Date: Sat, 10 Sep 2005 22:17:59 GMT -------------- BEGIN bread-bakers.v105.n038 -------------- 001 - Gonzo White Subject: English Muffins Date: Sat, 03 Sep 2005 07:17:54 -0500 What a difference an ocean makes. I knew that you people over there didn't know what a cookie was and we had to send the cookie monster over there to straighten things out. But now we find out you don't know what English muffins are? Horrors. --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v105.n038.2 --------------- From: RisaG Subject: What are English Muffins? Date: Sat, 3 Sep 2005 05:43:06 -0700 (PDT) In the Oxford English Dictionary this is how they are explained: "A light, flat, circular, spongy cake, eaten toasted and buttered at breakfast or tea. Formerly (now [dialect]) applied to other kinds of tea-cake." This site gives an explanation of the whole "Muffin Mystery": http://imaginatorium.org/words/muffin.htm I hope this helps. RisaG, NJ --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v105.n038.3 --------------- From: Dave Glaze Subject: Re: hand mixer w/ dough hooks Date: Sat, 03 Sep 2005 10:12:32 -0700 Bob I've never heard of a hand mixer with dough hooks, nor have I seen any large hand mixers that would mix bread doughs. They aren't meant to handle anything but doughs with a batter consistency. I don't think you could hold the hand mixer steady enough for it to do any good. Even the biggest home Kitchen Aid mixers won't stand up to mixing dense doughs. My spiral mixer which is built to handle 5 kg of dough has a heavy duty motor and a large dough hook. Cheers and good luck, Dave --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v105.n038.4 --------------- From: "mike fuller" Subject: Thickness of baking stone? Date: Sat, 3 Sep 2005 15:11:27 -1200 A friend of mine has offered to make for me a non-glazed plain fired clay platform to use in my oven as a baking stone. I need to give her the dimensions and am at a loss for the thickness. I've been doing my fougasses on a marble slab for too long (soaks up too much of the oven heat). Any ideas of how thick I should tell her to make the non-glazed plain fired clay platform? Thanks. Mike's Bread Havana --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v105.n038.5 --------------- From: LAllin@aol.com Subject: Re: Rye Krisp/RyKrisp/RyVita - Rye Crispbread recipe found Date: Sat, 3 Sep 2005 23:08:45 EDT LAllin@aol.com wrote: >I don't have a recipe but ... >The sole ingredients in the Light variety are whole rye and >salt. The website says twice baked, so I think the Light variety >would be very easy to duplicate with a little experimentation. I have located a recipe that is close; the big difference is that this recipe contains a bit of fat that the commercial products do not use. A little experimentation might yield a usable recipe leaving the fat out. To more closely duplicate the commercial versions, perhaps you could make it with water, leaving out the fat and herbs. If they are not crisp after cooling, bake again, since the commercial versions are "twice baked". * Exported from MasterCook * Fiddlesticks Julie's Rye Crispbread Recipe Recipe By : Serving Size : 18 Preparation Time :0:20 Categories : Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method -------- ------------ -------------------------------- 8 ounces rye flour 2 ounces margarine or butter 1 teaspoon dried herbs 1/2 teaspoon salt 4 tablespoons milk or water Rub the margarine in to the flour and stir in the herbs and salt. Stir in the water and mix to a firm dough. Divide the dough in to two halves. Knead each half lightly on a floured surface. Roll each half out thinly in to about a 9" square. Thinly is the operative word, or they're rather chewy. Cut in to 3" squares and put on to a lightly greased baking sheet. Prick each square well to prevent it from rising and bubbling during baking. Bake at 200 C (Approx 390 F) for 10 to 15 minutes or until the edges just begin to colour, but do not let them brown. Cool slightly on the baking sheet then transfer to wire racks. S(Internet Address): "http://www.recipezaar.com/113283" Start to Finish Time: "0:35" - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 67 Calories 3g Fat (36.3% calories from fat) 1g Protein 10g Carbohydrate trace Dietary Fiber 7mg Cholesterol 86mg Sodium Exchanges: 1/2 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Fat. NOTES : Recipe #113283=20 --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v105.n038.6 --------------- From: RisaG Subject: Re: English Muffin request Date: Sun, 4 Sep 2005 19:48:23 -0700 (PDT) I've made English Muffins at home. The dough is easy to make but getting them with the nooks and crannies is a bit difficult. You have to make sure not to overmix the dough and it has to be quite wet. Also, most recipes call for cooking them on the stovetop and when you do that, the bottoms can get quite dark quickly but the insides won't be cooked through. It is the hard part of making them I've found. I will search out the recipe I used. This was only a few months back. Good luck finding a good english muffin recipe. RisaG Risa's Food Service http://www.geocities.com/radiorlg Updated 9/02/05 --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v105.n038.7 --------------- From: RisaG Subject: English Muffins Date: Sun, 4 Sep 2005 20:01:44 -0700 (PDT) This is the recipe I used (from the Bread Lover's Bread Machine Cookbook) - For 1.5 to 2 lb machine 1 1/2 cups fat-free milk, I used 2% 2 tbsp unsalted butter, melted 1 lg egg 4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 2 tsp salt 2 1/4 tsp SAF yeast OR 2 1/4 tsp bread machine yeast 1/3 cup yellow cornmeal, or semolina flour Place all ingredients in the pan according to the order in the manufacturers' instructions. Program for dough cycle. Press Start. The dough ball will be soft and very slightly moist. The softer you leave the dough, the lighter the muffins. You can always add a bit more flour when you remove the dough from the machine. Lightly sprinkle the work surface with cornmeal or semolina (I used semolina). When the machine beeps at the end of the cycle, press Stop and unplug the machine. Turn the dough out onto the work surface and, with a rolling pin, roll into a rectangle about 1/2" thick. Sprinkle the top with cornmeal to prevent sticking while rolling. Cut out the muffins with a 3" biscuit cutter or glass. Roll out the trimmings and cut out the remaining muffins. Cover with a clean tea towel. Preheat an electric griddle to 350 degrees F to 375 degrees F or heat a cast iron stovetop griddle over MED heat until a drop of water sprinkled on the griddle dances across the surface. Lightly grease the surface (I used some butter). Immediately place several muffins on the hot griddle. Cook for about 10 minutes on each side, turning them when they are quite brown. English muffins take time to bake all the way through, and they will swell and be very puffy while baking. Remove the muffins from the griddle with a spatula and let cool on a rack. Risa's notes: I used over a cup of whole wheat flour in place of some of the all-purpose flour. So it was 3 cups of all-purpose flour and 1 1/2 cups of whole wheat, I think. Make sure to set the machine for Dough Cycle but only let it mix until the dough is all combined and in a ball. No more than that or they will not come out right - there won't be nooks and crannies to hold all that butter! Makes 1 dozen 3 inch muffins (my batch made 16) RisaG --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v105.n038.8 --------------- From: Mike Avery Subject: Kitchen Aid Pasta Attachment Date: Mon, 05 Sep 2005 12:20:54 -0600 I guess I'm the exception that proves the rule. I have had my extruder for over a decade and have been very happy with them. I like the thick and thin spaghetti and the fettuccine blades. I am less thrilled with the macaroni plate. Ignore the recipe that comes with the system, it is not very good. Instead, try this... Mike's Pasta Put a pasta pot of water on to boil. The pasta should be cooked as soon after it is made as possible. Start this process about the time your sauce is close to ready. When the pasta is cooked, it should be served at once and shouldn't have to wait on the sauce! 