McGee, A. (2005). On food and cooking, the science and lore of the kitchen. Scribner Book Company.
10.18.2011
10.17.2011
Creepy Chicken Soup and Dumplings
Dumplings can be served as a dessert with applesauce or an addition to a winter time favorite-chicken noodle soup. To create a less sweet dumpling, white flour, eggs, milk, baking powder, and salt are mixed together to a sticky texture. The eggs will hold the mixture together. The salt is added for flavor and the baking powder is our leavener as described in the sweet dumplings. The use of baking powder in dough’s creates quick breads because of the fast acting baking powder. To minimize the stickiness, an additional 1 1/2 tbsp of whole milk is added. When the chicken noodle soup has been heated, slowly add cotton ball size dumplings to the soup. Cover the soup to cook the dumplings via steam. The dumplings will cook in 15 minutes. Dumplings are a great addition to any soup. Since yeast is non-existent in dumplings, does that mean dumplings are gluten free? This is a common misconception. Yeast does not yield gluten. Gluten is the protein found in flour. Xanthan and Guar gum are gluten substities in recipes. Gluten free recipes are needed for people with Celiac’s Disease and those adopting Vegan lifestyles.
McGee, A. (2005). On food and cooking, the science and lore of the kitchen. Scribner Book Company.
Spell- bound Sweet Dumplings with afterlife applesauce
Dumplings fall into the carbhydrate family, but do not contain yeast. What problem would this propose? How do the dumpling rise? Besides yeast, baking powder can act as a leavener. The fascination behind baking powder is its ability to be a complete leavening system. Powder contains the akaline baking soda and the acid to react with one another release gas bubbles to raise the bread. When the dry ingredients are added, the dough will be flakey. Add the 1/2 cup and 2 tbsp of cream to make a wet dough. The vanilla will add flavor to the dough, and sugar will sweeten the dough. Before the dough is added to the heated applesauce, it will be a sticky consistency. The applesauce should be a medium heat for five minutes to prevent drying the sauce out. With two spoons, mold golf ball size dough balls.
Gently place the dumplings in the applesauce to not splatter hot sauce. Reduce the heat to low heat and cover to allow steam to cook the dumplings. Every minute check the dumplings and sauce. Add cold water to the sides of the pan to prevent the sauce from drying out. The dumplings will cook in 17 minutes due to their large size.
Spoon the dumplings and applecause into a bowl and let cool before consuming. The dumplings may need more sugar for sweetness. To speed up cooking, make the dough balls smaller. The dumplings will be a softer, chewier texture from the steam cooking.
McGee, A. (2005). On food and cooking, the science and lore of the kitchen. Scribner Book Company.
Petrified Pasta Noodles
To create smoothe, buttery pasta noodles, out of a scene from the movie Lady and the Tramp, only four ingredients are needed. The trick to producing perfect, silky noodles is to first create crumbly dough. You begin by shaping a well with the all-purpose flour. The purpose of the well formation dates back to traditional noodle making. A flour well was used to prevent the egg from spreading all over the counter. With a wooden spoon, the egg and water are folded into the flour mixture. Once mixed, use your hands to knead the dough. The purpose of kneading dough is to introduce water to the flour. Gliadin and glutenin proteins will expand to form gluten. Gluten is the protein in carbohydrates that gives noodles their chewy texture and elasticity. The egg is added for its glue-like properties. The Lecithin in eggs is the fatty substance that holds the flour mixture together. Since yeast is not present in pasta noodles, eggs are added for flavor and adhension. During kneading, a crumbly dough will result. 
To prevent the dough from drying out, dip your fingers into water and smoothe the dough over while kneading. In a clean bowl, cover the dough with a damp cloth to prevent to dough from drying out. The dough will sit for thirty minutes to add flavor.
After thirty minutes, divide the dough in half and being rolling out the halves. The dough will still be slightly crumbly at this point, but rolling it out should generate a smoother finish. Remember to coat the counter and rolling pin with flour to prevent the dough from sticking. Once the dough has been rolled out, lightly dust the dough with flour. Roll the dough to create a cinnimon roll look.
With a sharp knife, cut the dough into 1/2 inch thick strips. The point of cutting thinner strips is to speed up the cooking time of the noodles. Bring water to a bowl and gently sprinkle in the noodles so they do not stick together. The noodles will cook in four minutes. Remove the noodles to cool before serving.
McGee, A. (2005). On food and cooking, the science and lore of the kitchen. Scribner Book Company.
