Doughcrafter: Baking on Nights and Weekends

Chocolate Crystals and what's up with Tempering

2020-12-29T15:56:00.020-06:00

I’m trying to lay out a “big picture” that logically incorporates all the info out there about chocolate tempering. I have found articles that go into depth about the underlying chemistry of chocolate, without really conveying an understanding that is helpful in tempering. I have also found many tempering methods described that include contradictory and/or confusing explanations about what is going on in the chocolate.

Trying to follow any particular method for tempering can give one person consistently great results, while another may fail to get that right temper consistently, if at all. This suggests some important information was left out of the instruction, leaving part of the process up to random chance. The step most often overlooked is the temperature of the room where chocolate is "set". Being too warm or too cold can ruin an otherwise well-executed process.

I believe this confusion and inconsistency is what makes tempering seem so mysterious and frustrating. Understanding tempering fully can help demystify chocolate, and free you to trouble-shoot and modify the process to suit your personal preferences. The following info is my internet research and personal experience folded together to build a consistent story for how chocolate behaves. Please leave comments if anything comes across unclear or inaccurate.

A new batch, tempered using cocoa butter "silk"

First batch. Started out tempered, but turned to type VI when "setting"
in a room that was too warm. Flavor and texture were affected.

From same batch, left out for a few days more.
Fully Type VI, grainy and terrible. This one
has Rice Krispies in it.

Same batch, re-tempered and "set" in a cooler room; still has some
bloom, maybe from the molding process, or "set"room still not cool
enough. Tasted great, with a nice snap and mouth-feel.

Same batch, re-tempered again, and "set" in an even cooler room, ~60°F.
Looking very nice! Still some discoloration in the corners. Tasted great,
with a nice snap and mouth-feel.

Basics:

Cocoa butter can crystalize in six different structures. The crystals begin to form in liquid chocolate. Full crystallization makes the bar become solid. Only type V crystals give that glossy, snappy, melt-in-your-mouth bar of goodness known as tempered chocolate. Types I - IV have a lower melting temperature and lack the shine, snap, and mouth-feel; Type VI is brittle, grainy, doesn’t melt in the mouth, and has muted flavor. Chocolate tempering is all about forming the Type V crystals in melted chocolate, so that the solid bar will also be Type V.

Many methods achieve tempered chocolate. Some methods only work for special cases. The general approach is:

1. Melt all crystals.

2. Generate or add the good (Type V) crystals as the chocolate cools.

3. Re-heat to melt any undesirable (Type I-IV) crystals that might have snuck in at the lower temperatures.

4. Set the liquid chocolate in a cool place to crystalize and solidify: cool enough to prevent Type VI; not so cold as to cause condensation or to favor Type I - IV crystal growth.

Water and Chocolate:

1. Adding water to melted chocolate will make the chocolate seize, becoming lumpy and grainy. This is because the sugar attempts to dissolve into not-enough water. Find a more complete explanation here. Seized chocolate cannot be tempered or turned into bar candy. Add enough liquid (cream is great!) for it to smooth out again, and use it as a chocolate sauce or ganache.

2. Water droplets on “set” chocolate can cause “sugar bloom” by dissolving sugar from the chocolate. The sugar recrystallizes as the water dries, causing a “bloom” mark that looks about the same as cocoa butter bloom. To avoid this, prevent condensation on your chocolate by being careful with temperature and humidity changes while setting, storing and handling.

Temperatures of note:

1. >200°F: Chocolate will scorch/burn, and is not recoverable.

2. 115° to 130°F?: At some undefined temperature, probably in the range listed, chocolate will :break” or separate, becoming a pool of thin yellow cocoa butter with dark lumps of cocoa solids sitting in it. This chocolate can no longer be tempered into bars; theoretically adding lecithin might make it mix back together and work as a bar, otherwise treat it like seized chocolate.

3. >97°F: All crystal types melt. Full melting occurs faster at higher temps.

4. 93°F to 95°F: The good crystals (Type V) melt. Full melting is gradual, not instant.

5. 84°F to 93°F is the “sweet spot” for the good crystals (Type V), where they form slowly but spontaneously, and Type I - IV will gradually melt.

6. 92°F: Preferred holding temperature for tempered chocolate.

7. 61°F to 84°F: “Bad” crystals Type I - IV can form spontaneously, each at the temperatures listed in the table.

8. 59°- 68°F: “Good” range for letting chocolate “set”. A warmer room may cause crystals to convert to Type VI, which is bad.

9. 59°-64°F: optimal long term storage temperature.

Crystal	Melting/Forming Range
Type I	61° to 67° F
Type II	70° to 72° F
Type III	78° F
Type IV	81° to 84° F
Type V	93° to 95° F
Type VI	97° F

Other Details:

1. Stirring causes existing crystals to grow faster. Stirring also distributes heat, which can help melt crystals faster if the temperature is rising above their melting point.

2. Whatever crystals are present in the liquid chocolate will grow as it cools, or “sets”.

3. Chocolate can be re-tempered as many times as you like.

4. Some tempering methods result in more crystals in the melted chocolate than others; more crystals = thicker; less crystals = thinner. Use the most convenient tempering method that gives what you want. Thin is usually better for dipping or coating; thick is needed for “kiss” shapes.

5. Sooner or later, chocolate will lose its temper, as the Type V crystals transform to the more stable Type VI. Delay this transition by storing at 59°-64°F.

6. Trying to “set” well-tempered chocolate in a room that is too warm (>68°F) can result in “bloom”, and can be rapidly followed by formation of type VI crystals.

7. Chocolate that has melted or softened (in a car or a pocket, for example) and then been put in the fridge to harden again results in Type VI crystals.

References:

Chocolate Alchemy
Feedback I got in a Reddit thread, especially from user Snoron, who recommended the easiest way to get good temper.
https://chocolatealchemy.com/how-to-make-cocoa-butter-silk/
https://crystallography365.wordpress.com/2014/06/14/the-chocolate-you-dont-want-cocoa-butter-form-vi/
The Polymorphs of Chocolate – Compound Interest
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4403828/
https://acselementsofchocolate.typepad.com/elements_of_chocolate/TEMPERINGCHOCOLATE.html
https://www.chemistryviews.org/details/ezine/808827/Chocolate__The_Noblest_Polymorphism_II.html
https://wwwf.imperial.ac.uk/blog/physics-of-cooking/2014/12/19/exploring-the-polymorphic-structures-in-milk-chocolate-dark-chocolate-and-cocoa-butter/
http://www.dandelionchocolate.com/2017/09/21/a-note-about-tempering/
https://www.scienceofcooking.com/chocolate/why-is-chocolate-tempered.htm
https://chemistry.stackexchange.com/questions/94101/what-do-the-six-polymorphs-of-chocolate-look-like
https://www.compoundchem.com/2014/04/19/the-polymorphs-of-chocolate/

Dark Milk Chocolate from Nibs

2020-12-26T12:12:00.007-06:00

Dark chocolate is made of 50-90% cocoa solids and butter. Milk chocolate is made of at least 12% dairy. This recipe meets both requirements, making it dark milk chocolate. It's our favorite. :)

To make chocolate from nibs, you will need a refiner/melanger. I have this one. I get my nibs and cocoa butter from https://www.cocoasupply.com.

Re-Tempered, not perfect but makes me happy, and tastes great!

Beans roasted in the Combi Oven

Toasted powdered dairy mixed with sugar

Mostly-melted cocoa butter

Cocoa butter added to Refiner/Melanger

Cacao nibs added to cocoa butter

Half the dairy/sugar added. Machine labors a bit

Once machine smooths out a bit, added remaining
dairy/sugar; machine labors again.

After 30 - 45 min, starting to look like chocolate

After a day in the refiner/melanger, very smooth and creamy

First attempt at tempering. Started out in temper, but room

conditions (too warm, maybe too humid), began degrading.

Needed re-tempering.

Dark Milk Chocolate

Note: volume measurements are listed to give a notion on the quantities, but ingredients really should be weighed for best results.

57% Chocolate (42% cocoa butter)/ 13.3% Milk, fiber makes it Dex#

(w/o Benefiber: 60% Chocolate (44% cocoa butter), 14% milk, still is Dex+)

- This would be a 70% dark chocolate if the dairy and fiber was not added.

3.3 lb batch; ~ 6.6 cups, melted.

Ingredients

500 g (3.33 cup) cacao nibs (480 g if already roasted)

125 g (1.84 cup) fat-free powdered milk

84 g (0.88 cup) cream powder

381 g (1.75 cup) Cocoa butter

78 g (0.39 cup) sugar

309 g (2.45 cup) anhydrous dextrose*

76 g (0.9 cup) Benefiber

50 drops Propylene Glycol-based Bourbon Vanilla Flavor**

16 g Cocoa butter silk***

Directions

1. Roast the cacao nibs.

2. Caramelize the milk powder:

a. Preheat oven to 300° true convection.

b. Combine milk and cream powders; spread on parchment-lined baking sheet.

c. Bake until milk takes on a lightly golden-caramel color, about 10 minutes. Stir half-way through.

3. Melt the cocoa butter in the microwave, add to the refiner/melanger bowl, and start it. Gradually add roasted cacao nibs.

5. Mix together toasted milk & cream powder, sugar, anhydrous dextrose, and benefiber. Add some to the refiner/melanger, waiting until it smooths out before adding more. The motor may labor noticeably as the powders are added. The chocolate mixture will start out thick and grainy, but all of the dry ingredients will eventually work in and become smooth.

6. Add Propylene Glycol-based vanilla flavor (not extract, not vanilla bean paste).

7. Refine for 20 - 24 hours, or until smooth and lovely.

8. Temper your chocolate by this or other method of your choice:

a. Check the temperature of the chocolate while still running in the melanger. If it is below 104°F, heat it gently using a hair dryer.

b. Turn off the melanger, and wait for the temperature to drop to 94°F. Optionally turn it on occasionally to equalize the temperature of the chocolate.

c. Add the cocoa butter silk, and stir in for a minute, or pulse the machine on a turn or two to mix fully. Try to keep the temperature between 90 - 92°F, and pour immediately into chocolate bar molds.

d. Place setting chocolate in a 59°-68°F low-humidity room until completely firm and snappy. Cycle in and out of the fridge if necessary to achieve the right temperature.

* You can substitute regular sugar, but that adds back a bunch of fructose, which I am trying to avoid. Using dextrose gives a less-intense sweetness, which we prefer. To make anhydrous from dextrose monohydrate, preheat oven to 175°F. Spread the dextrose monohydrate onto a cooking sheet, then bake for 2 hours. It is now anhydrous dextrose.

** Use Propylene Glycol based flavor so it doesn’t seize the chocolate. Like this one: https ://shop .perfumersapprentice .com /p -8262-madagascar -bourbon -vanilla -flavor .aspx; or scrape a vanilla bean into the chocolate instead, or use powdered vanillin.

*** Buy tempered cocoa butter and shave it fine, or temper yourself per https://chocolatealchemy.com/how-to-make-cocoa-butter-silk/ I did the sous vide method, and it was pretty straight-forward. Or you can substitute 48 g finely shaved tempered chocolate.

