Baker's brag

[Sarah]

How does it work? Other than having to find freezer space, I've always been happy enough with the standard pre-freezing type, but maybe I'm missing out on a texture difference in the finished product.

This is a prefreezing type, but electric.  I find I'm liking it more than my old Donvier.  I think it's because the ice cream (or whatever) base is constantly churned, rather than being agitated only every minute or so by hand. 

[dave from knoxville]

Those must have been some well-greased pans.

I had no idea baking was such a morally filthy art.

This vein you've uncovered runs deep; I would point you to "rather than being agitated only every minute or so by hand."

[Sarah]

The first rule of baking . . .

[buffcoat]

Those must have been some well-greased pans.

I had no idea baking was such a morally filthy art.

This vein you've uncovered runs deep; I would point you to "rather than being agitated only every minute or so by hand."

That frequency seems, um, low.  Although I'm not sure that "constantly churned" sounds any better.  I will stick to frozen waffles.

[~L]

Vanilla Bean pound cake, maybe it's actually a two pound cake!  Great with summer berries.

[pete]

I've been making pretzels a lot lately, to the point where my coworkers complain when I don't bring in a bag a week.  And I've been fairly (completely) obsessed with biscuits, and I'm getting closer and closer to where I want to be.

Man do I love baking but hate how sweaty my kitchen gets.

[~L]

@Pete, your pretzels sound good!  Try setting up a fan in a window on exhaust to draw heat away from your oven, if you don't have a window nearby, place a small fan on the floor in a corner of the room to get the air circulating, it should help.  Last summer I discovered a great recipe called Firehouse Breakfast Biscuits.  You roll out your biscuit dough into a flat rectangle, and then top it with lightly scrambled eggs, cheese, sauteed vegetables, or what ever you choose, roll it up like a jelly roll, then slice into pieces, like you do with cinnamon buns, slip the cut side up pieces into parchment paper lined muffin tins and bake. Really good and fun to eat for brunch or for a picnic.

[~L]

Fudge Squares:
So easy, and your oven is on for only a minimal amount of time
It's a cookie crumb crust, baked in a rectangular pan for five minutes.   Melt one pound of chopped chocolate, and 4 ounces of butter over a double boiler, add a can of that sinful sweetened condensed milk, and some vanilla extract.  Pour into the cooled crust, chill a couple of hours until firm, slice into squares.  Tote them along to your local outdoor event.  I took mine to the NJ Shakespeare Theater's outdoor greek amphitheater to A Midsummer Night's Dream.  Everyone was happy! 

[~L]

Doing my Thanksgiving baking, making Viennese "Saddle of Venison" cakes, Lemon Curd Tartlets, Almond cookies, Cranberry Fruit Soup, and Autumn Leaves sugar cookies, if I have time.

[Sarah]

I wish I still liked to bake.

[JamesfromSouthEastPa]

Homemade Pumpkin Pie, with homemade creamy cool whip. I used no more then, like, 10 ingredients for everything. Think about all the CRAP I'm avoiding by making it from scratch!  Highfructose corn syrup - Hydrogenated oils - trans fats. It's SO much healthier. This is the REAL reason to bake your own food!

[Sarah]

By "homemade creamy cool whip," do you mean whipped cream?

[JamesfromSouthEastPa]

I think it's still cool whip because it's not as airy, I think?  All I added was powderd sugar and heavy whipping cream.

[Sarah]

Do you mean your so-called homemade cool whip consisted of heavy cream and powdered sugar?  If so, it's still whipped cream.  Lightly whipped, perhaps, but whipped nonetheless.  Don't insult it by calling it cool whip.  That stuff is disgusting:  water, hydrogenated vegetable oil (including coconut and palm oils), high fructose corn syrup, corn syrup, skim milk, light cream, and less than 2% sodium caseinate (a milk derivative), natural and artificial flavor, xanthan and guar gums,  polysorbate 60, sorbitan monostearate, and beta carotene (as a coloring).  YUCK!!!

[JamesfromSouthEastPa]

Did you just take "Cool Whip" out of your refrigerator and read off the ingredients?

p.s. Thanks for bringing it back to my original point, about making your own food in order to avoid unhealthy ingredients.