Real Baking with Rose Levy Beranbaum

WOODY COMMENT

Feedback: An Idea for Marking Weights on Mixing Bowls and Measuring Cups

as you know from our correspondence and having experienced first hand that not all eggs weigh the same or even three sticks of butter for that matter, I now always weigh out (in grams)the recipe's ingredients, except for ingredients of a tablespoon or less. I was recently amazed that a package of fresh raspberries labeled 6 ounces/ 170 grams, actually tipped my scale at 150 grams! Maybe someone at the factory was doing a taste quality control.

Although I would like to claim that I instinctively zero out any mixing bowl or measuring cup on my scale before I start adding ingredients, well i need to work on that habit. Should I get upset and start all over, blame the c=scale for not telling me, or take a wild assuming guess? Instead......

I have now written in magic marker the weight and numbered on the side of each mixing bowl, baking pan, and measuring cup in my kitchen. Since I am not planning on any "kitchen open houses" and we do not mind the now non-pristine bowls, they are all labeled. I also have a corresponding sheet with their number and weight noted incase the marked weight wears off.

Now if I find that 2 large eggs weigh 540 grams, I can do the math of subtracting the 440 grams written on my mixing bowl for the actual 100 grams of eggs, and a few less hairs missing from my head.

ROSE REPLY

this commitment to accuracy validates my trust in woody to be my official tester for my upcoming book!

it’s a great idea to mark the bowls. i wish industry would take note and mark both the weight and volume of the bowls and pans right on the side!

i’ve had a long standing fantasy of having kitchen wall paper with the weight of commonly used ingredients on it. one of these days i just might make my own by taking a magic marker and writing it right on the wall!

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ARIELLA QUESTION

Feedback: Hi.......

maybe you can help me. i have been making cookies and icing - powdered sugar, water and corn syrup - i have to heat the corn syrup a bit to get the icing to harden b/c there is a lot of damp in the air here. but sometimes - only sometimes - when the icing dries - the color dries and becomes kind of white (as opposed to whatever color the frosting is) - why is this and what can i do to correct it?

ROSE REPLY

i don't understand why you're using corn syrup in the icing. why not use a traditional royal icing with powdered sugar and egg white or meringue powder? i could see adding corn syrup if the air were dry to keep it from crusting as fast but you have the opposite problem of dampness in the air.

by the way, for really intense colors for decorating and then baking the cookies try mixing a little food color into egg yolk and painting it on. this is the ancient recipe for tempera painting and works wonderfully for cookies!

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SARA QUESTION

Everytime i make poundcake, the bottom 2/3s is completely brown in color and the top 1/3 is golden yellow the way it should be. The brown part tastes fine and is nothing wrong in texture, it's not burnt. Just brown in color - im so puzzled and dont want to serve it to my customers like this for obvious reasons. Im using wilton's dark nonstick loaf pan - spraying it with nonstick spray. I bake it at 300 degrees in my commercial convection oven. Here is my recipe - i hope you can help.

ROSE REPLY

i don't like dark pans bc i don't want a dark crust on the cake. but if you are using them, it's a good idea to lower the heat 25 degrees and another 25 if using convection so you're doing the right thing. the problem sounds like the recipe itself. have you ever made It successfully using another oven, or another type of pan? you have three ingredients in it that promote browning: corn syrup and baking soda. if the lower part of the cake is getting more brown maybe the corn syrup is settling a bit. i use only 1/2 cup sugar for 1 cup of flour. you are using 1 cup of sugar for 1 cup of flour plus the corn syrup. that's a huge amont of sweetner.

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LISA QUESTION

Feedback: I wonder why my cookies cracked after it bakes.

ROSE REPLY

cookies will crack after baking or just towards the end of baking if they are over-baked. since they are so small they continue to bake on the sheet even after removal from the oven. try baking them less. if that doesn't help, use superfine sugar, or grind fine granulated sugar in the food processor. the finer the sugar the smoother the cookie.