Roasting Cacao Nibs

2020-12-25T11:07:00.004-06:00

I've tried this in a convection wall oven, but the temperature fluctuates too much, I recently got a precision combi (steam) oven, and nailed it on the second try! They roast more quickly than expected, and unfortunately the first batch scorched beyond using. But the second was perfect! No steam, of course, but the precision temperature control is really great.

Ingredients

500 g (3.333 cup) cacao nibs

Directions

Use precision/combi oven:

Preheat oven.
Look for and remove foreign particles from the cacao nibs.
Spread nibs evenly on the baking sheet, and bury probe horizontally in the nibs. Place pan in oven once preheated.
Roast per the cooking stage table below. The first stage should take about 10 min. Remove the pan from oven and stir nibs, then place back in with the probe. The second stage should take about 10 -12 min. The nibs should smell chocolatey, like brownies.

Stage	1	2
Transition		automatic
Sous Vide	off	off
Temperature	160°	155°
%	0	0
element	top/bottom	top/bottom
fan	high	high
probe	125	150
starts	immediately	immediately
rack	2	2

Lazy Bagels in the Combi Oven

2020-11-15T20:34:00.022-06:00

For this recipe, you need a steam oven, also called a combi oven, like the Anova Precision Oven. We got ourselves one for an early Christmas gift this year!

Asking myself how I wished I could make bagels, I had this answer: having pre-shaped bagels in the fridge already, I'd like to pull them out of the fridge, dunk them into a room-temperature bath, and put them straight into an oven. Tell the oven to proof, then steam, then bake, and go get them out when they're done. Well, guess what? It worked, and here they are!

They're covered with crazy over-proof bubbles all over, but the bagels have a crispy crunchy thin shell over a chewy layer, with a softer middle. I've never had a NYC bagel to compare with, but we're liking the crazy crunchy bubbles. I might try to tone-down the chew, so they're easier to bite. I've decided to forgive them for having pale-looking bottoms.

I use an Ankarsrum/Magic Mill mixer, which can handle this stiff dough. Even so, it took a bit of work to get it to take all the flour, and was difficult to shape. A mind of its own. Next time I'll probably bump it up to 602 g (2.54 cup) of water, for a 65% hydration that is easier to work with.

Here's my "Lazy Bagel" recipe. After the shaped dough is in the fridge, you can bake bagels one to six at a time by dunking in the bath, putting them in the oven, and waiting for the 45 minute oven program to run.

Lazy Bagels

60% hydration dough

INGREDIENTS

Dough

552 g	(2.33 cup)	water
1 Tbsp		salt
21 g	(2.33 Tbsp)	wheat gluten
905 g	(2 lb)	bread flour
1.5 tsp		yeast, instant/bread
16 g	(2 Tbsp)	malt, non-diastatic
2 tsp		malt, diastatic

Dunking Bath

237 g	(1 cup)	water
1 pinch		salt
0.25 tsp		baking soda
8 g	(1 Tbsp)	malt, non-diastatic

Equipment

2 half-sheet pans with lids

Mesh-style “Silpat”

Combi (steam) oven

Directions

A day or two before:

Make dough; The dough should be stiff rather than wet, pulling away from the bowl rather than pooling, although still smooth:

Measure water and salt into the mixer. Mix gluten with about ⅓ of the flour, and add to the mixer, and start it on low speed. Let it keep running.
Reserve about 1.5 cups of the flour. Mix the yeast and malt powders into the remainder of the flour, and add to the mixer while still on low speed. Depending on your mixer, switch to dough hooks when the dough is thick enough for the hooks to work.
Gradually add the reserved flour. Increase the speed to medium and allow to knead for 7 min, checking occasionally.

Remove beaters, covered mixer bowl, and proof at room temperature for 1 hour.
Line 2 half-sheet pans with a sheet of parchment.
Using very little flour, cut and roll dough into 12 equal tight balls. Poke a finger through the ball, and roll it out to make the hole oversized; the hole will shrink by the time it's a bagel.
Lay six bagels on each lined baking sheet, pop on a cover, and refrigerate overnight or for up to 2 days.

On baking day

Mix up the dunking bath in a bowl slightly larger than one bagel.
Dunk up to six bagels in the bath, one at a time, and lay on a mesh-style Silpat. Place on the next-to-bottom oven rack.
Run a 3-stage oven routine*:

Stage	1	2	3
	proof	steam	bake
Transition		automatic	automatic
Sous Vide	on	on	off
Temperature	90°	212°	450°
%	100	100	75
element	rear	rear	rear
fan	high	high	high
time	20	8	15
starts	immediately	immediately	immediately

*If baking more than three at a time, when time is up, rotate the rack and bake until the bagels are a nice, even brown all over.

Sources:

https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/bagels-366757

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdeQT7KkqM8

http://www.homemadebagels.com/2009/10/how-to-make-bagels.html#.WryEj4jwb-w

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/recipes/bagels#comment-29114

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/recipes/bagels

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/recipes/bagels#comment-29114

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/recipes/bagels#comment-134395

http://www.thefreshloaf.com/recipes/bagels#comment-155801

http://www.homemadebagels.com/2009/10/how-to-make-bagels.html

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/bagels-recipe

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/a-dozen-simple-bagels-recipe

http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/water-bagels-recipe

Finally Great Biscuits!

2020-05-22T17:45:00.002-05:00

Yours truly, a bread baker, has finally done it! In the eyes of my family, my homemade biscuits have gone from "not as good as those from the freezer or a can", to "the best biscuits we have had anywhere"! Then they whipped up sausage and sawmill gravy to go with, and pulled out the homemade jam. Southern biscuits through and through, only as sweet as what you put on them!

Cooking on 500° preheated cast iron makes some of the butter melt out of the bottom and sizzle, while the biscuits rise and bake in 8 minutes flat! The bottoms are golden and lightly crunchy. Steam rises out of the soft, fluffy insides when you rip one in half. Worthy to be eaten with butter alone.

This is a combination of recipes from White Lily and
Serious Eats, tips from Deepsouthdish and from my friend Debbie, techniques from the One Pie Dough to Rule Them All, and a couple of last minute arbitrary decisions.

Biscuits

Makes 16-17 biscuits, including scraps.

Ingredients:

● 250 g (2 cup) all-purpose flour (King Arthur)*

● 250 g (1.95 cup) cake flour (King Arthur)*

● 23 g (5 tsp) baking powder

● 5 g (1 tsp) baking soda

● 11 g (2 tsp) table salt

● 227 g (2 sticks) Butter, salted**

● 551 g (2.25 cup) whole buttermilk***

● more flour for the bench (I use AP flour)

* Or use all White Lily flour. I actually haven’t tried it with White Lily, due to lack of availability.

** Add 3/8 tsp salt if using unsalted butter.

*** Best not to substitute, but if you must, use one part Greek Yogurt and two pars milk in place of buttermilk. I haven't tried it with this recipe yet though.

Instructions:

1. About 30 min before baking, heat oven and seasoned, but not greased, cast iron to 500°F, convection if you’ve got it. If iron starts to smoke, turn oven off, then back on when beginning step 5.

I use two 10.5” round cast iron griddles and one 6” cast iron skillet.

Possible cast iron substitutions:

a. Baking steel or stone, like for pizza. Use a sheet of parchment and a pizza paddle to transfer on/off the steel/stone.

b. Other heavy, oven-safe pan that will hold heat.

2. Combine dry ingredients in a pile: all-purpose and cake flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together on a large “bench” (board or countertop).

3. Work-in 1/4 butter, cut-in the rest: Working quickly to keep butter as cold as possible:

a. Work-in 1/4 of the butter until flour is crumbly not fluffy: Cut into pats, bury in the flour mixture, and use the heel of one hand to smear the butter into the four. Use dough knife in the other hand to remove butter from your hand and re-coat exposed butter with flour. Use fingertips to crumble completely in. Continue until all butter lumps are gone, and flour is yellow and crumbly, more like cornmeal rather than powdery flour.

b. Cut-in remainder of the butter until pea-size and under: Cut remaining butter into pats. Use a dough knife to cut the butter into the flour and a spoon to scrape off the dough knife, until butter is in varying sized pieces, the largest about pea-sized.

4. Fold buttermilk in gradually, allowing flour to absorb, making barely-cohesive dough: Use dough knife and spoon to pile up the flour, and cut into the center to make a well; add a couple tablespoons buttermilk, then pull up flour from the edges to fill it back in. Keep buttermilk from flowing out from the flour pile. Continue making and filling wells, until all the buttermilk has been added, and a barely cohesive dough has formed. Use the dough knife to smooth it into a mound, but it will still be quite rough.

5. Add a generous amount of flour to the work surface, and move dough on top. Add more flour over the top of the dough. Roll into a ½” thick rectangle. Brush off excess flour, then fold into thirds like a letter. Flour the top, and repeat the brushing, folding and rolling a total of 3 times.

6. Fold two sides in to meet (making two layers not three) and roll, then fold in half and roll a final time:

a. Roll into rectangle just over three times as wide as your cutter.

b. ⅝” to ¾” thick, slightly thicker than a Mason jar lid.

c. Chill in fridge if not ready to bake immediately. Don’t hold very long, even in the fridge.

7. Cut straight down, no twisting the cutter!! Use a floured 2 7/8” biscuit cutter. Form scraps into round-ish shapes.

8. Place on baking surface, 1 inch apart for crisp sides or almost touching for soft sides. 7 biscuits fit on each 10.5” cast iron griddle, with the last two on a 6” skillet.

9. Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until golden brown. Serve on folded paper towels on top of warm cast iron to help them stay warm.

A Blogger's Note

2020-05-22T17:38:00.000-05:00

I keep my recipes each in its own Google Doc. It's great! Easy to search, easy to share, always accessible. In the kitchen, I've got a touch screen where I can read the recipe, and edit there if I want. When I've got a winner, since I'm using Google Blogger, I'm just a short copy and paste from a nice blog post, right? Hahaha; nope. It looks good in edit mode, but is terrible in preview and as a post

In Blogger Help, I found a thread called "How to convert Google Drive document to a Blog Post in Blogger?". The tips there just blew up all the text or at best stripped the formatting. Redoing all that sure takes out all the fun of making a post.

I Figured Out the Secret!!

This one cheap trick that Doctors don't want you to know....

File/Download your Google Doc as a *.rtf file on your hard drive, then double-click it. For me, it opened in Word - Compatibility Mode. Looked pretty good; had to do extra-huge line spacing, but otherwise it looked great when pasted here in Blogger! Woohoo!

The Blogger Help thread was closed, with a really terrible "best answer", so I figured I'd post it here, in case I forget, and in case anybody else is looking for a better answer.

Serious Mac & Cheese in the Slow Cooker

2019-11-13T20:59:00.002-06:00

Seriously. This is it. About seven years ago, I had some fantastic Mac at a potluck; I have been trying to find a recipe to match that memory ever since. That’s usually a hopeless quest, but I have found the one! Visit the original post for a discussion on sodium citrate, how this recipe works, etc. Thank you, Serious Eats, and perhaps also Modernist Cuisine.

I’ve adapted this recipe for making in a slow cooker instead of a casserole. One recipe is about 3 quarts. A double-batch fills a 7 quart slow cooker nicely, with some room to stir. I also added Benefiber and switched from Panko to Ritz crackers for the topping. The nice thing is, the crackers shower down deeper in the pot as you serve, so everybody gets some. So far I haven't gotten a photo before we ate it all; I'll have to try again!

