Baking for Dummies Read online

  A stand mixer generally comes with its own bowl attachment, which is usually generous in size, and three standard attachments, including

  A paddle, which blends batters and creams ingredients together.

  A wire whisk, which incorporates air into batter and whips egg whites.

  A dough hook, which kneads dough.

  You also can purchase special attachments for some models, including a pasta maker, a grinder, a shredder, a slicer, and a juicer.

  Stand mixers are not quite as convenient and do not disassemble as neatly as handheld mixers, so you will more than likely store yours on the countertop or in an easy-to-access place.

  A wide range of stand mixers are available in a wide assortment of prices. My best advice is to determine how much baking you’ll be doing. If you bake about once a month, I recommend investing in a quality mixer, such as a KitchenAid. It’s expensive but well worth the money. My mother has had hers for well over 25 years and has never had problems with it — and I plan on having mine for that long or even longer!

  Other Essentials

  You need bowls, racks, and cutting boards for preparing doughs and batters. Then, when your finished creations come out of the oven, you need cooling racks to help them cool quickly. This section describes the essentials for a good baking kitchen.

  Mixing bowls

  You don’t have to go out and purchase new bowls — you can use any bowl you have on hand to make the recipes in this book. However, if you plan to buy bowls, this section offers some tips for selecting the best ones.

  For mixing cake batters and cookies, I like a wide stainless steel mixing bowl. These come in a variety of sizes, but look for bowls with flat bottoms and wide, sloping sides. They make mixing easier and are less likely to tip over if you leave a whisk or spoon in them than a narrower bottomed bowl. Stainless steel is also durable, unbreakable, and nonreactive (it won’t react with acidic ingredients, turning the bowl different colors).

  When I make bread, I like to let the dough rise in a heavy ceramic bowl. The ceramic bowl keeps my dough well insulated and at a more consistent temperature.

  When choosing a mixing bowl, make sure that you will have enough room to fit all the ingredients and still have space to mix them up. Also take into account what ingredients will be going into it. This is especially important when you’re whipping egg whites or cream, because egg whites can grow up to six times their original volume, and cream will at least double.

  Cooling racks

  Cooling racks are wire racks that allow air to circulate around baked goods while they cool, preventing them from having a soggy or moist bottom. A wide variety of shapes and sizes are available; just make sure that your rack has feet on it so that it won’t lay flat against the countertop, thereby defeating the purpose of circulation. Also, look for the rack’s wires to be close together. This will prevent delicate cakes from sinking too much and smaller cookies from slipping through the spaces between the wires.

  Cookie and biscuit cutters

  Cookie cutters come in all shapes and sizes. They’re generally made of plastic or metal. When choosing your cutters, look for somewhat simple shapes that won’t cut your cookies into a variety of thicknesses. For example, a cookie cutter that cuts out giraffes may be tricky because the small head might burn before the body is done cooking. Avoid cutters that are too detailed.

  Biscuit cutters generally are nothing more than 1- or 2-inch-round cutters. If you don’t have a biscuit cutter, you can use a clean soup can with both top and bottom removed instead.

  Cutting boards

  Cutting boards offer smooth, even surfaces for tasks such as chopping, cutting, peeling, and rolling out doughs. You can choose from a few different materials:

  Wood: A wooden cutting board is your best choice for preserving the sharp edges of knives, because they don’t blunt as quickly as they do on plastic, metal, or marble. Don’t place your wooden cutting board in the dishwasher or let it soak in water for any length of time. The heat from the dishwasher will warp your board, and the water will soften the board’s bonded sections. Keep one side of your cutting board knick-free and smooth so that it’s suitable for rolling out cookie or pastry dough.

  Polyurethane: Polyurethane boards will not warp and are soft enough for knives to be used without dulling. They also can be sterilized in the dishwasher.

  Thin plastic: My new favorite cutting boards are very thin, flexible chopping surfaces. They are bendable, are so easy to use, and take up hardly any space, plus they seem easier to clean and don’t retain odors. I promise that if you purchase one, you’ll use it time and time again.

  Knives

  A good sharp knife can be your best friend in the kitchen. Just be sure to hold it carefully! (See Figure 3-7.) Good, professional knives are quite expensive and not really necessary for the home baker. Still, you should have four basic knives in your kitchen:

  A large cleaver: This knife is perfect for chopping, and its side is ideal for crushing things.

  A serrated knife: This knife is great for slicing breads and delicate cakes.

  A medium-sized knife (chef’s knife): This knife is best for slicing cakes, cutting pastry, and for less heavy work than the cleaver.

  A paring knife: This knife is ideal for cutting small foods, peeling fruits, hulling strawberries, and performing many other detail tasks.

  Although a knife’s sharp edge can be dangerous, dull knives are even more dangerous. You need to apply more pressure to cut with a dull knife, therefore increasing your chances of slipping and injuring yourself. Always tuck your fingertips under when cutting with a knife so that if your knife does slip, it will cut your knuckle, not your fingertip (see Figure 3-8).

  Figure 3-7: The proper grip ensures safe cutting.

