Baking Bread...HELP!

[EJFan]

iriadne... i was makin' cheesecakes out the ass (not literally) a couple of winters ago and had a wonderful recipe. tomorrow i'll dig it out and post it for you.

the biggest thing about cheesecake is that it's one of the things that benefits from a tray of water in the oven. without the extra humidity the top can crack and the cake can become dry. and a big pan o' water to the oven when baking and just about any cheesecake is very good.

 

[SweetErika]

EJ, did you make your fudge yet? If so, did it turn out ok?

 

[chylo]

Wow, an adventure in baking bread! That was really cool, lots of good advice and it looked like you finally had a good finished product.

So you think you have a lousy oven, eh? Alton Brown actually showed how to make a roast in a really dirty old horrible oven. His trick was to place the meat into an upside down unglazed terra cotta pot (with the dish underneath). That made for more even temperature when it got to the food because the terra cotta absorbed the heat and redispersed it without the evil oven cycles. Don't know if that would work for bread, but if your oven is really that bad it might help.

Good luck on your future cooking endevors!

Chylo

 

[SweetErika]

Wow, an adventure in baking bread! That was really cool, lots of good advice and it looked like you finally had a good finished product.

So you think you have a lousy oven, eh? Alton Brown actually showed how to make a roast in a really dirty old horrible oven. His trick was to place the meat into an upside down unglazed terra cotta pot (with the dish underneath). That made for more even temperature when it got to the food because the terra cotta absorbed the heat and redispersed it without the evil oven cycles. Don't know if that would work for bread, but if your oven is really that bad it might help.

Good luck on your future cooking endevors!

Chylo

I saw that one, but thanks for the reminder. We might put a stone on the bottom rack to the same effect.

 

[EJFan]

EJ, did you make your fudge yet? If so, did it turn out ok?

SWEETS... you don't mind if i call you sweets, do you...

i can't wait to make fudge but my dessert calendar is booked for about 3 weeks or so. i might make it and freeze it... depends on what my schedule allows. i will certainly keep you posted though.

 

[EJFan]

cheesecake recipe for iriadne

ok... this cheescake can be topped with fruit or chocolate sauce. it can also be adapted to a cookies 'n' cream recipe, chocolate/orange, chocolate chip, royal marble, lemon (in pie form), peppermint marble and others. let me know if you want specifics on those. here's the base for regular cheesecake...

crust
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup butter, melted

filling
3 eggs
2 8oz pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 cup suar
1/4 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups sour cream

heat oven to 350. in a medium bowl, combine crust ingredients and press over bottom and 1-1/2 inches up sides of ungreased 10" springform pan.

in a large bowl, beat eggs. add cream cheese, sugar, salt and vanilla; beat until smooth. add sour cream, blend well. pour into crust lined pan.

bake at 350 for 60-70 minutes or until edges are set. center of cheesecake will be soft. cool in pan 5 minutes; remove sides of pan. cool completely. store in fridge.

NOTE: don't forget the pan of water in the oven and keep it full (don't open the oven for the first 20-30 minutes of baking). this cake is of a more traditional texture. if you like the super-creamy kind (like jell-o no-bake) then you'll likely not like this recipe. i love it but that's my personal taste.

 

[SweetErika]

SWEETS... you don't mind if i call you sweets, do you...

i can't wait to make fudge but my dessert calendar is booked for about 3 weeks or so. i might make it and freeze it... depends on what my schedule allows. i will certainly keep you posted though.

Nah, I don't mind one bit. You have a dessert calendar? Hubby made fudge the other day, and it turned out pretty well considering it was a hodgepodge of different recipes. I'm looking forward to hearing the results though!

 

[EJFan]

yeah. i have a dessert calendar. i make a dessert every weekend for company. we have three birthdays coming in the next 6 weeks so i'll be making our traditional 7-layer cake for those. this weekend we're having angel food cake and i make a gold cake with the yolks. those 2 cakes and one birthday cake will take me through to the end of january.

my god... what has my life become??? lol.

 

[Iriadne]

EJFan, Thank you so much for the recipe. I'm glad it's for the traditional baked cheesecake as the "cooks" of my extended family are huge fans of the Cool whip textured things. I can't honestly bring myself to call them cheesecakes. I'm looking forward to trying this recipe later this week when I do a weekend dinner for some friends.

