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Tim's Best Q&A |
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We’re just getting into bagels, and we’re having all sorts of surface problems. What are we doing wrong?
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Over proofing – either in a retarder or a proof box – is one common culprit in this scenario. Proofing too long can result in blistering, in soft bagels, or even in bagels that collapse in the oven. Also, if your water temperature is below 200 degrees, or you don’t boil your bagels long enough, you can end up with dull-surfaced bagels.
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Quite a few cookie formulas say to let the cookies cool on the sheet instead of removing them to racks or plates. What’s this about?
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Cookies continue baking on the sheet even after they’ve been removed from the oven – they have small dough mass. By taking your cookies out of the oven when they’re slightly underdone, and leaving them cool on the sheet, you’re much more likely to get the rich, chewy consistency customers love. This can be especially important with “gourmet” cookies.
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Why do cookies from the last of a batch spread more than cookies that went into the oven earlier?
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Depending on how you do your dough, chemical leavening will continue over time, causing observable differences between the first sheets and later sheets. Keeping your dough cool, or even refrigerating it will improve your consistency, beginning to end.
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Some people insist on pouring muffin batter directly into a greased tin; others line the tin with paper cup. Are there any advantages to one method over the other?
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Baking muffins in paper cups or liners results in a more portable product. It also improves shelf life, preserving moistness. On the other hand, it might not be the way to present product destined to arrive at the table in a basket.
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What’s the most important difference between “cake-” and “fudge-” type brownies?
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Think of it as a continuum. At one extreme is a product that’s just short of chocolate candie; at the other, it verges on cake. The difference is in the percent of flour. The more flour, the more cake-like the dessert.
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Do so-called “low cholesterol” formulas necessarily result in bland flavor?
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No way. And, in fact, you can often achieve excellent texture and flavor without the fat. However, this is often purchased at the price of extra calories from juices, fruits, or other natural sweeteners. The thing to remember is that terms such as “low fat” or “low cholesterol” don’t necessarily translate into “low calorie.”
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I understand that there are different machine mixing methods: short, improved, intensive. I don’t understand how they compare, or what the differences are. Can you explain this?
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The short mix uses the lowest mixer speed and a relative short period of time, say, six minutes. It produces the least developed gluten structure, the softest dough consistency, and the most flavorful breads. At the other end of the spectrum is the intensive mix, which involves longer times and higher speeds. It produces a fully-developed gluten structure, stiffish consistency, and the least flavor.
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I get “extensibility” and “elasticity” flipped around. Remind me: which is what?
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“Extensibility” refers to the way dough rises during fermentation; “elasticity” is about the degree to which a dough maintains volume and shape during and after baking. These are flour functions – and they are affected by the level or amount of gluten-forming proteins your flour contains. The more protein content, the stronger the dough.
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