Variations to try sometime (I haven’t gotten over the original yet though):
Replace water with flavorful liquids like beer and/or chicken stock.

Try other cheeses, like cheddar, gouda, and some smoked cheese.
Add meat, like hot dogs, Polish sausage, or ham.
Add 1 Tbsp home-made Worcestershire to the cheese sauce.

Serious Mac & Cheese in the Slow Cooker

Ingredients

1-2 Tbp Salt, for the pasta water
450 g (1 lb) elbow macaroni
75 g (5 Tbsp) butter, divided
708 g (3 cups) water
86 g (1 cup) Benefiber* (optional)
4 tsp sodium citrate (mail order; required ingredient)
680 g (1 1/2 lb) grated sharp Cheddar cheese
1 tsp hot sauce (Frank's Red Hot)
1/2 tsp mustard powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
227g (1/2 lb) grated Gruyere cheese**
1 sleeve Ritz crackers***

Directions

Cook the pasta in salted water for two minutes less than the package directions. Drain, and stir into the slow cooker pot with 2 Tbsp butter to coat.
Bring 3 cups water and the sodium citrate to a boil.
Reserve the Gruyere for later. Begin adding the cheddar a handful at a time, blending in completely with an immersion blender before adding more. If using the Benefiber, add it with the cheese. Towards the end, turn off the heat. Continue until all 1 ½ lbs of cheddar is blended into a smooth sauce. It will seem too thin, but not to worry.
Add the hot sauce, mustard powder and garlic powder. Once blended, pour the whole pot over the macaroni and stir until well combined. Start the slow cooker if serving the same day.
Crush the crackers in a ziplock, add 3 Tbsp melted butter, and mix well. Toast the cracker crumbs in a skillet until browned, toasty, and fragrant, then remove from heat to halt toasting.
If preparing ahead of time:

Put the crock of macaroni and bag of grated Gruyere into the fridge. Let the cracker crumbs cool, then put back into the bag used for crushing.
To reheat, start in the slow-cooker set to “high”. After an hour, stir every 30 min or so, until it’s all melted and stirs fairly easily. It will be thicker than it was before refrigerating. This may take 2-3 hours, depending on if it’s a single or double batch, and how your cooker performs.

Once the crock of mac is nice and hot, and will be served soon, stir/fold in the grated Gruyere until well-distributed, with the goal of leaving it a bit stringy. Spread all the cracker crumbs evenly over the top. Serve when ready!

* Benefiber makes it more filling, probably lowers the glycemic index, and compensates somewhat for the lack of vegetables.

** Don’t fear the stink, Gruyere adds a nice flavor when blended with the cheddar. Roth "Grand Cru" is a Wisconsin gruyere; can substitute jarlsberg, or a gouda/romano blend.

*** Can substitute 1 cup Panko crumbs and 3 pinches of salt; toast with butter per directions.

Rice, in the Instant Pot

2019-08-10T17:03:00.000-05:00

I now own an Instant Pot, hazzah! I got one for my son to take to college, and decided it only made sense that I have one at home too. That way, I can try out recipes here, and he can just make the ones that are worthwhile in his limited free time.

I tried hard boiled eggs, and they were super easy to peel and turned out perfectly. Then we tried spaghetti and meatballs, and it was a failure. Didn't really save any time, and was definitely not as good as just boiling a pot of pasta and topping with sauce from a jar and meatballs from the freezer.

Rice is an obvious choice, and I've made four pots of it today. We found an article on

Green Healthy Cooking, where Lorena made many pots of rice to find the perfect way. I tried the 1:1 water to rice ratio, and it does work nicely!

On my first batch, I used the "rice" button on the machine, because it should work, right? It did make rice, but not as well as a rice cooker. I tried again using High Pressure instead, per Lorena's instructions, and it came out pretty nicely. Then I tried rinsing the rice first, and the rice was fluffier, a little softer, and less sticky. I tried it one last time, with more salt and some butter, and that did the trick for me! Nicely salted, subtle butter flavor and richness, and the rice didn't stick to the bottom of the pot.

Rice in the Instant Pot

Yield: about 2.75 cups cooked rice per 1 cup uncooked rice.

Notes:

Butter keeps the rice from sticking to the pot, makes the rice rich, and adds flavor.
One cup dry rice is the minimum recipe for a 6 qt Instant Pot.
For the maximum amount to make at once: use ⅓ the pot size of dry rice. For a 6 qt pot, use a max of 8 cups dry rice.

Ingredients:

185 g (1 cup) white rice (basmati, long grain, jasmine, etc)
236.6 g (1 cup) water*
.5 to 1 tsp Salt*
44 g (0.52 cup) Benefiber (I haven't tried it with this yet, but it should work fine)
14.2 g (1 Tbsp) Butter, salted

Directions:

Rinse the rice, for best texture:

Skip this step if in too much of a hurry, but it’s not that hard to do,
Measure rice into the pot. Add plenty of water, swish the rice and water around with your hand, then pour off as much as you can without too much effort, using your hand to keep the rice in the pot.
Warning: uncooked rice can swell and clog plumbing.

Add water and salt to the pot, and gradually stir in the Benefiber while stirring. Drop in the butter, then put the lid on.
Start the pot:

Turn valve to “Sealing”.
Press “Pressure Cook”.
Set to 00:03 minutes using +/- (or other time, as listed above).
Unselect “Keep Warm”
Verify “High Pressure” is indicated.

Once it finishes cooking and beeps at you, Natural Release:

Wait 11-18 minutes for the safety valve to drop.
Turn valve to “Venting”.

Open the lid. The pot may briefly cling to the lid, then will release.

*I prefer 1 tsp salt if no other seasoning is added. If replacing water with salty liquids like chicken broth, reduce salt to ½ to ¾ tsp. Also use the lesser amount of salt if serving with salty foods.

Bam! Worcestershire Sauce Dex++

2019-07-08T11:27:00.001-05:00

When I got my first Emeril cookbook, many years ago, the first thing I tried was the first recipe that was listed, Worcestershire Sauce. I was curious about what went into it. I canned it and set it in the pantry, and we didn't touch it for a long time, because, well, it seemed strange. One day though, we needed some for a recipe, and opened a jar; that opened our eyes, wow it was good stuff!

Now this is THE required secret ingredient in our burgers. We also reach for it when a recipe is just a little lame, and needs some complexity and depth of flavor. This is the stuff that even the kids are concerned if we run out of. Who'd have thought? My daughter actually took it with her on a beach trip with friends, for their grilled burgers.

Worcestershire, pickles, and hot bread from the oven will be high on the list of things the kids look forward to coming home for (and taking back with them) once they've moved out on their own.

I've done my Dex-magic to the recipe, since the original has quite a lot of sugar in it.

I also added instant ClearJel, in an attempt to keep it from separating, but it still does. Comparing back to the original recipe, I note that he drains the oil off of the anchovies, while I had not been. Next time I'll do that too, which should reduce the oily layer on top. It'll still need a shake before using, because there are solid bits in there too. I'll also leave in the ClearJel.

Another difference is that Emeril reduces his down to make about three pints, while mine makes seven! His must be pretty thick and super powerful! I'm going to stick with my thin version, because we're used to it that way. I also really don't want to cook it any longer than I already do, because even though we only make it about every two years, it makes the house smells so strong I'm sure the neighborhood smells it too!

Worcestershire Sauce Dex++

Original Recipe Courtesy of Emeril Lagasse
Make when the temperature outside is moderate, because the stove hood will be venting the house for hours. Do NOT make at the same time as something delicate like vanilla ice cream, unless you like Worcestershire ice cream.

Makes 7 Pint Jars

Ingredients

698 g (6.07 cup) dextrose monohydrate
49 g (0.58 cup) Benefiber
1/4 cup instant ClearJel (optional)
1/2 tsp whole cloves (as in the spice, not garlic)
2 Tbsp salt
2 tsp freshly ground pepper
243 g (0.75 cup) Karo
135 g (0.42 cup) molasses

2 whole medium lemons

3/4 pound fresh horseradish

2 Tbsp fresh garlic or garlic paste

6 cup (2lb 2 oz) about 9 whole onions

4 whole fresh jalapenos, with stems and seeds

2 Tbsp butter

2 quarts distilled white vinegar

8 oz (4 cans) canned anchovy fillets in oil, drained of oil

1183 g (5 cup) water

Directions

Measure dextrose into a large bowl, and stir in the Benefiber, clearjel, cloves, salt, and ground pepper until well blended. Make a well in the dextrose blend and weigh in the karo and molasses; do not stir in, keep syrups from touching bowl.
Remove the skin and pith from the lemons.
Peel the horseradish with a potato peeler.
Mince or press garlic.
Chop the onions and jalapenos
Saute onions and jalapenos over med-high heat in the butter in a large stockpot, for 2 to 3 minutes or until slightly soft. Stir in the garlic.
Add vinegar, anchovies, and lemons. Shake in the dextrose blend & syrups, keeping syrups from contacting the bowl. Add water, using it to rinse any syrups from the bowl.
Grate the horseradish, adding it to the pot while bringing it to a boil.
Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 6 hours or until the mixture barely coats a wooden spoon. Strain.

Same-Day Ice Cream Dex#

2019-07-05T13:42:00.000-05:00

Ice cream is such a wonderful spontaneous treat, it's hard to say "no" when heading home from a special family event. Then, more and more events are "special", and next thing you know, it's a habit. I can make it healthier, but most recipes have you prepping the "mix" the day before, and then there's the ice to deal with, or the canister-thing to manage in the freezer. To really be what I need, it must compete with the convenience of an ice cream shop.
The requirements for pulling this off:
- No cooking, so the mix doesn't need chilling.
- Flavor and texture that can compete with Baskin Robbins.
- Spontaneous; zero to ice cream in about an hour.

I've held this recipe back for a while though. Firstly because it seemed too amazing to just give away. Got over that; there's no way I'm quitting my day job and opening an ice cream parlor.
Secondly, because it has raw egg yolks in it. That doesn't really bother me or my family, but if I share it with other people, that's different. Now that I've worked out how to pasteurize eggs, there are no more excuses!

Jump to the Main Recipe, or the Add-Ins version version if you want to throw in bits of things.
Find links to my kitchen gadgets and unusual ingredients here.

First order of business: Improve the freezing process.

I did have an interesting adventure with using dry ice and a KitchenAid mixer. Learned two things: First, don't use an enameled mixer beater/paddle, because the temperature can cause the enamel to chip off. Second, dry ice will essentially carbonate your ice cream. Sounds interesting, but it also adds a flavor that I find unwelcome. Plus, dry ice is NOT something you can keep stocked in the pantry, so honestly, a fail from the start.

Searching Amazon, I found this baby: Cuisinart ICE-100 Compressor Ice Cream and Gelato Maker. No fuss, no ice, no things in the freezer, just plug it in, and turn it on; ice cream in 45-60 min! While that solved part of the "quick and spontaneous" side of the equation, that's an expensive gadget. Even at a 50% discount off retail (which is usually available online) that's around $200-250. Next step: create an ice cream that's worth the investment, to justify buying one. Until then, I used an ice cream maker with the bowl that goes in the freezer.