1 cup white flour 3/4 cup semolina flour 2 large eggs 1 tsp salt 1 tbsp olive oil Make sure to use real semolina flour, NOT cous cous - the grind is very different! Beat together in the bowl of your mixer with the flat paddle. The trick to using the extruder is the dough has to be just right, not too thick or you'll crack the plastic plates, not too watery or the strands won't stay separate. Add flour (either white or semolina), a tablespoon at a time, to the dough until the dough just falls apart into crumbs. Then add water, a teaspoon at a time, until the dough just comes together again. Now cover the dough for 30 minutes. Put the food grinder onto the mixer, using the steel plate with the larger holes. Cut the dough into walnut sized pieces. Crank the mixer up to high speed and start dropping the walnut sized pieces into the food grinder, one at a time. They should be processed without needing to use the pusher. Let the strands that come out of the grinder just pile up. When you have gone through all the walnut sized pieces of dough, take the strands and run them through the grinder, a few at a time. They should remain separate if your dough is dry enough. If not, use a bit less water next time. Once all the strands from the first run have been through the grinder, repeat the process. This is a very intensive kneading for the dough. Once that's done, stop the mixer, remove the steel plate from the grinder, put in your preferred pasta plate, put the retaining ring back on, and crank the mixer back up to full speed. You can either leave the dough in the grinder there, or pull it out and feed it back through the grinder in the next step. Pass the strands from the last run through the grinder again, at high speed. When the pasta gets to the length you want, break it off from the grinder and set it aside. I like to set it on a floured linen towel. Once all the pasta has been run through, turn off the mixer, open the grinder, and pull out the dough before it hardens. Drop the pasta into your boiling water (salt the water if you want, put oil in if you feel you need to.... when pasta sticks together it's either because you didn't have enough water for the amount of pasta, or because the pasta dough was too wet, oil isn't really needed), stir gently, and put the lid on the pot. With fresh pasta, and it doesn't get any fresher than this, when the water returns to a boil the pasta is probably done. I use a pasta pot with a perforated insert, so I just pull the insert out and drain the pasta in one step. Serve at once. Fresh pasta stores poorly. Just make it when you need it, it really doesn't take that long. You can use this same dough for ravioli, lasagna, or use a Acme style roller to make whatever that machine can make for you. When you are comfortable with the recipe, start reducing the amount of white flour and increasing the amount of semolina. The more semolina, the better the pasta will taste. I usually use all semolina. Enjoy! Mike --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v105.n038.9 --------------- From: David A Barrett Subject: Re: What are English Muffins? Date: Tue, 6 Sep 2005 09:47:13 -0400 Mary, English muffins are a yeasted bread that is cooked on the stovetop. I haven't made them myself since about 15 years ago, but if memory serves me, the dough is more of a batter-like consistency. Usually, you use a ring to contain the batter until it firms up, then remove it. The result is something that about the size and shape of a hockey puck. Probably the closest comparison would be a pancake. The other thing I remember was that it was quite difficult to get the middle of the edge to cook properly. I think I'll try making them again, now I think about it. Dave Barrett --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v105.n038.10 --------------- From: RosesCakeBible@aol.com Subject: store-bought milk, pasta rollers Date: Wed, 7 Sep 2005 23:53:35 EDT Bev wrote: >....Store-bought milk, already having been cooked to death in the >pasteurization process, has lost those enzymes. most store-bought milk is pasteurized but not ultra-pasteurized so for best results, i.e. highest volume of the crumb it's best to use dry milk or scald the milk. you could do a side-by-side test to convince yourself but cook's illustrated did this a few years ago and photographed these results. they recommended scalding and removing the skin that forms on the surface. re pasta rollers, i was devoted to my atlas hand crank machine but since kitchen aid came out with the pasta roller attachment i have retired the hand crank machine. best, rose --------------- MESSAGE bread-bakers.v105.n038.11 --------------- From: "Jim Moore" Subject: User Manual? Date: Fri, 9 Sep 2005 16:10:16 -0700 Does anyone know where I can get/download a User Manual for the DAK FAB-100-1? Thanks. Jim Moore --------------- END bread-bakers.v105.n038 --------------- Copyright (c) 1996-2006 Regina Dwork and Jeffrey Dwork All Rights Reserved