Olive Oil
Almond Paste: Almond paste is marzipan’s firmer, ever-so-slightly less malleable cousin. For most of your decorating projects, you can substitute one for the other. However, in baking, if your recipe calls for almond paste, you will need to use it instead of the marzipan. Almond paste is a blend of ground almonds, confectioner’s sugar and corn syrup. Almond paste is available in most supermarkets and specialty stores; most bakers prefer the canned version as to the paste in a tube. Because almond paste dries out quickly, once opened, it should be wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and stored in the refrigerator. Almond paste wrapped properly can be kept for about 6 months.
Baking Powder: Baking powder is a leavening agent that comes in two varieties: double-and single-acting. Single acting baking powder releases its rising power when it comes in contact with liquid; double-acting baking powder, releases its first puff of power (in the form of carbon dioxide bubbles) in combination with liquid and its second when the oven’s heat hits it. One of the most commonly available brands is Calumet. The acidic ingredients in Calumet are sodium aluminum sulfate, calcium sulfate, and monocalcium phosphate. The other well known brand is Rumford baking powder; and contains only a single acid, calcium acid phosphate, and it is aluminum-free. Both these brands and other double-acting baking powders contain cornstarch, which acts to absorb moisture and to keep the acid and alkali ingredients separate from one another so they won’t react in the can Quick breads, like scones, muffins, biscuits and some cakes, particularly butter cakes, rely on baking powder for their rise. All baking powders have expiration dates printed on their containers. Once opened, they lose their potency within a few months. Replace your baking powders every 4 months or so. To test whether or not your baking powder is still useable, stir 1 teaspoon into 1/2 cup hot water. If it bubbles gently, it’s fine. If you have a can that’s been sitting in your cupboard for a year or more, toss it out. Baking powder should be kept tightly covered in a cool, dry cupboard and replaced every four to six months.
Baking Soda: Baking soda, or bicarbonate of soda, is one of the most potent chemical leaveners. Baking soda is an alkali and is used to neutralize acid ingredients in batters as well as to leaven them. Honey, Chocolate, molasses, sour cream, and buttermilk are all acidic, and baking soda counteracts the acidity. In large amounts, baking soda can give an off-taste to food, so it is always used in small amounts. Because baking soda’s single action occurs in the mixing bowl, it’s best to work quickly after the soda has been activated and to get the batter into the oven as soon as possible.
Banneton: The word banneton comes from a French word for basket, banne, and has passed into the American baker’s lexicon as well as his kitchen. Bannetons are linen-lined baskets, available in long, thin shapes similar to baguettes and in rounds, ovals, and rounds with open centers used to hold the dough in shape during the last rise before it’s turned out onto a peel and slid onto a baking stone. Bannetons are expensive but sturdy- buy one and you’ll have it forever. You can achieve similar results, if not the perfect shape, by lining a wicker or other open-weave basket with a linen towel that has been well rubbed with flour. You can even use a flour-lined colander as a substitute banneton.
Batter: The term for the unbaked or sometimes, uncooked mixture that forms the base of cakes, pancakes, muffins and other similar baked goods. Unlike dough’s, batters are usually pourable.
Blowtorch: Next to your favorite baking supply place, the hardware store is a baker’s best resource for equipment, and a small blowtorch. An inexpensive propane torch is the only thing that will give you quality crème Brulee in your home kitchen. You can also use this little gem on for browning meringue.
Butter: Nothing tastes like butter, and nothing bakes like butter. Its sweet flavor adds immeasurably to the taste of whatever you’re baking. Use “the other spread” and all the work you put into a recipe will be for naught – it just won’t have the taste, texture, or look you want. Then there is the question of salted or unsalted butter. Professional bakers rarely use salted butter, preferring to be able to control the amount of salt needed in a recipe. Salted butter often contains more moisture than unsalted butter. Unsalted butter is my preference in all my baking. If you do a lot of baking, buy several pounds of unsalted butter when it’s on sale, and store it, well wrapped in foil, in the freezer. Thaw it in the refrigerator a day or two before you plan to use it. Many recipes call for creaming room-temperature butter together with sugar. “Room temperature” means anywhere from 65degrees to 75 degrees. What’s important is that the butter be malleable so that it creams easily and aerates as much as possible when beaten with sugar. It should not be too soft or oily, or it will never have the structure to create the small air cells necessary for expansion during baking. When butter is cut into flour to make pastry, it should be very cold, so that the pieces remain firm. During rolling, the butter flattens out, forming flakes that remain haphazardly arranged within the dough. In the oven, the melting butter forms air pockets within the dough, making the pastry flaky.
