Hobbies

Bread machines-wonderful inventions that they are-don’t think very well. You and I, when we have a loaf of bread percolating on the counter, can look and say, "My bread is rising a little slowly today. I think I will let it be for another fifteen minutes." Our bread machines go ahead and start the bake cycle anyway. The result is a dense loaf of bread that didn’t rise enough.

The only way that we know to compensate for those loaves that aren’t quite right is human intervention. Most loaves and most recipes that aren’t acting right can be fixed to make perfect bread. Many recipes take a little tweaking to come out just right in the individual environments of our own kitchens.

We had a call from the Denver area this week, "My bread machine worked just fine in Australia. Now it bakes hard, dense loaves." (He hadn’t tried our mixes yet.) Denver is a much different environment than Australia. Dough will act differently there. But then, dough may act differently in your kitchen than it does in the kitchen down the street.

Ah, there’s nothing like a tender, steaming scone in the morning. (Pronounced "skawn" like "fawn" or "scone" like "tone" ?Webster says either is okay.) They’re quick, they’re easy, and with a few tips, they are absolutely delectable.

Scones are probably the easiest and quickest of breads. Once you get the ingredients assembled, most recipes only require fifteen minutes of prep time and another fifteen minutes or so of baking time. A mix is even quicker.

But there are some keys to making those flakey, tender scones that you’ve been dreaming about.

Key #1: Use the right flour. Use a soft, low protein flour-we use a quality pastry flour. You want soft, tender scones and too much protein leads to too much gluten which makes your scones chewy.

Key #2: Keep your ingredients cold. Temperature is critical to buttery, flakey scones. Start with very cold butter-it should chip when you cut it into chunks and your liquids should be ice cold. Before you start, measure your milk or water and put it in the freezer for ten minutes. Consider chilling your mixing bowl before mixing.

Muffins are a mainstay around our house. They are as nourishing as they are good to eat. They are quicker and easier to make than cookies and usually contain much less sugar and fat. We usually eat them for breakfast but like them with any meal. (For Easter, we served cranberry nut muffins with a ham dinner.) They work well for snacks and desserts as well. Extras can be frozen and heated in the microwave for hot muffins anytime.

Today we will make muffins using the "muffin method". (Just as there are two major makeup methods for quick breads, there are two methods for muffins-the muffin method and the creaming method.) In the muffin method, the liquids and the dry ingredients are mixed separately and then stirred together until just combined. We will include tips and instructions to make the perfect muffin and some streusel and topping recipes to crown your creations with.

To make muffins using the muffin method, choose a favorite muffin recipe that does not call for the creaming of sugar into the fat. (Look for a recipe that calls for oil or melted butter.)

We’re partial to cornbread. We like its rustic texture and chewy goodness. We like its versatility-it works for breakfast, lunch or dinner. It complements eggs in the morning, a hearty soup for lunch, or a dinner meal such as pork chops or chicken. Cornbread always reminds us of the South and some of the best is the result of wonderful Southern cooking.

There’s a wonderful world of cornbread to explore. The cornbreads that we have made the most are balanced with equal parts flour and cornmeal to make a lighter bread with a couple eggs to give it structure and hold it together. But cornbread doesn’t have to follow this traditional formula. We often make cornbread that has no flour and is so rich in eggs it’s approaching a soufflé. (Because it has no flour, it is a great choice for those who are gluten intolerant.) One of our favorite cornbreads is on the other end of the spectrum-made in a yeast bread with whole kernel corn.

Cornbread makes a wonderful vehicle for a variety of additions. Try adding ham, bacon bits, or even cheese to your cornbread. One of our favorite additions is drained, whole kernel corn as mentioned previously. Vegetables such as green peppers, onions, or celery work well in cornbread.

The secret-at least most of it-is in the rise. The most common mistake that we see in bread making is not letting the dough rise enough.

So how do we know when the bread has risen enough? The dough will double in size. It will be soft and look a bit airy. When you touch it with your finger, it will feel soft and an indention in the dough will remain. If it feels a bit springy and the dough bounces back from the indentation, it hasn’t risen enough.

To help you tell when your bread has risen enough, most recipes tell you how long to let the bread rise at normal kitchen temperatures. (The stated time is a guideline but it’s usually pretty accurate if you are using water at the recommended temperature. Set the timer and forget about the bread until you hear the timer.)

Can you let bread rise too much? Yes-but most of us are too impatient to let that happen often. If it does rise too much, it will be blistered, so soft it won’t hold its form, and may even collapse. No problem. Just gently knead some of the air from the dough, reshape the loaves, and let it rise again. It will rise more quickly the second time.

Often we field questions about making great bread. Great bread is a matter of using the right ingredients and the right techniques-there’s no single secret that will make perfect bread. But really great bread is readily attainable. We’ve compiled our list of what goes into great bread.

