Date: Sat, 13 Dec 2003 00:26:39 -0700 (MST) -------------- BEGIN bread-bakers.v103.n052 -------------- 001 - "Schmitt, Barbara E." Subject: Making Pizza Crusts for the Freezer Date: Mon, 8 Dec 2003 09:22:50 -0500 In honor of the publication of Peter Reinhart's new pizza book (well, actually just because my supply in the freezer was running low) I made a double batch of pre-baked pizza crusts for the freezer this weekend. Each time I do this I learn a few new tricks, so I thought I would share them. I start with Peter's NY Style crust recipe (that's not the one that he recommends for par-baking and freezing, but I like the taste of this one better and it works fine for me). Caveat: I don't have my copy of the book yet, so I am working from the recipes he circulated for testing a few months ago. I don't know how the actual book differs, but I suspect not too much. I make the dough and then divide it and coat each ball with oil, place it on a parchment-lined baking sheet, and cover with plastic wrap that has been heavily sprayed with Pam. I retard the dough overnight, and then let it warm up slightly before shaping (I turn on the oven that has the baking tiles in it to 525F and when the oven is ready, I start making the crusts). Here is how I made them yesterday, and it worked beautifully: I shaped each ball of dough by stretching it out on a Silpat sheet. (I know, makes a rectangular rather than round pizza, but stay with me.) Each ball of dough fills the sheet almost perfectly. The sheet sticks to the counter without slipping or wrinkling, and the dough clings to the sheet when you stretch it, but ultimately releases easily. Next, I put a piece of parchment on top of the dough, then flip the whole thing over onto a rimless cookie sheet (in other words, a peel that you probably already have in your kitchen without knowing it) and peel off the Silpat. I trim off the excess parchment so it doesn't burn in the oven. Dock the dough all over by pricking it with a fork -- this is important to avoid lots of unbelievably large air bubbles. Turn the oven down to 400F, and slide the dough and parchment off the cookie sheet and onto the tiles. Bake for about 3 1/2 - 4 minutes, until it is just starting to get a few brown spots. Remove from oven by sliding the cookie sheet under the crust and parchment, cool on a rack, and then freeze in a 2-gallon zipper bag. I did these assembly line style and had 8 crusts ready for the freezer in no time (well, after I trimmed each one a bit because I had made it longer than the zipper bag!). When we want fast pizza, I pull one or more out of the freezer, top with sauce (Peter's basic marinara is great; I freeze it in one-pizza size quantities) and cheese, and pop in the oven with the tiles heated the same way (heat to 525F but bake at 400F) for about 5 minutes, until the cheese melts. I know the purists on the list will be horrified at the shape of the pizza and the fact that I bake it on parchment, but it works well for me and gives us take-out quick pizza that tastes a lot better. Best of all, I consistently get a crust that is uniformly thick, transfers easily from counter to oven to cooling rack, and fits well into freezer bags. My husband has banned "bought" pizza ever since the first of Peter's recipes that I tested on him! Barbara --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v103.n052.2 --------------- From: Lobo Subject: re: more on flax seed Date: Mon, 08 Dec 2003 10:03:33 -0700 One other thing about flax seed ... it absorbs moisture. When using it whole in a recipe, the directions generally say to soak it for a while. The recipe takes into account the moisture getting sucked up by adding additional liquid. So if you add it to a recipe that doesn't call for it, take this into account. I don't know if it does this when it's ground. Interesting aside: my 91 year old aunt told me they used to use the liquid from soaking flax seed as hair gel in the "old days." When you soak flax seed in water, the result is a slimy sticky mass. I should've asked her how they separated the seeds from the slime ... maybe it would go through a sieve if you pressed it through. Lobo --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v103.n052.3 --------------- From: FREDERICKA COHEN Subject: heavy mixer Date: Mon, 8 Dec 2003 04:07:45 -0800 (PST) Get a package of Magic Sliders in the appropriate size (the hard nylon "buttons") and attach them to the bottom of your mixer. I put them on the bottoms of my 30 lb. KitchenAid and my hefty Cuisinart. I can move them with ease and they do NOT slide. This way, they can be shoved into a counter corner when not in use. I use the 10mm (3/8 in) size. That isn't the easiest size to find. I found them at Organized Living but you can go to the Magic Sliders site www.magicsliders.com Enjoy your new "baby". Fredericka Cohen --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v103.n052.4 --------------- From: Deborah605@aol.com Subject: Costco Flour Date: Mon, 8 Dec 2003 13:01:52 EST I've been lurking for a long time, so thought I'd answer the question on the flour at Costco. I've used it over the years both professionally and at home, and find it to be fine for most purposes. Also, yeast does keep in the freezer for a long, long time. We use SAF that we buy at Win-Co, store it in a quart Mason jar, and have no moisture problems even though we live in Oregon and seem to have a lot of condensation in our freezer at times. Sure