Homemade bread will not look like store brand loaves. And this is a good thing. I used to adore a local bread store and they have the most perfect looking loaves. Unfortunately, they were bought out by a larger company. Overnight, the bread became all beauty and no substance. It got me thinking:...
Sometimes I flipping hate fudging fudge. I have a shameful secret: I can be terrible at making fudge. Grainy, gritty, greasy. I'm the master of splitting, splashing, separating. How is it possible that I can make terrific fudge at times and then...total disaster? When I decided to make a blog...
If you want great wheat or corn flour, look into finding the brand and buy Hudson Cream. I've went through a lot of brands over the years. This is the best. I've went between the cheapest store brand to the most expensive organic flours available to me. When it comes to consistency, reliability,...
A great friend once told me "Don't focus on what you can't do, focus on what you can do." I don't like to focus on my disabilities, in fact, I started baking again to push my limitations. Some days are harder than others, some recipes seem impossible at times. And other times, you find a baking...
Do you ever have a lot of egg yolks leftover and don't know what to do with them? For the longest time, I would freeze them until I could find a solution. Then, an idea was formed one day when separating eggs. What if tried making desserts without egg whites and just the yolks? What is the worst...
A Little Background on the French Macaron There are some foods that can be improved upon. This is not one of them. For the best results, don't mess with the french macaron. This is the original fabulous french macaron recipe. It's all about ratios and when you mess with ratios, you no longer have...
Learn how to make a simple sourdough starter. What will set this article from the rest is the fact I'll share with you some of the mishaps that can happen along the way. It's not always a nice pleasant smell in the beginning, folks. Sometimes it's downright vile. If you have been following along,...
I can't emphasize this enough: do not forget to prepare baking pans. If you do, all your hard work will be for naught. Too often, I'll get in a hurry and miss an important step such as prepping surfaces. I ended up with two loaves stuck to the shiny pans that I had to pry off. I lost much of the...
When learning to bake bread, they will tell you to slice the top of the dough with a lame or knife for decoration (ears) or to create a weak spot. But they never quite explain what happens if you don't slice the bread. I was making us sourdough and decided to skip a few steps. Such as dusting off...
Has anyone taught you the basics of baking? Simple ideas like how to easily hull a strawberry? Me either. These types of things are what I wish I was taught more as a kid. But alas, when you grow up with very little, not a lot can be taught. Still, I would have been a much better baker long ago if...
If you want to get serious about baking, weigh ingredients for accuracy. It will take you from amateur status to rockstar overnight. When I first started baking, I would use cups and measuring spoons. But after a while, especially when I got into artisan bread-making and delicate desserts like...
The search for a savory chocolate chip cookie started back in the 90s. I know, I'm dating myself. When I was much younger, my friend and I accidentally learned how to make a cookie cake. She and I decided to call it that after placing Nestlé toll house cookie dough too close and it smushed...
A lot of recipes fail due to calling for "softened or room-temperature butter" without taking into consideration that the room the baker is in could be anything really. In either a 65°F (18°C) or 89°F (31°C) kitchen for example, you'll end up with rock hard or soupy butter no matter what you do....
Why is this the world's most difficult cookie? This is a French Macaron Troubleshooting Guide with photos and explanation for those trying to crack the code on the mysterious macaron. Macarons are the most difficult cookie for a reason. I found the process both fascinating and infuriating. I took...
French vanilla sugar cookies are scrumptious. And easy to make! Since I made french buttercream yesterday and had no use for it, I decided to make some cookies with it. After all, the ingredients for french buttercream was egg yolks, sugar, butter, salt and vanilla. Since there is a lot of fat...