Real Baking with Rose Levy Beranbaum

first published in the April 2005 issue of Food Arts Magazine

It is a common misconception, which I have shared until very recently, that 100% whole wheat bread is by its very nature dense and bitter. On a trip to the Bay Area, while researching the story in this issue on the Bay Area bakeries, I was invited to an unusual bakery in Oakland: Vital Vittles, which specializes in kosher, organic, 100% whole wheat bread. They didn’t tell me why they had invited me until I tasted the bread and then Kass, the owner, admitted that it was to disprove what she had heard me say about whole wheat on the radio a year before when on tour for “The Bread Bible.”

To my amazement, the bread made with 100% whole wheat had the aroma of a new-mown lawn combined with freshly cut hay. Kass explained that the bitterness I had experienced was due to rancidity. It was absent in her bread because she used wheat berries ground the same day as baking the bread. A wheat berry can be decades old and if stored properly, will still be viable, the fats in the germ protected from oxidation by the bran, its outer coating. The moment the wheat berry is broken or ground, oxidation starts to take place. Most millers agree that once ground, the flour should be used within 3 days or held for 3 weeks due to certain enzymes that would render it undesirable for bread baking. Three months is the limit for shelf life of the whole wheat flour unless frozen. But for the best flavor, it is ideal to use it the day it is ground.

I immediately asked Kass for a few pounds of wheat berries and the day I returned home I started grinding and developing a recipe for 100% whole wheat bread. I discovered that the secret to lightness of the crumb was not only the freshness of the flour but also not allowing the dough to double during rising which tears the more fragile gluten. The result: This soft, moist, slightly chewy, crunchy with walnuts loaf that captures the true nutty-sweet multi-dimensional wheaty flavor of the grain.

Note: The average bread made with refined flour has about 66 percent hydration. This bread has almost 88 percent hydration due to the very absorbant bran. It is preferable to weigh the flour as no two flour mills grind the same, which would impact the volume significantly.

From the kitchen of Rose on 11.30.06 at 6:32 PM in Bread
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Just in time for the holidays, the cake kits are now at home on their site www.coastalgoods.com (the link is on the blog as well under "sites I like." )

I hope you all enjoy them as much as I did creating them. It represents my first entry into the world of food products and I'm very pleased and proud with the outcome and with the fact that now I'm practically guaranteed of having my cakes come out of other people's oven looking and tasting the same as the ingredients will be the same quality and quantitty!

Thanksgiving may be pie time but all the upcoming holidays call for CAKE! Meantime, Happy Thanksgiving!

From the kitchen of Rose on 11.23.06 at 11:29 AM in Announcements
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Due to a Special Request:

I have signed tons of book plates and shipped them to jessica's biscuit 800/878-4264 so if you requested autographed books they now have them!

From the kitchen of Rose on 11.20.06 at 8:00 PM in Announcements
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Protecting the Pie Crust Borders from Over-browning

In the Pie and Pastry BIble I suggested making a foil band and setting it on top of the crust after it starts browning. I've since discovered that it is easier and better to apply the band at the beginning of baking. The crust will brown perfectly under the foil.

For those of you who don't have the book, to make the foil band, cut out a large circle of heavy duty foil and then cut a smaller circle in the middle to expose the top of the pie and cover only the decorative border. Bend the foil band at the edges to curve down over the sides.

Happy Thanksgiving!

From the kitchen of Rose on 11.19.06 at 5:52 PM in Announcements
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I just participated in a delightful round table at my alma mater NYU. The question came up about how food relates to various other areas of study which led to my promising to post the introduction I wrote to the Philharmonic Cookbook by June Lebell, who had been a host on WQXR, the classical radio music station for many years and also a former classmate at The High School of Music and Art, and still a dear friend.

Here it is now:

I was born with music in my ears, in my heart, and in my soul. I am sure this is because my mother, who as a young girl studied with Nadia Reisenberg, played womb concerts (the ultimate chamber music) on the piano when she was pregnant with me. She was convinced that even though I had not yet been born, I would still hear something, if only vibrations, and would grow up familiar with and open to music--one of life's greatest joys. Her theory apparently worked, because as soon as I could walk I approached the piano and picked out tunes by ear.
If I had been offered the choice of any talent in the world (if I couldn't have been Mozart) it would have been to have a glorious voice and be an opera singer. But since I did not have even a passable singing voice, my instrument became the violin.
One summer, when I was at music camp near Tanglewood, studying with the second violinist of the Boston Symphony orchestra, my great uncle, who had engineered this arrangement, came to visit me and posed the dreaded question: "exactly what kind of talent do you possess; concert or drawing room?" The only possible answer was the disappointing truth: neither. As it turned out, despite the fact that I graduated from Carnegie Hall (the High School of Music and Art held all its graduations there) I was an extremely mediocre violin player who preferred listening to performing; but then, the music world does need some appreciative listeners. Our family had its share of them. Legend has it that my great aunt Beck was so moved by a concert at Lewisohn stadium she got up in the middle and started to dance, explaining afterwards that she couldn't help herself. My mother's theory was that since she had grown up in Russia she had the passionate Russian soul. We also had two bonafide performers: Aunt Beck's husband, appropriately named Fiddler and Uncle Tibor (Kozma), who conducted at the Met under Rudolph Bing and then went on to become head of the music department at the University of Indiana. It is thanks to him that my first "grownup" birthday party, when I was twelve, was at a Met production of the Fledermaus. The kids were all very bored (including me--the Fledermaus has never been one of my favorites), but their parents were quite impressed. And it was never really a surprise to run into one of the great aunts during intermission at the opera.
This generation had my cousin Andrew Schenck (pronounced Skenk), also a gifted conductor, and perhaps the next generation will have my little nephew Alexander who, when he first started to sing had that surprised look, bordering on awe, which clearly said: can these bell like sounds be coming from me?
Ravi Shankar once said that for him music is the bridge between the personal and the infinite. It is my feeling that all acts of creativity, approached with the same reverence of total devotion, offer that possibility. Somehow, though, music soars above all others. My soul has been transported by a bite of still warm from the oven Chocolate Domingo Cake, but no food has given me the total corporal and spiritual orgasm music is capable of inspiring.
My mother, whose profession was dentistry, held dear a theory that senses located in the region of the head are the most exquisite and also the ones most intimately connected. As a "food person," I see more and more how true this is. Taste, smell, vision, and hearing have a profound effect on each other's perception. As a very young child, I would not let my mother play the song Ramona because it reminded me of chocolate pudding (which I detested). I suppose I must have experienced it as equally thick and sodden with sentimentality.
The connection between food and music is found even in the words used to describe them. In the food industry, the most common word used to analyze flavor is note. Texture is another word food and music have in common. One of my favorite musical memories is of the time I met Isaac Stern at a party celebrating the birth of Jenifer Lang's book Tastings. I had provided the Chocolate Oblivion Cake that was featured in the book. When George Lang introduced me to Isaac Stern, he rose up, took my hand, and bowed deeply from the waist saying: "Your cake was like velvet." My response: "That is the very word I used to describe your playing the first time I heard you play the Tchaikovsky violin concerto when I was sixteen!" (If any breath had been left I would have added that it was at Tanglewood.)
When June LeBell and I were classmates at Music and Art, what seems like only a few years ago, it seemed inevitable that her future would be in music. My fate was far less certain. When we met again, it was when I came to WQXR to advertise my cooking school on the radio. I brought with me my then favorite cake: Grand Marnier et Chocolat. I must admit, I felt that I was entering into a musical temple with something, though quite delicious, perhaps not quite worthy. But June did not seem at all surprised or condescending regarding my transition from violin to cake. In fact, to my relief, it seemed that as far as she was concerned, I was still in the "arts." Several years later, when she started "The Kitchen Classics," featuring recipes accompanied by "appropriate" music, I became a frequent guest on the show, which gave us a chance to renew our friendship--often on the air. In fact, we had so much fun catching up and reminiscing, we often forgot that we were on the air! The best part was that we share a similar sense of humor, which is most likely to happen between people whose frame of reference is so similar. Often we felt like we would make a great vaudeville team. I would read my favorite buttermilk cake recipe, to which June would play a recording of what she referred to (with a gleam in her eye) as "Madama Buttermilk"! We laughed almost the whole show through and got lots of delightful "feedback" from the audience. When June told me about her plans for this book, it seemed like the perfect joyful extension of her show.
The book turned out to be so multi dimensional and entertaining, it's difficult to do full justice to its depth and breadth.
On a personal note, it's great fun for me to find old childhood friends, now famous musicians, between these covers: the guy who teased me at Music camp (Paul Dunkel), the high-school friend who accompanied me home after ice-skating in Central Park, walking his bike alongside (Stephen Kates), the tall dark and brilliant harpsichordist who dated my cousin and whose father was my English teacher (Kenneth Cooper).
The humor, intelligence, generosity, and charm June possesses make this book unique. She serves up each "personality" in the most personal of all possible ways: in his or her own voice. These delightful anecdotes, peppered throughout the book, have as their counterpoint favorite recipes contributed by each performer. We know their music but now we know another side of them, and they become friends.
And as the proverbial icing on the cake, this book is graced with the incomparable caricatures of our beloved Hirschfeld.
It is a great honor to participate in the 150th celebration of the Philharmonic by being a part of this special book. For me, it is a deeply sentimental and personal book and I think in its own way it will be for everyone who reads it and, most of all, for anyone who cooks from it.