  Figure 3-8: Curling your fingertips under enables you to work quickly without risking your fingertips.

  Measuring cups

  Measuring cups are essential for every kitchen. You won’t find many recipes that don’t require measurements of some kind. Measuring cups come in two basic types:

  Graded: Graded cups (see Figure 3-9) range in sizes from 1/4 cup to 1 cup and can range from 4 to 6 cups in a set. Use graded cups to measure dry ingredients and solid fats, such as shortening.

  Glass: Glass cups (see Figure 3-10) are available in a wide range of sizes, the most common being 1 cup, 2 cups, and 4 cups. Use these cups for measuring liquids. Make sure that you read your measurement at eye level, with the cup on a flat surface.

  Figure 3-9: Every baker needs a set of measuring cups.

  Figure 3-10: Use a glass measuring cup to measure and pour liquids.

  When measuring thick, sticky liquids such as honey, molasses, and corn syrup, spray the inside of the measuring glass with nonstick cooking spray or grease it a little with oil. The liquid will then be much easier to remove.

  Measuring spoons

  Graded measuring spoons usually come in sets of four or six, ranging from 1/4 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon. Sometimes sets have 1/8 teaspoon and 1 1/2 tablespoon, too. You use these measuring spoons for both dry and liquid measures.

  Potholders and oven mitts

  Potholders and oven mitts enable you to hold hot baking sheets and pans without burning yourself. I like to have both an oven mitt and potholders (generally square pads) on hand for different tasks. I use the mitt if I’m reaching into the oven and run the risk of burning my whole hand. I choose the square pads when I need to hold the sides of a dish, such as a soufflé.

  I highly recommend that you forgo the decorative potholders that are so commonly found in stores’ housewares sections. If you have them, use them for display. Few of these decorative potholders provide adequate protection from heat. Make a special trip to your kitchen supply store and purchase insulated potholders. They’re slightly more expensive than regular potholders, but I trust them in every situation — whereas the decorative holders wear in strange spots and inevitably end up burni
ng your hands.

  Always have two sets of potholders. No matter what kind of potholder you have, if it gets wet, stop using it until it dries. It can no longer protect your hands.

  Rolling pin

  You use a rolling pin to roll out pastry dough. Many types are available, but I recommend a relatively heavy pin with handles, such as the one shown in Figure 3-11. The weight of the pin helps distribute the dough evenly, so don’t push down on the pin when using it.

  Figure 3-11: Heavy wooden rolling pins are best for rolling out pastry dough.

  There are such things as cool pins, made of plastic or marble. Some you can even fill with water and freeze. These rolling pins ensure that your dough stays cool while you’re working with it. I don’t recommend buying a cool pin unless you’ve worked with one and prefer it to the traditional wooden pin. The marble variety is too heavy for my liking. The plastic is too light. And the frozen pins are a waste of money in my opinion. Not only are they awkward to work with, but the frozen center sweats as the water comes to room temperature, so it can make your dough sticky. So stick with a sure thing: wood.

  To minimize sticking, always dust your rolling pin with flour before using it and wipe it clean when you’re finished. Never put your rolling pin in the dishwasher.

  Spoons

  You should have two types of spoons in your kitchen: metal and wooden. You want at least two metal spoons, one solid for stirring and one slotted for lifting foods from liquids. Wooden spoons are great for stirring custards and sauces made in nonstick pans and for stirring batters and doughs. Nothing beats a sturdy wooden spoon. They are inexpensive, so you may want to get two or three.

  Great Gadgets

  This section provides a list of helpful tools for the kitchen. Although you don’t need to go out and purchase each and every one of these items, it’s good to know that they’re out there to help make your life in the kitchen that much easier.

  Apple corer

  Apple corers (see Figure 3-12) come in two basic types. One is a wooden handle attached to an elongated curved metal cylinder with a cutting edge. This tool is indispensable when you want to core an apple or pear without slicing through it, making it perfect when you want baked apples or pears. You just press down vertically into the apple at the stem with a slight twisting motion until you reach the bottom. Another version cores the apple and slices it into segments. This tool has sets of metal spokes that meet in the circle in the center. Press directly over the apple and it slices and cores the apple easily.

  Box grater

  Graters are usually made of metal (although plastic is available) and usually have four sides, offering a choice from fine to coarse grating, as well as a slicing blade that I like to use for cheese and carrots. If you don’t own a box grater, choose a sturdy one with four sides and comfortable handle. You also can find a flat grater, which usually offers a choice of only two holes, but I find them cumbersome to use and unsteady. In their favor, flat graters take up less space and are easier to clean than box graters.

  Clean your box grater from the inside out. Scrub the inside with a stiff brush, under running water, to push food from the back through to the front. Then hang the grater to air-dry.

  Figure 3-12: Some apple corers remove the core, whereas others also slice the apple into wedges.

  Cake tester

  Thin plastic or metal needlelike instruments, sometimes with a round handle, are sold as cake testers. You insert the tester into the center of the cake to determine whether it’s done. If dough clings to it, the cake is not yet finished. If the tester comes out clean, the cake is finished. But I find that a wooden toothpick or even a thin, small knife works just as well.

