| The Joy of Baking | | Posted Wednesday, January 25, 2006 10:06:19 AM by Kate Grant | Ooh, the smell of fresh baked goods! If there's a something that'll break any iron willed dieter, it's the smell of freshly baked bread or chocolate muffins straight out of the oven.  Being such a basic ingredient of our diet, bread has come along way since the days it was just a mixture of flour and water and the occasional pinch of baking powder you tossed in a baking pan.
I'm not saying there aren't delicious breads made this way, like pita bread for example, but nowadays you'll find such an assortment, you'll have a very hard time to decide. Some baking recipes ingredients include exotic spices such as cardamom, saffron and even lavender, and some add dried tomatoes, black olives and caramelized onions.
The list is endless. Specialty baking has become an important part of modern life cooking, hence the bakeries and boulangeries that are blooming everywhere.
You'll find high tech equipment in shiny chrome in their kitchens, even if they will eventually swear, that what they like best is to knead the dough by hand and slap it on a baking stone, while it heats up, baking pizzas, bread or even cooking ham. Stores selling baking supplies are more common then ever, and are filled with shoppers all year round, not only when it's time for Halloween or Christmas Baking... These shops will be happy to assist you with your every need, even what baking substitutes to use.
You didn't know you can substitute baking soda for baking powder, now did you?
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| | | Teens arrested in cocaine scam | | Posted Sunday, February 04, 2007 2:49:03 PM by Blog57 Team | | Betty Crocker would be appalled. Ordinary baking flour was being passed off as cocaine, police say, by a trio of Lakota Freshman School students. The three 15-year-old boys were arrested Thursday and were taken to the Butler County Juvenile Detention Center on charges of trafficking in counterfeit controlled substances. .... | |
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| | | Pugster Armed Dangerous Mixer Mom Grandma Daughter Baking Great Grandma Italian Charm Bracelet | | Posted Tuesday, January 23, 2007 12:27:53 PM by Blog57 Team | | This Italian charm features a white cake mixer and the words "Armed and Dangerous". It has a bright blue base with glitter throughout the design. Crafted and authenticated by Pugster Inc.... | |
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| | | Baking a cake for the first time can be daunting, but worth it | | Posted Wednesday, January 17, 2007 12:53:05 PM by Blog57 Team | | The way to a man's heart is through his stomach, or so the cliché goes. That puts a lot of pressure on people like me, who are never so close to becoming a chef as when opening a can of Chef Boyardee. Yet it was my boyfriend James' birthday that prompted me to put on a baker's cap and (try to) play the role of Betty Crocker. I saw a recipe for a chocolate cluster-peanut butter cake in Kraft's "Food and Family" magazine. Kraft's tagline is "Deliciously simple. Everyday." I can do simple, I thought. I thought wrong. Because this was my first cake, I nixed the idea of making the batter from scratch. Instead, I added water and eggs to a box of chocolate cake mix and split it into two round pans, as the recipe instructed.... | |
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| | | Cookies skip gluten -- or baking | | Posted Sunday, December 24, 2006 2:50:48 PM by Blog57 Team | | If dietary restrictions ? or an aversion to baking ? keep you from making cookies, here are two solutions. Bob's Red Mill Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix yields 24 wheat- and dairy-free cookies; a 22-ounce bag is $3.70-$5.70 at natural foods markets. For tastes-like-homemade treats, Tate's Bake Shop cookies fill the bill. .... | |
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| | | Two new books spread the joy of baking | | Posted Wednesday, November 15, 2006 12:51:34 PM by Blog57 Team | | For the past month, I've been baking from a pair of new cookbooks. Both are totally fun in very different ways and both will make exceptional holiday gifts for certain people. "Baking: From My Table to Yours," by Dorie Greenspan (Houghton Mifflin, $40, 514 pages) weighs in like a big sack of sugar and holds just as much sweetness. A professional cook for decades, Greenspan also is a dedicated home baker and her recipes range from simple cupcakes and (incredible) cookies for school parties to sublime little Gooey Chocolate Cakes with molten chocolate centers and sophisticated layer cakes heaped high with extravagant fillings. The recipes are clearly written, with many specific details that obviously come from direct experience. Her encouraging and cheerful voice makes complex processes sound simple and even fun.... | |