From the kitchen of Rose on 11.14.06 at 2:01 PM in Special Stories
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Just got a wonderful holiday present in the mail--the advance copy of the Decemeber Woman's Day Magazine, soon to be on the stands. On page 136 is a terrific review, by associate food editor Ellen Greene, of my now SEVENTEEN year old book.

It was my wind-down, treat-to-myself book after the exhaustive process of producing "The Cake Bible."

Because of its seasonal name, it is rarely available in book stores but Jessica's Biscuit (800/878-4264) catalogue #D612 and Sweet Celebrations (800/328-6722) are both wise enough to know that these cookies know no season and always have copies in stock! (Though with this lovely mention their supply may run out quickly.)

Of course they are also available on amazon.com (there's a link from this blog under my books)

From the kitchen of Rose on 11.14.06 at 8:22 AM in Press Mentions
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Yes it Works!
Several people have contacted me regarding the article in Wed. Nov. 8, 2006 NY Times: “The Secret of Great Bread: Let Time Do the Work.” Although the techniques described in the recipe are not new to me, the combination of them was, so I stopped everything I was doing or planning to do Sunday late afternoon and threw myself into dough production. 20 hours later here’s the report: The results are exactly as promised—very large holes in the crumb, light texture, thin crisp crust, and an absolute minimum of MIXING effort.

As far as putting the dough into an extremely hot and heavy pot, I think I’ll stick with other equally effective methods such as a heavy baking stone that holds the heat and ice cubes tossed into a preheated cast-iron pan or perhaps the new device I’m testing that has a relatively light-weight metal lid that also gets preheated and a very effective steaming device to create steam contained by the lid.

The flavor of the bread developed during the long 12-18 hour fermentation (I gave it 15 hours) was indeed superior to a shorter rise with higher amount of yeast but not as good or as deliciously complex as when I add some of my old starter. Also, I would add my usual 7 to 8 % whole wheat or kamut flour for extra flavor and no compromise in texture.

I like the ease of minimal mixing coupled with long slow rise which develops the gluten more gently resulting in the larger holes. I also like the flavor and texture of bran instead of flour on the outside. I intend to try these techniques with my pugliese recipe which has a slighter higher 80% hydration and different mix of flours.

Two important caveats to the Times’ recipe:

I watched the video on the Times’ website and noticed that only 1 1/2 cups of water was used, not 1 5/8 cups as was listed in the printed recipe. The 1 5/8 cups, which is 1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablesopons, constitutes an extra 2 tablespoons of water bringing the hydration to 82% as opposed to 75%. Using the 1 1/2 cups of water the dough will be much more manageable, especially for those unaccustomed to handling very sticky doughs.

Also on the video it was recommended that an oven temperature of 500°F. or even higher be used to bake the bread but in the printed recipe a more reasonable 450°F. was listed. I hedged my bets, used 475°F. and after 30 minutes of baking the bottom became slightly over browned toward the blackened stage. (Some people like their crust this dark.) Also, the bread was fully baked (210°F. internal temperature) and the top crust beautifully browned without the need to continue baking it for 15 to 30 minutes as was indicated in the recipe.

I usually wait a week before making any recipe from a newspaper to see if there are any corrections because a weekly paper is under such a heavy deadline pressure there are often little or big glitches! In this case my eagerness to try it overcame my good judgment but luckily someone sent me a link to the video. And that’s the beauty of the baker’s % and weight. Realizing that I had used too much water, all I had to do was rebalance the dough by gently stirring in the additional flour to bring it to 75% hydration and the extra yeast and salt to balance the extra flour. As you can see from the photos—no harm done!