 

[SweetErika]

yeah. i have a dessert calendar. i make a dessert every weekend for company. we have three birthdays coming in the next 6 weeks so i'll be making our traditional 7-layer cake for those. this weekend we're having angel food cake and i make a gold cake with the yolks. those 2 cakes and one birthday cake will take me through to the end of january.

my god... what has my life become??? lol.

You must be an excellent chef if you're the designated dessert maker!

Would you be willing to post your 7 layer cake recipe? Hubby's b-day is the 24th.

 

[EJFan]

sweeterika... the 7-layer cake is a hungarian family recipe that we always have for birthdays. ordinarily i wouldn't give it out but for you i'll make an exception. your husband was born two days after my grandmother. different years, i assume, unless he's also 93. lol.

i'll dig it out in the next few days (you'd think i'd have it memorized by now) and post it for you. in the mean time, make sure you have 8 or 9 pans for 9" layers, a double boiler and 13 eggs handy. i know i called it a 7-layer cake but better to have too many pans than not enough.

i THINK you could make this in a deep spring-form pan and then cut the layers apart from one giant cake. i've never tried this and don't know how to suggest adjusting the cooking time/temp to get it done correctly. so i'd suggest sticking with the individual layers.

there's also a special recipe for the icing. that's why you need so many eggs and a double boiler. the cake itself only uses 8 eggs. OH!!!! and you'll need freezer space... the icing doesn't work unless you let it set up in the freezer. the cake can be thawed a while before serving.

 

[bourbonslut]

probably irrelevant, but I've been baking Toll house cookies in my underwear all night. Actually, I'm in my underwear (red lace thong), and the cookies are on a cooling rack.

 

[SweetErika]

probably irrelevant, but I've been baking Toll house cookies in my underwear all night. Actually, I'm in my underwear (red lace thong), and the cookies are on a cooling rack.

Homemade cookies and a scantily clad woman...does it get any better than that?

 

[SweetErika]

sweeterika... the 7-layer cake is a hungarian family recipe that we always have for birthdays. ordinarily i wouldn't give it out but for you i'll make an exception. your husband was born two days after my grandmother. different years, i assume, unless he's also 93. lol.

i'll dig it out in the next few days (you'd think i'd have it memorized by now) and post it for you. in the mean time, make sure you have 8 or 9 pans for 9" layers, a double boiler and 13 eggs handy. i know i called it a 7-layer cake but better to have too many pans than not enough.

i THINK you could make this in a deep spring-form pan and then cut the layers apart from one giant cake. i've never tried this and don't know how to suggest adjusting the cooking time/temp to get it done correctly. so i'd suggest sticking with the individual layers.

there's also a special recipe for the icing. that's why you need so many eggs and a double boiler. the cake itself only uses 8 eggs. OH!!!! and you'll need freezer space... the icing doesn't work unless you let it set up in the freezer. the cake can be thawed a while before serving.

8 or 9 pans? That's going to be a very expensive, gigantic cake, considering I currently have 2 pans plus a 10" springform. Do you think I could cut the recipe in half (apart from the leavening) or something like that?

 

[EJFan]

8 or 9 pans? That's going to be a very expensive, gigantic cake, considering I currently have 2 pans plus a 10" springform. Do you think I could cut the recipe in half (apart from the leavening) or something like that?

the cake itself is kind of a sponge cake. i'm dying to try to make it in a springform and cut the layers from one big cake but i haven't experimented like that yet and couldn't advise you on adjusting the temp and/or bake time. in theory it should work with the right adjustments.

you could probably cut it in half but then you'd only have about 4 layers. naturally the taste would be the same but the effect would be vastly different.

i'll see what i can come up with for you. let me post the original recipe and then i'll see what kind of options i can think of that won't hold much risk.

 

[SweetErika]

the cake itself is kind of a sponge cake. i'm dying to try to make it in a springform and cut the layers from one big cake but i haven't experimented like that yet and couldn't advise you on adjusting the temp and/or bake time. in theory it should work with the right adjustments.

you could probably cut it in half but then you'd only have about 4 layers. naturally the taste would be the same but the effect would be vastly different.

i'll see what i can come up with for you. let me post the original recipe and then i'll see what kind of options i can think of that won't hold much risk.

What a sweetheart! My eyes are bigger than my stomach more often than not...I see "7-layer cake" and go mmmmmmmmm, but then the reality sets in (including the fact that the two of us take several days to eat a relatively small cake). 4 layers sounds doable though, especially if we celebrate with a couple of other people.