Measuring butter Butter measurements are given in tablespoons, sticks or parts of sticks, and in ounces or pounds. It’s handy to know that 1 stick of butter weighs 4 ounces and equals 8 tablespoons.
Softening Butter In most cases, butter that will be mixed with other ingredients, for example, butter to be creamed or blended with sugar, should be softened. Softened butter should never be gooey or oily, but rather slightly cool and just pliable. Butter can be softened by leaving it at room temperature or by bashing or smearing it. To bash butter, place the sticks of butter between two sheets of waxed paper and beat the butter with end of a rolling pin. You can also achieve the same results by placing the butter on a work surface and smearing tablespoon-sized pieces across the surface with the heels of your hands. Microwaving, I would not suggest.
Clarifying Butter Cut the butter into chunks, place the chunks in a small saucepan, and slowly bring the butter tom a boil. When the popping and crackling have almost stopped, the butter is clarified. Keep close watch, though, because at this point you run the risk of overdoing it and browning the butter. Pour the clear yellow clarified butter into a heatproof jar through a tea strainer, which will catch the residue of the milk solids. Store the clarified butter in a tightly sealed jar in the refrigerator or freezer. It will keep refrigerated or frozen for several months.
Buttering Pans it’s a great idea to have on hand a big bowl of softened butter and a pastry brush. Using a pastry brush to apply the butter means you get an even coating and can work the brush into corners of a pan. If the recipe calls for buttering and flouring a pan, butter the pan evenly, then add a few spoonfuls of flour to the pan. Shake the flour around in the pan, tapping the sides of the pan to distribute a light dusting of flour all over the pan, and then turn the pan upside down over the sink or trash bin tap it to knock out the excess flour. Vegetable spray is an alternative to buttering pans, one particularly well suited to muffin tins and tartlet pan. The amount of butter and flour needed to prepare pans is always separate from the amount of butter and flour in a recipe’s ingredients list.
Buttermilk: Buttermilk is often used in butter cakes, muffins, and quick breads to give them tang and a tender crumb. Buttermilk has a thick, creamy texture and is low in fat. Buttermilk keeps very well in the refrigerator for several weeks. Over time, it tends to separate into a heavier, thick layer on the bottom and a thin, watery layer on top. Shake the carton a few times before using. If you can’t find buttermilk, substitute 2/3 cup plain, low-or nonfat yogurt mixed with 1/3 cup milk (whole or low-fat) for each cup of buttermilk. Powdered buttermilk is available in many supermarkets and can be used in any recipe calling for buttermilk; follow the directions on the package to reconstitute it.
Cake and Pie Pans If you are just starting to build your collection of pans for baking, you will want to start with the basics (and then when you become obsessed with baking like all bakers, you can move on to the fancy molds and beautifully shaped pans that will capture your imagination)
A beginner’s guide to pans
**** two 8-inch round cake pans (1 1/2 to 2 inches tall)
**** two 9-inch round cake pans (1 1/2 to 2 inches tall)
**** two 8-inch square cake pans (1 1/2 to 2 inches tall)
**** two 9-inch square cake pans (1 1/2 to 2 inches tall)
****two 81/2-by 41/2- by 21/2-inch loaf pans
**** two 9- by 5- by 3-inch loaf pans
**** Bundt pan and/or tube pan (at least 10-cup capacity)
**** One or two 9- and 10-inch spring form pans (if you buy only one buy the 9-inch pan)
**** one or two 12-cup muffin tins (21/2 inches across is standard)
**** 9-inch pie plate
**** 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom
****10-inch tart pan with removable bottom
As with kitchen equipment it’s wise to purchase the best you can afford; buy highest-quality, heavy-gauge pans, and you will have them for a lifetime.
