, which is a LOT. I know King Arthur has great recipies for discard, but their also use a lot more additional flour, which is in short supply in stores these days. Do you guys have any suggestions for recipies that use up a TON of discard, or have a high discard-to-flour ratio? (I've already done pancakes and biscuits and waffles and pizza -- all came out great, but each one used only a cup of discard at the most, leaving me with quiet a lot left. :) )
Thank you!!
-Michael
Answered by Lynn Clark
Hi Michael - We don't have any recipes in our database for sourdough starter discard and, if we did, they would probably be pretty similar to what King Arthur has on their website. I did find this article that had some pretty interesting ideas (batter for fried foods, granola, etc.), but you can also freeze it or give it away to friends. I'd also suggest keeping your starter in the fridge and only feeding it once a week so you don't have as much to discard. Good luck! Best, Lynn C.
Read MoreAsked Apr 10, 2020 by Rashawnda K.
Can you recommend or post a recipe for a gluten free angel food cake? I have tried one using rice flour and although it bakes nicely once you remove it from the tube pan it falls or collapses horribly.
Answered by Lynn Clark
Hi Rashawnda - Most commercial gluten-free flour mixes, include rice flour \and\ starch - usually either tapioca, potato, or corn starch to mimic the starch and protein in wheat flour. I'd recommend this recipe by Stella Parks - she's a cookbook author (her book, Bravetart, is fantastic) and recipe developer over at Serious Eats. Her recipe calls for a specific combo of flours and starches to achieve the perfect angel food cake - she even argues it's better than one made with wheat flour. She explains everything really well in the link I've included. Good luck and happy baking! Best, Lynn C.
Read MoreAsked Apr 10, 2020 by Rashawnda K.
I want to make a teff yeast bread but can not find a recipe. I can only find traditional African bread recipes with a heavy amount of teff flour. I want to use a cup or less of teff grain in a basic yeast wheat bread recipe, to achieve a flecked bread. Can you tell me how I could alter a recipe or recommend one please.
Answered by Lynn Clark
Hi Rashawnda - If you're looking to make a basic wheat bread recipe and incorporate teff flour, I would use whatever recipe for wheat bread that you like and start with substituting 25% teff flour for the wheat flour. If that isn't enough teff flour for your taste, you can go up to 50% and still maintain the same basic structure of the original bread recipe. Hope that helps! Best, Lynn C.
Read MoreAsked Apr 08, 2020 by Ellen D.
My hubby makes a lot of carrot juice, and I'd love to use the pulp in baking. What is the ratio to substitute pulp for shredded carrots? I heard you use less pulp. Is there anything else to know about substituting pulp for shredded carrots when baking, whether it's cake, cookies, breads, etc? Thanks! (Sorry if I posted this twice. I'm learning how to post ;)
Answered by April Dodd
Ellen - so glad to hear that you are thinking about how to use all parts of the carrot; using the juice and pulp is a great way to reduce food waste and enjoy the full nutritional benefits of carrots. There is no one hard-and-fast ratio for replacing shredded carrots with carrot pulp, but a good place to start is using half as much pulp (by volume) than shredded carrots. If you are weighing your ingredients, there's no need to change the weight amount; but since pulp is way more densely packed than shredded carrots, we have to use less if measuring by volume. The other tip I would give is to be sure to break the carrot pulp up well before using. Otherwise, you run the risk of a big clump of carrot sinking to the bottom of a lovely cake or bread. Happy baking! - April D.
Read MoreAsked Apr 08, 2020 by Chi D.
Almond paste seems to be made mainly from almonds and sugar. However, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a recipe for almond paste. Is there a reason for that? It would be great if you have a recipe for almond paste because it’s not a common ingredient to find in most grocery stores.
Answered by April Dodd
Chi - you can certainly make almond paste at home; when I'm not able to find any in the store, I follow this simple recipe: https://bit.ly/39Pk0NT. What are you hoping to make with it? (I hope it's our Apfelkuchen recipe; check it out here: https://bit.ly/39QHan2.) - April D.
Read MoreAsked Apr 07, 2020 by Annie H.
I recently bought a baking cookbook (after listening to the author on the Milk Street podcast!) The cookie recipes in this book mostly instruct the baker to mix all of the ingredients, except the flour, with the butter and sugar in the initial creaming process. This means the raising agents, salt, etc. I’m used to a dry ingredient mix and a wet, which get mixed together in a second step. This results in more bowls to clean! Does this technique work with most recipes? Or should I keep whisking the dry ingredients together before I add them to the wet? I know this might seem persnickety, but I love the ease of the all in one mix! Thanks for the feedback!!
Answered by April Dodd
Really glad to hear that podcast has inspired more baking, Annie. As a general rule, of course the most reliable thing to do is to follow the instructions as given in each recipe; recipe developers do a ton of work behind the scenes. That said, let's think about the reasons for the standard bowls of wet and dry ingredients. One big reason to keep dry and wet separate is so that we don't over-hydrate or over-work the flour, resulting in dense, bready cookies. So it definitely makes sense to keep the flour away from the other ingredients as long as possible. But why keep the other dry ingredients separate too? Two big reasons. First, mixing salt, spices, and leavening agents with the flour helps to ensure that they are evenly spread throughout the batter. Second, we don't want to expose leavening agents to moisture too early. Baking soda starts to react as soon as it is combined with liquid and acid (including vanilla), and part of baking powder's "oomp" is used as soon as it interacts with any form of liquid. So combining those ingredients with the flour helps to ensure you get the full leavening you need. With all of that said, you can see how, if you work quickly, most cookie recipes would work fine with the technique in your new book, which saves you that dry ingredients bowl. Does that make sense? - April D.
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