1. The right flour.

2. An understanding of yeast.

3. A good dough conditioner.

4. A baker’s thermometer.

Now this isn’t everything that goes into great bread but the baker that is armed with these four tools are likely to be baking great bread.

Recently we stated that if there is a secret ingredient that bakers use it’s the flour. So we put the right flour on the top of our list.

To understand how important flour is, you need to understand just a little about gluten. Gluten strands are formed from the proteins naturally occurring in wheat flour. It’s what gives bread its chewy texture. If you use a flour with a higher percentage of protein, you will have more gluten. Most commercial bread bakers are going to use flours with 10 to 14% protein–bread flour.

Would you like to prepare the best Garlic Mashed Potatoes that you enjoy at your favorite restaurant, but have no idea where to start to achieve that wonderful and delightful flavor?

There are a variety of ways to create the best garlic mashed potatoes that you have ever tasted but when it comes down to which way is best is according to your own taste buds.

When you take a look at garlic you will see that there are various kinds of garlic that you can use for your mashed potatoes such as German red garlic, Spanish Roja garlic, Leningrad garlic, and Yugoslavian. You can find all of these garlic’s in a powder form or use fresh garlic. So, the first thing you need to do is decide which garlic you would like to use. Personally, I like using fresh minced garlic cloves.

There are two popular ways to prepare the best garlic mashed potatoes. With this recipe you will use garlic powder instead of fresh garlic. For the first recipe you will need enough potatoes to feed your family or guests. The rule of thumb is one medium potato per person.

Ever go home and look in the fridge only to find it sadly, echoingly empty? Well, look again my friend… there are probably a ton of condiments in there just waiting to be made into a hearty meal. Here are some tasty new recipes I discovered while living on a limited income. Dish up some dinner, liven up lunch, whatever you like! Mmmm, MMMH!

Saltines and Ketchup

Ingredients: five saltine crackers, bottle of ketchup

To Make: arrange crackers on plate. Drizzle on ketchup. Eat. Delicioso!

Variations:

1. Make sandwiches with the crackers (but I wouldn’t reccommend this if you’re low on crackers because then you can’t “stretch” the eating time).

2. Squirt out little drawings/messages to self with ketchup squeeze bottle (assuming you are lucky enough to have one of these). Tip: messages should be no more than 2 words due to limited space on cracker. However, you can always line up the crackers and just write one big sentence across. Fun with Food!

Hot Dog Roll and Mayonnaise with Bread and Butter Pickles

Ingredients: hot dog roll, jar of mayonnaise, at least 2 bread and butter pickles (otherwise it would just be “Hot Dog Roll and Mayonnaise with Bread and Butter PICKLE).

The process of preparing Cajun food is in no way hurried and involves a layering of flavors which allows each ingredient to maintain its own identity.

The foundation of preparing authentic Cajun dishes like gumbo, sauce piquant and etouffee is the Cajun roux (pronounced ‘rue’). Good roux is neither undercooked nor overcooked. Undercooking will yield a less full-bodied flavor and overcooking to the point of being burned will yield a bitter taste.

The French roux is usually a blend of equal parts flour and butter cooked slowly until bubbly and well blended, but not browned. The typical Cajun roux is a blend of equal parts of flour and fat, cooked together in a heavy pot over high heat until a medium brown color is reached. Roux must be stirred constantly to prevent burning. Some people prefer a roux made with approximately one-fourth cup more oil than flour.

Most often, when Cajun roux is called for, finely chopped onion and bell pepper is added to the browned roux to arrest the cooking temperature and prevent the roux from scorching. This step begins the cooking of the desired dish, such as a gumbo or sauce piquant.

Ingredients:

Grilling vegetables is easy. The fact that more people don’t do it is the strange thing. The general rule is to cut the vegetables into pieces that will cook quickly and evenly. All pieces should be of consistent thickness and no more than about 3/4 to 1 inch thick. Soak vegetables in cold water for about 30 minutes before you grill them to keep them from drying out. Pat dry, then brush lightly with oil to prevent sticking.

Do not over cook and you’ll have vegetables better than you thought possible. If you like grilling vegetables and want to try smaller things use a grilling basket to keep them out of the fire. This list of specific vegetables will get you started. Asparagus: Cut off ends. Soak in water for 30 minutes to an hour. Pat dry and brush with olive oil. Place on grill, turning every minute. Remove when tips start to turn brown. You can added some extra flavor to asparagus by mixing a little sesame oil in the olive oil before you brush them. Bell Peppers: Cut through the middle of the pepper top to bottom. Remove stems, seeds and whitish ribs. Brush lightly with oil and grill for 2-3 minutes on each side.