Chocolate: When you are baking you will find that you will be using the entire gamut of chocolates: unsweetened, bittersweet, semisweet, milk, and white. What makes chocolate is the presence of chocolate liquor, made from roasted, blended, and ground cocoa bean nibs. Unsweetened chocolate is pure chocolate liquor; bittersweet chocolate is a blend of chocolate liquor, cocoa butter, sugar, and vanilla; semisweet chocolate is bittersweet chocolate with a greater quantity of sugar added to the mixture; and milk chocolate is a blend similar to that used for bitter- or semisweet with the addition of milk solids. White chocolate derives its taste from cocoa butter, milk solids, sugar, and vanilla. When buying it, look for a brand that contains cocoa butter – that’s what will give you the flavor you want. By law, white chocolate that does not contain cocoa butter cannot be called chocolate.
Use the best-quality chocolate you can and choose a chocolate you would like to eat out of hand. The kind you start with is what you end with. Baking does not change the chocolate’s flavor enough to mask inferior deficits.
Chocolate should be stored in a cool, dry cupboard, not in the refrigerator or freezer, where it will attract unwanted moisture. Once opened, chocolate should be wrapped in foil. Stored properly, unsweetened, bittersweet, and semisweet chocolates can be kept for about a year. Chocolate that develops a white cloud or a grayish look, called bloom can still be used. The bloom is when the cocoa butter has separated, but will work just fine when melted.
Melting Chocolate Unsweetened, bittersweet and semisweet chocolates are a little difficult to melt and white and milk chocolates even more when it comes to melting. The simplest, surest way to melt chocolate is to break or cut it into even pieces and place pieces in the top of a double boiler over, but never touching, about an inch of simmering, not boiling, water. Keep the double boiler over very low heat and stir the chocolate frequently. Remove from heat as soon as the chocolate has melted, stir until smooth. Keep in mind that water is chocolate’s worst enemy. If you get even a drop of water into the chocolate while it’s melting, the chocolate will seize and you’ll have a rough, dull, unusable mass. If a recipe calls for melting chocolate with liquid, you start with the liquid first you’ll be fine, it’s only mid-melt moisture that seizes chocolate.
Clarified Butter: Clarified butter is butter from which the milk solids have been removed. Without the milk solids, butter can be brought to a higher temperature without burning, a wonder to your sauteing. Clarified butter is the classic addition to genoise and perfect to swathing phyllo layers.
Cocoa Powder: Cocoa powder can be either “Dutched” or not. Dutch processed cocoa powder has been treated with alkali, a process that darkens its color and reduces its acidity. Usually recipes will specify which type of cocoa powder is recommended; if no preference is listed you can use either type.
Cream: Recipes calling for heavy cream can take either whipping cream, which contains at least 30 to 36% butterfat, and heavy cream contains 36 to 40% butterfat. Both types can be whipped. The unfortunate practice of ultra pasteurization, which extends shelf life, has a negative effect on the taste and texture of cream. Ultra pasteurized creams tasteless sweet, and they take longer to whip. If you can find regular pasteurized cream, by all means buy it.
To Whip Cream: Cream whips best when it is chilled and even better when bowl and beaters are chilled. Start beating cream slowly, and then increase the speed as the cream thickens slightly. If the cream will be used as an accompaniment instead of decoration, you will want to whip cream till soft peaks form. If using the cream to pipe through a pastry bag you will need to whip it until it holds its shape firmly. To avoid overbeating cream, it’s best to whip it slightly less than is needed and to finish hand whisking to just the right point. When sweetening the whipped cream, use confectioners rather than granulated sugar and add it when the cream just starts to thicken. (It’s always best to first sift the confectioner’s sugar into cream to make sure it’s lump free.) Wait to add liquids, such as extracts or liqueurs, until the cream is beaten to the desired consistency; add the liquid and then whisk by hand to blend it in and bring back the cream’s volume. Cream should be whipped right before needed.
Cream Cheese: Regular cream cheese comes in dense, thick 3- and 8-ounce blocks. It’s smooth and spreadable and contains at least 33 percent milk fat. Made with pasteurized milk, cheese cultures, and salt, with gum Arabic as a stabilizer, it works better in recipes than the “natural” cream cheeses made without stabilizers. Cheesecakes made with natural cream cheese often curdle during baking. Never use nonfat cream cheese; it has a gluey texture and a off-flavor.
