BS: Cooking/baking use it or lose it

Subject: BS: Cooking/baking use it or lose it
From: Janie
Date: 14 Nov 11 - 11:48 PM

Arggghhh!

20 years of practice made me a good from scratch(not gourmet, but still quite good) cook and pastry maker. 5 years of no time to do it have transformed me into a bad cook.

Used to make biscuits to die for. Tonight, out of practice, threw the first dough out and started again. Second batch edible but not good. Have lost my touch.

N

Subject: RE: BS: Cooking/baking use it or lose it
From: katlaughing
Date: 15 Nov 11 - 12:08 AM

It's like riding a bike, sweetie. It'll come back to ya.:-) My dad used to making baking powder biscuits from scratch on Sunday mornings, sometimes. Oh, they were so good with melted butter and sugar on them! My Rog asks me to make them once in awhile, but I am out of practice, too, and I refuse to measure. Never did, never needed to. LOL

Subject: RE: BS: Cooking/baking use it or lose it
From: GUEST,Eliza
Date: 15 Nov 11 - 12:23 PM

After a few tries, all will be back to normal. I never measure, just fling in this and that. My Mum was just the same. Have a cake in the oven right now for our Church coffee morning tomorrow. Fruit and treacle cake. (In other words, shove in whatever you have in the cupboard!) Janie, is it nice to be cooking again, in spite of the rustiness? I find it very relaxing and satisfying.

Subject: RE: BS: Cooking/baking use it or lose it
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 15 Nov 11 - 12:26 PM

I do measure, but I do most of my baking from memory, though I know where the original recipes are. I do refer back if it has been a long time since I made it, and thank goodness I had the sense to write on the pages any changes I've made over the years.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Cooking/baking use it or lose it
From: gnu
Date: 15 Nov 11 - 04:11 PM

I bought 10kg of flour today ($9 on sale) after I saw that Sobeys, where Mum buys her buns, have raised the price to 39p each and are making them 2/3 the size. 39p and I could eat one in 4 bites if not 3! It'll be a lot cheaper to bake them myself during the winter.

Subject: RE: BS: Cooking/baking use it or lose it
From: GUEST,Patsy
Date: 16 Nov 11 - 02:53 AM

Janie I found the same thing most of the things I used to do ends up going in the bin. Whether it's because I am rushing it now and not putting in the same care and time to my baking I don't know.

Subject: RE: BS: Cooking/baking use it or lose it
From: GUEST,Eliza
Date: 16 Nov 11 - 04:18 AM

Being retired has a lot to do with it. When I was teaching full time, I hardly had a minute, and certainly found cooking exhausting. But I don't have a huge repertoire, and don't cook anything exotic, just the old-fashioned British stuff my Mum used to do. I think it's much cheaper to cook-it-yourself gnu, and you can use up what's in the cupboard or fridge. Also, you know what's gone in, no chemicals or rubbish!

Subject: RE: BS: Cooking/baking use it or lose it
From: John MacKenzie
Date: 16 Nov 11 - 04:44 AM

Just baked our Christmas cake yesterday. I bake regularly, I am especially fond of Banana Bread in it's many disguises.

Subject: RE: BS: Cooking/baking use it or lose it
From: GUEST,Guest from Sanity
Date: 17 Nov 11 - 02:26 AM

Anybody want some recipes??

GfS

Subject: RE: BS: Cooking/baking use it or lose it
From: lefthanded guitar
Date: 17 Nov 11 - 03:11 PM

If they're easy and don't require a lot of pans. Surely.

Subject: RE: BS: Cooking/baking use it or lose it
From: gnu
Date: 17 Nov 11 - 03:27 PM

Eliza... "Also, you know what's gone in, no chemicals or rubbish!"

The Sobeys stuff is baked fresh every day and has no crap in it. But, as long as the furnace is crankin out heat, may as well have the oven on even if it's just for one loaf or a pan of buns.

Subject: RE: BS: Cooking/baking use it or lose it
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 17 Nov 11 - 05:08 PM

We have a lot of very good recipe threads around here. Poke through the archives with the keyword for what you want and I'm sure you'll find lots. I've posted bread, biscuits, cookies, you name it along with countless others.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Cooking/baking use it or lose it
From: GUEST,PHC
Date: 17 Nov 11 - 09:24 PM

Biscuts - Pancakes - Muffins

They have less to do ingredients than PROCESS.

ALWAYS: Mix egg - AND oil/butter
Then add what-ever liquid (water, milk, yogert) Mix Well
Then add binder (wheat flour, or soy, or rice)
IF liquid is acidic (yogert, butter-milk, milk and vinager) use Baking SODA

If liquid is neutral (water, milk) then use "Baking Powder" (which has tarteric acid - cream-of-tatar that combines with the soda to create levening.)

The less the batter is stirred - the lighter the biscut will be (beating develops the glutton - a protein - that makes the biscut tough. Extra fat - adds flaky-ness.

LafKat - what happened?