Fang Foccacia Bread
To make this delectable, Italian carbohydrate, Saf-instant yeast is used. Instant yeast does not need to rehydrated like the active yeast in the french bread and will quickly produce CO2 for a fast acting leavener. The yeast added to pure olive oil and water will create three distince layers due to different densities and the hydrophonic nature of the oil. After three cups of flour are added, input energy by stirring the mixture with a wooden spoon. The mixture will thicken with the addition of the unbleached white flour. Flour is bleached with peroxide to maintain the white appearance of flour. We will use unbleached flour because it has undergone less chemicals alterations. Adding one cup of flour will immediately thicken the mixture because of the structure of flour. The mixture is left for thirty mintues to accumulate flavors. This gives the yeast time to break up proteins and release the CO2. Salt is added for flavor and to slow down the yeast.
Five cups of flour are added to thicken the dough. Place the dough in a greased bowl to create a lipid layer so moisture does not escape. The dough takes 32 minutes to double in size. On a greased baking sheet, press the dough out with your fingers. Using your fingers to spread out the dough increases surface area to allow for even distribution of heat.
At this time, coat the bread with the topping. Cute the salt content in half to limit saltiness of the topping. Ensure the herbs are coated with olive oil to prevent the herbs from burning. The bread will cook for 42 minutes at 385 degrees. This bread is a thicker, fluffier bread from the white flour.
McGee, A. (2005). On food and cooking, the science and lore of the kitchen. Scribner Book Company.
Irish Spine-chilling Soda Bread with baking spooky soda and Irish Scarecrow Soda Bread with baking phantom powder
Where does the name Irish Soda Bread originate from? Soda bread was popularized in Ireland, not developed there. Soda comes from using baking soda as the leavener since yeast was hard to come by and went rancid quickly. The Irish capitalized on the quick nature of baking soda to raise their breads. Two cups of flour are added to baking soda and salt. Buttermilk is the fat source in soda bread. The buttermilk is also known as the acid! The buttermilk reacts with the baking soda (base) to generate gas bubbles. The buttermilk will create a sticky dough. In the Irish bread with baking powder, the buttermilk will be a source of fat and flavor to the bread and help stabilize the gluten structure. Substitues for fats in breads and baking are applesauce, bananas, oil, and ricotta cheese. Both dough’s will be sticky and require another 1/2 cup of flour to decrease the stickiness. On a floured surface, like th counter, knead the dough. This will work the additional flour in and help form the long-chain gluten structures. The addition of the flour, will transform the dough into a flakey texture. Mold the dough’s into circular shapes. On the same baking sheet, the dough will cook for 45 minutes. This bread has a different taste then the french bread for example. It has a harder crust and bitter flavor. Baking powder and soda can negatively effect the flavor of breads; creating a chemical taste.
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| Baking soda on the left and baking powder on the right |
Lurking Loaf Pan Bread with scary scalded milk and without spooky scalded milk
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| Yeast with milk |
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| Yeast with scalded milk |
Now that we have made traditional french bread, why would we add milk to bread dough?! First let’s discuss what scalded milk is. The definition of scalded milk is bringing the milk to an almost boil. Since the term almost is a definitive, scalded milk is heated milk, but remember milk burns easily. The purpose of adding scalded milk is unscalded milk contains the protein whey which acts like a whole wheat flour and weakens the gluten structure producing denser breads. By heating the milk, the protein is denatured and the gluten structure can form. The fats from milk and butter will add flavor and can strenghten the walls of the dough as it rises. Scalding the milk can be done prior to making the bread dough. The yeast is added to sugar and water. Sugar is added so the yeast can digest the sugar into simple carbohydrates. The sugar and carbs act as food for the yeast. In the recipe without scalded milk, the yeast is added to sugar and vitamin D milk. The scalded milk mixture will instantly foam. The milk mixture is less foamy. The air bubbles created are from the yeast instantly reacting with water and releasing CO2. The warm milk, creates a more conducive environment for the yeast to activate. 3 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour is added little by little. The desired texture is a firm dough. At this point in both recipe’s add one stick of soft butter. The butter will add fats to the dough which will strengthen the gluten structure. The butter will also add flavor to the bread and create a satin like texture of the dough. Adding the butter will make the dough greasy. Fold in the butter for an even mixture.
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Place both doughs in separate, greased bowls. After thirty minutes, the dough may not double in size. On the same baking sheet, bake both doughs for 40 minutes at 350 degrees. The scalded milk bread will be a larger loaf, since the whey protein was inhibited. The gluten structure is allowed to form. The milk bread is not as fluffy as the scalded milk bread. The bread is more dense and smaller. Both breads have a sweeter taste. The scalded milk bread will stick together in your mouth. The milk bread has a better texture.