Second step: Achieve superior, nearly-instant ice cream mix.

I had at this point already tried a lot of different recipes, including old family recipes, Alton Brown's, and a variety of others. Generally, the simple cream/milk/sugar recipes leave a greasy coating on the roof of the mouth. Custard recipes are great, but must be carefully cooked and cooled fully. That greasy coating, though; turns out an emulsifier would fix that. I chose egg yolks and instant clearjel. And grittiness from sugar? Powder the sugar in a powerful blender. How to make up for not steeping a whole vanilla bean in the cream for flavor and vanilla bean specks? Vanilla bean paste! Everything came together!

Pasteurized Eggs.

I looked for but didn't find pasteurized eggs at my local grocery. But it turns out they are easily made with a sous vide cooker (just search on that if you need to, and go ahead and get one; you want one, whether you know it yet or not), or there are other methods online. I am counting pasteurized eggs as an ingredient, though, so keep some available. Waiting to do that first will certainly blow my timeline for spontaneity.

If you compare it to my Eggnog Recipe, you'll see it is essentially the same; yes, my Eggnog is not-frozen ice cream mix flavored like eggnog. I posted that raw-egg recipe because I figure people should expect raw eggs in Eggnog. But ice cream is different.

Bringing it together.

It took a while to work it all out, but as the kids would say, "Mom, you've ruined Baskin Robbins!" Now they actually like mine better. :) That doesn't prevent the occasional splurge on a McFlurry, Blizzard, Chick-fil-A shake, or waffle cone, but we all know home-made is better.

The splurge is more often at home now. And yes, to us, the fancy ice cream maker was worth the investment. For the 4th of July, we made four different flavors!

Just to mix it up, I've added a few flavor variations that we came up with. Choose one, and use those flavors only. Or invent your own. Also, there's an option for those lovely flakey chocolate chips like Baskin Robins does. I found that trick on Serious Eats, hazzah!

In the "Neapolitan" shown here, the chocolate and strawberry will be shown in separate posts. They were both made ahead and allowed to freeze for more than a day. The vanilla was only in the freezer for about three hours after churning, and is noticeably softer.

Neapolitan Style

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Same-Day Ice Cream Dex#

Yield: 4 cups of mix, 993 g, to fill a 1 1/2 quart ice cream m-aker.
Really creamy, wonderful texture, even after sitting in the freezer. If you want to add up to .6 cups (about 5 fl oz) of "stuff", make the Add-Ins version.

Ingredients

36 g (0.18 cup) sugar
95 g (0.83 cup) dextrose
2 tsp instant ClearJel
⅛ tsp table salt
63 g (0.75 cup) Benefiber
338 g (1.39 cup) whole milk
58 g (0.18 cup) corn syrup
2 large pasteurized egg yolks**
350 g (1.46 cup) heavy cream

Vanilla Flavorings

1 Tbsp vanilla extract
0.5 tsp vanilla bean paste

Vanilla Cream Flavorings (base for Pralines & Cream)

1 Tbsp Vanilla extract
0.5 tsp vanilla bean paste
5 drop Bavarian cream flavor*
6 drop toffee flavor*
2 drops yellow
1 drop black (caramel) color

Instructions

Combine sugar, dextrose, instant clearjel, salt, and Benefiber in the pitcher of a blender and blend until finely powdered.
Add milk, Karo, egg yolks, and flavorings, and blend until smooth. Add cream and pulse the blender until just combined. Put blender pitcher in the refrigerator, until you're ready to churn.
Before using, pulse the blender a few times to recombine the ice cream mix, then prepare ice cream using preferred method.
Eat immediately for soft-serve, or freeze for about 6-8 hours for a firmer texture. I like storing in these containers.

*Flavors/oils measured in drops are the really super-strong candy flavoring kind, from LorAnn. Extracts measured in teaspoons are typically from the grocery store, and are much more dilute.

**For health reasons, it's best not to use raw egg yolks, even those from fresh eggs with uncracked shells. Instead, buy pasteurized eggs, or heat-treat them yourself. There are several ways to do this. I've done it this way:

How to Pasteurize eggs:

Place eggs in 135° sous vide bath for 1 hour 15 min. Chill in ice water (20-30 min). Mark ‘em with a “P”, then into the fridge.

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Same-Day Ice Cream, Add-Ins Version

Yield: slightly less than 4 cups of mix, 993 g, plus add-ins, to fill a 1 1/2 quart ice cream maker.

This recipe leaves just enough room for adding up to .6 cups (about 5 fl oz) of "stuff" (chocolate chips, candy, cookies, etc), without overflowing the pan.

Ingredients, with add-ins

32 g (0.16 cup) sugar
84 g (0.74 cup) dextrose
1.75 tsp Instant ClearJel
⅛ tsp table salt
56 g (0.67 cup) Benefiber
300 g (1.24 cup) whole milk
52 g (0.16 cup) corn syrup (Karo)
2 large pasteurized egg yolks**
311 g (1.3 cup) heavy cream

Vanilla Flavorings

1 Tbsp vanilla extract
0.5 tsp vanilla bean paste

Vanilla Cream Flavorings (base for Pralines & Cream)

1 Tbsp Vanilla extract
0.5 tsp vanilla bean paste
5 drop bavarian cream flavor*
6 drop toffee flavor*
2 drops yellow
1 drop black (caramel) color

Mint Flavorings

1 tsp (no extra please) vanilla extract
1 tsp peppermint extract
37 drops creme de menthe oil*
5 drops green color

Add-in: Chocolate Chips

100 g (.59 cup) Ghirardelli 60% bittersweet chocolate chips
8 g (1.75 tsp) neutral flavored oil, like peanut or refined coconut oil

Instructions

Combine sugar, dextrose, instant clearjel, salt, and Benefiber in the pitcher of a blender and blend until finely powdered.
Add milk, Karo, egg yolks, and flavorings, and blend until smooth. Add cream and pulse the blender until just combined. Put blender pitcher in the refrigerator, until you're ready to churn.
Before using, pulse the blender a few times to recombine the ice cream mix, then prepare ice cream using preferred method.
While ice cream churns, prepare add-ins: About .6 cups of bits of nuts, candy, cookie crumbs, etc, or for chocolate chips, mix Ghirardelli chocolate and oil, and heat in a microwave just enough to melt and stir together smoothly. Try heating 30 sec, stir, and repeat. Allow to cool some so it doesn’t melt the ice cream as much when adding.
During final minutes of churning (at 35-40 min when soft-serve-ish), pour in add-ins, or slowly drizzle chocolate into ice cream to form thin, lacy lines, pausing to break up larger chocolate chunks, if needed, taking care not to get anything jammed into the rotating ice cream dasher.
Eat immediately for soft-serve, or freeze for about 6-8 hours for a firmer texture. I like storing in these containers.

Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza

2019-06-29T19:47:00.001-05:00

My son went on a band trip to Chicago, and they had some really great pizza at Gino's. I then had a pizza discussion with my office-mate, who is from Chicago, and she explained that while Gino's is really good, and is made with cornmeal in the crust, she prefers Giordanos, which by the way can be mail-ordered. Obviously my husband immediately mail-order stuffed pizzas from Giordanos; for research, you understand.

We all really enjoyed the pizza, which is clearly an entirely different thing from our usual pizzas. My son, however, still preferred his memories of Gino's. Next step: find a recipe for pizza like Gino's!

After researching on pizzamaking.com, I ordered a giant can of ESCALON 6 in 1 All Purpose Ground Tomatoes, and waffled between a couple of recipes. In the end, I abandon both of those recipes in favor of one offered by, of all people, a New Yorker! "Chef John" on Food Wishes made a beautiful pie with cornbread in the crust.

However, we didn't use John's sauce recipe, but instead made up a sauce using the 6 in 1 tomatoes and following some general tips from pizzamaking.com. Food Wishes didn't have any written instructions, beyond an ingredient list, so I wrote it up. It came out great! We all liked it better than the pizzas ordered from Giordanos, and my son would need to have another from Gino's before he could decide. If I find myself in Chicago one day, though, I want to try them both!

Ingredients:

Dough Ingredients:

57 g (0.25 cup) butter
56 g (0.25 cup) olive oil, plus more for the pan
316 g (1 1/3 cup) warm water
1 ½ tsp salt
469 g (3.75 cup) all-purpose flour
82 g (1/2 cup) cornmeal
2 tsp white sugar
2 1/4 tsp instant or rapid-rise yeast

Pizza sauce ingredients (about 3 cups)

745 g 6 in 1 Escalon ground tomatoes in extra heavy puree
1 tsp garlic squeeze
1.5 tsp olive oil
1.5 tsp oregano
¼ c fresh basil leaves
¼ tsp salt to taste

Filling/topping Ingredients (in order of application):

4 ounces sliced provolone
8 ounces fresh mozzarella
1 pound spicy Italian sausage, raw, removed from casing
4 ounces firm, low-moisture mozzarella
3 to 4 cups very thick pizza sauce, above.
2 ounces (about 1 cup very finely grated) Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil for the top
more cheese and herbs to garnish

Instructions (check out the Food Wishes video):

Dough:

Melt butter in a beaker. Measure oil into butter, then pour into mixing bowl. Measure water in beaker, warm in microwave, and add to oil. Add salt.
Combine flour and cornmeal. Add about half to the oil and water, and begin mixing on low. Mix sugar and yeast into the remaining dry flour mix, and add to the bowl.
Mix until ingredients come together, then increase to medium and knead for 5 min. Lightly coat the dough in olive oil, and proof for 1.5 hrs or so until doubled.
Generously butter a 12” cast iron skillet.
Preheat oven to 425°F “bake” (not convection), with a pizza stone on the middle rack.

Sauce:

Put tomatoes in a frying pan over medium high heat. Squirt garlic in a well in the middle of the tomatoes, pour the oil on top, then swirl around.
Add oregano and basil. Salt to taste. Bring to a simmer.

Fillings:

Shred the low-moisture mozzarella, and finely shred Parmesan.
Prep additional ingredients if using, eg saute onions and mushrooms, chop pepperoni.

Pie Assembly:

Spread dough on a lightly floured surface into a round an inch or so larger than the pan, but careful not to be too large.
Lay dough into the pan with a half-inch or so draped over the rim. Smooth dough evenly in the pan.
Layer the sliced Provolone over the bottom, then the fresh mozzarella torn into chunks.
Layer meats, including uncooked Italian sausage chunks, on top of the cheeses. Place additional ingredients here, as desired.
Cover with shredded mozzarella.
Increase heat on the tomato sauce until steamy and bubbly. Pour on top of the shredded cheese.
Cover generously with finely shredded parmesan. Curl the crust down around the rim of the pizza, like a pie! Drizzle dough edges and top of pizza with olive oil.

Bake Pie

Place on the hot pizza stone and bake at 425 F. for about 35 minutes. Crust should be deep golden brown, and sound hollow when tapped with a fork.
Place pan and all on a cooling rack, sprinkle with remaining parmesan and herb garnish, and let cool for 10 min.
Teleport pizza out of the pan and onto a plate. If only. Have one person hold the skillet, and heft it just enough to get the pizza to jump up a little. Now knowing how heavy it is, toss a bit again, and have a second person try slipping a spatula partially under the pizza. Tilt, toss, and coax with a spatula until it is out, then jiggle the fillings all back into place.
Cut into six slices. Use a serrated knife to carefully saw through the crust edges, then use a pizza cutter to slice all the way across.

