Baking For Dummies®
by Emily Nolan
Baking For Dummies®
Published by
Wiley Publishing, Inc.
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Copyright © 2002 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana
Published simultaneously in Canada
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Library of Congress Control Number: 2001098043
ISBN: 0-7645-5420-4
Printed in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
1B/RR/QR/QS/IN
About the Author
Emily Nolan has loved baking for as long as she can remember. Her earliest memories are of digging in her mother’s huge tubs of flour as she put together pies and breads. Her mother handed Emily scraps of dough to keep her busy — even at that tender age, Emily had baking in her blood.
Although she majored in English Literature in college, Emily catered to pay the bills, cutting her teeth in the professional food service industry. She learned about food preparation for 10 to 200 people, and was introduced to professional cake decoration, food preparation, and presentation. There she became deft at paying attention to details for food, setting up for parties, and creating menus for prestigious dinners, holiday affairs, and college graduations.
After graduation, Emily was given her first opportunity as a head chef for a month-long program, creating menus and cooking for 150 people, three squares a day. There she applied everything she knew about baking and cooking, providing homemade bread, cakes, and cookies daily. Quality, nutritious food was her goal — and she achieved it.
With that under her belt, Emily traveled to Philadelphia and became the head pastry chef for a restaurant/bakery, Le Bus. She was responsible for fulfilling orders for their three bakeries, plus any special catering orders that came through daily. On top of that, they baked for local four-star restaurants. Emily and her colleagues made everything from scratch, from the croissant dough to the rich, sweet pectin in their apple pies. She was also in charge of developing new desserts for the restaurants.
After spending over a year at Le Bus, she decided to combine her English degree with her love for and knowledge of baking. So, she entered the world of publishing and became a cookbook editor. In her two years as an editor, she learned about cookbook publishing and how to address the needs of the reader and convey information in a clear, concise, usable format. Living in New York City enabled her to keep up with the ever-changing food trends.
After leaving publishing, she returned to the kitchen, where she was the head chef for a month-long program. Again, with a staff of two, she fed over 200 people three time daily. Everything that came from the kitchen was high-quality, homemade fare.
Today Emily does freelance editing, recipe writing, and recipe development. Presently, she is working on Sheila Lukin’s new cookbook (to be published in Spring 2002) and is doing recipe development for and contributing food article to magazines such as Food and Wine.
Dedication
For my mother, Irene Siembora, and my grandfather, Stephan Siembora — two great souls who taught me the joys of baking.
Author’s Acknowledgments
What author doesn’t love her editors? I am no exception. A special thanks goes to Jennifer Feldman, publisher of the Dummies cooking titles, for making this book a possibility. I am very grateful to Linda Ingroia, senior acquisitions editor, for giving me the opportunity to write this book and working with me through all the ups and downs along the way. Erin Connell was indispensable with her advice, follow-through, and attention to detail. Project editor Marcia Johnson could not have been more patient and understanding while dealing with technical difficulties and deadlines and ushering me along in the writing process. It gave me great peace of mind knowing that Elizabeth Kuball was the copy editor, and I appreciate the helpful suggestions that technical editor Lauren Chattman offered.
Then, there is the team at home. Thanks to Martha McCoy, my grandmother Agnes, my mom, sister, and all of my aunts for offering their support, recipes, and advice. David Bidwell, I could not have done it without all of your help, support, and tasting suggestions. And, finally, Monkey, who was always ready and willing to rip open bags of flour, boxes of cake mixes, and bags of butterscotch chips in her attempt to prove that even a dog can bake . . . even if her stomach didn’t make a good oven.
Publisher’s Acknowledgments
We’re proud of this book; please send us your comments through our Dummies online registration form located at http://dummies.custhelp.com. For other comments, please contact our Customer Care Department within the U.S. at 877-762-2974, outside the U.S. at 317-572-3993, or fax 317-572-4002.
Some of the people who helped bring this book to market include the following:
Acquisitions, Editorial, and Media Development
Project Editor: Marcia L. Johnson
Senior Editor: Li
nda Ingroia
Acquisitions Editor: Erin Connell
Copy Editors: Elizabeth Netedu Kuball, Tina Sims
Technical Editor: Lauren Chattman
Recipe Tester and Nutrition Analyst: Patricia Santelli
Editorial Manager: Pamela Mourouzis
Editorial Assistant: Carol Strickland
Cover Photos: David Bishop
Production
Project Coordinator: Jennifer Bingham
Layout and Graphics: Shelly Norris, Jacque Schneider, Janet Seib
Special Art: Elizabeth Kurtzman, line art
Proofreaders: Laura Albert, John Greenough, Linda Quigley, Marianne Santy, TECHBOOKS Production Services
Indexer: TECHBOOKS Production Services
Special Help: Chrissy Guthrie
Publishing and Editorial for Consumer Dummies
Diane Graves Steele, Vice President and Publisher, Consumer Dummies
Kristin Ferguson-Wagstaffe, Product Development Director, Consumer Dummies
Ensley Eikenburg, Associate Publisher, Travel
Kelly Regan, Editorial Director, Travel
Publishing for Technology Dummies
Andy Cummings, Vice President and Publisher, Dummies Technology/General User
Composition Services
Gerry Fahey, Vice President of Production Services
Debbie Stailey, Director of Composition Services
Contents
Title
Introduction
About This Book
Conventions Used in This Book
Foolish Assumptions
How This Book Is Organized
Icons Used in This Book
Where to Go from Here
Part I : Baking Essentials
Chapter 1: Bake, For Goodness’ Sake!