 

[EJFan]

4 layers sounds doable though, especially if we celebrate with a couple of other people.

i'm glad to hear you're thinking of being adventurous with it. that's a sign of a great cook.

i wish i had a picture to show you but i don't so all i can do is describe it. when you use all 7 (or 8 or however many) layers, even with the icing, it's still not a lot taller than an ordinary two layer cake. see, each layer is only like 1/4" to 1/2" thick with roughly that much icing between them. so you can MAKE a 4 layer version but it may be more like a cookie. lol.

again, the taste won't change so i wouldn't dare discourage you from trying different things. also, since it's frozen when it's constructed you can keep it in the freezer as long as you'd like... no need to eat it all in one sitting. but you can.

 

[SweetErika]

Ok, clearly I was thinking 7 or 8 full-size layers (I've seen those before in restaurants). Perhaps I'll try the full recipe and buy one of those cake hacksaw thingies or try the dental floss method.

 

[EJFan]

great idea! i've never tried dental floss but i've heard of that. use the mint for a hint of flavor that'll mesmerize your hubby and guests.

tell ya what i'll do... i'm going to make the next one in a springform pan to see how well it works out and i'll give you hints accordingly. i wouldn't do this for just anyone... only for people whose breasts i've seen through a sheer bra.

one tip on making this in a springform pan that i know you'll need... run your finger around the top rim of the pan before dumping the batter in. a sponge cake needs to "climb" up the sides of the pan and it'll climb right over the edge (if it gets that high) if you don't put that very fine layer of naturally-occuring-finger-oil on the rim. it'll make the cake keep climbing straight upward.

 

[EJFan]

cake for sweeterika

ok... here's the recipe for you. i have bread in the oven right now so you'll forgive me if i have to stop typing part way through.

CAKE
8 eggs, separated
1 cup white sugar, divided
1 cup cake flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
7 Tbsp hot milk (100 degrees-ish)
1 tsp vanilla

generously grease and flour BOTTOMS ONLY of 9" cake pans (you'll need 7 to 9). preheat oven to 350.

beat the egg whites until nearly stiff. while continuing to beat, slowly add 1/2 cup sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.

in a separate bowl, beat egg yolks thoroughly. continue beating, add 1/2 cup sugar and the cake flour.

fold yolk mixture into stiffened whites. spoon batter evenly and sparingly (just enough to cover the bottom) into each of the cake pans. only pour batter into as many pans as you can fit in the oven at once. fill remaining pans as you are ready to put them in the oven.

bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until layers are golden and done. gently remove layers from pan and cool on racks.

ICING
5 oz unsweetened chocolate
5 eggs, slightly beaten
1 1/4 cup white sugar (approx.)
3/4 pound unsweetened butter

prepare a double boiler making sure water doesn't touch bottom of the top pot. put all eggs, chocolate and sugar into top of double boiler.

stirring constantly, mix contents of double boiler over high heat until VERY thick. remove from heat. pour hot water out of the pot and refill bottom of double boiler with COLD water. replace the top of the double boiler (don't let any water get into the chocolate mixture) and let sit until chocolate is COMPLETELY COOLED.

in a large bowl, cream butter and add cooled chocolate mixture. blend well... VERY well... and refrigerate (if necessary) to get to spreading consistency.

---------------------------------------------
i'll post anything that jumps to mind and feel free to ask questions about this if you have any.

for now the only thing i can think of is that the butter should be as cold as possible and still be "cream-able"... and the chocolate cannot be warm enough to melt the butter when you mix them together. and make sure that the chocolate mixture is very thick before you stop cooking it. i can't really explain how to sense this but you'll prolly be whisking it in the double boiler for a good 10 minutes or more once the water is boiling. it's almost thick enough to make you want to recruit someone else to stir for a while.

 

[SweetErika]

es and es for you, EJ!

Two questions...can I mix the chocolate mixture with an electric hand mixer, or does it have to be done with a wisk?

Where does the freezer come in? Do I put the entire assembled cake in there?