LAL’s Sourdough Sandwich Buns, Schlotzky's copycat

2019-03-29T19:55:00.000-05:00

My husband really likes Schlotzsky's sandwiches. I like baking bread, and figuring out how to make things. Naturally, he eventually wanted me to recreate Schlotzsky's buns at home. Tonight, he has made sandwiches with my creation, and declared them a dead-on match. I think they're a little softer and lovelier than the original, but I'm probably biased. ;)

There are several recipes floating around out there, but most don't make a bun with a texture and flavor that are really like the original.

I started with a recipe by The Hungry Hoarder, which is a terrific texture match, but lacks the sourdough flavor. I also found this video of Schlotzky's dough, or is it batter? Anyway, it shows the texture of the goopy stuff, and how they slap it into pans.

This Texan has posted how to make the sandwich, including the garlic mayonnaise. We used my bun recipe and his sandwich construction tips to make the above sandwich. A pinch of Aleppo pepper adds some nice heat and flavor. Mmmm.

I'm currently using this sourdough starter. You'll need about a cup or so of starter before beginning this recipe. Also make sure what pan sizes you have. Metal pans (I just got 10 of these) brown nicer, but I have used Fiesta cereal bowls too.

LAL’s Sourdough Sandwich Buns

One Day Ahead:

Ingredients:

For the buns:

1 Batch 1.5 Batch

115 g (0.4 cup) sourdough starter, 1:1 173 g (0.6 cup)

130 g (0.55 cup) water 195 g (0.825 cup)

130 g (1.04 cup) all-purpose flour 195 g (1.56 cup)

For the fridge:

1 Batch 1.5 Batch

~71 g* (0.24* cup) sourdough starter, 1:1 ~107 g (0.36 cup)

80 g (0.34 cup) water 120 g (0.51 cup)

80 g (0.64 cup) all-purpose flour 120 g (0.96 cup)

* Adjust as needed.

Directions:

For the Buns:

Get cold starter from the fridge, and stir. If there’s liquid on top, stir that in too.

In a large bowl, combine starter with flour and water. Stir until smooth. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and leave out on the counter for a day. This will be used in the recipe.

For the fridge:

Place remaining starter In a separate bowl. If there is too much, throw some out or use for something else. Stir in flour and water until smooth. If not much starter is left, add extra flour & water (even scrapings from the side of the bowl will work).

Cover lightly, and leave out on the counter overnight. If extra flour & water was added, leave bowl sitting out longer until nicely active. Return this starter to the fridge. I use a quart Mason jar with the lid loose.

Baking Day:

Ingredients:

1 Batch 1.5 Batch

~372 g sourdough starter from yesterday ~558 g

256 g (1.05 cup) whole milk 384 g (1.575 cup)

252 g (2.02 cup) all-purpose flour 378 g (3.03 cup)

17 g (4 tsp) sugar 25 g (6 tsp)

1.5 tsp malt, non-diastatic 2.25 tsp

1.5 tsp yeast, instant/bread 2.25 tsp

0.375 tsp baking soda 0.5 tsp + 1 pinch

0.75 tsp salt 1.125 tsp

sesame seeds to sprinkle on top

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375°.
Scald milk, then pour into mixer bowl. Mix on low, cooling until below 120°, or until not too hot to hold a finger in it.
Continue mixing on “low” and add the sourdough.
Mix together the flour, sugar, malt powder, yeast, baking soda, and salt. Add half at a time to the starter mixture, mixing on low until combined.
Increase speed to 50% and knead for 7 min. This is a very wet dough; when pulled by hand, the bowl full should stretch over a foot without tearing, and look reminiscent of taffy being pulled.
Cover and proof for 20 min.
Grease pans generously with cooking spray. Divide dough into the pans; it will spread while proofing.
Spray the top generously with cooking spray, then cover with plastic wrap, or place pans on a half-sheet pan with a lid. Proof until doubled, about 45 min to an hour.
Uncover, then sprinkle with sesame seeds. Place pans directly on oven rack and bake for about 17-20 min. Cool in pans on a rack for about 10 min, then remove pans and cool directly on a rack.

Pan Qty & Size Choices:

1 Batch 1.5 Batch

# Pans Dough per Pan Pan size # Pans

2 420 g 9” round 3

4 210 g 6.5” round 6

7 120 g 5” round (100 g) 10

Current starter: https://breadtopia.com/starter_instructions/

Starter: 50% flour/water by weight: 1 cup (deflated) = 290 g

Neutral Buoyancy Cheesecake (Sous Vide) Dex#

2018-02-01T21:00:00.001-06:00

With cherry topping, left, and apricot jam, right.

This was a fun one! I got a huge kick out of the Lifehacker post called Will It Sous Vide? Creamy Cheesecake Edition. I love cheesecake, and have sous vide capability. Also, cheesecake does not rely on sugar for its structure, and the fiber just disappears into the batter like it isn't even there. I found a good starting recipe, replaced 4/5'ths of the sugar with dextrose (to reduce the amount of fructose in it), and added enough fiber to make the fiber:carb ratio match that in blueberries. Turned out fabulous!

I also had sous vide adventures of my own. Tried putting the cheesecake mix into a vacuum bag to cook, then sprinkling it with toasted crumbled graham cracker crust.
Didn't work out. the weight of the water compacted the cheesecake, and it had a bad texture. But, it worked great in jars! Only, the jars floated, which made it really hard to deal with. Try balancing a dinner plate on a bunch of jars floating in a bath of hot water. They do not cooperate. They tip over, escape, and you get splashed with hot water.

That is when I decided to try making the jars neutral buoyant. The kids and I played with a room-temperature water bath and jars of water, trying to find that perfect weight at which the jars would sink just half-way, hovering in the middle of the bath. We were able to achieve skimming around just above the bottom, and floating just below the top. Also, they behave differently in hot water, sinking and floating as the jars heat up. Still, our efforts at neutral buoyancy were entertaining, and gave us jars that sink very slowly, feel nearly weightless until you start to lift them out of the bath, and are easy to sink.

Bonus: the creamy, delicious cheesecakes come out of the bath "canned", sealed shut. This keeps them fresh for quite some time, as we discovered after finding one that got lost in the fridge for a month. It probably would have lasted longer, but it was eaten instead.

I used 250 ml Bernardin jars, a large Tramontina pot, Presto racks, and a Paragon induction burner for this. Check here for links.

Neutral Buoyancy Cheesecake (Sous Vide) Dex#

Neutral Buoyancy: jar + cheesecake = 335 g*

Crust:

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5 Jars		Ingredient	10 Jars		15 Jars
57 g	(3.75 crackers)	honey maid graham	114 g	(7.5 crackers)	171 g	(11.25 crackers)
2.1 g	(0.5 tsp)	sugar	4.2 g	(1 tsp)	6.3 g	(1.5 tsp)
8.55 g	(3.25 tsp)	anhydrous dextrose	17.1 g	(6.5 tsp)	25.65 g	(9.75 tsp)
13.15 g	(2.5 Tbsp)	Benefiber	26.3 g	(5 Tbsp)	39.45 g	(7.5 Tbsp)
0.65 g	(0.25 tsp)	cinnamon	1.3 g	(0.5 tsp)	1.95 g	(0.75 tsp)
34 g	(2.4 Tbsp)	Butter, salted	68 g	(4.8 Tbsp)	102 g	(7.2 Tbsp)

Cheesecake Batter:

5 Jars		Ingredient	10 Jars		15 Jars
362 g	(1.6 pk, 8-oz)	Cheese, cream	724 g	(3.2 pk, 8-oz)	1086 g	(4.8 pk, 8-oz)
30 g	(2.4 Tbsp)	sugar	60 g	(4.8 Tbsp)	90 g	(7.2 Tbsp)
92 g	(0.74 cup)	anhydrous dextrose	184 g	(1.48 cup)	276 g	(2.22 cup)
18 g	(3.54 tsp)	lemon juice	36 g	(7.08 tsp)	54 g	(10.62 tsp)
4 g	(0.92 tsp)	vanilla extract	8 g	(1.84 tsp)	12 g	(2.76 tsp)
1.42 g	(0.25 tsp)	salt	2.84 g	(0.5 tsp)	4.26 g	(0.75 tsp)
10 g	(3.84 tsp)	all-purpose flour	20 g	(7.68 tsp)	30 g	(11.52 tsp)
46 g	(0.54 cup)	Benefiber	92 g	(1.08 cup)	138 g	(1.62 cup)
100 g	(2 large)	whole egg	200 g	(4 large)	300 g	(6 large)

Directions:

1. Fill sous vide vessel to desired final level, then remove water according to quantity of jars. Record water level from rim of pot for future use:

5 jars: Remove 7 cups water.
10 jars: Remove 14 cups water. Water 4.25” from top for our large pot
15 jars: Remove 21 cups water.

2. Heat water to 176ºF. Gather the needed number of straight-sided, wide-mouth, 8 oz canning jars, lids, and rings.

3. Make crust: Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 350°. Crush graham crackers in a gallon ziplock, using a rolling pin. Mix in sugar, dextrose, Benefiber, and cinnamon. Mix in melted butter.

4. Press crumbs into jars, about 22 g each, with a pastry/tart tamper. Arrange on a sheet pan, and bake 13 - 15 minutes until toasty, then remove and cool.

5. Make batter: Beat cream cheese, sugar, dextrose, lemon juice, vanilla and salt in large bowl until very smooth. Beat in flour and Benefiber.

6. Add eggs one at a time. Beat until smooth and fluffy, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of the bowl.

7. Zero a scale, and place one jar and lid on the scale. Scoop in just enough batter to reach neutral buoyancy weight, including the lid, 335 g for Bernardin jars. Tighten the lid on the jar. Repeat for each jar.

8. Gently place jars into hot water. Jars will initially sink. Place racks between layers as stacking becomes necessary. Place a rack on top also, as the jars will gradually float. They need to be fully submerged to cook properly.

9. Cook 2 hours, until set. Remove jars from bath, and cool for 30 min. Refrigerate four hours to overnight.

10. Top with berries and glaze, cherry pie filling, or jam.

*Neutral Buoyancy for: “Bernardin Mason Jars - 250 mL - Wide” was achieved at 335 g. If using a different jar, test first. Fill the jar with water to reach 335 g, then place into a room-temperature water bath. Adjust this weight if necessary until jar just hovers at the top of the bath, and record weight. In a hot bath, it should sink initially, hovering at the bottom, then bobbing up as the jar heats up.

Ingredients and Equipment lists

2018-01-21T12:23:00.004-06:00

This post has been moved to a permanent page, and is being updated periodically. Find it here: https://doughcrafter.blogspot.com/p/guittards-cocoa-rouge-hersheys-special.html

Rudolph's Elixir, Tipsy or not

2018-01-17T17:53:00.003-06:00

This is my take on a festive drink called Rudolph's Spritzer, originally made with fruit juices and sodas. I've captured the flavors of the original, while leaving behind a lot of the fructose. For the "tipsy" version, add vodka. Admittedly, I have not tried it that way myself. Cheers!