Knowing How to Get Started
Enjoying What You Bake
Chapter 2: Stocking Up
Flour
Sugar
Salt
Eggs
Leaveners: A Baker’s Best Pick-Me-Up
Fats: The Good Guys with a Bad Rap
Liquids
Cocoa and Chocolate: A Chocoholic’s Dream
Add-Ins and Flavorings
Fresh Fruits
Extras That Are Nice to Have on Hand
Chapter 3: Going Over the Gear
Baking Pans
Basic Pots
Electric Tools
Other Essentials
Great Gadgets
Part II : Basic Training
Chapter 4: Understanding Your Oven
Knowing the Difference Among the Three Types of Ovens
Rack Chat
Preheating
Gauging and Adjusting the Heat
Chapter 5: Basic Techniques
Measuring Ingredients
Preparing Pans
Working with Eggs
Whipping Heavy Cream
Working with Fruits
Melting Chocolate
Scalding Milk
Toasting Nuts
Chapter 6: Getting Ready to Bake
Preparing Your Kitchen
Working with Recipes
Timing It Right
Baking at High Elevations
Cleaning Up as You Go
Part III : Ready, Set, Bake!
Chapter 7: Understanding Cookies
Making Cookies like a Pro
Drop Cookies
Crispy Chocolate Chip Cookies
Chocolate Drop Cookies
Classic Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies
Everything Cookies
Chocolate-Coconut Macaroons
Butterscotch Drops
Poppy Seed Cookies
Shaped Cookies
Peanut Butter Cookies
Crisp Sugar Cookies
Gingersnaps
Lemon Cookies
Apricot-Date Half-Moons
Poppy Seed Thumbprints
Russian Tea Balls
Anisette Biscotti
Pressed Cookies
Basic Cookie Press Cookies
Rolled Cookies
Gingerbread Cookies with Royal Icing
Royal Icing
Tender Sugar Cookies
Brownies and Bar Cookies
Dense Chocolate Brownies
Black-and-White Brownies
Lemon Bars
Crunchy Granola Bars
Chapter 8: Creating Great Cakes
Butter Cakes
Light and Fluffy Yellow Cake
Martha’s Chocolate Cake
Carrot Cake
Applesauce Cake
Banana-Sour Cream Bundt Cake
Pound Cakes
Classic Pound Cake
Chocolate Swirl Pound Cake
Cupcakes
Chocolate Cupcakes
Lemon Cupcakes
Lemon Frosting
Sponge Cakes
Angel Food Cake
Jelly Roll
Cheesecakes
Classic Cheesecake
Pumpkin Cheesecake
Lemon Curd Cheesecake
Lemon Curd
Chapter 9: Fabulous Frostings
Finding Out about Frostings
Knowing How Much to Make
Making Quick Frostings
Cream Cheese Frosting
Mocha Frosting
Basic Vanilla Buttercream Frosting
Trying Your Hand at Cooked Frostings
Sweetened Whipped Cream Frosting
Chocolate Frosting
Martha’s Sweet and Creamy Frosting
Ready, Set, Frost!
Quick Apricot Glaze
Classic Sugar Glaze
Getting Fancy with a Decorating Bag
Chapter 10: Perfect Pies and Tarts
Picking the Proper Pie Plate
Making Perfect Piecrusts
Old-Fashioned Pie Dough
Stir-and-Roll Pie Pastry
Getting Double-Crust Pie Ideas
Making Simple Pastry Edges and Decorations
Creating Tantalizing Pies and Tarts
Pumpkin Pie
You’ll-Be-Glad-You- Tried-It Apple Pie
Blueberry Pie
Cherry Crumb Pie
Pecan Pie
Chocolate Cream Pie
Banana Cream Pie
Sour Cherry-Berry Pie
Cran-Apple and Pear Pie
Making To-Die-For Tarts
Tart Lemon Tart
Wonderful Pear Tart
Troubleshooting Common Pie Problems
Chapter 11: Crisps, Cobblers, and Other Delights
Baking with Fruit
Apple Crisp
Blueberry Crunch
Delicious Baked Apples
Peach Cobbler
Custards and Puddings
Pumpkin Custard
Rich Chocolate Pudding
Chapter 12: Quick Breads, Muffins, and Biscuits
Quick Tips for Quick Breads
Amish Applesauce Bread
Banana Bread
Cranberry-Orange Bread
Crumbcake
Sweet Chocolate Chip Pull-Apart Bread
Boston Brown Bread
Southern Corn Bread
Making the Perfect Muffin
Blueberry Muffins
Corn Muffins
Gingersnap Muffins
Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins
Biscuit Basics
Buttermilk Biscuits
Cheese Biscuits
Chapter 13: Yeast Breads
Understanding the Role of Yeast Bread Ingredients
Mixing and Kneading Breads
Encouraging Bread to Rise
Shaping and Baking the Loaves
Yeast Bread Recipes