What are you baking the week of August 4, 2019

[Mike Nolan]

Viking mixers had a good reputation, but they got out of that business. The Bosch Universal looks interesting, 800 watt motor and 6.5 quart capacity. The biggest problem I have with mixers like the Bosch or the Ankarsrum are that I'd really want to have a chance to try one before plunking down cash for them, at least with KA mixers you're familiar with the design concept, you just have to figure which line and size you need.

Glad to hear you've got a solution worked out.

[RiversideLen]

It looks like I'm in the minority here who likes the bowl lift model. I bought it because I keep it and use it on the counter top which has overhead cabinets and I didn't want to be concerned about clearance for a tilt head.

[Mike Nolan]

I've used my son's 6 quart bowl-lift KA mixer a number of times, I find it clumsy to add items or check on texture, and I've had the bowl pop off more than once. (So has he when I've seen him use it.)

I've used bowl lift commercial mixers without any problems, but they have much heavier bowls and seem to lock down better.

[skeptic7]

I don't know if it counts as baking, but yesterday I tried to make crepes. Tried is the operative word. It seemed so simple when I see booths at fairs and farmer's market. The recipe seems so simple too. Just a thin batter quickly cooked on a frying pan, and then with fruit and jam, or savory stuff and folded at the edges.
I tried the KAF 200 Anniversery cookbook recipe. Just 4 ingredients flour and eggs and milk and a pinch of salt. I used whole wheat flour and beat the egg whites separately as the directions said. Its only suppose to need 1 tablespoon of batter for a 6 inch crepe.
I heated a small cast iron round griddle and tried a tablespoon of batter, tilting the pan to make the batter spread. It didn't spread much and was too small. Tried again with 2 tablespoons more batter, still too small and with holes in it. Much thicker than the ones I had seen. Tried again putting the batter in one place and tilting the frying pan to spread it out. Came out looking more like a pancake but 4 inches across and not 6. Gave up and ate the first trial runs with maple syrup.
My plan was to have crepes with ham and cheese for lunch and crepes with strawberries for dessert and I wasn't going to give up so soon.
So I tried cooking with 2 tablespoons and then 4 tablespoons of batter. It was always too thick for a proper crepe but I got enough thin small pancakes to eat the ham and cheese, and the strawberries with sweeten yogurt for lunch. These were always thicker than proper crepes should be.
Has anyone made crepes and how did you do it?

[BakerAunt]

Skeptic--Crepes is on my list of something that I'd like to cook, although butter may be an issue for me now. I bought a Staub "crepe pan" back when Chef's originally closed. I bought it for the flat griddle surface for when I make English muffins (and it can be used on the wood stove as well), so I've not used it for crepes. It came with two wooden tools: One is T shaped--a 5-inch round piece at the top, with a smaller diameter round piece stuck into it (forming the T). There is also a narrow flat wood panel that has a tapered ridge all the way around its 7-inch top part before a short handle, and it forms a tip at the end. I recall seeing videos where the chef uses the T-tool to spread out the crepe batter quickly to get it into an even large crepe. I think the other tool is for lifting it out. It might be worth checking out some online videos.

Maybe we should have a crepe thread.

[Mike Nolan]

Crepe batter needs to be fairly thin and mixed just long enough to be fully hydrated, you don't want to develop the gluten much. Getting the pan ready is always a challenge for me, you don't want it too hot, but it can't be too cool, either.

We've got a crepe pan, but I find it easier to use regular pans, either my wife's non-stick egg pans or a stainless steel sautée pan.

With crepes, the egg is the most important ingredient. In fact, one of the best crepe recipes I've used doesn't use wheat flour at all, it uses cornstarch. If I don't have that recipe posted, I'll look for it and get it posted. I've seen recipes that used rice flour, too, but I've never tried that.

See Chantilly Crepes Recipe

My wife is a big fan of blintzes, which are pretty much the same thing as crepes, just with different fillings.

[skeptic7]

The crepes worked better the second day after the beaten egg whites had a chance to deflate so the batter wasn't as thick and fluffy. It still wouldn't spread as much as the recipe indicated but was fine with strawberries and Greek yogurt.

[Mike Nolan]

'Fluffy' is not a word I think of in connection with crepe batter. 🙂

[skeptic7]

The KAF recipe called for beaten egg whites. The batter was nicely fluffy yesterday.

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