baking mat » Baking

Homemade Pumpkin Pie: Thanksgiving Recipes : Baking Tips For Pumpkin Pie

admin — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 11:12:09 +0000

Learn baking tips for a homemade pumpkin pie recipe, streusel style, in this free dessert cooking class on video, with Thanksgiving recipes.

Expert: J. Costilla
Contact: www.digitaleyesproductions…

Baking Tips for Novice Chefs

admin — Sat, 24 Jul 2010 09:05:51 +0000

Baking can be an intimidating process when one is first learning. Images of smoke pouring out of the oven and rock hard rolls can haunt thoughts of preparing a Thanksgiving dinner. But have no fear; there are a few simple ways to avoid the confusion and stress that comes with baking. The first key is to gain a basic understanding of what you are looking to make such as ingredients, and the baking process.
Read the recipe thoroughly before turning on the oven. Make sure you understand the process and ingredients involved in what you are looking to make. It will not be enough to simply know the recipe; you need to understand the recipe as well. Keep a basic dictionary of baking terms handy to look up anything that confuses you about the recipe. A good dictionary can explain the differences between chopping, dicing and other methods of cutting fruits and vegetables. It will inform you about the types of pans you will be instructed to use. Beyond all of that, it can explain the different techniques that may be required by some recipes. This resource is vital when you are learning to bake. It can guide you through just about anything.
Once you have figured the recipe out, the actual cooking is often fairly easy. But there is a little more to the process then simply pre-heating the oven, putting in your baked good and getting back in time to take it out. Be sure to check on things every once and a while to make sure everything is cooking properly. Some ovens tend to work at temperatures slightly higher or lower then those listed on the dial. This can be disastrous if you stick too closely to the timer. Look closely at the recipe so that you know how things are meant to turn out, and you will be able to take your baked good out of the oven with perfect timing.
If you are still nervous about baking, there is a simple way to build confidence. Begin by baking cookies. These delights are perhaps the easiest baked good to create, but are challenging enough to serve as building blocks to more complex recipes. Many cookie recipes can be produced in a relatively short amount of time, making them perfect to fit into your busy schedule. Mixing the dough is pretty basic. Another advantage is that most cookies use similar ingredients. This makes them simple and easy to make. When you have made your dough, you should keep it chilled in between batches. It can also benefit the process if you cool your baking sheets by running water over the back of them before placing them in the oven. If you like to make your cookies softer, use less butter or margarine. All in all cookies are a perfect place to begin and experiment.
Once your cookies are completed things can get a bit tricky. Storage can be quite the predicament. If your cookies are soft you will want to put them in a container with a tight lid and a slice of apple. Having the apple in the container will help keep the cookies from drying out so they will stay nice and soft. If your final product is meant to stay crispy you will want a loose lid. This will keep air moving and prevent the cookies from taking in moisture from the air. If it is especially humid you can add a piece of bread to the jar. The bread will take in the moisture and prevent your crispy cookies from becoming stale. When all of this has been taken care of you are free to enjoy your delicious dessert.
One of the frustrations with baking is what to do after finishing your recipe. Cakes, cookies and breads need to be kept fresh, and sometimes this can be a difficult task. Many baked goods can be stored in a freezer for long periods of time. There are a few easy steps to ensure that your baked good will handle freezing. Having plastic wrap, heavy aluminum foil and heavy plastic containers handy is very important if you are going to freeze your product. If your recipe has a topping of some sort, place it on a cookie sheet and wrap it. Be sure to unwrap it again before defrosting. It is also helpful to double wrap everything to make sure it stays sealed. You should also make sure to mark your product with the date that you placed it into the freezer in case you forget about it at any point. Not all baked goods can be frozen, so be sure to experiment before you depend too heavily on freezing.
Yes, baking can sometime be difficult and intimidating, but the reward of learning to bake is well worth the time and effort. If you take the time to learn the terminology, give yourself room to experiment a little and make a few mistakes you can come out of the learning process with the skills needed to create desserts that the whole family can enjoy.

