Baking

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Kulia - 90% of the time cookies will become flat because the dough is too warm. The fat in the cookie (usually butter) is too soft and, therefore, begins to melt before the leavener has a chance to do its work. Popping the cookie dough in the fridge for a bit - you want it to be cool, but not cold - will solve this problem. If that doesn't work, another possibility is that your oven temperature is too low. This would cause the butter to melt before the structure of the cookie is set. This is easily fixed by confirming the temperature of your oven using an oven thermometer. Hope that helps! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Teresa and Lynn - I'm so sorry for the delay in answering your questions. We published a guide on baking in different pan sizes back in 2018 that is a good guide for modifying cooking times for different baking pans. Lynn, I think the chart in the attached guide will address your question - it will take about 5 minutes less to bake in a 9x9 square pan and about 1 minute less in a 9-inch round pan. As a general rule, baking in a smaller pan than called for means the baked good has less surface area and will generally take longer to bake. Accounting for the different amounts of batter when using two smaller pans or one larger one is a little more complicated. I would refer to this guide by Stella Parks at Serious Eats. In it she says a 10" cake pan should have 35 ounces of batter, an 8-inch would have 24 ounces, and a 6-inch would have 12 ounces. So, in theory you could put the amount of batter for a 10-inch cake (35 ounces) into two 8-inch pans (17.5 ounces in each). The only question is if that difference of 6.5 ounces between what you have and what Stella says is the volume for a proper 8-inch cake will yield layers that are too thin. Unfortunately, that's the question I can't answer since I'm not sure how much volume (in cups) 6.5 ounces will amount to. It's probably worth trying it though! I hope that helps you both. Best, Lynn C.

Answered by April Dodd

Hi Lori - congrats on getting started with sourdough! It's exciting to see so many people diving into baking right now. The main reason that most sourdough care and keeping instructions recommend throwing away some of the developing starter is that otherwise you're going to have a huge amount of starter - far more than you can use as a home baker - and you'll have to use increasingly large amounts of flour to feed it. However, if your care and keeping instructions come from a source you know you can count on, then you should feel free to proceed per their instructions. We're big fans of King Arthur Flour's approach to sourdough; you can learn how they recommend developing a starter here: Sourdough Starter Happy baking! - April D.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Maggie - First, I'd make sure your yeast is still active. You can test the yeast by adding it to the liquid and sugar in the recipe and let it sit for 5-10 minutes. If it bubbles, it's good to go! Next, I would make sure it's not too hot in your oven on the proof setting. I don't have this feature on my oven, but I've heard from others that it sometimes overheats, and therefore, kills the yeast. I always leave my yeast doughs to rise on top of the fridge, which is probably the warmest spot in my house. While proofing, make sure you mark the bowl where the dough starts and where it should be when it's doubled so you know, for sure, when it's doubled in size. I use a proofing bucket with straight sides to rise dough since it's easier to see when it doubles. A very large glass measuring cup is a good option too. Finally, make sure your dough isn't too dry. A very dry dough will not rise properly. Most bread doughs should be soft and smooth (unless it's a very high hydration dough which will be almost liquid). Hope that helps! Best, Lynn C.