If you’d like to have weights for the ingredients:

3 cups (unbleached) all-purpose or bread flour/468 grams flour
(I used Harvest King flour and would recommend replacing about 3 tablespoons) with equal weight or volume of whole wheat or kamut or about 3 tablespoons)
1 1/2 cups water 354 grams/12.5 ounces water
1/4 teaspoons yeast/ 0.8 grams on a scale designed to weigh such small amounts
1 1/4 teaspoons salt/7.5 grams (i used 1 3/4 teaspoons 10.5 grams 2.2%)

For those of you who may not have access to the article, the basic technique is to stir together the flour, yeast, and salt and then gently stir in the water for a few seconds--just until the flour is moistened to form a soft shaggy dough. The dough is then covered with plastic wrap and allowed to rise at around 70°F. for 12 to 18 hours or until the surface is filled with bubbles.

The dough is then scraped onto a floured counter and with floured hands, shaped into a ball by folding it in thirds like a business letter in one direction and then repeating this in the other direction. It is inverted onto a towel which has been dusted with bran or flour. The dough is then dusted with bran or flour and loosely wrapped in the towel. It is left to rise for about 2 hours or until when pressed with a finger tip the depression fills in slowly.

The risen dough is then inverted (seam-side up) into a preheated 6 to 8 quart enameled cast-iron Dutch oven and covered with its lid. (Or as I suggested above, inverted onto a piece of parchment, set onto a baking stone that has been preheated for at least 45 minutes at 450°F. and steamed with a handful of ice cubes thrown onto a preheated cast iron pan set on the floor of the oven (if you forget to preheat it you can do so on the cooktop).

Finally, I am grateful to The New York Times, Mark Bittman, and Jim Leahey for doing so much to get people excited about baking bread. I could see from the video that Jim Leahey’s mission, like that of any good baker, is to get people making and eating good bread.

From the kitchen of Rose on 11.13.06 at 1:42 PM in Bread
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Bake Bread Instead!

i was browsing the internet yesterday and came across a lively discussion/dispute as to whether the "dough percentage" in my book was a percentage or a ratio.

technically, a percentage is based on the total, for example if the total weight of the dough were 100 grams and water used to make it were 40 grams the water would be 40% of the total. but NOT with the traditional baker's percentage in which the percentage of the water (or any other ingredient) is based on the flour whose value is given as 100%. this makes it easier for bakers to scale the ingredients up and down and to create new formulas (recipes).

so in this bread which weighs 100 grams (for clarity let's leave out the small weight of yeast and salt) if the water weighs 40 grams and the flour 60 grams, to get the baker's % you divide the weight of the water by the flour and get 66.6%

in my listing of the percentage of water i also included residual water, for ex. if i added banana or honey i included the amount of water contained in this ingredient. this information is not necessary to the success of the recipe. it is there to give a sense of what to expect from the texture of the bread. a bread of 66% hydration is average. 72% hydration will have a crumb with larger more open holes, etc. etc.

NOW: enough of this nonsense and BAKE THE ___BREAD!!!

From the kitchen of Rose on 11.12.06 at 9:28 AM in FAQs
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Rose’s Basic Hearth Bread
Adapted from Rose Levy Beranbaum, The Bread Bible, W. W. Norton & Company, 2003

This is the recipe as it appears on the back of the flour bag but with a few additions, variations and lots of tips! (Note: to print the out, select the text and copy into a word document)

Makes: About 1 3/4 pounds of dough: An 8 inch round loaf, or a 9 inch sandwich loaf, or 16 dinner rolls, or 12 hot dog buns, or 8 hamburger buns

3 cups/1 pound Harvest King flour (measured by dip and sweep)
1/4 cup/1.25 ounce whole wheat flour
1-1/4 teaspoons rapid rise, bread machine or other instant yeast
1-1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt
1-1/3 cups/11.25 ounces room temperature water
1 teaspoon mild honey, such as clover

Optional for soft crust for sandwich bread or buns: 1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil

In a mixing bowl, whisk together the bread flour, whole wheat flour and yeast. Then whisk in the salt. Stir in the water and honey (and optional oil). Using a mixer with a dough hook or by hand, knead the dough until smooth and springy (about 7 minutes, or 10 minutes by hand). The dough should be soft and just sticky enough to cling slightly to your fingers. If it is still very sticky knead in a little flour. If it is too stiff spray it with a little water and knead it.