About Author:

Nick Kakolowski is a freelance writer who writes about topics pertaining to food and cooking often discussing specific products such as Splenda” target=”_blank”>www.splendidlife.com/ancillary/samplingprogram.do”>Splenda

Chefs Select Parchment Baking Cups, Set of 54

admin — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 04:19:55 +0000

non stick natural colored baking cups
ideal for low fat muffins
no greasing /microwave / freezer safe

Product Description
Chefs Select parchment baking cups… More >>

Chefs Select Parchment Baking Cups, Set of 54

Progressive International Silicone Baking Mat

admin — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 22:00:59 +0000

Progressive International® is your source for the widest range of functional, inventive, and fun kitchen tools and great ideas put into practice. Our in-house designers spend hours in the kitchen coming up with ways to improve on a variety of traditional tasks and tools. Established in 1973, our commitment to quality and service allows us to offer a broad selection of quality kitchenware and other household products. Designed to help keep foods from sticking and to ease in the cle (more…)

Baking Is An Easy Task

admin — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 14:58:02 +0000

For either baking novices or seasoned pros, a dump cake is a no-brainer. To prepare one, you simply dump the ingredients into a bowl and beat them, then pour the batter into a pan and bake it. Although a dump cake is easy to make, it’s just as good as a more fancy cake. Perhaps that’s why dump cakes, including pound cakes, have been popular for hundreds of years.

The secret to the cake is in properly beating the ingredients, so follow these tips. Let the butter soften and take the eggs out of the fridge to warm a bit. For an airy batter, beat the softened butter and sugar really well until the creamed mixture looks pale and wispy. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until all the streaks are gone. Any curdling you might see will disappear as you beat. Turn off the mixer occasionally and scrape the batter at the sides of the bowl into the path of the beaters so everything gets thoroughly mixed.

Switch to low speed when you add the dry ingredients to keep the flour mixture from flying into the air. Since overbeating the flour can toughen a cake, beat only until the batter has no streaks. Stir in the chips by hand so the mixer does not break them.

Be sure the cake is done before you take it out of the oven. You can use either a cake tester, a thin metal wire with a knob on top, or a wooden pick. Gently push the tester into the middle of the cake and pull it out. If you see liquid batter on the tester, keep baking. If the tester comes out clean, remove the cake from the oven and let it cool. A silky-textured pound cake is rich and moist all by itself, so you don’t need to frost it. Just slice and

enjoy!

Double Chocolate Pound Cake

1 loaf cake or 8 servings

Butter

Flour

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened baking

cocoa

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, softened

(2 sticks)

1 cup sugar

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

With butter, lightly grease bottom and sides of 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 2 1/2 or 9 x 5 x 3-inch loaf pan. Dust with flour. Shake out excess flour. Set aside. With a sifter or mesh strainer, sift 1 1/4 cups flour together with the cocoa and salt into bowl or onto sheet of waxed paper. Set aside.

In large mixer bowl at medium speed, beat together butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 to 5 minutes. Beat in eggs and vanilla until thoroughly blended, at least several minutes. At low speed, gradually beat in reserved flour mixture, 1/2 cup at a time, beating just until blended and no streaks remain. Stir in chips. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan.

Bake in preheated 325 degree F oven until cake begins to pull away from sides of pan and cake tester inserted near center comes out clean, about 60 to 70 minutes for 9-inch pan or 75 to 85 minutes for 8 1/2-inch pan. (If tester shows dark brown, you’ve hit a melted chocolate chip. Test again in another spot. To prevent overbaking, remove cake from oven as soon as no light brown batter shows on tester.) Cool on wire rack 10 minutes. With narrow spatula or knife, loosen cake from pan. Gently shake onto wire rack. Cool completely. To retain moisture, store cooled cake in plastic wrap. Serve plain or topped with fruit, ice cream or whipped cream, if desired.
For either baking novices or seasoned pros, a dump cake is a no-brainer. To prepare one, you simply dump the ingredients into a bowl and beat them, then pour the batter into a pan and bake it. Although a dump cake is easy to make, it’s just as good as a more fancy cake. Perhaps that’s why dump cakes, including pound cakes, have been popular for hundreds of years.

enjoy!

