Do I really need to use ice-cold water when I make pie dough? Can’t I just get it from the tap? Ice-cold water is a non-negotiable ingredient in a flaky pie crust. A tender crust relies on cold, visible layers or bits of fat (butter, lard or shortening) that expand and evapora...
The sourdough starter is usually about 25% of the final dough. If learning how to make sourdough bread the starter is the leavening power of the bread. Each time the starter is used it must be replaced by more ingredients to keep it going. This method was used years ago with the absence...
When we spoke one August afternoon, he was proofing a ball of ancient grain khorasan dough, hopeful that the temperature would be just right. “I don’t know if I would have had the time to do that during the normal course of researching a book where it’s half travel for me and ...
Add depth to dishes: The buttery texture and light sweetness add another layer of flavor to recipes like sauces, soups, stews, pasta, and bread. Incorporate as little or as much as you like, for me, the more the merrier! Nutrition: Roasted garlic is a low-calorie flavor enhancer. There...
Learn to make dumpling dough from scratch and you'll never have an excuse to not churn out these savory parcels by the dozen. All-purpose flour and water. It really doesn't get more straightforward than that. What takes practice is using your eyes and sense of touch to determine just ho...
Shortening tends to make dough more easily workable and the final product more tender, while also, in many cases, adding flavor. To make bread, you add water to flour to create a cohesive mixture of gluten and starch. In the case of a pastry, however, you add large amounts of fat to...
and they contain harsh additives. If there's corn syrup in a mirin or a flavor enhancer in a miso, you can bet that the manufacturer took a quickie route to make it on the cheap, and it shows in the final product. Thankfully, there's always an English-language ingredient list—turn ...