Date: Mon, 8 Dec 2008 06:29:15 GMT -------------- BEGIN bread-bakers.v108.n044 -------------- 001 - "Mary Fisher" Subject: Re: Kenwood mixer Date: Sat, 29 Nov 2008 10:41:21 -0000 Mike wrote (bread-bakers.v108.n043) >I haven't used the Kenwood/Delonghi, but notice that the people on >the Food Network have trouble with them on an ongoing basis. Things >like Mario and Bobby Flay not being able to get the bowl out of the >base, and picking up the whole mixer to pour out a topping onto a >cake (if my pre-coffee memory is still working). When our fourth child was born (he's now 42) my godmother gave me a Kenwood Chef so that I could use the blender to make suitably textured first 'solid' food for him from the same meals the rest of us had. It was wonderful and I had and used it for many years. As with many essential gadgets it died one Christmas (others have included the cooker on Christmas Eve and the ch boiler on Christmas Day!). Said child was visiting with his family, it was about five years ago. The only problem we'd had before then was because of worn brushes which were easy to replace. The machine (and its attachments) was in almost daily use. By that time my hands had become arthritic and painful and I really needed something to mix dough, I hadn't then learned about stretching and folding. So we bought the bigger Kenwood Major Professional and hanged the expense. We were by now just two in the house instead of seven, except when the children and their children came to stay, but I loved that bigger machine. Still do. It will handle 6lbs (metric equivalent) of flour made into a dough in its large bowl. These days I rarely make such a large amount. It will mix very heavy amounts of, say, Christmas puddings (I make several to give to family). It will of course also make smaller quantities of anything but for, say, whisking an egg for mayonnaise I prefer to use an old Horlicks mixer, a plunger in a glass cylinder, it's quick, power-free and less washing up. The Kenwood bowl has stuck in the stand a couple of times when I've mixed too much of a stiff recipe (once was a huge amount of marzipan) for too long at a too-high speed. I've learned my lesson, I can't budge it when it happens and have had to call Spouse. We learn by experience not to abuse machinery. I can't imagine how it could happen with a cake topping! But if that machine dies before I do I'll replace it with its equivalent. It sits on my worktop, ever-ready for use, permanently plugged in to the power outlet which was installed right next to it. Apart from my Circulon pans and a couple of superb knives I can't think of anything else more valued in the kitchen. Except Spouse when I need a Big Strong Man.* Mary * he's 5' 4", skinny, almost 70 but strong enough for everything demanded of him - so far :-) --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v108.n044.2 --------------- From: "gunter" Subject: stollen Date: Sun, 30 Nov 2008 15:11:40 +0100 I would like to suggest the German website for marzipan stollen. Just type in stollen to get the receip of course it is in German. Good luck Gunter Petersen --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v108.n044.3 --------------- From: "Brett Baker" Subject: Re: Stand mixers Date: Tue, 2 Dec 2008 16:08:35 -0600 I would like to preface the following comments by saying that I have always enjoyed Mike Avery's insightful and informative posts and have spent many hours browsing his website which is well executed and very educational. My only goal here is to present another side of the stand mixer story so that people in the market for a mixer won't be adversely biased by one man's opinion. In no way do I mean these comments to be belittling, degrading or denigrating but rather to present another perspective on the stand mixer issue. 1. I'm one of those who was very displeased with my KA Mixer. After it croaked for the second time and the cost of repair was almost equal to the cost of a new machine I stuck it on a basement shelf and there it sits by it's little lonesome. Those who have had good luck with their KAs usually own older models that were produced back when Hobart still made the KA mixer. Since Whirlpool acquired manufacturing rights to KA the quality of parts and manufacturing has suffered severely. 2. Personally, I don't care to be required to perform feats of mathematical wizardry to accommodate the limitations of the machine. Nor do I like the requirement of waiting time intervals between uses. My personal preference is to own a machine that has the ability to perform any job thrown at it, whenever I want to do that job, and yet be equally capable of performing other tasks as well. I now use a Bosch Concept7. It has both a blender and a food processor attachment. In addition to bread I've done cakes, pies, cookies and accomplished a whole bunch of other chores with it. It's preformed most admirably on all levels. The reason for my selection of the Bosch was because it was recommended by the person who taught our King Arthur baking class even though King Arthur didn't sell them. 3. I'm not quite sure what Mike means when he says that the Bosch tends to "overwork the dough". Does it over develop the gluten? Does it over heat the dough? My Concept has four speed settings and if perchance these problems do in fact exist, they can be eliminated by using a slower speed. 4. Also, I'm mystified by the, "it's a pain to use and clean" comment. Personally find it easier to use and clean than the KA was. Addition of ingredients is much simpler with the Concept since all I need do is remove the lid or just drop them down the feed tube. No lowering the bowl and fiddling with ingredient chutes that don't work all that well. After use I fill the bowl with hot water and let it, along with the dough hook, soak for a few minutes. Pour out the water, wash it out with soapy water, rinse thoroughly, dry and store for further use. That's the same exact procedure I used with my KA except the Concept has a nice flat bottom on which it sits as opposed to a round bottom on the KA which is unstable in the sink. Additionally, the Concept is more compact and much lighter than the KA yet it is of a very sturdy construction. 