Crème Fraiche: Tangy crème fraiche is similar in taste and texture to sour cream, but it has the added benefits of being able to be heated without separating and to be whipped when chilled. A common ingredient in France and an expensive one here, crème fraiche can be made easily at home. Add 1 tablespoon of buttermilk to 1 cup of heavy cream, stir well, cover, and allow the mixture to remain at room temperature until it thickens slightly, 12 to 24 hours, depending on the the temperature of the room. Chill it thoroughly before using. Crème fraiche can be kept refrigerated for about 2 weeks, during which time it will become tangier.
Crumb: The inside of a bread or cake is referred to as its crumb.
Docker: Also known as a pastry pricker, a docker looks like a roller with spikes. It is a long handled roller, about 6 inches long, studded with either metal or plastic spikes and is used most frequently with sheets of puff pastry that are meant to bake without puffing. If you do not have a docker, you can get similar results from the tines of a fork.
Dough: The term for uncooked or unbaked mixture used to make breads, cookies, or pastry crusts. Unlike a batter, dough is usually thick and meant to be rolled or otherwise molded.
Dried Fruits: Before adding dried fruits to a mixture, check them for plumpness. Fruits should be moist and plump at the start, they’re not going to get any plumper or moister during baking. If your fruits are shriveled and hard, simmer them in, or steam them over, boiling water for a minute or two and then pat them dry in a paper towel. If you’re working with small dried fruits like currants or raisins, you may be able to restore them by placing them in a strainer and simply running hot tap water over them for a minute; drain and pat dry.
Eggs: Eggs, nature’s most perfect food and a baker’s basic building block, need special care and handling. There is some evidence that some eggs contain salmonella, bacteria that can cause unpleasant, flu like illness. Although salmonella is rarely fatal for healthy people, some people are most susceptible to salmonella than others.
If you take proper care of eggs from purchase to baking, you should never encounter a problem. Here are a few tips.
**** Buy your eggs from a store where they are kept refrigerated at all times.
**** Always keep eggs refrigerated at home; if a recipe call for eggs at room temperature, remove the eggs from the refrigerator about 20 minutes before you plan to bake; never leave eggs at room temperature for more than 2 hours.
**** Never use an egg with a cracked shell
**** Wash your hands before and after handling eggs; make certain to scrub your utensils and work surfaces after working with raw eggs.
**** Although egg yolks are more likely to carry bacteria than the whites, both should be handled carefully.
**** In order to kill salmonella bacteria, eggs must be either brought to a temperature of 160* or held at a temperature of 140* for at least 3 1/2 minutes.
Separating Eggs Many recipes call for separated eggs, most often because you’ll need to whip the whites. When this is the case; it is essential that the eggs be separated cleanly, since even a speck of yolk in the whites is enough to keep whites from whipping up to their full potential. Separate eggs when they are cold; they separate most easily.
Working with Yolks and Sugar When a recipe calls for mixing yolks with sugar, blend them as soon as you’ve added the sugar. Leaving sugar sitting on the yolks will thicken and lump them together, a condition bakers refer to as “burning.” After mixing the sugar and yolks, it is best to continue with the recipe immediately.
Extracts: Extracts are an easy way to give your baked goods a concentrated flavor boost, but choose your extract carefully: Artificially flavored extracts will throw the taste of your recipe. Pure extracts are more expensive than imitations, but why put effort into something with inferior goods? Like herbs and spices, extracts can lose their flavor and should be replaced when their fragrance is no longer deep and full. If you don’t get the aroma, you won’t get the flavor either. Store extracts in a cool, dark cupboard.
Vanilla Beans and Extracts Vanilla is the second most expensive spice after saffron; because growing vanilla seed pods is labor-intensive. The fruit of an orchid native to Central America, vanilla must be hand-pollinated, making it quite costly. Most of our vanilla comes from Mexico, Madagascar, Indonesia, and Tahiti.