Ingredients

288 g (.9 cups) soda syrup, one fourth of a recipe from this blog post, or make just enough (see below).
½ tsp (2.5 ml) real cherry extract
½ tsp (2.5 ml) imitation cherry extract
3/4 tsp (3.7 ml) almond extract
20 drops orange oil
2 drops lemon oil
3 drops lime oil
1.1 g (0.25 tsp) malic acid
4.8 g (1 tsp) citric acid
1 drops red8 drops yellow

Instructions:

For Syrup: Add flavorings to the soda syrup and blend well with an immersion blender.
For soda: Add to cold soda water, or to cold water and use a carbonation system like the one discussed here: Home-Made Soda: Let's talk Fizzzzz, to make 1.8 liters.

Soda Syrup, Just enough for this recipe

If you don't already have some made up, and want to make just enough for the cherry syrup, make this first. Yield: 288 g (.9 cups) soda syrup

Ingredients

27 g (0.14 cup) sugar

116 g (1.01 cup) dextrose

42 g (0.5 cup) Benefiber, Dex#

9 g (0.11 cup) Benefiber, Dex++

0.02 tsp (0.05 g) cream of tartar

103 g (0.46 cup) water

0.25 tsp table salt

0.09 tsp accent

0.5 drops glycerin

1.3 g (0.26 tsp, 42 drops) stevia drops

1.2 g (0.21 tsp) gum arabic*

0.14 g (0.02 tsp) xanthan gum*

*If you've got some mixed up from the other blog post, use 1.3 g (0.23 tsp) emulsifier blend to replace the gum arabic and xanthan gum.

Instructions

In the pot, mix together sugar, dextrose, fiber, and cream of tartar. Add water and optional salts for soda syrup, and stir to combine over low heat.
Note: be prepared to remove the pot from the heat If it begins to boil over.
Increase heat to medium-high, continue to stir while bring to a gentle boil (250). Wash any sugars off the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush. Reduce heat (220), cover, and simmer 10 min. Remove from heat and cool 30 minutes or to room temperature.
Add water to achieve final weight/volume, to account for evaporated water.
Add stevia, and emulsifiers. Blend well with an immersion blender.
Store refrigerated.

Candy Cherry Syrup Dex#

2018-01-17T17:37:00.001-06:00

What's this? What's it for? Add it to a cola or lemon-lime soda to make a cherry version, yummm; plus it adds fiber. It also turns plain yogurt into something like a go-gurt, but with a lot less sugar.

It has a super-strong and sour cherry flavor, and reminds me of cherry candy. After a lot of Google searches, I discovered that almond is the secret flavor. I also tried this with real cherry flavor and artificial cherry flavor. In the end, I decided to use both! It satisfies my notion of cherry candy from my childhood, while rounding it out with the real flavor.

Candy Cherry Syrup

Ingredients

576 g (1.8 cups) soda syrup, half a recipe from this blog post, or make just enough (see below).
16 g (3.75 tsp) almond extract
8 g (1.88 tsp) real cherry extract
8 g (1.88 tsp) imitation cherry extract
15 g (3.38 tsp) malic acid
1 g (32 drops) stevia liquid "NOW"
2 drops scarlet red coloring

Instructions

Blend with an immersion blender. No need to refrigerate.

Soda Syrup, Just enough for this recipe

If you don't already have some made up, and want to make just enough for the cherry syrup, make this first. Yield: 576 g (1.8 cups) soda syrup

Ingredients

53.5 g (0.27 cup) sugar
232 g (2.02 cup) dextrose
84 g (1 cup) Benefiber
0.03 tsp (0.1 g) cream of tartar
206.5 g (0.91 cup) water
0.5 tsp table salt
0.19 tsp accent
1 drops glycerin
2.55 g (0.53 tsp) stevia drops
2.4 g (0.42 tsp) gum arabic*
0.28 g (0.04 tsp) xanthan gum*

*If you've got some mixed up from the other blog post, use 2.68 g (0.46 tsp) emulsifier blend to replace the gum arabic and xanthan gum.

Instructions

In the pot, mix together sugar, dextrose, fiber, and cream of tartar. Add water and optional salts for soda syrup, and stir to combine over low heat.
Note: be prepared to remove the pot from the heat If it begins to boil over.
Increase heat to medium-high, continue to stir while bring to a gentle boil (250). Wash any sugars off the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush. Reduce heat (220), cover, and simmer 10 min. Remove from heat and cool 30 minutes or to room temperature.
Add water to achieve final weight/volume, to account for evaporated water.
Add stevia, and emulsifiers. Blend well with an immersion blender.
Store refrigerated.

Dragon's Blood (Fruit Punch Soda) Dex#

2018-01-17T16:59:00.001-06:00

This is currently our favorite flavor of home-made soda. I sometimes mix up a batch of "candy cherry flavor" as a separate recipe, because this is such a nice flavor combo to use in other recipes. It is shelf-stable, and can be made in larger batches. I've also broken out the exact amount needed for one 2-liter bottle of Fruit Punch Soda. The syrup is in a previous post, Home-Made Soda: The Syrup, Dex#, and is repeated here in case you prefer making just enough for one bottle of soda.

Ingredients

288 g (.9 cups) soda syrup, one fourth of a recipe from this blog post, or make just enough (see below).
0.67 ml (14 drops) lemon oil
0.95 ml (20 drops) orange oil
2.8 g (0.63 tsp) pineapple extract
2.5 g (0.38 tsp) citric acid
1.3 g (0.13 tsp) salt

Candy Cherry ingredients***

2.33 g (0.55 tsp) almond extract
1.17 g (0.27 tsp) real cherry extract
1.17 g (0.27 tsp) imitation cherry extract
2.19 g (0.49 tsp) malic acid
0.15 g (4.67 x drop) stevia liquid "NOW"
1 drops scarlet coloring**

Instructions:

For Syrup: Add flavorings to the soda syrup and blend well with an immersion blender.
For soda: Add to cold soda water, or to cold water and use a carbonation system like the one discussed here: Home-Made Soda: Let's talk Fizzzzz, to make 1.8 liters.

**Add more to your liking. Who knows what color dragon's blood really is anyway?

***Candy Cherry flavor

Yield: 48 g (3 Tbsp) (1.5 fl oz)

Substitute 7 g of this flavor mixture for the candy cherry ingredients listed above.

16 g (3.75 tsp) almond extract
8 g (1.88 tsp) real cherry extract
8 g (1.88 tsp) imitation cherry extract
15 g (3.38 tsp) malic acid
1 g (32 x drop) stevia liquid "NOW"
2 drops scarlet coloring

WARNING! Mixture will become cold as malic acid dissolves. Combine in a non-sensitive container. Do not mix directly in a glass jar with threaded top, as the rim may crack off.

Soda Syrup, Just enough for this recipe

If you don't already have some made up, and want to make just enough for the cherry syrup, make this first. Yield: 288 g (.9 cups) soda syrup

Ingredients

27 g (0.14 cup) sugar
116 g (1.01 cup) dextrose
42 g (0.5 cup) Benefiber, Dex#
9 g (0.11 cup) Benefiber, Dex++
0.02 tsp (0.05 g) cream of tartar
103 g (0.46 cup) water
0.25 tsp table salt
0.09 tsp accent
0.5 drops glycerin
1.3 g (0.26 tsp, 42 drops) stevia drops
1.2 g (0.21 tsp) gum arabic*
0.14 g (0.02 tsp) xanthan gum*

*If you've got some mixed up from the other blog post, use 1.3 g (0.23 tsp) emulsifier blend to replace the gum arabic and xanthan gum.

Instructions

In the pot, mix together sugar, dextrose, fiber, and cream of tartar. Add water and optional salts for soda syrup, and stir to combine over low heat.
Note: be prepared to remove the pot from the heat If it begins to boil over.
Increase heat to medium-high, continue to stir while bring to a gentle boil (250). Wash any sugars off the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush. Reduce heat (220), cover, and simmer 10 min. Remove from heat and cool 30 minutes or to room temperature.
Add water to achieve final weight/volume, to account for evaporated water.
Add stevia, and emulsifiers. Blend well with an immersion blender.
Store refrigerated.

Same-Day Eggnog Dex#

2017-12-30T16:00:00.001-06:00

I really love a glass of eggnog around the holidays. It's a bit fussy cooking up a custard, and worst of all, it takes hours to cool. Grabbing a bottle from the grocery is so much easier and faster! Except, it has all that sugar in it. If only I could make eggnog at home, and drink it right away; then it would be easier than driving to the store.

Well, I've found a way, and it makes us happy. :) It's also Dex#, my term for when the carb to fiber ratio is 5:1, like what it is in blueberries. For Dex#, all the non-fiber carbs count, where as for Dex+ I only look at the fructose to fiber ratio. But enough of that, on to what makes the recipe work!

There are a few special things to consider here:

Instant clearjel: this is easy enough to mail-order, and it's a really handy ingredient to have on-hand.

Raw egg yolks are necessary for the texture, but raise health concerns. I simply use eggs from the grocery that are not "out of date", and we've never had a problem. Another option is buying pasteurized eggs, or apparently you can pasteurize them at home. If none of those options work for you, then leave out the clearjel, and cook like you would for a custard; however, it will need several hours to chill.

A blender that can powder sugar. I use a VitaMix; not sure how well other blenders do on this. Powdering the sugar is important for getting it to dissolve without the need for cooking.

Spices: Fresh nutmeg and a fine grater beats pre-ground. A rum flavoring is crucial; I use LorAnn butter rum. Almond flavor. And real vanilla. I use vanilla extract and vanilla bean paste; the paste adds those little vanilla seed specs and a lot of good flavor.

I pick up a couple of old-fashioned glass quart milk bottles to keep it in, and make two quarts at a time. I hear it's good with sherry, cognac or brandy mixed in, but I like it without. There's a bottle in the fridge right now. It is calling to me....

Same-Day Eggnog Dex#

Yield: 1 Quart

Ingredients

36 g (0.18 cup) sugar
12 g (4 tsp) instant clearjel
1 g (0.125 tsp) table salt
1 pinch accent
95 g (0.83 cup) dextrose
63 g (0.75 cup) Benefiber
338 g (1.39 cup) whole milk
58 g (0.18 cup) Karo
68 g (4 large) egg yolk
5 ml (1 tsp) Vanilla extract
2.5 ml (½ tsp) vanilla bean paste
.62 ml (1/8 tsp) almond
.62 ml (1/8 tsp) butter rum extract
~25 passes Freshly microplaned nutmeg
350 g (1.46 cup) heavy cream

Directions

Combine sugar, instant clearjel, salt, and accent in the pitcher of a blender and blend until finely powdered. Add dextrose and Benefiber, pulsing a few times to mix in.
Add milk, Karo, egg yolks, vanilla extract, vanilla paste, almond, butter rum and nutmeg, and blend until smooth.
Add cream and pulse the blender until just combined. Over-blending will over-fill the quart bottles. Pour into glass milk bottles, or straight into serving glasses. If it has been sitting in the fridge, shake before serving.

Spriggan Soda (Lemon-Lime)

2017-12-28T14:18:00.000-06:00

You can make a really good lemon-lime using, no surprise, lemons and limes. However, lemons and limes vary in size and cost, they spoil, and also take a bit of work to cut and squeeze. The easier and more consistent way is to use lemon and lime oils for the flavor, and a blend of citric and malic acids for the sourness.