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| | | Baking buddies | | Posted Monday, November 13, 2006 6:54:44 AM by Blog57 Team | | Families come in different forms. For some, family means a nuclear one -- mom, dad, two kids, with ground rules laid out by the parents. For others, family takes on an extended form, with a matching philosophy: Everyone in a community is seen as having an ability to guide the children and shape their futures in a positive way. Parents of Ho'ala School students believe in the second form of family, and members of the school community take part every year in the Cookie Bake, the school's largest fundraiser. Now in its 18th year, the Cookie Bake saw 150 faculty members, parents, students and alumni come together Nov. 4 to make 4,860 dozen cookies. The first year of the fundraiser, way back when, volunteers sold pizzas. The second year, it was chicken. The third year -- and ever since then -- it's been all about cookies, specifically shortbread.... | |
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| | | Baking project gives homeless a hand up | | Posted Friday, November 10, 2006 10:55:17 PM by Blog57 Team | | Minnie Grimm was humming Thursday morning as she scooped out dough of a chicken-and-cheese concoction from a bowl into a tray. Barnes was helping bake dog biscuits and working for $6 an hour at the Lawrence Interdenominational Nutrition Kitchen with Michelle Barnes, Vickie Goodwin and LINK coordinator Dianne Morgan. The Lawrence Community Shelter, 214 W. 10th St., has sold the dog treats mostly on Saturdays at the Farmers Market in downtown Lawrence. The baking, packaging and selling project allows unemployed homeless people and shelter guests a chance to be productive. “Self-esteem and money, because everybody gets paid by the hour. It's something to do during the day for a couple of hours," Morgan said. The baking business is offered through the Joseph Project.... | |
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| | | Put cakes on list of food gifts for the holidays | | Posted Wednesday, November 08, 2006 10:53:24 AM by Blog57 Team | | Betty Greene -- called "Mamaw" by her seven grandchildren -- loves baking desserts, especially as the holiday season approaches. As a hairdresser, she has shared many delicious food gifts with customers. Loaf pound cake is a moist and delicious dessert that is great for sharing.You are sure to enjoy snowball cake.Prune cake is delicious and contains fiber that is good for you. This recipe has been passed down from her mom.Escambia and Santa Rosa county Extension Offices will offer holiday cooking classes for people with diabetes. The cost is $5. The class will be from 10 a.m. to noon Nov. 16 at the Escambia County Extension Auditorium, 3740 Stefani Road in Cantonment. Call 475-5230 for reservations or information.*Loaf Pound Cake 3/4 cup butter or margarine3/4 cup sugar1/2 teaspoon lemon flavoring1 teaspoon vanilla3 eggs1/2 teaspoon baking powder1/4 teaspoon salt1 1/4 cup all-purpose flourCream butter and sugar for about 6 minutes at medium speed on electric mixer.... | |
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| | | Funnel cakes | | Posted Sunday, November 05, 2006 10:51:57 PM by Blog57 Team | | Combine flour, sugar, baking soda and salt. In a separate bowl, combine milk, vanilla and egg. Add mixture to the dry ingredients to form the batter. Heat oil in a medium skillet until it pops when water is sprinkled. Using a funnel, pour batter completely into the funnel and swirl around the pan, forming a circular disc a little smaller than the size of a paper plate. Allow to cook for four minutes or until the sides of the funnel cake begin to brown. Flip and cook other side for two minutes before removing. Repeat frying instructions, creating about four funnel cakes. Top funnel cakes with two tablespoons of fruit topping and sprinkle with powdered sugar before serving. - Courtesy of Brittany Gawronski .... | |
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| | | Healthy and flavorful baking | | Posted Friday, November 03, 2006 3:05:45 PM by Blog57 Team | | "KING ARTHUR FLOUR WHOLE GRAIN BAKING," Countryman Press, $35. A companion to the 2004 "King Arthur Flour," this behemoth of a book (612 pages) is everything you would expect from the people at King Arthur. Intensely researched and tested, the more than 400 recipes run the gamut from baking with almonds to zucchini. Don't let your lack of knowledge of grains deter you; there's a glossary of terms, tips and techniques that will lead you on to new recipes to try and savor. If you haven't used King Arthur flour when baking, get thee to a grocery story. It really does make a difference. .... | |
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