beats the high price of those packets or little jars. Want to thank everyone for a very informative and fun to read list. --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v103.n052.5 --------------- From: lfc@juno.com Subject: Splenda, Diabetes and Bread... Date: Mon, 8 Dec 2003 21:09:50 -0600 I tried using Splenda in bread, and I know that is supposedly not necessary to have sugar in bread, but I like the results better with a little. After testing out a lot of different sweetners and discussing diabetes with my diabetic brother chemist who tests these things out on his body and blood sugar... we found that fructose based sweetners do not raise his blood sugar very significantly. White flour and corn flour do raise the glycemic level. So, I use whole wheat flour (all whole wheat with the Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book 'Loaf for Learning' recipe) and use agave syrup (fructose-based) or granulated fructose (just like sugar). Hope it helps. Linda BTW... Mike... thank you for encouraging me to use the Loaf for Learning recipe.... I've been making good bread successfully and repeatedly for a while now. It's great. --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v103.n052.6 --------------- From: Mike Subject: Viking Mixers Date: Tue, 9 Dec 2003 17:30:26 -0800 (PST) Greetings.........I've seen ads in magazines and finally caught a look at the new Viking mixer at a local store. They had the 5qt (800 watt) in stock and could get the 7 qt (1000 watt) if I so desired. They cost $400.00 and $500.00 respectively (list price). I'm wondering if anyone out there has any first hand experience with either of these machines or know someone that does. Viking does manufacture restaurant equipment so I have no reason to believe that either of these mixers shouldn't be as good as the rest of their kitchen equipment. They are heavy machines and are both tilt head models. Optional accessories are sold for them as well. Any input would be appreciated. --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v103.n052.7 --------------- From: "Faye Killian" Subject: Older Zojirushi Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2003 13:02:50 -0800 Marcy, there is usually some of those on ebay and usually go at reasonable prices. I have two of the S15 but both of mine have the preheat cycle. Hope you find one or two of them. Faye --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v103.n052.8 --------------- From: "Barrie J. Lax" Subject: re: New Microwaves worth a look Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2003 17:55:09 -0500 Ed Okie has done a good job in presenting the plus side of the new (or hardly new) 'Inverter' technology but there is another side that one should be aware of before buying one of these units. I went from an old (about 18 years) 80 watt Panasonic to a new 1200 watt Panasonic with the new technology and I have regretted it since. First of all, I would have expected an increase in speed going from 80 to 1200 watts, in fact when reading recipes I was made aware of this fact as time given for various operations allowed for this difference. Well it was not to be ..in fact my micro runs a lot slower, almost half again as long to defrost bread for example and everything else falls into place. Even the 10% that Ed mentions annoys, I find it too quick for some purposes. To sum up, what I have is an oven annoyingly slow for doing most things I would use it for, and too fast at the low end for keeping warm. Interestingly, I have always used my MW to warm up ingredients for baking .. including eggs, with never a problem. I never used a bowl (of water?) but just placed my eggs on the glass rotator and let them go. Always worked with no cooking. Now I don't seem to have the same control. Another thing very important to me. I originally chose the Panasonic those many years ago because I found it the most evenly heating oven which is to say, the variation of heat edge to center was better than others I tried. I could bake a cake (I did this often) in my old oven with no difficulty (I couldn't do this in a Sharp I tried). Today I hesitate to even try, it's very clear from what I do that the even application of heat is a thing of the past .. is this the fault of the new technology??...I can't say. I can say however that the oven is a poor choice, I have the large model and the platten shakes (uneven support) and the door ... oh well, lets not crucify the thing. Maybe they are all bad. I do want to thank Ed for one thing and that is explaining the new technology in a sensible way. I asked several times at the store where I bought the oven to explain the meaning of 'inverter' and no one could. I contacted Panasonic (and had the store do so), still no luck. No literature accompanied the oven explaining it either .. so much for today's service. Remember when you got a cookbook and other stuff along with your oven?? I guess you have to be old ... Bar. --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v103.n052.9 --------------- From: "Larry & Emilie Dacunto" Subject: Unsalted Butter Date: Mon, 8 Dec 2003 08:55:35 -0800 Can anyone explain what is the point of using "unsalted butter" in a recipe, only to also add salt separately? Is there something different about unsalted butter besides the lack of salt? Thanks, Larry --------------- END bread-bakers.v103.n052 --------------- Copyright (c) 1996-2003 Regina Dwork and Jeffrey Dwork All Rights Reserved