  Citrus juicer (reamer)

  A citrus juicer is a hand tool that enables you to juice a lemon without getting too much pulp or seeds. Some are handheld; some you place over a bowl and strain out the seeds and pulp so that only the juice falls into the bowl; and others collect everything at their base. Citrus juicers come in many different shapes and sizes, so choose one that works well for you.

  If you don’t have a citrus juicer and you need to get more juice out of a lemon than squeezing will allow, try this: Squeeze the lemon — roll it on the counter while mashing down with the palm of your hand — before cutting. Then insert a teaspoon and gently squeeze again while twisting the spoon around the inside of the lemon. This will help release additional juice.

  Flour sifter

  A flour sifter (see Figure 3-13) removes any lumps or debris from your dry ingredients by sifting them through a fine mesh. Although most of the flour you find today is presifted, it has a tendency to settle during storage, so sifting flour or just stirring it up with a spoon before measuring it is a good idea so that the flour isn’t so densely packed. This is especially important with cake flour. Sifting also is a good way to blend all dry ingredients evenly and aerate dry ingredients.

  Figure 3-13: Use a flour sifter when you want smooth, evenly textured flour.

  If you don’t have a sifter and you need sifted flour for a recipe, you can use a wire mesh strainer instead (see Figure 3-14 for instructions).

  Figure 3-14: In a pinch, you can always use a strainer to sift flour.

  Funnel

  Funnels come in handy in the kitchen in many ways. They’re ideal for hanging an angel food cake pan over or for filling salt shakers. They’re also helpful if you need to return liquids to containers without spilling. You may not reach for a funnel every time you bake, but when you need one, you’ll be glad you have it.

  Kitchen scissors

  Keeping a pair of scissors in the kitchen for food-related jobs is a good idea. Kitchen scissors are perfect for trimming pastry dough, cutting paper to line a pan, opening plastic bags, cutting fresh herbs, and snipping strings. The heavier and stronger the scissors you have, the better they will help you in the kitchen — heavy-duty scissors can easily cut through doughs or frozen items in one try. Also, the weight of sturdy scissors makes the cut more precise.

  When cutting up fruits, especially sticky ones like dates, figs, apricots, and so on, lightly oil or butter the scissors first.

  Nutmeg grater

  A nutmeg grater is a fun, but not necessarily essential, item for the kitchen. Spices are so much more flavorful when they’re freshly ground. Nutmeg is no exception. A nutmeg grater is a small tool used to turn the whole egg-shaped nutmeg seed into a ground spice. The slightly curved surface has a fine rasp, and you rub the seed across the surface to grate it. A little door slides open in the back of the grater, which stores the nutmeg seeds for you.

  Oven thermometer

  If you were to run out immediately and purchase just one item for the kitchen, I would recommend an oven thermometer. A good oven thermometer is inexpensive and can save you from ruining your baked goods. Because you rely on your oven for baking, you need to be sure that the heat is accurate. Many home-oven thermostats are not always true, so the best way to monitor your oven’s temperature is with a thermometer. Look for one with a hook for hanging. I hang my thermometer on the oven’s center rack and can easily double-check the temperature. Installing an auxiliary oven thermostat is the best thing you can do for your oven and the success of your baking. Flip to Chapter 4 for more on oven thermometers.

  Pastry bags and tips

  I like a sturdy nylon cloth pastry bag for decorating cakes. If you’re going to purchase one, I suggest getting one slightly larger than you think you need (it’s always better to have more room than you need). Pastry tips are hard little metal cones that are either dropped into the pastry bag (coming out the small end) or screwed onto the coupler on the outside of the bag (making switching tips quite easy). The tip you use determines the pattern you pipe onto the cake. For more on using a pastry bag, see Chapter 9.

  For small, quick piping jobs, use a small zipper-top plastic bag rather than digging out the pastry bag. Fill it with icing, remove the excess air, seal the top, and snip off a tiny bit of one corne
r. You’re now ready to pipe away!

  Pastry blender

  A pastry blender is a handheld tool with a set of steel cutters (see Figure 3-15). The most common use for a pastry blender is to cut fats into flour quickly so that the fats won’t melt and your dough remains tender. To use a pastry blender, mix the ingredients while cutting into the fats with the blender using a rocking, up-and-down bouncing motion. If you don’t have a pastry blender, you can use two knives or two forks to cut in the fat.

  Figure 3-15: Using a pastry blender to cut fat into flour makes the job quick and easy.

  Pastry brush

  A pastry brush (see Figure 3-16) is a small tool that makes life in the kitchen a lot easier — there’s no substitute for a brush. You use it to spread melted butter, glaze pastries, and brush breads with egg wash. If you enjoy working with phyllo dough or pastry, you may want to purchase a pastry brush. Look for one with very soft bristles. Rough or stiff brushes will tear your pastry, so avoid them if you can. Wash your brush with hot, soapy water after each use and hang to dry. Do not store with the weight on the bristles or you will cause them to curve and not brush effectively anymore.