December 24, 2011

A bag-full of tips

Whisking in a measuring cup

For salad dressing or mixing the liquid ingredients for muffins, a small whisk between your hands is efficient and mess free. Hold a small whisk (eight to ten inches) between the palms of your hands, and rub your hands in opposite directions, as if you were trying to warm them up.

Uses for a pastry brush

A natural bristle pastry brush is great for brushing flour off dough and zest or ginger off the grater. It gets right into the corners when greasing a pan by painting the pan with melted butter.

Slowing the bread rise

Throw the bread into the refrigerator to slow the yeast without killing it. This works with pre-formed loaves on their final rise, or just-kneaded dough. When you are ready to continue, pull the dough out and let it warm to room temp for half an hour or forty-five minutes. This slows but doesn't stop the rise; the bread will need to be baked after a day. If you need more time before baking, try freezing the formed loaves; wrap tightly in cling wrap and a layer of foil, or double-bag in freezer bags.

Crack eggs in a cup

This keeps rotten eggs out of the batter. I've only seen two rotten eggs in my life, but damn was I glad they didn't ruin the whole dish. I know Alton Brown uses a plate to keep bits shell out of the egg, but either the shell doesn't break the membrane and I get egg all over my hands prying the shell apart, or I break the yolk and get egg all over my hands. Who minds a little extra calcium in the cookies anyhow?

Flour dough before stamping/cutting

To keep Springerle and other cookie doughs from sticking to the stamps and molds, lightly dust the dough with flour before stamping. The flour will adhere to the sticky parts of the dough.