Set the dough in a lightly greased bowl and lightly spray or oil the top of the dough. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and set in a warm spot. Allow the dough to rise until doubled, about an hour. (Stick a finger into the center of the dough and if it keeps the indentation it’s ready.) If baking it the following day, press down the dough and set it in a large oiled zipper type storage bag, leaving a tiny bit unzipped for the forming gas to escape, and refrigerate it. Remove it to room temperature 1 hour before shaping.

When ready to shape the dough, set it on a very lightly floured counter and flatten gently with your fingertips. Shape into a round ball or football. Set it on a baking sheet lined with parchment or lightly sprinkled with cornmeal or flour. Cover with a large container or oiled plastic wrap and allow it to rise until almost doubled and when pressed gently with a finger the depression very slowly fills in.

While the dough is rising, set the oven rack toward the bottom and place a baking stone or baking sheet on it. Set a cast iron skillet or heavy baking pan on the floor of the oven or on the lowest shelf. Preheat the oven to 475F. for 45 minutes or longer.

With a single edged razor blade or very sharp knife, cut one or more long, 1/4 inch deep slashes into the dough. Mist the dough with water, quickly but gently set the baking sheet on the hot stone or hot baking sheet, and toss 1/2 cup of ice cubes into the pan beneath. Immediately shut the door and bake 10 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 425°F. and continue baking 20 to 30 minutes or until the bread is golden brown and a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. (An instant read thermometer inserted into the center will read about 210°F.). Halfway through baking, turn the pan halfway around for even baking.

Remove the bread to a wire rack to cool completely or until just warm.

Processor Method: Refer to the instruction booklet for your model to determine the maximum amount of flour allowable. Chill the water. Place the whisked flour mixture in the work bowl fitted with the dough blades. With the motor on, add the cold water and oil if desired. If the mixture doesn’t come together after 10 seconds, scrape down the sides. and scrape the dry part into the moist part. After the mixture comes together, continue processing for 1 1/2 minutes until a smooth elastic dough is formed. If it does not clean the bowl, pulse in a little extra flour. Remove the dough to a counter and knead it for 10 seconds to equalize the temperature.

Optional Seed Variation: Add up to 3/4 cup of mixed seeds such as cracked flax, sesame, poppy, sunflower or pumpkin to the flour mixture. (The sunflower and pumpkin seeds have the best flavor if toasted at 325F. until just beginning to color—about 5 minutes.)

Weekend Schedule:

1) Mix the dough first thing Saturday morning or as late as 1:00 in the afternoon and it will be ready for dinner at 6. or
2) Store the baked cooled loaf in a paper bag and reheat it for Sunday dinner in a 350°F. oven for 5 to 10 minutes to crisp the crust and warm the crumb. or
OR Refrigerate the dough until Sunday morning. (This will give it a more open crumb.) Shape and bake it for Sunday dinner OR
If desired Double the recipe. Slice the second loaf. Place it in a freezer weight zipper lock bag and freeze it for week day lunches

TIPS
* To measure the flour, dip the measuring cup with unbroken rim into the flour and with a straight edge such as a metal spatula or knife, level it off.

* Flour should be stored in an airtight container in a cool area. It will keep for about a year, and much longer if it is stored in the refrigerator or freezer. Old flour will not smell bad but it will lose it’s ability to provide good structure to the bread.

* Whole wheat flour will become rancid after about 6 months unless it is stored in the refrigerator or freezer where it will keep for over a year.

* Instant yeast will stay fresh for as long as 2 years if stored in an airtight container in the freezer after opening the package.

* If you have a recipe using active dry yeast, replace each teaspoon with 3/4 teaspoon of instant yeast.

* If adding seeds to the dough, taste them first to be sure they are not rancid and store any leftover seeds in the freezer.

* If adding grains such as polenta or bulgur to the dough, they should be soaked for at least 4 hours.

* Basic rustic bread dough can accommodate grains, seeds and nuts up to as much as 60% of the flour without becoming crumbly. My preference is between 10 to 33%. The addition of seeds and grains to bread dough adds excellent flavor and texture in addition to providing fiber.

* Add salt after the yeast is mixed into the flour. Avoid direct contact with the salt and yeast.

* If water is cold when added to the flour, it will take the dough longer to rise (except if using a food processor to mix the dough). The water can be slightly warm but hot water will kill the yeast. Cold tap water takes about 30 minutes to reach room temperature.

* If you are kneading the dough by hand, use a bench scraper to move the dough and add only as much extra flour as needed. During kneading, the flour absorbs the water evenly and as the gluten develops the dough becomes less sticky on its own.

