Tips & Techniques

You’ve made the same cake many times, yet you wonder why sometimes it’s great and at other times not so great. You have used the same ingredients, carefully measured, used the same cake pan, and baked in the same oven. Well, just maybe, what you didn’t take into account is “temperature”. Not the temperature of […]

When I was growing up, we had polenta several times each month. It was a staple in our home, much like potatoes, pasta or rice are in many homes around the world. It was served mainly with a stew, often rabbit, sometimes chicken, and even with liver sauté with onions, mushrooms and red wine. No […]

There are actually three types of butter: salted, sweet and European. The question is which type is best for baking. It is a matter of opinion, but I am in the camp of sweet (unsalted) butter. In order to meet the requirements of the USDA, all butter, salted or not, must have a butter fat […]

Home bread baking is on the rise, and with it, the sale of all the equipment that make it easier and in many cases better. The Banneton Proofing Basket is one piece of the bread making experience that I think is well worth the investment. There are several formulas for caring for these baskets, and […]

Fossil records show that rose species have existed for around 40 million years. People have been using roses for medicinal, cosmetic and culinary purposes for about 5000 years. There are many historical accounts dating back as far as Mesopotamia, and 10th Century Persia. The actual distillation of oil extraction wasn’t until the late 15th early […]