Cooking Methods

Baking Method

Baking is a way of cooking sweet or savory items in the dry heat of an oven.

Although baking itself is a relatively easy process, it is good to have some knowledge of the role each ingredient plays in creating the final dish.

Different ingredients strengthen, bind, thicken, sweeten, leaven and add moisture. Some ingredients, like milk and sugar, perform multiple roles. And others will only carry out their duties under very specific conditions. For this reason baking is often compared to the science of chemistry.

You shouldn't be intimidated by baking though. A reasonable knowledge of basic methods and ingredient functions opens up a world of variety and creativity that is theraison de faire cuire au four of the typical pastry chef.

Recipes :

Alfajores

(South American dulce de leche sandwich cookies)

While they have origins in Moorish Spain, alfajores are especially popular in South America. They are simple shortbread sandwich cookies with a sweet filling ofdulce de leche. Different doughs are used for the cookies depending on the country. Some use normal flour dough, while others add cornstarch or even cassava flour for a more delicate crumb. This recipe uses a mixture of flour and cornstach.

Makes 20 cookies

• Cornstarch -- 1 cup
• Flour -- 1 cup
• Baking powder -- 1 teaspoon
• Unsalted butter -- 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks)
• Sugar -- 3/4 cup
• Egg yolks -- 2
• Dulce de leche -- 1 cup

Method

1. Sift the cornstarch, flour and baking powder together in a medium bowl. In a mixer bowl, beat the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks, beating until they are incorporated.
2. Reduce the mixer speed to low and add the flour mixture in 3 batches, allowing each batch to become incorporated before adding the next.
3. Form the dough into a disc without handling it too much. Wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 350°F. Remove the dough to a lightly floured work surface and roll out to about 1/8-inch thick. Cut out 40 2-inch rounds, and carefully place the rounds on two lightly greased cookie sheets.
5. Bake for 9 to 10 minutes, but not so long that they begin to brown. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes. Then remove the cookies to wire racks and cool completely.
6. Spread about 2 teaspoons of dulce de leche on the flat half of a cookie and cover it with the flat half of another cookie to form a sandwich. Repeat with the remaining cookies. If desired, sprinkle the finished cookies with powdered sugar.

Variations

• For extra flavor, try adding one or more of these to the dough when you add the eggs: 1 teaspoon vanilla or almond extract; 1 tablespoon of brandy or cognac; 1 tablespoon of lime or lemon zest.
• Use more dulce de leche on each cookie so that some squeezes out the sides. Then roll the edges in grated coconut or ground nuts.
• Fill the cookies with your favorite jam instead of dulce de leche.

ANZAC Biscuits

(Australian, New Zealand oatmeal and coconut cookies)

These tasty biscuits (called "cookies" in the U.S.) got their beginning during World War I. Mothers and wives with boys in the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) worried they weren't eating well. So they devised a sweet treat in a time of rationing that would travel well in care packages sent a world away. These days ANZAC biscuits are enjoyed on ANZAC Day (April 25) to remember the sacrifices of the men in WWI. They also make a great food for hikers and campers.

Makes about 2 dozen

• Rolled oats -- 1 cup
• Flour -- 1 cup
• Shredded coconut -- 1 cup
• Sugar -- 1 cup
• Butter -- 8 tablespoons
• Golden syrup or corn syrup -- 2 tablespoons
• Water -- 2 tablespoons
• Baking soda -- 1 teaspoon

Method

1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Add the oats, flour, coconut and sugar to a large bowl and mix together.
2. Add the butter, golden or corn syrup and water to small saucepan. Set over a low flame and heat until the butter is completely melted, whisking all the ingredients together. Remove from heat and stir in the baking soda.
3. Pour the butter mixture into the dry ingredients and use a spatula or fork to mix the ingredients together.
4. Drop tablespoonfuls of the batter onto a greased baking pan, leaving room for them spread out a bit. Bake for anywhere from 12 to 18 minutes. The shorter time will yield chewy biscuits. Baked for the longer time, the biscuits become more crispy.

Apfelstrudel

(Austrian apple strudel pastry)

Hot apple strudel is one the most famous and delicious desserts to come out the kitchens of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Supple dough is stretched paper thin and rolled up around a tart-sweet filling of apples and raisins.

Apple strudel is especially associated with Viennese cuisine, where it is often served with coffee as an afternoon snack. But its popularity extends throughout the former empire and into Germany as well. Called almásrétes in Hungary.