To ensure the finest flavor from every fruit, each individual pod must be picked by hand just as it begins to split on the end. Over matured fruits are likely to split, causing a reduction in market value. Its commercial value is fixed based on the length and appearance of the pod. When buying vanilla beans make sure they are soft, plump and pliable. They add an intense flavor to sauces, cakes, all sorts of desserts, and sugar. For sauces, split the bean lengthwise, scrape out the small black seeds with a teaspoon, and add the seeds and pod to the milk or cream. Steeping over low heat for 30 minutes releases vanilla’s heady aromatic compounds. The pod can be rinsed, dried, and reused two or three times. To store vanilla beans, wrap them tightly in plastic, seal them in a glass jar or in a zip-top plastic freezer bag, and place them in a cool cupboard. The beans will stay fresh for 4 to 6 months. Do not freeze vanilla beans. Avoid imitation vanilla. It is made from artificial ingredients and contains no vanilla at all.
Almond and Coconut Extracts Until recently only imitation almond and coconut extracts were available, but today you can buy the real, pure extracts.
Lemon and Orange Extracts Made by distilling concentrated solutions of essential oils from the fruit zests; these extracts add an authentic citrus flavor to all kinds of desserts. Always use pure extracts. Imitation extracts contain artificial substances and flavors.
Rose Water is one of the oldest most aromatic of all flavorings. Rose water is an extract distilled from the petals of roses. Use rose water in cookies, cakes and other baked goods. You can buy rose water in specialty food shops and in stores that sell Middle Eastern foods. Store the bottles in a cool, dark place after opening, Rose water keeps indefinitely.
Orange Flower Water is the clear, perfumed by-product of the distillation of fresh bitter-orange blossoms. Orange flower water has been used traditionally in many Mediterranean desserts. Like rose water its use goes back centuries. It has been a traditional ingredient used often in North African as well as in Middle Eastern foods. Use orange flower water in Madeleine’s, custards, cakes, and cookies. Store bottles in a cool, dark place after opening. Keeps indefinitely.
Flour In the United States, which grows some of the world’s best wheat, there are basically two separate species. They include more than one hundred distinct varieties that are cultivated today. Wheat is classified according to the season in which it’s sown. Winter Wheat is planted in the fall and reaped in the late summer or autumn of the following year. Spring wheat is sown in the spring and harvested in the fall of the same year. Both winter and spring wheat’s can be “hard” or “soft,” depending on their protein content. Generally speaking, the higher the amount of protein, the harder the wheat. The color of the wheat grain is another indicator of protein content. Bags of flour in the grocery store labeled “hard red spring wheat” or “hard red winter wheat” are ideal for making bread. Soft red winter wheat flour is best used in cakes and pastries. Other soft wheat flours include winter and spring white wheat flours. The important point to keep in mind is to choose the proper flour for what you are going to bake.
Flour is the most basic baking ingredient and potentially the most confusing, since there are so many types of flour available and so much talk about which should be used for what. The question of which flour for what purpose often comes down to “what percentage of gluten-forming protein does the flour contain? Gluten is the protein that forms webs in flour; it’s what makes yeast baking so satisfying. Great in bread, gluten is a disaster when you’re after a tender pie crust or a delicately crumbed cake. It’s good to know how one flour differs from another.
All-purpose flour All-purpose flour is a blend of soft and hard wheat flours, with a medium percentage of protein content. Not all so-called all-purpose flours are equal. Flours labeled “all-purpose” are usually a blend of high-gluten hard wheat and low-gluten soft wheat. Unbleached all-purpose flours milled in the northern United States, such as King Arthur, have protein counts almost as high as those of bread flour; they weigh in at between 12 and 13 grams per cup. National “supermarket” brands, bleached all-purpose flours such as Gold Medal and Pillsbury, contain 10 to 12 grams of protein per cup. When a recipe calls for all-purpose flour, you can use either bleached or unbleached all-purpose flour.
Bread flour With a protein content of about 14 grams per cup, bread flour is the flour of choice for yeast dough’s and makes breads with a springy, chewy texture. If a recipe calls for high-gluten flour, you can obtain good results with bread flour. Do not use bread flour for cakes or pie dough’s.
Cake and pastry flours These flours are very low in protein and are used when a tender crumb is the desired outcome. It is too low in gluten to be used successfully in yeast breads. Cake flour is chlorinated, making it a little acidic; pastry flour is not. Cake flour is a supermarket staple; pastry flour is not. While some health food stores carry pastry flour, it is often whole wheat pastry flour, which is not what most recipes call for. If you cannot find pastry flour, you can substitute all-purpose flour for the full amount or make your own pastry flour using 3 parts all-purpose flour to 1 part cake flour. Avoid self-rising cake flours.