I've been using Boyajian oils, which you can get in a set of three, orange, lemon, and lime. They can also be used in place of citrus zest, 1/4 tsp or 24 drops per 3 tsp zest; really handy. The emulsifiers (gum Arabic and xanthan gum) in the syrup allow the oils to blend in, rather than pooling on top.

Acidity is a huge part of the flavor of citrus, and of soda. You can try only using the citric acid, but using the malic also makes this more like real citrus fruit. Malic acid is the sour in lots of super-sour candy. It's also the main acid in apples.

Spriggan Soda

Ingredients

288 g (.9 cups) soda syrup, one fourth of a recipe from this blog post, or make just enough (see below).
2.4 g (0.5 tsp) citric acid
.6 g (0.125 tsp) malic acid
.3 g (6 drops) lemon oil
.5 g (10 drops) lime oil
Cold soda water, or cold water and a carbonation system like the one discussed here: Home-Made Soda: Let's talk Fizzzzz

Directions

Syrup: Blend together syrup and flavorings with an immersion blender until well combined. For best results, chill the syrup before making soda.

To make soda:
Method 1: Add all the syrup to cold carbonated water to make about 1.8 liters of soda.

Method 2 (see Home-Made Soda: Let's talk Fizzzzz for more detail):
a) Add all the syrup to chilled water to make about 1.8 liters, in a 2-liter soda bottle. This should bring the level to about the start of the curve in the top of the bottle.
b) Squeeze out all the air, pressurize, and shake bottle vigorously for 30 seconds. Close valve.
c) Again, Squeeze out all the air (except for what is trapped in the foam on top), pressurize, and shake bottle vigorously for another 30 seconds. Close valve.
d) All done! Close all the valves, and put the original cap back on the bottle. Rinse the carbonation cap.

Soda Syrup, Just enough for this recipe

If you don't already have some made up, and want to make just enough for the cherry syrup, make this first. Yield: 288 g (.9 cups) soda syrup

Ingredients

27 g (0.14 cup) sugar

116 g (1.01 cup) dextrose

42 g (0.5 cup) Benefiber, Dex#

9 g (0.11 cup) Benefiber, Dex++

0.02 tsp (0.05 g) cream of tartar

103 g (0.46 cup) water

0.25 tsp table salt

0.09 tsp accent

0.5 drops glycerin

1.3 g (0.26 tsp, 42 drops) stevia drops

1.2 g (0.21 tsp) gum arabic*

0.14 g (0.02 tsp) xanthan gum*

*If you've got some mixed up from the other blog post, use 1.3 g (0.23 tsp) emulsifier blend to replace the gum arabic and xanthan gum.

Instructions

In the pot, mix together sugar, dextrose, fiber, and cream of tartar. Add water and optional salts for soda syrup, and stir to combine over low heat.
Note: be prepared to remove the pot from the heat If it begins to boil over.
Increase heat to medium-high, continue to stir while bring to a gentle boil (250). Wash any sugars off the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush. Reduce heat (220), cover, and simmer 10 min. Remove from heat and cool 30 minutes or to room temperature.
Add water to achieve final weight/volume, to account for evaporated water.
Add stevia, and emulsifiers. Blend well with an immersion blender.
Store refrigerated.

Home-Made Soda: The Syrup, Dex#

2017-12-27T20:01:00.001-06:00

I'm revisiting Soda Syrup, for a couple of reasons. The lemon-lime I had come up with was tasty, but it was too much work to make a glass. The syrup was very thick, and hard to stir in. Cutting, squeezing, and crushing the lemons and limes was a hassle. We stopped making it, and after a while, diet drinks started showing up at home.

This new and improved syrup:

Is thinner due to not using corn syrup.
Contains some stevia, a natural sweetener that, best I can tell, has no bad effects on health.
Has emulsifiers (I will spare you all the details on experiments), which allow use of oils for flavoring, and also gives a nice foam like store-bought cokes.

The cream of tartar and simmering time help keep the syrup from crystallizing as quickly when stored. If it does crystallize, heat (microwave is fine) until crystals dissolve.

Soda Syrup Dex#

Yield: 1152 g (3.6 cup), enough for four 2-liter bottles of soda.

107 g (0.54 cup) sugar

464 g (4.03 cup) dextrose

168 g (2 cup) Benefiber

1/16 tsp (1 pinch) cream of tartar

413 g (1.82 cup) water

1 tsp table salt

3/8 tsp accent

2 drops glycerin

5.1 g (1 tsp) stevia drops

4.8 g (0.845 tsp) gum arabic**
.55 g (0.07 tsp) xanthan gum**

* To make it Dex++, use 38 g (0.45 cup) Benefiber

** For easier measuring, make the emulsifier blend listed below, and use 5.4 g (.92 tsp) of the blend in place of gum arabic and xanthan gum in this recipe. Store extra in a clean, dry spice bottle.

Instructions

In the pot, mix together sugar, dextrose, fiber, and cream of tartar. Add water and optional salts for soda syrup, and stir to combine over low heat.
Note: be prepared to remove the pot from the heat If it begins to boil over.
Increase heat to medium-high, continue to stir while bring to a gentle boil (250). Wash any sugars off the sides of the pan with a wet pastry brush. Reduce heat (220), cover, and simmer 10 min. Remove from heat and cool 30 minutes or to room temperature.
Add water to achieve final weight/volume, to account for evaporated water.
Add stevia, and emulsifiers. Blend well with an immersion blender.
Store refrigerated.

**Emulsifier Blend

Easier quantities to measure. Makes 70 g, about ¼ cup

63 g (3.69 Tbsp) gum arabic
7 g (0.95 tsp) xanthan gum

Ingredient details:

NOW Foods BetterStevia Liquid,8-Ounce

Gum Arabic Powder Frontier Natural Products 1 lb Bulk

NOW Foods Xanthan Gum Powder, 6-Ounce
**Bulk Dextrose, or find locally at brew supply, or at Amazon; also sold as dextrose monohydrate, and corn sugar

Home-Made Soda: Let's talk Fizzzzz

2017-12-27T18:45:00.001-06:00

I've been playing with carbonated beverages lately, because who wouldn't like to know how to make their own Coke; am I right? Cola, as it turns out, is quite a challenge, and I'm still working on that one. However, fruity flavored sodas are delicious in so many varieties it's hard to make a bad one. Well, as long as the sweet/acid/flavor ratio is good. After that, it's up to you as to what flavors you like. So many flavors!

This is my newest creation: Rudolph's Elixir. For Rudolph's Tipsy Elixir, add vodka.
What you need for any soda is: syrup, emulsifiers, flavors, acids, and carbonated water. Let's talk carbonation first; syrups and flavors in a future post.

The low-commitment way to start is to buy a bottle of carbonated water from the grocery. Chill in the fridge, and stir in some syrup. Simple! Stirring syrup into already fizzy water looses some of the fizz, though, and you'll be mixing one glass at a time.

A Soda Stream sounds like a good alternate solution, at least at first. However, they do not recommend carbonating flavored water, because it will get the valve all gummy. That means what you're saving really is the inconvenience of lugging home bottles of carbonated water, but at a pretty hefty price. They also have expiration dates on their small, expensive, proprietary-lid-size bottles, and very small CO2 bottl. My Soda Stream is in the garage, waiting for our next yard sale.

Once you're committed to home-made soda, here is what you really want. Isn't it a thing of beauty? Look at the lovely dials and knobs! Seriously, it's pretty easy to use, and not that scary after the first time. And the fizz; the beautiful bubbles! The bottle? A recycled 2-liter from the grocery.

This setup cost me about $180, and should last me about 6 months before needing a recharge. That's pretty close to the cost of a Soda Stream, especially if you buy a second CO2 bottle and more soda bottles. Plus I can carbonate anything I want to, and just rinse out the carbonation cap. Here's what I got:

A CO2 cannister, purchased locally. I believe it is the 10-pound size.
Kegco KC LH-542 Premium Pro Series Dual Gauge Co2 Draft Beer Regulator, Chrome
Ball Lock Cornelius Keg Gas Line Assembly by The Weekend Brewer
Stainless Carbonation Cap with 5/16" Barb Ball Lock Type

Here's how to use it, after it is set up:
1. Fill a 2-liter bottle with cold flavored water, just to where the bottle starts to curve in towards the lid.

2. Screw on the carbonation cap while squeezing all the air out of the bottle. Tighten firmly.

3. Snap the ball lock QD onto the cap (pull the ring up so it'll go on).

Ball Lock Quick Disconnect (QD)

4. Open the valve on the top of the CO2 bottle, and throw the blue valve on the regulator. The bottle will make a "sproing" sound, and fill tightly. Shake vigorously, in the exact way you never want to shake a soda bottle, for 30 seconds.

5. Close valve, carefully unscrew the lid and squeeze out the air again (don't squeeze out any foam on top, that would be messy) and re-tighten the lid; this lets out the air that was in the water to begin with, and makes a fizzier soda. Open valve, and shake 30 seconds again. You can skip this step, but it makes a fizzier drink.

6. Close both valves firmly, pop off the ball lock snap, and unscrew the lid (carefully). Soda!!!

First-time setup of the items I listed above:
a) Loosen the clamp (circled in blue). Slip off the fitting (circled in red); you won't need it, so drop it in your junk drawer.

b) Push the hose onto the regulator barb, then tighten down the clamp.

c) Screw the regulator onto the CO2 bottle.

d) Watch this guy at Popular Science, this was my inspiration. Use the regulator to adjust pressure if you need to. I think mine is set to 40 psi.

How to Make Your Own Home Drink Carbonation System

The Cream Candy Saga continues....

2017-11-25T17:16:00.000-06:00

Another Thanksgiving, another try at cream candy. This year, we thought we knew what we were doing. That is where we went wrong. Complacency.

Armed with notes from years past, I did not even dribble candy into a glass of water as the temperature rose. I couldn't find my old-fashioned glass thermometer, so used the fancy William Sonoma flat metal one. Then the fateful comment was made: "The one thing that hasn't gone wrong before was to go too high on the temperature".

Well. Now we know what happens. If the candy gets too hot, it is nearly impossible to pull. Two good-sized adults pulling on a batch of candy, and it barely stretched. I bet we put 150 lbs on that candy. Impressive; it didn't break either. We did as much as we could, then just laid it down. If you tried to snap it, the candy rope just slowly bent. If you dropped it from a foot or so above the granite, it broke in pieces. Eating a piece resulted in gluing teeth together, kind of like a sugar daddy, more like hard candy. The kids started microwaving bits of it to see what would happen. It became crumbly, but lost the good flavor.

So, nothing to do but start over, after a good 20-30 minute hunt for the thermometer. This type, but I don't think this brand, just whatever was at the grocery. Also, I used a spoon and glass of water to check the thread, soft ball, and hard ball stages. I also used my fancy electronic thermometer, the only one I've found that works with the induction cooktop.

The glass thermometer rose steadily. The electronic was more volatile, reacting quickly as the probe was moved around in the pot. As the glass one approached 260, the electronic would read as high as 270! I finally couldn't take it any more, and pulled it off the heat when the glass one read 255. And, that was too early.