10 to 12 servings

Strudel Dough

• Flour -- 1 1/2 cups
• Salt -- pinch
• Water -- 1/4 to 1/3 cup
• Egg -- 1
• Oil -- 1 tablespoon

Apple Filling

• Tart apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced -- 2 pounds
• Raisins, soaked in warm water -- 1/4 cup
• Sugar -- 1/2 cup
• Cinnamon -- 1 tablespoon
• Vanilla -- 1 teaspoon
• Butter, melted -- 1/2 cup
• Breadcrumbs -- 1/2 cup
• Powdered sugar -- 1/4 cup

Method

1. In a large bowl, mix together the flour and salt. Make a well in the center of the flour and pour in 1/4 cup of the water, the egg and the oil. Stir the wet ingredients into the flour with a wooden spoon, adding more water as needed to form a soft, pliable dough. Remove the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead until it is smooth and elastic, 5 or 6 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside to rest for at least an hour.
2. While the dough is resting, peel and slice your apples and soak the raisins. Gather the remaining ingredients needed for the filling to have them on hand. Preheat your oven to 400°F.
3. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough into a large, thin rectangle. Lay a clean bed sheet out on a table and lightly sprinkle it with flour. Place the rectangle of dough in the middle of the sheet. Lightly flour your hands and place them underneath the dough. Use the back of your hands to pick up the dough and gently stretch it from the center to the edges. Keep stretching — moving around the table to stretch all sides of the dough — until it is a large rectangle and thin enough that you can almost see through it. Don't worry if you have one or two tears. Just pinch the dough back together.
4. In a large bowl, mix together the apples, raisins, sugar, cinnamon and vanilla. Brush the stretched dough with melted butter, leaving an unbuttered border of about 2 1/2 inches on each side. Sprinkle the buttered section of the dough with the breadcrumbs. Then spread the apple mixture evenly over the breadcrumbs.
5. Fold the borders on the shorter sides of the dough rectangle up and over the filling. Use the sheet to gently lift one of the long sides of the dough and roll it over the apple filling. Continue to lift the sheet and roll the strudel until it is all rolled up.
6. Fold the borders on the shorter sides of the dough rectangle up and over the filling. Use the sheet to gently lift one of the long sides of the dough and roll it over the apple filling. Continue to lift the sheet and roll the strudel until it is all rolled up.
7. Gently lift the strudel, seam side down, onto a large baking pan that is either lightly greased or lined with baking paper. You may have to bend the strudel into a crescent shape in order to fit it on the baking pan. Set in the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until cooked through and golden brown on top. Brush the top of the strudel with melted butter once or twice during baking if you like.
8. Remove from the oven and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Serve slices hot accompanied by a scoop of vanilla ice cream or topped with whipped cream or vanilla sauce.

Variations

• Dough: Some recipes leave out the egg. Add more water as needed to make up for the lost liquid. If making strudel dough by hand seems daunting, you can use puff pastry or phyllo dough instead. Most brands have instructions on the packaging to use for strudels. In Austria and Germany you can buy ready-made dough that is specifically for strudels.
• Dough: Some recipes leave out the egg. Add more water as needed to make up for the lost liquid. If making strudel dough by hand seems daunting, you can use puff pastry or phyllo dough instead. Most brands have instructions on the packaging to use for strudels. In Austria and Germany you can buy ready-made dough that is specifically for strudels.
• Apples: Tart, firm apples — Granny Smith, Jonathon, Empire, Cortland — are best for baking and in strudels. If your apples are a little too sweet for your taste, add a squeeze of lemon juice to the filling.
• Filling Additions: Other ingredients that you can add to the filling include a dash of chopped, toasted almonds or walnuts, a grating of lemon zest, a dash of rum extract.
• Other Fillings: Experiment with other fruit fillings — cherries, plums — or try using a savory filling like sauteed mushrooms or ham and Swiss cheese.
• To make two smaller strudels, cut the dough in two after kneading.

Banana Bread

(Caribbean sweet quickbread)

Banana bread is eaten in many countries, of course. But it is especially popular in the Caribbean, particularly in Aruba, Jamaica and the Bahamas. Serve slices with dollop of whipped cream and a cup of coffee or hot tea. Also great for breakfast or as a snack for kids.

Makes 1 medium-sized loaf

• Flour -- 2 cups
• Baking powder -- 1 tablespoon
• Salt -- 1/2 teaspoon
• Nutmeg -- 1/4 teaspoon
• Butter, softened -- 8 tablespoons
• Sugar -- 1/2 cup
• Eggs, beaten -- 2
• Vanilla -- 1 teaspoon
• Ripe bananas, mashed until smooth -- 1 pound (around 2 or 3)
• Pecans or walnuts, chopped -- 1/2 cup
• Raisins -- 1/3 cup

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and butter or grease a 9x5-inch loaf pan. Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg together into a large bowl.
2. Add the butter and sugar to the bowl of an electric mixer and beat them together on medium-high speed until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to medium and add the eggs and vanilla, beating until they are fully incorporated.
3. With the mixer running on medium-low, add 1/3 of the flour mixture. Next add 1/2 of the bananas, followed by another 1/3 of the flour, the remaining bananas and the rest of the flour. Continue mixing just until all the ingredients are incorporated.
4. Toss the nuts and raisins with a tablespoon of flour and then gently stir them into the batter. Pour the batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
5. Cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before turning out onto a wire rack or serving plate. Serve warm or cool.

Variations

• You can eliminate the nuts and raisins if you like. Or just any combination of your favorite ingredients: shredded coconut, chocolate chips, other nuts, currants. Give the batter some flair by mixing in a teaspoon of rum extract or a couple teaspoons of lime or lemon zest.