Bleached Versus Unbleached Flour By the time flour reaches your kitchen; it’s usually bleached to some extent, whether chemically or naturally. Untreated, but exposed to air for a while, flour will oxidize, or bleach, to a creamy, ivory color. The addition of oxidants or bleaches, indicated by the word “bleached” on the packages, speeds the process. If the sack says “bromated” this means the oxidant used was potassium bromate. As a rule of thumb, unbleached flour is usually higher in protein than bleached.
Whole Wheat Flour Whole wheat flour contains all the components of the wheat kernel: the endosperm, which makes up the bulk of the grain (80 to 85 percent) and is mainly starch and protein; the tiny germ, or embryo of the plant (2 to 3 percent of the kernel), which is packed with minerals, vitamins (including vitamin E), proteins, and fats; and the bran, or tough outer husk (about 15 percent of the grain), a rich source of fiber. Consequently, whole wheat flour has a high nutritional value and depth of flavor. If you can find stone-ground whole wheat flour, by all means buy it. Because the flour has been stone-ground, more of the nutrients in the flour are preserved. It also gives bread an interesting toothsome quality because of the uneven texture.
White Whole Wheat Flour Milled from a new variety of wheat, white whole wheat flour has a milder taste than regular whole wheat flour but the same nutritional benefits. A rich golden tan;, it is unbleached and contains no added chemicals. Use it as you would regular whole wheat flour.
Storing Flour White flour bleached or not, should be kept in an airtight container in a cool, dry cupboard. Under good conditions, white flours (all-purpose, bread, cake, and pastry) can be kept for about six months. Whole wheat and other flours that contain the oily germ can go rancid quickly and should be stored in airtight containers in the refrigerator or freezer. Measure or weigh what you’ll need for a recipe, and bring the flour to room temperature before use.
Measuring Flour Professional bakers weigh all their ingredients and, indeed, weighing is the most accurate method of measuring anything, particularly flour. However, most home bakers work without a scale – not a problem if you’re careful and consistent. “Scoop” and “level” are the bywords for measuring flour by volume (as opposed to weight). Start with a set of metal measuring cups (glass cups are for liquid measures and plastic cups are for naught – they are unreliable) and flour that’s in a bin, sack, or canister with a wide mouth. Using a fork, fluff up the flour, aerating it as best as you can, and then, using your measuring cup, scoop up enough flour to fill the cup to overflowing – don’t pack the flour down and don’t shake the cup. Sweep a straightedge (the back of a knife, a metal spatula, a bench scraper, or ruler) across the top of the measuring cup, leveling the top. Measured this way, a cup of flour weighs approximately 5 ounces.
Sifting Flour Sifting is a method of aerating flour, when a recipe calls for sifting the flour with salt, baking powder, baking soda, and/or spices, it’s often as much to blend the dry ingredients as to aerate them. Depending on the recipe, you may be asked to sift the ingredients several times, a process that used to be simpler when triple sifters (sifters with three mesh screens) were easily available. These days, professionals use a fine-mesh strainer – a good tool to have on hand – for sifting. (When all you need to do is blend the flour with other dry ingredients, you can use a whisk.)
Most recipes using bread flour or all-purpose flours do not require sifting, whereas fine-textured, often lumpy cake flour always needs to be sifted before using. When a recipe says “1 cup sifted flour” it means the flour should be sifted before it is measured; ” 1 cup flour, sifted,” means you should measure out 1 cup of flour and then sift it.
The easiest and most accurate way to measure sifted flour is to place the measuring cup on a piece of waxed or parchment paper and to sift flour over and into the cup until it overflows the cup; sweep and level the flour with a straightedge. The excess flour can be returned to its bin and used again. Professional bakers always sift ingredients onto a piece of parchment and then, when the dry ingredients need to be added to a mixture, lift the parchment and use as a funnel – a simple process easily and efficiently duplicated at home.