 

[EJFan]

you're gettin' lazy on my already, SE. lol.

if you can fit a hand mixer into your double boiler, you can surely use it. mine isn't quite wide enough (i've heard that somewhere else before). just remember that if you're using an electric mixer you can't really feel if it's thick enough.

mixing the cooled chocolate into the butter should be done with a spatula or bowl scraper. i don't know if you're asking that too but thought i'd make the inference for better or worse. lol.

put the icing into the freezer or refrigerator to get it to spreading consistency. then, yes, the assembled cake goes in there so the icing sets up. if you don't freeze it you'll wind up having layer slippage. also, if the icing gets too slippery while you're working you can put the partially assembled cake and icing back into the freezer while you're working on it.

the icing recipe is EXACTLY enough to ice the whole thing but you may have to experiment a little. the icing and layers should be ALMOST the same thickness. more than once i've had the icing thicker on the bottom layers and scantly spread on the top.

also, there's a chance you may have some layer-casualties when taking them from the pans. pick the best two layers and use them for the top and bottom... the shitty ones (if there are any) can go in the middle.

finally, if you DO have any icing left over, i like to freeze it, roll pieces into small balls and coat them in cocoa powder... kinda like a truffle.

 

[cremebrulee]

a couple things missed...

there were just a couple things not mentioned about the bread thing that I'd like to share. I baked from around 5 up to as many as 50 loaves of bread in my home kitchen for a couple years to supplement my part time income (my family got really SICK of all the pans! LOL). One thing that was never mentioned here was the age of the flour. Flour loses quality over time and can contribute to poor results. Bread flour (from my limited knowledge on this, I always used plain unbleached white flour for all my white breads...) is sifted more than all purpose and may be higher in gluten. As far as the burning on the outside of the sweeter breads, I found that adding the eggwash or any wash or glaze within the last 5 minutes or so of baking made a HUGE difference.

On cheesecakes~ one BIG thing to be sure of is to make sure the cream cheese sits out for at least long enough to get it to actual room temperature, this ensures a creamier cheesecake. One chef I had the honor of working with even left the cream cheese covered in the bowl either when he left at night to make the cake in the morning, or first thing in the morning to make the cake in the evening.

Hope some of this information helps!

I also have a fudge recipe that was once a guarded family recipe, but the ones you had here looked pretty good, so I'll hold off on posting that one...

Take care

~Creme

 

[TacitusV]

I did a test-run of this special Ukrainian sweet holiday bread the other day. It turned out great flavor-wise, but the outside crust was burnt and it was a little dry inside. It might also be a little more dense than it should be, but I'm not sure about that.

My husband applied an egg wash, and baked it in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes as per the recipe (I wasn't here). Upon looking at other recipes, I noticed 375-400 degrees for 30 minutes is more the norm, but I'm not sure if I should raise the temp. since this bread has a fair amount of sugar, eggs, and dried fruit in it.

Any bread bakers out there? I'd appreciate any tips on where we went wrong and suggestions for bread making in general!

I'm lazy - I just drop all the ingredients in the bread-maker and wake up next morning to the smell of fresh bread. I have no idea how it does it!! But I do have fun mixing different flours, nuts and so on.

 

[SweetErika]

you're gettin' lazy on my already, SE. lol.

if you can fit a hand mixer into your double boiler, you can surely use it. mine isn't quite wide enough (i've heard that somewhere else before). just remember that if you're using an electric mixer you can't really feel if it's thick enough.

mixing the cooled chocolate into the butter should be done with a spatula or bowl scraper. i don't know if you're asking that too but thought i'd make the inference for better or worse. lol.

put the icing into the freezer or refrigerator to get it to spreading consistency. then, yes, the assembled cake goes in there so the icing sets up. if you don't freeze it you'll wind up having layer slippage. also, if the icing gets too slippery while you're working you can put the partially assembled cake and icing back into the freezer while you're working on it.

the icing recipe is EXACTLY enough to ice the whole thing but you may have to experiment a little. the icing and layers should be ALMOST the same thickness. more than once i've had the icing thicker on the bottom layers and scantly spread on the top.

also, there's a chance you may have some layer-casualties when taking them from the pans. pick the best two layers and use them for the top and bottom... the shitty ones (if there are any) can go in the middle.

finally, if you DO have any icing left over, i like to freeze it, roll pieces into small balls and coat them in cocoa powder... kinda like a truffle.

Not lazy...I can't find my whisk! I did get all of the ingredients tonight though, and may do a trial run (at least on the cake part) this week. Thanks for the great instructions, and I'll harass you with more questions should I get confused!