Baking

Answered by Chris Kimball

Hi, There's a few things going on here causing the issues. For starters, You'll want to use bread flour, not AP flour, for the best gluten development. The higher the flour's protein level, the stronger the gluten will be, which is important considering the high amount of fat and sugar in the recipe. Both those ingredients tenderize and weaken gluten (leading to that dense, crumbly texture). Arguably, I'd cut back on the sugar by 1/2 to 1/4 cup to start. I'd also likely cut back on the yeast--2 packets of yeast is roughly 4 1/2 tablespoons, which is a lot for that volume of flour. Try about 4 teaspoons (1 1/2 packets) and see how it goes. The slower the rise, the more controlled the gluten development will be (doughs without a sturdy structure can collapse upon themselves when baked, causing a dense texture.) And lastly, I would push kneading longer to further enhance gluten development. Eight to 10 minutes sounds a little short for a dough this rich (and that you're adding ingredients along the way, which affects kneading time). Properly kneaded dough should be smooth and glossy and ideally, reaches "windowpane" stage. You can take a small piece of the dough and (carefully) stretch it out thin enough to see through. Lastly, that salt volume seems really low! Salt helps strengthen gluten, much less improves flavor (salt's role is crucial beyond just the bread's flavor). If using table salt, The general rule of thumb is roughly 1/4 teaspoon per each 1 cup of flour. So 5 cups of flour would take 2 1/4 teaspoons of table salt. Good luck!

Answered by Rosie Gill

Hi Angie - Your daughter can absolutely leave out the orange zest and juice and the cinnamon. She will have a really rich chocolatey base for her fruit. She may want to add 1-2 TBS of water to replace the orange juice. One idea -- if she wants to add a 1/4 teaspoon of cardamom instead of cinnamon, that would pair nicely with the blueberries and strawberries.

Answered by Chris Kimball

Thanks for the suggestion and we will most definitely consider! Optimum condition of baked goods can really vary according to ambient temperature, humidity and storage methods. Its a great suggestion for our headnote information.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Heather - At Milk Street we don't work on low-carb or low-sugar recipes, so we aren't super experienced with those types of substitutions. What we can say that this recipe has liquid sugar rather than granulated sugar, which will inherently make the mixture more/too wet and loose. We would probably recommend using a granulated sugar substitute like monk fruit sweetener instead. Best, The Milk Street Cooking Team

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Karmen - We think you could probably sub an equal amount of greek yogurt for the coconut cream, but it, obviously, won't have the same flavor profile as the cake was intended. Since there are many brands of sour cream that are a lot thinner than greek yogurt or coconut cream, we probably wouldn't recommend that substitution. Best, The Milk Street Cooking Team

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Chris - If you check out your supermarket's international food aisle, you may find Goya brand finely ground cornmeal or another brand like Caribbean Rhythms or Iberia. If you do decide to use the food processor, just make sure not to overprocess it. I would use the pulse setting and process a little at a time to make sure it doesn't go too far. Best, The Milk Street Cooking Team

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Heidi - We usually get complaints that zucchini bread is \too\ moist and bordering on soggy so this is an unusual problem. Some ways to ensure a moist quick bread are to use oil instead of butter (oil stays liquid at room temperature, therefore maintaining moisture), add an ingredient like sour cream or yogurt (these not only add fat and moisture but acid, which inhibits gluten development), and, of course, bake properly (insert a toothpick in the center and pull the bread out once it is clean). Best, The Milk Street Cooking Team

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Thoms - It's actually really easy to make your own crème fraîche using heavy cream and buttermilk. Here are the instructions. Just make sure to start the project the day before you want to make the cheesecake. Best, The Milk Street Cooking Team

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Rosemarie - At Milk Street we typically use grapeseed oil, but any oil without significant flavor, such as safflower oil, canola oil, or avocado oil, should work fine. Avoid peanut oil, extra-virgin olive oil, or unrefined coconut oil due to strong flavors. We also would avoid refined coconut oil since it's solid at room temperature. When calling for oil in baking it's usually because we want a fat that stays liquid at room temperature, which creates a cake that is and stays moist. Hope that helps! The Milk Street Cooking Team

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Miranda - Unfortunately we don't develop recipes that are specifically gluten-free. That being said, it has been our experience that using a gluten-free flour \blend\ is the closest approximation to wheat flour for baking. You can find gluten-free flour blends in the supermarket or make your own - there are plenty of recipes online. We recommend visiting food magazine websites or published cookbooks for gluten-free recipes rather than online blogger versions - these are typically not well-tested like those by a reputable source and won't necessarily work as described. King Arthur Flour has a good flour blend and some excellent recipes on their website. Good luck! Best, The Milk Street Cooking Team