Accuracy A Prerequisite For Success In Baking

Writen by Trinh Lieu

It would not be farfetched to identify a successful home baker as a detail-oriented chemist with an obsession for accuracy. After all, being able to produce perfectly baked goods is so rewarding that measuring ingredients accurately is inevitable.

We use the same ingredients in baking - flour, eggs, water, sweeteners, leaveners, and fat. The technique we use to assemble these ingredients determines the quality, texture, and appearance of the finished products.

• You and I know that the term for vigorously combining softened fat and sugar is creaming. The next steps involve combining eggs, then dry ingredients into this mixture.

• Adding wet ingredients directly to those that are dry is often done whenever we want our cakes or cookies to have a low moisture content. This is known as a one-stage mixing method.

• For delicate products such as chiffon cakes, genoise, madeleines, lady fingers, we use the sponge method. It requires gently folding foamed egg whites into a batter.

In addition, we should also be aware of any slight difference in the proportion of ingredients that are called for in a recipe. A minute difference can have a large effect on the final texture and quality.

For example, not using enough eggs in a recipe for moist and chewy oatmeal cookies would likely produce the opposite result, crisp and dry.

Unlike cooking, we can not make adjustments during the baking process. If we add too much baking soda, we'll just have a patch of discolored cookies with a strong chemical off flavor.

In short, accuracy is an essential attribute of any successful baker. Along with creativity and skill, it turns us into chemists in the kitchen.

For ideas on baking different types of delicious cookies, please visit Baking Perfect Homemade Cookies With Five Essential Rules.

Copyright 2006 by Trinh Lieu

How To Lower The Fat When Sauteing

Writen by Shauna Hanus

When a recipe calls for sautéing the first ingredient is almost always some sort of fat. This may be butter, olive oil or a rendered animal fat such as lard. The reason vegetables are sautéed is to help bring out the flavor of the vegetables. Thin sliced meats can also be sautéed alone or with vegetables to make a quick stir fry.

There are three options for lowering the fat content of recipes when it comes to sautéing.

Option One

Use less fat. This seems deceptively simple, but is often over looked. For example if a recipe calls to sauté in 3 tablespoons of oil cut the amount of oil down to 1 tablespoon. When lowering the oil, butter or lard content remember to keep a close watch on the sauté. The vegetables and meat will stick and burn quickly. To keep the food from burning continuously stir.

Option Two

Substitute broth. Substituting a vegetable or chicken broth for the fat is an excellent way to cut the fat. Simply leave out the butter, oil or lard and use 1-2 tablespoons vegetable or chicken broth. For this option to work the heat must be high on the stove and the vegetables or meat must be continuously stirred.

Option Three

Skim the fat. Skimming the fat is a method that works in soups or stews. The simplest way to accomplish this is to cook the soup and then allow it to cool overnight in the refrigerator. The fats in the soup will float to the top of the soup and can be easily scraped off.

Shauna Hanus is a gourmet cook who specializes in creating gourmet recipes. She has extensive experience cooking with easy to find grocery items to create delightful gourmet meals. She is also the publisher of a no cost bi-monthly gourmet newsletter. Her newsletter is always fun and informational packed with tips and trivia you can use everyday. Sign up for her newsletter and learn more about Gourmayeats Weekly Recipe Club at http://www.gourmayeats.com

Prepare For A Cookie Baking Christmas

Writen by Ricky Alberta

Cookie baking is one of the holiday season's most fun traditions. To get the most out of your cookie baking, here's a few tips:

Supplies

You'll need some basic supplies to bake cookies. Make sure that you have the following on hand:

* Cookie sheets - You'll want to have at least 2 so you can be baking one batch while you are preparing another batch on another sheet.

* Measuring devices - You'll want a Pyrex glass cup for wet ingredients such as oil and water. You'll also want to have a set of plastic measuring cups for dry ingredients such as flour, sugar and chocolate chips and a set of measuring spoons ranging for things like baking soda, baking powder, salt and vanilla.

* Mixing bowls - You'll want a set of sturdy mixing bowls. Metal or plastic will work fine. Have at least one small, one medium and a couple larger sized bowls.

* Mixing devices - Make sure you have several sizes of spoons on hand. You'll want a couple large wood spoons as well as some smaller mixing spoons.

* Cookie cutters - You should have a set of Christmas themed cookie cutters. Made of metal or plastic, you can find them at any grocery store or even dollar stores.

* Spatula - To remove the cookies from the sheet, you'll need a spatula. A plastic one will work best and won't scratch your nonstick surface like a metal spatula would.

* Cooling rack - To cool your cookies properly, you'll need a cookie rack. Usually made of metal, you might need several depending on how many batches of cookies you will be making.

* Frosting tools - If you will be decorating your cookies, you might want to pick up a pastry bag as well as several pastry tips so you can make great looking designs with your frosting.

Ingredients

Some basic ingredients you should have:

* Flour - Pick up a bag of all purpose flour.

* Sugars - You'll want to have at least 1 bag each of white sugar, brown sugar and powdered sugar.

* Eggs & Butter - A dozen large eggs and a pound or two of salted butter.

* Oils - Some recipes call for vegetable oil, canola oil works great.

* Flavorings & Colorings - Many cookie recipes use vanilla extract, get the real kind, not artificially flavored for best taste. For coloring, you'll want this to color your frosting too. You can usually get a set of coloring bottles around the holidays on sale.

* Decorations - Sprinkles, nonpareils, candies, kisses, hard candies, cinnamon candies etc. Whatever your recipe calls for or whatever you like, get a bag or two.

Cookie Baking Tips

Always preheat your oven, it should be one of the first things you do. Also, doublecheck that you have set the right temperature. When placing the dough on the cookie sheets, try to make every cookie a uniform size. You can even use a measuring cup, spoon or ice cream scoop so you can get the same size cookie, this is important for proper and even baking. Keep a close eye on the first batch to test the doneness and adjust the temperature and baking time if needed, as every oven tends to be different. During baking, try and rotate the cookie sheets, turn them around and switch racks for more even cooking. Once one batch of cookies is done and you have removed the cookies from it, let the cookie sheet cool for a minute or two before placing the next batch of dough on it, this keeps the dough from spreading too much due to the heat from the last batch. You'll want to leave the cookies on the baking sheet for a minute or so before removing them to lessen the chance of breakage when you remove them.

Lastly, store your cookies in an airtight container at room temperature.

Ricky Alberta writes for Cookie-Recipes.net, home of hundreds of cookie recipes of all kinds plus a cookie recipe forum and blog. Visit us at: www.cookie-recipes.net