* When shaping the dough, it helps if it clings a little to the counter so use flour only if it sticks to the counter.

* If there is no warm area in the house you can put the shaped bread in a microwave (NOT turned on) or cover it with a large container along with a cup of hot tap water to speed rising and maintain a moist environment. Change the water after 30 minutes to keep it hot. Alternatively you can increase the yeast up to a total of 2 teaspoons.

* For a rustic appearance, you can dust the surface of the loaf with flour before slashing it.

* A baking stone (or quarry tiles) is ideal for evenly retaining the oven’s heat after the door has been opened and produces the best rise.

* Keep the oven door closed during the first 15 minutes of baking.

* An instant read thermometer takes the guess work out of telling when the bread is baked fully.

* If the crust is getting too brown before the inside is baked, tent it loosely with foil.

* Burned bread is bitter but a deep golden brown crust is more flavorful than a pale golden one.

* The bread is continuing to ‘bake’ during cooling. For the best texture, allow the bread to cool completely or until just warm before cutting into it.

* For an extra crisp crust, return the cooled bread to a 350°F. oven for 5 to 10 minutes.

* For a sandwich loaf, before shaping, press the dough into a greased loaf pan. It should come no more than 1/2 inch from the top. Cut off any excess dough (use scissors or a knife—don’t tear the dough) and bake it as rolls. Roll or press the rest of the dough into a rectangle and roll it up tightly, pinching the seam with your fingers. Set it seam-side down in the lightly greased pan. Let it rise until almost doubled. Slash if desired. Bake the loaf at 375°F. for 40 to 50 minutes A lower temperature forms a thicker crust which supports the higher sides of the loaf.

From the kitchen of Rose on 11.11.06 at 1:25 PM in Bread
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as i'm sure you've all noticed, i try to answer all your questions within about a week of your posting.

occasionally, however, a question slips through the cracks so if you don't see the answer posted on the blog following the thread of your original posting, please feel free to repost it but do give it about 10 days!

From the kitchen of Rose on 11.10.06 at 9:14 AM in Announcements
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I've been using Rose's chocolate cake recipes for nearly two years, and always had the same problem - I weighed every ingredient carefully, had the oven spot on 350, and every time, the cake would bake perfectly, but would serve out dry and crumbly. The strange thing was that when I made yellow or white cakes, this didn't happen. Last week I figured out why.
When you use hot water to dissolve the cocoa powder, then let it sit to cool, some of the water evaporates. I stated measuring the water/cocoa mixture *after* it cooled, and found that I was loosing as much as two ounces of water, depending on the conditions in my kitchen! Adding a little room-temp. water, just before mixing the cocoa/water with the other ingredients has totally solved this problem. Just last weekend, I made a wedding cake with a 12-inch, two-layer middle tier of chocolate, baked and iced the day before the event. When served, the cake was soft and moist and the texture perfect.

Rose Reply

aaron, i am so enormously grateful to you. after 18 years you are the only one to solve this problem. i thought it was over -baking. then i thought it was miss-measuring the flour. finally i thought i'd never figure out what people are doing without actually being there and if not for you i probably never would have.

you see i always cover everything with plastic wrap that is not going to be used right away--especially chocolate and water!

now i will be sure to add this vital piece of information to the new book.

From the kitchen of Rose on 11.05.06 at 7:30 AM in General
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Dear Rose,
What's the big deal with kosher salt these days? It seems that many of the TV cooks specify it rather than regular salt, in everything from vegetable dishes to baked goods. I seem to recall learning that kosher salt should not be substituted in cakes, etc., because it doesn't perform the same as regular salt. For example, a recent program called for kosher salt in the meringue for a lemon meringue tart. Any thoughts?
Debbie

Rose Response

debbie, i'm jewish, i write bibles, and i still don't use kosher salt in baking! o.k. i'll get serious. this is an excellent question. here's the scoop: it is thought that kosher salt dissolves more readily less readily (see comments below!) than other salts which is useful when sprinkling on meat, chicken, or eggplant. but there are two kinds of kosher salt--morton which is granulated and diamond which is flaked or fluffed up so that it takes up more volume. if you use this salt you will need 1 3/4 times to equal the same weight or saltiness as the granulated.

the only valid reason i can see for calling for kosher salt is that it isn't iodized which can give an unpleasant taste to baked goods.

i use fine sea salt for all my baking. it's easy to measure and is not iodized.

From the kitchen of Rose on 11.03.06 at 7:23 AM in Ingredients
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