[aaronatthedoublef]

Can I use baker's math for everything? For example, now that I've converted my shortbread to weights from volume can I measure all ingredients as a percentage of the flour for scaling the recipe up or down?

[aaronatthedoublef]

How goes the bread baking? Any attempts?

[aaronatthedoublef]

Your cake sounds good BA. Apparently yesterday was National Chocolate Cake Day. How do you like avocado oil? Is it taste neutral? I used it for cooking last night but I made cheesesteaks so it would have had to be pretty strong to break through the steak, cheese, onions.

The challah is coming along. I didn't overcrowd the pan this time. And I've put my recipe into a spreadsheet so I can adjust the amount of ingredients to see how many 18 oz. loaves it will make. I want to add some formulas to it so I can have both weight and volume measurements there. I also need to have it do reverse calculations. Right now I put in the amount of flour and it gives me the number of loaves. But it would also be nice to put in the number of loaves and have it calculate the amount of ingredients.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Mike - your cinnamon rolls look great. I need to start working on mine again.

For us small is probably better so we don't eat too much! KAB has a recipe for a giant cinnamon roll baked in a cast iron skillet. It would be fun for a party.

Challah is out of the oven. I made three loaves and four rolls. I had enough for four loaves but I wanted some rolls for sandwiches.

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[aaronatthedoublef]

Not sure what I will bake this week yet.

I've been buying BRM lately from Vitacost. Prices are good (at least compared to local shops), the shipping is reasonable, and the service is good.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Re-reading about the acid...

Is that why milk powder helps? Does it add lactic acid without adding liquid?

[aaronatthedoublef]

The shortbread bar I want to make is Millionaire shortbread which is shortbread with caramel with chocolate on top. Maybe it was the inspiration for KitKats. When it is good it is great. It's made it over to the US but I had it in Scotland in 1999 (first trip there with my then girlfriend Kate!). Now it's easy to find recipes. I think they used to use it as an enticement to have kids eat their haggis.

Made regular sandwich bread yesterday. I've stopped working on batards and gone back to pan loaves. And I cut the time down from three days to one to try and tame the sour which most of my family doesn't like.

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[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks Mike. Not sure I want to buy yet another flour. 🙂 And I am not sure where I would keep it. We're out of flour storage space so something would need to go.

I have white and whole wheat pastry flour too.

Kate's granny said the Scotts used rice flour when she was growing up.

[aaronatthedoublef]

I have always just used them interchangeably.

But based on what Mr. Reinhart says below you might need a little more Active Dry than Instant because more of the Instant yeast is alive. The conversion you found sounds more like AD to fresh.

My searches say you need about 1/4 to 1/2 tsp more of AD.

Peter Reinhart quoted in Epicurious:

Active dry yeast consists of dehydrated granules that must be rehydrated and activated in warm liquid prior to being used--that's called proofing. Peter Reinhart, author of Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day, says, "Active dry yeast has about 6 to 7 percent moisture, and about 25 percent of the yeast cells are inactive (dead) due to processing during drying." This yeast is unstable and inconsistent, so you should always proof it to ensure it's still alive before using. If the yeast is alive it will begin to foam after a few minutes in water--if not, throw it out. On the upside, active dry is the most common type of commercial yeast--and when it is alive, it works great in almost any recipe that requires yeast.

Instant yeast consists of superfine granules, and is the "most concentrated and driest of the yeast varieties, containing about 3 percent moisture," says Reinhart. Because of the way it's processed, all of the yeast cells are alive and viable--so there's no need to proof prior to using. Additionally, the fine grain size means it easily dissolves and does not need to be rehydrated; you can add it directly to your dry ingredients. This yeast is stable and has a shelf life of at least six months when kept dry, or even longer if kept in the freezer. (Note: Fleischmann's RapidRise is a common brand of instant yeast; you might also see this yeast with a label saying it's for bread machines.)

[aaronatthedoublef]

Progress!

250g bread flour (instead of 130)
040g cornstarch
228g unsalted butter
140g brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp salt

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[aaronatthedoublef]

BTW, many screw up many measurement conversion and some are more consequential than others.

There was a movie based on the first flight between Montreal and Edmonton after Canada converted to metric. They fueled the plane with the number of liters they would normally fill with gallons so the tanks were about a quarter full. I wish I could find that movie again. I cannot find the movie but here is a link to the story.

And I was just worried about my shortbread!

[aaronatthedoublef]

I really need to shift this to a spreadsheet Mike. I have printed recipes with hand written notes

I've seen pickle juice a couple times here lately. What flavor does it add? I want to start spinning up my corned beef again I wonder if I could reuse that brine. I saw a post on Instagram where some women used their pasta water to make pizza dough.

Rye is funny. It invokes passion from people that other breads do not.

[aaronatthedoublef]

Okay! I was looking at some recipes and then at my own and I figured out at least one problem. I converted measurements from volume to grams and I used the g equivalent on 1 cup instead of 2... Oops. I will adjust, try again, and let you know the results.

[aaronatthedoublef]

I baked the last of my dough and it was chilled but not frozen... Same, flat results. I'm going to figure this out because it tastes really good.

I'll make more dough and freeze it this time. I may also reduce the amount of butter.

Maybe I'll ask the folks over at the BBGA, too. I added a picture of my brown butter. It is unsalted, Trader Joe's. I wonder, too, if a different brand would work. In my laminated dough class they talked about about fat content. In Cook's Illustrated (this is going back MANY years) I remember articles about the shape of the crystals in the butter and how they were aligned. As you all has said, this stuff is complicated.

Thanks for your help and patience!

Like you all

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[aaronatthedoublef]

Thanks Mike. And thanks for fixing my account!

I am very careful not to let the egg wash pool having done this before.

I have tried salt in the past but these days I just add some water.

I was going to bake the short bread yesterday but Kate took apart the ovens for cleaning and has not finished so we have no working ovens. I think the brown butter may be part of the culprit in making in spread. I've used brown butter for short bread before and it adds a great flavor but I don't remember if I chilled the cut cookies or not. I will try and write down the results this time.

Worst case, I can bake it in round cake pans. I was told by Kate's granny that the Scotts did it this way.

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