Anyone who has watched a baking show on TV knows the bakers all come armed with an arsenal of tricks and hacks. For those of us who want to better our baking skills, it might be useful to learn something new. And Chef Jerry Pellegrino is just the guy to teach us. Here are a few ideas for better baking.
~If you’re making a pie crust, keep everything as cold as possible: mixing bowl, flour, butter, your hands… even the wooden cutting board you are going to be rolling out your dough on. Put a few ice cubes in a paper towel and rub them on the cutting board to bring the temperature down.
~Measure your ingredients precisely. Baking leaves less margin for error than common cooking.
~Bring all your ingredients up to room temperature (unless you are making pie dough). The chemistry will work better.
~Assemble all your pots and pans and ingredients before you start your project. Jerry recommends reading the recipe backwards to get the best feel for what you need.
~Invest in a hand-mixer. It is so much easier than whisking, and it does a better job too.
~Check your oven temperature. Use an oven thermometer to test the accuracy of your heat settings. Adjust accordingly.
~If you are making a dough, let it rest. The internal texture needs time to come together.
~When making cakes, always let the cake cool down before you frost it. A hot cake will melt your frosting and make a big mess.
~When using brown sugar that has hardened, try placing the sugar in an airtight container and tossing in a few apple slices. They will add enough moisture to the brown sugar to soften it. Let it take a few hours to work.
~If you are bringing a stick of butter out of the fridge, and you need it to soften, just place a warm bowl upside down over the butter. It will soften in no time.
Try using these hacks on these great baking recipes:
FOCACCIA
1 3/4 cups warm water
1 package active dry yeast
1 Tablespoon sugar
1 Tablespoon salt
5 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup olive oil divided
Combine the warm water, yeast and sugar in a small bowl. Put the bowl in a warm, not hot or cool, place until the yeast is bubbling and aromatic, at least 15 minutes.
In the bowl of a mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the flour, 1 tablespoon of kosher salt, 1/2 cup olive oil and the yeast mixture on low speed. Once the dough has come together, continue to knead for 5 to 6 minutes on a medium speed until it becomes smooth and soft.
Give it a sprinkle of flour if the dough is really sticky and tacky.
Transfer the dough to a clean, lightly floured surface, then knead it by hand 1 or 2 times. Again, give it another sprinkle of flour if the dough is really sticky and tacky.
Coat the inside of the mixer bowl lightly with olive oil and return the dough to the bowl. Cover it with plastic wrap and put it in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size, at least 1 hour.
Coat a jelly roll pan with the remaining 1/2 cup olive oil. (Chef's Note: This may seem excessive, but focaccia is an oily crusted bread.
Put the dough onto the jelly roll pan and begin pressing it out to fit the size of the pan. Turn the dough over to coat the other side with the olive oil. Continue to stretch the dough to fit the pan. As you are doing so, spread your fingers out and make finger holes all the way through the dough. (Chef's Note: Yes, this is strange. But when the dough rises again it will create the characteristic craggy looking focaccia. If you do not make the actual holes in the dough, the finished product will be very smooth.)
Put the dough in the warm place until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour. While the dough is rising a second time, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.
Liberally sprinkle the top of the focaccia with some coarse sea salt and lightly drizzle a little oil on top. Bake the dough until the top of the loaf is golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the focaccia from the oven and let it cool before cutting and serving.
THE BASIC SUGAR COOKIE
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tablespoon milk
Powdered sugar, for rolling out dough
Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. Place butter and sugar in large bowl of electric stand mixer and beat until light in color. Add egg and milk and beat to combine. Put mixer on low speed, gradually add flour, and beat until mixture pulls away from the side of the bowl. Divide the dough in half, wrap in waxed paper, and refrigerate for 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375° F.
Sprinkle surface where you will roll out dough with powdered sugar. Remove 1 wrapped pack of dough from refrigerator at a time, sprinkle rolling pin with powdered sugar, and roll out dough to 1/4-inch thick. Move the dough around and check underneath frequently to make sure it is not sticking. If dough has warmed during rolling, place cold cookie sheet on top for 10 minutes to chill. Cut into desired shape, place at least 1-inch apart on greased baking sheet, parchment, or silicone baking mat, and bake for 7 to 9 minutes or until cookies are just beginning to turn brown around the edges, rotating cookie sheet halfway through baking time.
Let sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes after removal from oven and then move to complete cooling on wire rack. Serve as is or ice as desired. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
SUGAR COOKIE ICING
Ingredients
1 cup confectioners' sugar
2 teaspoons milk
2 teaspoons light corn syrup
¼ teaspoon almond extract
assorted food coloring
In a small bowl, stir together confectioners' sugar and milk until smooth. Beat in corn syrup and almond extract until icing is smooth and glossy. If icing is too thick, add more corn syrup.
Divide into separate bowls and add food colorings to each to desired intensity. Dip cookies, pipe on decorations or paint them with a brush.
APPLE CLAFOUTIS
1 ¼ cups milk
1/3 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1/8 tsp. salt
½ cup flour
4 apples, peeled, cut into small dice and tossed in 2 Tablespoons sugar and 1teaspoon of ground cinnamon
1/3 cup sugar
Powdered sugar
Put the milk, 1/3 cup sugar, eggs, vanilla, salt, and flour in a In a large bowl and whisk until combined
Pour a ¼ inch layer of the batter in a lightly buttered 7 or 8 cup fireproof baking dish or Pyrex pie plate about 1 ½ inches deep.
Spread the berries over the batter and sprinkle on 1/3 cup of sugar. Pour on the rest of the batter and smooth the surface with the back of a spoon.
Place in the middle position of a preheated 350° oven and bake for about an hour. The Clafoutis done when puffed and brown and a knife plunged in the center comes out clean.
Sprinkle the top of the clafoutis with powdered sugar just before bringing it to the table. (The clafoutis need not be served hot but should still be warm. It will sink down slightly as it cools.)
HAPPY BAKING!