Cornmeal : Supermarket cornmeal, whether white or yellow, has most likely had its vitamin-rich germ removed. De-germing prolongs shelf life, but a lot of the flavor and texture is lost. Cornmeal can be either steel-cut, in which case the bran and germ are removed, or stone-ground, a process that retains the bran and germ. If at all possible buy stone-ground cornmeal, which contains the entire grain.
Its medium-coarse texture makes it excellent in corn breads, muffins, and yeast breads. . Fine cornmeal, ground almost to a powder, is the kind suitable for using in a cake batter. You can use either the yellow or white variety. If you can’t find packages of cornmeal that is finely ground, then use masa harina, a fine yellow cornmeal used in Mexican and southwestern cookery. Supermarket-brand cornmeals are steel-cut, as where health food stores have cornmeal’s that are stone-ground. You can store steel-cut cornmeal in a cool, dry cupboard, but stone-ground meal must be stored in a covered container in the refrigerator or stored in the freezer, where it will keep for at least 1 year. Cornmeal can be either yellow, as it most often, or white.
Oatmeal: Oatmeal is highly nutritious because it contains the bran, germ, and endosperm of the grain. Only the indigestible outer hull is removed in processing. Do not use instant oatmeal. Oatmeal can be stored at room temperature.
Cornstarch: Cornstarch is the dried and powdered endosperm of the corn kernel. It has a fine texture and adds tenderness to many kinds of cakes and pastries.
Rice Flour: White rice flour is ground from husked rice kernels. It has an ultrafine texture and a pure white color. Since it contains no gluten, there is no danger of over-beating batters made with rice flour. Rice flour is a good alternative for people who are sensitive to gluten.
Rye Flour: Rye flour can make dense, chewy, delicious breads. But because it is low in gluten, breads made with only rye flour tend to turn out gummy and hardly rise at all. In most cases, wheat flour (white or whole wheat) is added to the dough for texture and volume. Rye flour has a rich, nutty, slightly tart taste, and a little of it adds a marvelous tang to wheat-flour dough’s. There are two basic types of rye flour sold in the United States: dark, or pumpernickel rye, and light or medium rye. The whole grain is ground to make dark rye flour. It is coarse-textured and loaded with protein, vitamins, and minerals. Dark rye flour, because of its stronger taste and grittier texture, is great in bread dough’s. Light rye has had the germ and sometimes the bran removed during milling, giving it a lighter color, finer texture, and less nutrition than dark rye flour. Both have their uses in baking.
Folding: A gentle method of mixing ingredients together, folding is usually called for when you need to blend a light, airy ingredient into a heavier one – for example, beaten egg whites or whipped cream into a batter. Folding is most easily accomplished with a sturdy but flexible spatula; in a bowl that’s large enough to give you room to maneuver. In most cases, the lighter ingredient is folded into the heavier. If the batter is particularly heavy, it’s a good idea to start by stirring about a quarter of the lighter mixture into it. (If you try to fold an airy mixture into a really stiff mixture, you’re bound to knock the airy one flat.) Turn the lighter mixture out on top of the heavier batter and cut through the two mixtures with the spatula, pushing down gently until the tip of the rubber spatula reaches the bottom of the bowl. Now flick your wrist so that you can draw the spatula’s flat side up against the side of the bowl; continue this upward movement until the spatula arcs above the bowl. As you pull the spatula up and break the surface, use your free hand to give the bowl a quarter turn so that the ingredients the spatula brings up are folded over and rest gently on top of the mixture. It is the repetition of these motions – cutting down, lifting up, and turning – that constitutes folding. Continue to fold until the blending is complete.
Lard: A little lard in combination with butter makes far flakier pie crusts than butter alone. The reason is that lard is virtually water-free. Even small amounts of water produce gluten formation in wheat flour, and butter contains about 16 percent water. For delicious, flaky pastry, substitute lard for half the amount of butter. A good commercial brand is John Morrell’s. Check the package to be sure the lard is pure and contains no additives. Store in refrigerator.
Sweetened Condensed Milk: This extremely sweet, thick, cream-colored product is made by evaporating whole milk and cooking it with sugar. You can use this in cheesecakes, where it contributes a silky smoothness. Be sure not to confuse it with evaporated milk, which is shelved near it.
