The Baking Answer Book by Lauren Chattman Read Free Book Online

Mesnier, who was the pastry chef at the White House for 25 years and used his machine for many hours a day during that time, ordered a backup mixer about 10 years into his tenure, thinking he’d be in trouble if the old one broke down. When he retired, both the old mixer and the new one were still going strong.
You can save yourself some money by buying the smallest (which is by no means cheap) rather than the largest KitchenAid mixer. But I do recommend investing in an extra mixing bowl, which comes in handy when you need yourmixer twice for one recipe (egg whites to be folded into cake batter, for example). This way you won’t have to stop to wash and dry your bowl in the middle of your baking.
    Q Can I use a food processor instead of a mixer to mix my doughs and batters?
    A Many bread and pastry doughs can be mixed in a food processor instead of a mixer, in seconds rather than minutes. But the food processor’s great power and speed can ruin dough as quickly as it can mix it if precautions aren’t taken. Here are some tips for adapting recipes.
    Food Processor Mixing Tips
Bread recipes often call for adding warm water or another liquid to the dry ingredients, but when using a food processor you might consider using a cooler liquid, because the powerful motor will heat the dough as it kneads it. Fully kneaded dough should be at a temperature between 77 and 82°F (25–28°C). Use an instant-read thermometer the first few times you make bread dough in the food processor to be sure you are in this range.
Hand-kneaded bread , or bread kneaded in a mixer with a dough hook attachment, usually requires minutes of kneading time, but a food processor will produce a smooth and elastic dough in a minute or less. Take care not to overknead your dough in the food processor,which will destroy its elasticity and prevent it from rising to its full potential in the oven. Run the machine just until the dough forms into a ball. If you feel the dough requires more kneading, hand-knead it on the countertop for a minute or two to finish it off.
The food processor motor generates heat that can be an issue when making pie and pastry doughs. It is essential to begin with very cold butter or vegetable shortening (consider cutting it into bits and freezing it for 15 to 30 minutes before beginning) and to use ice water. The idea is to have tiny pieces of solid fat well-distributed throughout the dough, so as it bakes in the oven the fat will melt, creating air pockets that will give the crust a flaky texture. You don’t want the heat of the food processor to liquefy the fat before it is incorporated into the flour and heated in the oven.
Add the ice water carefully. There is a danger to adding it to the processor with the motor running. The water tends to clump together with just a portion of the flour and fat mixture, accumulating in a wet and sticky mass around the blade and leaving much of the flour at the bottom of the bowl. It’s better to open the bowl and evenly sprinkle the ice water over the fat and flour mixture before processing. Pulse a few times, just until the dough comes together instead of crumbling when pinched between your fingers. It should feel cool to the touch. Remove the dough from the bowl and press it into a disc. Work quickly, before the heat of your handscan melt any of the fat. Wrap the disc in plastic and refrigerate it until it is well chilled and the gluten that has formed during mixing has had time to relax, making the dough easy to roll into a thin sheet.
    Q Which is better — a rolling pin with or without handles?
    A Either type of rolling pin will do the job. It’s really a matter of personal preference. Chances are if you learned to roll pie dough in your mother’s kitchen, you will feel comfortable with an American rolling pin, a hardwood cylinder with handles on either end and a steel shaft down the center that gives it a smooth rolling action. If you learned about dough at cooking school or a bakery, you