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| Scalded milk bread |
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| Milk bread |
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| Size comparison between the breads |
Frightful French Bread with wicked whole wheat flour gluten
The whole wheat french bread differs in the presence of whole wheat! What makes whole wheat flour different from white flour? The variation between the two lies within the manufacturing process. Whole wheat flour contains the bran, germ, and endosperm, equaling a higher protein content than white flour. The bran and germ do not form the protein gluten so whole wheat breads are commonly darker and more dense. White flour is stripped of the bran and germ and does not contain as many proteins. The bread made from white flour is less colorful and has a sweeter taste. The benefit to making bread with whole wheat flour is the fiber and protein content. The disadvantage to using whole wheat flour is the shorter shelf life. Specifically in this recipe, another brand of active yeast is used (from Chef Bryan). The yeast mixed with water will not be as clumply as the Red Star Yeast Active yeast. The reasoning behind this, is not known, but could be attributed to the temperature of the water. Three cups of whole wheat flour are added. At this point the mixture is a tan brown color and has the same texture as the mixture with white flour. If time is an issue, the dough does not have to sit for an hour. The purpose of letting the dough sit, is to increase flavor. After an hour has passed, slowly add 7 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour while mixing. This dough is stickier than the white bread. Be careful to not add too much flour for this will increase the dough’s stickiness. Knead the mixture until is reaches a dough consistency. This dough will be gritteir than the white dough. Place the dough in a a greased bowl to prevent the dough from sticking to the bowl. 
As mentioned earlier, the substantial amount of protein in whole wheat dough will interfere with gluten formation and a large gluten matrix. will not form. Due to the yeast producing CO2, the dough will rise, but not double its original size. The wheat and white french breads are baked on the same sheet for 45 minutes. The wheat bread is smaller and more dense than the white bread. The wheat bread has a distinct taste. The sweetness of whole wheat flour is missing in this bread.
Freaky French Bread with witchy white flour gluten
To bake french bread, Red Star Active yeast is used. Yeast is a class of fungi that is used for leavening. Active Dry yeast was discovered in the 1920’s with the purpose of prolonging the shelf life of the yeast since yeast is a bacteria. The yeast cells are dormant to allow storage. To “activate” the active yeast, water is added. Addding the water rehydrates or proofs the yeast. The temperature of the water is important. Hot water will kill the yeast and cooler water will cause the yeast to produce products that will interfere with the production of gluten. Once water is added, the mixture will turn a tan color and yeast will stay clumpy. Add three cups of four and begin kneading with a wooden spoon. The purpose of mixing is to introduce water to the yeast and flour. Gliadin and glutenin proteins will expand to form gluten. Gluten is the protein in carbohydrates that gives bread its chewy texture. Since white flour contains a significant amount of starch, the starch granules will absorb the water exposing the sugars. The yeast will ferment the sugars producing carbon dioxide. STOP, right here! This is one of the most important steps in creating french bread. The dough needs to sit for one hour after mixed. Why?? During this hour, the dough will take on wonderful flavors the longer it is able to sit. Following the hour, add salt to inhibit the yeast. Salt will also help create a crust on the bread and desired crumbly texture. At this point 6 1/2 cups of flour are slowly added to the dough. Kneading the flour into the dough is folding and stretching the dough on itself. The folding of the dough creates air pockets for a finer end product. Stretching the dough creates enlongated chains of gluten and strenghtens the network, hence why dough will become stiffer. The dough will be kneaded for five minutes. If the dough over over-kneaded, too much energy is inputted and the gluten bonds will break down to a sticky dough. The dough is placed in a greased bowl to create a hydrophobic barrier and the dough will stay soft. The dough will take 30 minutes to double in size. Rising is the process of the yeast forming CO2 and inflating the dough, like a balloon. This is the yeast acting as the leavener. After the dough is doubled in size, split the dough in half and shape into two traditional loaf shapes. The dough will be hard to manipulate as expected from the strengthened gluten matrix. The dough will cook for 45 minutes on the middle rack of an oven reading 425 degrees. The end product is french bread with a crispy, crust and fluffy insides. Perfect to go with any meal.
Report #2
The following recipe's are a part of report #2. Since this next section focuses on baking and breads, I thought this picture was an accurate depiction.
Enjoy:)
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