Sour Cream: Real, full-fat sour cream is cultured with lactic acid bacteria and has a butterfat content of 14 percent. It adds tang, moistness, and richness to baked goods. Because of its fat content, it also has a tenderizing effect in cakes and pastries. Low-fat sour cream can be used if you prefer. Do not use fat-free sour cream. Yogurt can be substituted for sour cream in many baking recipes, but some of the wonderful richness is sacrificed.
Vegetable Oils: The most commonly used oils in cooking and baking are canola, corn, safflower, sunflower, and peanut. For quick-bread batters, use safflower oil, and peanut oil for frying. Peanut oil has a high smoking point, meaning it won’t burn until the oil reaches very high temperatures, adding a mild nutty flavor to fried foods.
Yeast: The three basic types of yeast available today are fresh, active dry, and instant. Fresh is the purest form of yeast, and it has the highest amount of living cells-100 percent-of any type of yeast. Some supermarkets carry foil-wrapped cakes of fresh yeast (0.6 ounces each), but it is not widely available. Fresh yeast is perishable: it must be stored in the refrigerator, and it should be used no later than 1 to 2 weeks after the expiration date on its wrapping.
Active dry yeast contains fewer living yeast cells than fresh yeast. It must be dissolved in warm water before being used so that the dead yeast cells can fall away, exposing the living cells. The major brands of active dry yeast available today are Fleishmann’s and Red Star. Every supermarket carry them, and you can buy them in units of three conjoined packets containing 1/4 ounce (2 1/4 teaspoons) each, in a 4-ounce jars, or in 1-pound vacuum-packed bags.
Instant yeast is faster to use because it is added directly to the flour. Once the liquid is added during the mixing of the dough, the yeast dissolves and becomes active. Because instant yeast has more living cells than active dry yeast, it causes dough’s to rise faster. This isn’t necessarily desirable, since dough’s develop much more flavor when yeast acts slowly. However, dough’s rich in butter, which are normally slow to rise, will profit from the addition of instant yeast. Dry yeast, active dry or instant, should be stored in the refrigerator, where it will remain viable for up to 1 year.
Yogurt: A food staple for centuries in parts of Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, yogurt has made its way into American baking as a lower-fat substitute for sour cream. In many cases it works very well, especially if turned into yogurt “cheese” by putting the yogurt in a cheesecloth-lined strainer and draining off the excess liquid. Yogurt is made by culturing lactobacillus or acidophilus bacteria in milk-whole, low-fat, or skim-causing it to thicken and turn sour. The milk of cows, goats, and sheep all make excellent yogurt, but in this country the most commonly available kind is made with cow’s milk. Avoid yogurts that contain artificial gums. Use plain unflavored yogurt in baking.
Spices: Spices contain volatile aromatic oils, and over time they lose their flavor. Buy small quantities of ground spices at a time and keep them in tightly closed small jars in a cool, dry place, or grind your own in a spice grinder or coffee mill reserved for that purpose.
Measuring Equipment
Cups and Spoons Dry and liquid ingredients must be measured in different kinds of cups. For liquids, use Pyrex measuring cups with a spout. They come in sizes ranging from 1 cup to 2 quarts. If you do a lot of baking, it’s convenient to have at least two each of the 1-cup and 2-cup measures.
To measure sticky liquids like honey or molasses, either brush the inside of the cup lightly with tasteless vegetable oil or coat the cup with cooking spray: the liquid will then slide right out of the cup.
For dry ingredients, you’ll need one or two sets of nested stainless steel measuring cups with straight sides, ranging in size from 1/4 cup to 1 cup. Some sets are sold now odd measures, including 2/3 cup and 3/4 cup. Heavy stainless steel is far more durable than lightweight stainless, which can dent and become misshapen easily, making your measurements less accurate.
To measure most dry ingredients, fill the cup to overflowing, and then sweep off the excess with a narrow metal spatula or straight-edged knife. Measure granulated sugar by scooping the cup into the sugar container and sweeping off the excess.
Measuring spoons come in sets of four and include 1/4 teaspoon, 1/2 teaspoon, 1 teaspoon, and 1 tablespoon. Heavy stainless steel spoons are the best. To use measuring spoons, dip the spoon into the container, filling it to overflowing, and level it by sweeping off the excess. When measuring baking soda, cream of tartar, or ground ginger, which tend to clump, break up the lumps with the spoon before measuring.