Double Chocolate Pound Cake

1 loaf cake or 8 servings

Butter

Flour

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened baking

cocoa

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup butter, softened

(2 sticks)

1 cup sugar

4 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Learn about baking chicken and baking pumpkin seeds at the Baking Ideas site.

Baking Tips From The Queen Herself – Elizabeth Baird

admin — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 08:30:59 +0000

From breads and pastries, to cookies and cakes, Elizabeth Baird is the expert. WatchMojo.com sits down with this Canadian food guru to discuss the dos and don’ts of baking.

Whole Wheat Bread Recipe : Whole Wheat Bread Baking Tips

admin — Mon, 14 Jun 2010 01:33:14 +0000

Learn baking tips for a whole wheat bread recipe in this free baking video with tips on making homemade bread.

Expert: Brandon Sarkis
Bio: Brandon Sarkis has been a professional chef for more than…

Christmas Ornament Cookie Baking Tips : Christmas Ornament Cookies: Mix & Cool Dough

admin — Thu, 10 Jun 2010 21:24:18 +0000

Mix Christmas ornament cookie dough by hand and let it cool before baking it in the oven. Make Christmas ornament dough with expert tips in this free Christmas crafts video.

Expert: Katalin Toth
B…

Silpat 11-5/8-by-16-1/2-Inch Nonstick Silicone Baking Mat

admin — Fri, 04 Jun 2010 18:51:40 +0000

Amazon.com
Baking doesn’t have to mean time-consuming cleanup work with this reusable silicone baking mat. To use, simply place the mat smooth side up on the countertop when working with sticky materials, such as batter, taffy, or caramel, or place it on a sheet pan to bake cookies, cakes, and pastries–the mat turns any pan into a nonstick surface with no greasing necessary. Made in France of woven glass fabric coated with food-safe silicone, the product conforms to U.S. regulatio (more…)

Bundt Cake Baking Tips

admin — Sun, 23 May 2010 12:55:13 +0000

Bundt cake recipes are cake recipes that use a “bundt” cake pan or a round baking pan that with a hole in the middle and ridged, decorated sides. Bundt cake recipes use a dense cake such as a butter or pound cake recipe. These cakes are sturdy and last well. Recipes often call for a simple glaze or fruit topping. The name Bundt comes from the German word bund, which means “a gathering of people.”

Bundt cake recipes have grown in popularity since 1966 when a “Tunnel of Fudge” cake recipe used a bundt pan to win second place at a Pillsbury sponsored baking contest. Bundt cake recipes have since been quite popular and bundt cake pan sales have increased.

Because bundt cakes are baked in these intricate pans, there can be mishaps when turning the pan upside down and seperating the cake from the pan, ruining a wonderful cake. These mishaps can be avoided by following a few simple steps.

In order to stop your bundt cake from sticking when you turn it upside down you must prepare the pan by brushing it with vegetable shortening and a dusting of flour, alternatively use a non-stick spray with flour, stay away from sprays that contain lecithin as is will leave a residue. If you use the first method, tap the pan lightly over the sink to get rid of surplus flour.

You want the structure of your cake to be consistent throughout so you must avoid trapping air bubbles in the batter. This can be done by pouring the batter slowly, allowing it to fill the crevices of the bundt pan. It is prudent to only fill the pan ? of the way to allow the batter to rise. Use a spatula to press batter into the detailed walls of the bundt pan. Lightly wobbling the filled pan and tapping it against the counter will allow any remaining air bubbles to escape.

The cake should be placed in the center of the oven to allow for air circulation and even cooking. If the pan is dark colored it will absorb heat more quickly and the cooking temperature should be reduced 25 degrees fahrenheit from what the recipe calls for.

Once the cake has finished baking the correct time, let it cool for 10 minutes. If you turn the cake over now and it is stuck to the pan it may break so be sure to wobble the pan to indicate if it is loose. The cake should move freely from side to side letting you know it is ready to turn over. If the cake is sticking around the sides use a butter knife to gently pry the cake from the sides. Then turn the pan over on to a cooling rack and allow to fully cool.

Leona runs a small cake business and has been baking for over 30 years. She has published a number of bundt cake recipes at http://bundt-cake.com.