5. Mike also commented that the Bosch sells for $250 to $300. Apparently he must have owned one of the earlier, not so sturdy models. Although the Concept7 is no longer being manufactured and has been replaced by the Universal Plus, which has also replaced the old Universal, the Universal Plus has incorporated the best features of the Concept and the Universal into this new and innovative design. The price for Universal Plus is $470. A far cry from $250 to $300. Just as a side comment, my niece received a Universal Plus for Christmas last year and is absolutely thrilled with it. 6. In all fairness, I've never used or even seen the Electrolux machine. Many have sung it's praises, others have commented that there is a steep learning curve. The bottom line here is that the mixer one prefers is a personal thing and there will never be a one brand fits everyone mixer. My advice is do your homework and read all of the fine print before making a purchase. 7. I conclude by stressing that I am in no way, nor have I ever been, affiliated with Bosch or any other company that manufactures or sells any type of kitchen appliances. And now, I wish a Joyous Christmas and happy and prosperous New Year to all. May there be peace on earth and good will toward man. Brett --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v108.n044.4 --------------- From: "Werner Gansz" Subject: English Muffins Date: Wed, 3 Dec 2008 13:13:52 -0500 For most folks who grew up in the US, the gold standard for english muffins are the Thomas(r) brand, famous for their "nooks and crannies" that hold the melted butter when fork-split and toasted. I have no idea if they are similar to English english muffins but for many years they were almost the only english muffin you could get in US supermarkets. I have been trying to achieve a good home-baked version for many years without success. Most often the interior is too cake-like, or even bread-like, and often has an undercooked interior. Most recipes call for a moderately wet dough, dry fried on a skillet or griddle. The recipe and procedure below finally achieved both the "nooks and crannies" and a fully baked interior. Fork-split, toasted, and buttered they are delicious. The basic recipe is adapted from _The Wooden Spoon Bread Book_ by Marilyn M. Moore. She has both an english muffin recipe and a crumpet recipe. I tried both and each had problems. The muffin recipe had the wrong texture (cake-like) and the crumpet procedure didn't fully bake the interior. The solution to the under-baking came from Peter Reinhart's _Bread Bakers Apprentice_; use the oven to finish baking. The solution to the texture problem is to use the very wet dough in Moore's crumpet recipe. Many bakers make a sandwich bread in loaf pans using english muffin dough. I think this recipe is too wet for loaf pan baking. It is almost 1:1 liquid to flour by volume! That's more than 100% hydration by weight and is more like a pancake batter than a dough. Makes 10 to 12 English Muffins 2 1/2 cups milk, reconstituted from dry powder or scalded and cooled to 110 F 1 Tb melted butter 1 tsp sugar, honey or malt syrup (I use honey) 3 cups All Purpose Flour 1 tsp table salt or 1 1/2 tsp sea salt 1 scant Tb Instant Yeast (scant means slightly below the rim) Regular PAM and either semolina or corn meal for baking Mix the milk, (warmed slightly to help dissolve the honey/sugar), sweetener, and melted butter. Mix the flour, salt and yeast. Add the liquid to the dry ingredients. If you don't use a machine, don't even try to knead the batter, it's hopeless, just mix until smooth. If you have a machine, use the flat beater and mix on speed 4 for at least 15 minutes. Kneading will create a gluten structure that traps the bubbles and develops better nooks and crannies. Pour the batter into a bowl large enough to allow for doubling (if the batter overflows it will be a mess; too big is better than too small), cover and let stand for 45 min to 1 hour or until doubled. Meanwhile, place a cookie sheet in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 F. The procedure below assumes the use of standard muffin rings, 1" high x 3 3/4" dia. If you make your own rings from tin cans, you will have to adjust the quantities. Whatever you use should be no more than 1" high. Use PAM to grease the inside of the rings. Spread the PAM evenly around the rings with your fingers. Stir the batter down vigorously. Let stand while you preheat the griddle (at least 10 to 15 minutes to get the bubbles in the batter forming again and to stabilize the temperature of the griddle). I used a two-burner griddle which easily handles 6 rings with space between them. Preheat the griddle to "very low" with the greased rings in place. How low? Much lower than for pancakes. It should take at least 10 minutes per side to brown the muffins. You are trying to balance browning the bottoms with allowing enough time for bubbles to rise to the top through the wet dough. In a perfect world the bottoms will be brown at the same time the tops just start to lose their shininess but are still soft when you flip them. Even if you have a large griddle, practice with one or two rings first. Spray the griddle inside the rings lightly with PAM and sprinkle with some semolina or corn meal. Measure out 1/2 cup of batter, not overflowing, and pour it into a ring. (I use a plastic 1/2 cup dry measure.) It should fill to about 2/3 full. During baking the dough should rise just to the top of the 1" ring. Use a metal spatula to peek under the muffins and check for browning. The heat is right when the bottom is brown and top is just starting to set (lose its glisten). Flip the muffins and brown the tops (about 8 to 10 minutes). If the tops were still soft enough the holes on the top surface should seal and you get that classic Thomas' look on the top. Use metal tongs to remove the rings, clean off stuck dough and then re-grease them with PAM for the next batch. When the muffins are browned on both sides they will still be raw inside. Remove them and quickly put them on the cookie sheet in the oven. If they don't all brown at the same rate on the griddle, don't wait for them all to get done. They can't be allowed to cool down, get them into the oven immediately as they are browned. Start the next batch of muffins on the griddle. After 10 minutes, test the muffins in the oven, the centers should be 200 F. English muffins freeze well. Wrap tightly in Al foil, then put them into a freezer bag. Thaw in a toaster oven with the Al foil still on. --------------- END bread-bakers.v108.n044 --------------- Copyright (c) 1996-2008 Regina Dwork and Jeffrey Dwork All Rights Reserved