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JERRY QUESTION

Feedback: Why is the bottom piecrust always gummy and the sugar on the top crust won't stick?

ROSE REPLY

for a detailed answer please see the blog entry on crisp bottom crusts located on the blog under november archives.

re sugar sticking to the top crust, you need to brush the dough first with milk or water.

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KAY QUESTION

Feedback: I just got silicone baking pans for Christmas, do they need to be greased/pam when using, any other tips for using this type of pan or where I can find more info. Thank You

ROSE REPLY

although manufacturers of baking and cooking pans use the term non-stick, this is a relative thing. there is no substance on earth that is 10% non-stick. silicone is the best of all non-stick materal but it still requres preparation. a light coating of oil will work for non-chocolate cakes but a sray that contains oil and flour or oiling and flouring the pans is necessary for chocolate cakes.

i wrote a booklet for lékué silicone pans that is packaged with the pans. these pans are carried in many stores around the country including fantés in philadelphia that does mail-order.

Read about my association with Lékué Silicone pans and bakeware from Spain.

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JENNIFER QUESTION

You mentioned that ganache was a really easy frosting to make, but that doesn't seem to be true for me. Every time I make it, the ganache develops a layer of oil and looks clumpy. This has happened with your sour cream ganache, light whipped ganache, and the regular ol' ganache. I suspect I am overbeating it when I add the dairy, but is that truly the case?
Thanks, Jennifer

ROSE REPLY

no, at least not for the regular ganache.you are overheating it and the cocoa butter in the chocolate separates and cannot be reincorporated. if you do it in the food processor as i indicate there is no way to overheat it because only the cream gets heated while the chocolate is ground and melts from the heat of the cream alone.

the ligt whipped ganache wil indeedl get clumpy if overbeaten.

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GARY QUESTION

Feedback: I HAVE TO COOK FOR A WATCHNIGHT SERVICE AT OUR CHURCH. IT WILL BE FOR ABOUT 60 PEOPLE. DO YOU HAVE ANY BRUNCH RECIPIES FOR A CROWD?

ROSE REPLY

i would make about 4 of the sicilian vegetable pizza rolls on page 220 of "the bread bible."

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JEANETTE QUESTION

Feedback: I have my mother's recipe for ground whole wheat bread from my mother, who died 3-2000, so I can't ask her. My bread has a fine texture, is moist and tasty, but it is crumbly. I'd like bread with a good cling like hers was. What makes bread crumbly?

ROSE REPLY

lack of gluten development. there is not much gluten forming protein available in whole wheat flour but if it's freshly ground, and if you use enough water it should be adequate to hold together well. to hedge your bets, add vital wheat gluten. there is a range of amounts on the package. start with the smallest amount so the bread isn't too chewy. it will make a huge difference to the texture of the bread.

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LYNN QUESTION:

Feedback: I have a recipe for a delicious cake filling that combines whipping cream, vanilla, and chocolate frosting mix. Since dry packaged frosting mix is no longer available, how can I get a very rich chocolate cream filling. Thank you

ROSE REPLY

i know of none better than chocolate ganache. it is in many cookbooks including my own: the cake bible page 269 and it's really easy!

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DEBBIE QUESTION

FH_Name: Debbie
FH_Email: seitzdeb@yahoo.com
Feedback: I often see cookie or cake recipes that I'd like to try, but they contain varying amounts of coconut, which I detest. What is the maximum amount of coconut that I can omit, and still have the recipe come out right? Or is there something I can substitute?

ROSE REPLY

coconut is a very assertive flavor so there are those who adore it and those who detest it. if there are a lot of ingredients in say a cookie recipe and not a large amount of coconut it would surely make no difference if you left it out but if coconut seems to be the main or dominent ingredient the best thing is to chose another cookie or cake--there are so very many to chose from it shouldn't be a problem.