The candy was too sticky to hold for long, and was really soft. I laid it back down on the silicone mat, and pulled/folded it on the mat. Then, in a surreal few minutes, it turned foggy, smelled wonderful, then turned into crystal and broke in pieces. Success! Although not beautiful, it was all gone in a moment, as many hands reached in.

Bonus: By the next day (today), the original batch crystallized into a slightly dryer, more crumbly version of the proper texture. I just checked, and it is softening, and is almost just right! The kids say that our true belief that the batch had failed is why it turned good. Hahaha, and my brother's family took some with them; should be witnessing the magic also, on their journey home. A good Thanksgiving was had by all.

(Kentucky) Cream Candy Update

2015-11-29T14:00:00.000-06:00

2015 Update:

Cream candy. Every Thanksgiving, we make it again. It is always delicious, but the experience is always different, and unlike how I recall my father doing it.

This year I tried a couple of changes, and got a dramatically different result. However, no new pictures, unfortunately.

I found three videos for pulling cream candy:
Two ladies pulling together. This one is most similar to what I remember, although that is a much larger batch, and we never had two people pulling together.

A grandfather pulls, and his son cuts with scissors. This one is also a larger batch, and looks more firm than ours. Also, they are able to really take their time shaping it, and the scissors look painful. Ours would have turned solid much sooner, and is not nearly as hard to cut up as that.

A failed attempt by some other guy. I don't think he should have put it on waxed paper. I included this one because, well, it's kinda funny and demonstrates what can happen if you lack experience; seems familiar. :)

Planned changes for this year:

Put a lid on the pot as it comes to an initial boil, to help wash sugar crystals off the sides of the pot.
Take the temperature up to 265° instead of the original 250°.

What happened:

I put on the lid, and set the temperature to med-high instead of med-low (oops). Meanwhile my brother and I discussed the temperature change. He was in favor of the original temperature, but I argued that Dad always tested the candy by dribbling in a glass of cold water. I think he was looking for a "soft ball", but am not sure. Then we debated what a "soft ball" really looks like.

Meanwhile, the candy came to a ripping good boil and was already turning caramel-colored before the lid was removed. At that point I set the temperature down to med-low and put in the thermometer. There were so many bubbles that the candy floated during the "dribble" test. We did the unthinkable: we stirred the pot, trying to get rid of some bubbles. Nothing disastrous happened, though. :) We managed to dribble some into the glass without bubbles, and fished it back out. It was soft and could be rolled into a ball. The temperature was 255°. We decided to pour it out to cool.

Next, we used some butter on our hands (not sure where that can of cooking spray got off to....) and tried picking it up. I could roll it into a blob, but it really wanted to stick to my hands. My brother took it, and it really glued to his hands. He kept pushing it back together, then pulling his hands apart. It looked nothing like those videos or our previous experiences.

After a relatively short while, he said it was starting to release from his fingers. A few minutes later, he announced that it was definitely warming up, and he set it down, I rolled the gooey blob into a nice long, smooth rope with a big lazy S shape to fit it on the mat, all the while thinking it did not seem done. Then, it started to turn solid! I was able to cut about 2/3 of it before it was solid, and was able to get pretty nice chunks out of the whole thing, very few crumbles!

The results: very creamy, yum! But compared to photos and the above videos, it was not the same. Smooth, no ridges at all. So, now what? The process seemed kind of wrong, but the result was good. What would happen if I took it to 265°? Was it bad to cook it at med-high at the beginning? Do I continue to try recapturing how Dad did it, or go forward with the ultra-sticky but faster results from this year? Too bad we don't know any other Cream Candy makers, to compare experiences. I may have to try again soon, rather than waiting another year. But, well, this recipe continues to entertain us. :)

Ma's Six Day Pickles Dex+

2015-10-18T22:46:00.000-05:00

Pickles? Six days? Why??? Answer: These are amazing. This is my grandmother's recipe. And, for myself and my brother, they are as delicious as they are in our childhood memories. Translucent, crunchy sweet/sour pickles, kind of like bread-and-butter's.

Translucent pickle slices on top of grilled cheese. Simple perfection.

They are especially good on top of a grilled cheese sandwich. My children love them too. The recipe, as it was given to me, was very light on instructions, and included wonderful measurements like "salt to float an egg", and "alum the size of an egg". Yes indeed, an egg will float if you add enough salt to the water. Fun fun fun. :)

3 gallon Blue Crown stoneware crock sitting on a 15" Fiesta Pizza Tray.

So, can you dex+ a dill pickle? Why yes, yes you can. Above is my crock, and below you can see the brine where the cucumbers are weighted down by a plate, fermenting in salty water. I am trying to put away enough pickles to hold through until next spring, and give some to my mom and brother as gifts.

9" Plate used as a weight to sink cucumber slices.

Treasure. Sweet pickles.

Ma's Six Day Pickles Dex+

Ingredients:

Brine

1 gallon cucumber slices (4 - 4 1/2 lbs, ~24 at 5 to 6” long x 1 to 1 3/8” diameter)
water to cover cucumbers by 2” (5 quarts water)
salt to float an egg (1.5 lb pickling salt)

Alum Boil

lump of alum the size of egg (2 oz alum powder)

Spice Bag Boil

1 tsp ginger
1 tsp whole cloves
1 tsp celery seed
1 cinnamon stick

Pickle Syrup

240 g (1.2 cups) sugar
1043 g (9 cups) dextrose
76 g (0.9 cup) Benefiber
1 quart vinegar
1 pint water
1 tsp salt
¼ tsp Accent

Equipment:

2-3 gallon pickling crock
7 1-pint canning jars, bails, and fresh new lids
canning equipment (pot, rack, funnel, tongs)

Directions:

Trim off and discard cucumber ends. Cut cucumbers into 3 mm slices; feeding one at a time through a food processor works well. Discard any undesired slivers or pieces. Two cups more or less than a gallon is fine. Place cucumber slices into the crock.
Mix water with enough salt to float an egg. Pour over cucumbers. Use an inverted plate, ziplock full of water, or other weight method to sink the cucumbers. Discard or use additional weights (smaller inverted plate) to sink any slices that escape and float to the top to prevent mold.
Let stand six days, occasionally checking for and sinking or discarding escaped slices.

Drain cucumbers, cover with cold water, and add alum. Boil 10 min.

Drain and cover with cold water. Add spice bag. Boil another 10 min. and drain.

Add cucumbers to a pot with pickle syrup ingredients. Boil until cucumbers look transparent.
Put in jars and refrigerate, or process according to canning instructions, water bath method, for acidic food. Boiling time is 10 minutes. http://www.freshpreserving.com/tools/waterbath-canning

Lovell Reunion Pecan Pie Dex+

2014-11-29T21:18:00.001-06:00

This is THE pie for our Thanksgiving table. My husband gave me the recipe, which was written down by his mom during a family reunion, where they had discussed their pie baking strategies. I made a more detailed instruction list, added the salt quantity (it had been left off), and added the best pie crust I have ever had. We used to use a store-bought crust, but I never will again.

Happily, it was very easy to Dex+. The pecans already have a good deal of fiber in them, and the pie already used corn syrup. Substituting dextrose for sugar tends to make softer versions of a recipe; chia seeds tend to thicken. In this case, the two offset perfectly, and this pie is just as magnificent as the original recipe! Honestly, this is our new traditional pie.

Lovell Reunion Pecan Pie Dex+

Ingredients:

1 One Pie Crust to Rule Them All, can be frozen
3 eggs
11 g (1 Tbsp) chia seeds
324 g (1 cup) corn syrup, light
36 g sugar
70 g dextrose
1/4 cup butter
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup pecans

Topping

~1 c whipping cream
dextrose to taste
1/2 tsp vanilla or to taste
1 pinch salt

Instructions:

Let frozen crust sit out to thaw, while preparing the filling. Preheat oven to 400.
Finely chop chia seed in a spice mill, Lightly beat eggs and chia together in a bowl; set aside.
Combine corn syrup, sugar, and dextrose in a two quart saucepan. Bring to a boil, and continue boiling for about a minute. Remove from heat, and whisk about 1/3 of the hot syrup into the beaten eggs, then whisk it all back into the pot. Add butter and stir until mostly melted. Stir in salt and vanilla.
Add pecans to the crust. Pour syrup mixture over the pecans. Coat them all in the liquid.
The recommended crust will not over-brown. if using a different crust, cover the edges with foil if it browns fully before the pie is done.
Bake 10 min in 400° oven, then reduce heat to 250° and bake another 40-50 min, until set; it will still jiggle some if you shake it. The pie will puff slightly in the oven, and will flatten out while cooling. Do not pull out a pale pie. If necessary after the full 50 min, switch to speed convection at 400° and watch until very toasty-brown, verging on overdone. This is more likely to happen if the pie crust was used straight out of the freezer.
Cool (or eat warm). Whip the cream with vanilla, dextrose, and salt, until stiff peaks form, and serve on top of each slice of pie.

Doughcrafter: Baking on Nights and Weekends

Chocolate Crystals and what's up with Tempering

Basics:

Water and Chocolate:

Temperatures of note:

Other Details:

References:

Dark Milk Chocolate from Nibs

Dark Milk Chocolate

Ingredients

Directions

Roasting Cacao Nibs

Ingredients

Directions

Lazy Bagels in the Combi Oven

Finally Great Biscuits!

Biscuits

Ingredients:

Instructions:

A Blogger's Note

I Figured Out the Secret!!

Serious Mac & Cheese in the Slow Cooker

Serious Mac & Cheese in the Slow Cooker

Directions

Rice, in the Instant Pot

Rice in the Instant Pot

Ingredients:

Directions:

Bam! Worcestershire Sauce Dex++

Ingredients

Directions

Same-Day Ice Cream Dex#

First order of business: Improve the freezing process.

Second step: Achieve superior, nearly-instant ice cream mix.

Pasteurized Eggs.

Bringing it together.

Same-Day Ice Cream Dex#

Ingredients

Vanilla Flavorings

Vanilla Cream Flavorings (base for Pralines & Cream)

Instructions

How to Pasteurize eggs:

Ingredients, with add-ins

Vanilla Flavorings

Vanilla Cream Flavorings (base for Pralines & Cream)

Mint Flavorings

Add-in: Chocolate Chips

Instructions

Chicago-Style Deep Dish Pizza

Ingredients:

Dough Ingredients:

Pizza sauce ingredients (about 3 cups)

Filling/topping Ingredients (in order of application):

Instructions (check out the Food Wishes video):

Dough:

Sauce:

Fillings:

Pie Assembly:

Bake Pie

LAL’s Sourdough Sandwich Buns, Schlotzky's copycat

LAL’s Sourdough Sandwich Buns

One Day Ahead:

Ingredients:

Directions:

Baking Day:

Ingredients:

Directions:

Pan Qty & Size Choices:

Neutral Buoyancy Cheesecake (Sous Vide) Dex#

Neutral Buoyancy Cheesecake (Sous Vide) Dex#

Neutral Buoyancy: jar + cheesecake = 335 g*

Crust:

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Cheesecake Batter:

Directions:

Ingredients and Equipment lists

Rudolph's Elixir, Tipsy or not

Ingredients

Instructions:

Soda Syrup, Just enough for this recipe