22 Jun 2009
HOW TO MAKE "PIE DOUGH"
Beside the shell we must choose the right filling which must match with the kind of shell.
There are 3 kind of pie's shell, salty dough, sugary dough and pastry dough.
Some of pies, such as cheese pies, lime pie, use crackers for making pie shell.
As we know salty dough usually fill with salty fillings and sugary dough fill with sugary fillings, but pastry dough can fill with salty filling or sugary filling.
Below is the important things to get delicious shell if we want to make shell from flour :
- Choose the low gluten flour or free gluten flour.
- Use the oil or margarine or butter 50% weight of flour
- Liquid such as water and egg less than 30% weight of flour
- Don't over mix.
- For sugary dough, the percentage of sugar less than 30% weight of flour.
- Some dough can added baking powder or baking soda 1 tea spoon per 500 grams flour.
(source: private experience)
3 Feb 2009
The basket of notes
Yeasts are eukaryotic microorganism classified in the kingdom fungi. It most reproduce asexually by budding, although a few do so by binary fission . Yeasts are unicellular, although some species may become multicellular through the formation of a string of connected budding cells known as pseudohyphae or false hyphae as seen in most molds µm in diameter. Some yeasts can reach over 40 µm.currently described; Yeast size can vary greatly depending on the species, typically measuring 3–4
The yeast species Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been used in baking and fermenting alcoholic beverages for thousands of years. It is also extremely important as a model organism in modern cell biology research, Yeasts have recently been used to generate electricity in micronial fuel cells,and produce ethanol for the bio fuel industry.
The term "yeast" is often taken as a synonym for S. cerevisiae, and here we talk about that one
-There is little activity in the range of 0°-10°C (32°-50°F).
-Yeasts will grow over a temperature range of 10°-37°C (50°-98.6°F),
-Fermentation will be optimal in temperature range of 30°-37°C (86°-98.6°F)
-S. cerevisiae works best at about 30°C (86°F).
-Yeast cells become stressed and will not divide properly at Above 37°C (98.6°F)
-Most yeast cells die above 50°C (122°F).
-The yeast will disintegrate If the solution reaches 105°C (221°F) .
The cells can survive freezing under certain conditions, with viability decreasing over time. (source:Wikipedia)
ABOUT EGGS
To get best egg batter with stabilizer added, eggs must keep in fridge before use.
For batter with 10 eggs to 15 eggs, need mixing up to 10 minutes. if bellow 10 minutes it means too much stabilizer/emulsifier adding. (source: Private note)
ABOUT BUTTER
Butter is a dairy product,made by churning fresh or fermented cream or milk. It is generally used as a spread and a condiment, as well as in cooking applications such as baking, sauce making, and frying. Butter consists of butterfat, water and milk protein.
Most frequently made from cows' milk, butter can also be manufactured from that of other mammals, including sheep, goat, buffalo , and yaks.
Butter is an emulsion which remains a solid when refrigerated , but softens to a spreadable consistency at room temperature, and melts to a thin liquid consistency at 32–35°C (90–95°F).
There are some kinds of butter ; Butter oil, Pure butter(original) , butter substitute (vapors by heat) , clarified butter (ghee)
Using too much butter in a cake batter makes cakes can not rise and dense. (source:Wikipedia+private note)
ABOUT WHEAT FLOUR
Due to content of gluten , the wheat flour divide in 3 kinds of flour
-Hard flour/bread flour (high gluten) usually for bread
-Pastry flour (intermediate/medium gluten) for pastries, sometimes people call all purpose flour
-Soft flour/ cakes flour (low gluten) for cakes
the other kinds in terms of the parts of the grain used in flour—the endosperm or starchy part, the germ or protein part, and the bran or fiber part—there are three general types of flour.White flour is made from the endosperm only.Whole grain or wholemeal is made from the entire grain, including bran, endosperm, and germ. A germ flour is made from the endosperm and germ, excluding the bran. (source: Wikipedia+private note)
Mixed Herbs content
Marjoram, Thyme, Rosemary, sage, Oregano, basil
Mixed herbs is a seasoning/ spices for Italian cuisine, such as bolognaise sauce, Pizza etc