KitchenSavvy

Dave Recommends: "How to Cook Everything" iPad App

Being an incurable foodie and techie, I of course have been grabbing cooking apps for my iPad.  Some apps are little more than shameless money grabs or self promotions.  Others are poorly constructed technically or have little quality content.

The exception, far and away, is Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything application.  This is perhaps the best cooking resource I own.  Some readers may recognize Bittman as the author of the books How to Cook Everything, How to Cook Everything Vegetarian, Food Matters Cookbook: 500 Recipes for Conscious Eating and a number of others.  He is also a writer for The New York Times.

So, what do I like about the app?  Well, for starters, the recipes.  If it didn't have clear well designed, easy to follow recipes I wouldn't care how well written an app it is.  From simple recipes like how to cook Corned Beef to more complex recipes like a classic  Bolognese Style Meat Sauce, in How to Cook Everything the instructions are clear, easy, and well explained. Index sections for browsing include not only the expected Soups, Salads (one of Bittman's specialties, apparently), Beans, Meats, etc., but also a complete section on Kitchen Basics, covering equipment, appliances, and ingredients. The section on knives includes basic knife skills, as well as how to sharpen and store them.

But it doesn't stop there.

Being a computer app, How to Cook Everything has features that no paper cookbook can muster.  For example, in the Lasagne recipe, one of the ingredients is Béchamel Sauce.  The words are underlined, indicating that this is a link to the recipe.  Touch the words on your screen, and the recipe for Béchamel shows up. Touch the "Back" button and you go back to the Lasagne recipe.

In the Béchamel Sauce recipe, like many others, there is a choice.  In this case, for "30 grams butter or extra virgin olive oil" with circles beside the choices.  Butter is the highlighted ingredient, but if you want to use olive oil, just touch the circle beside that ingredient.  Two things will happen.  First, "extra virgin olive oil" will become highlighted, and if necessary the measure will change.  Second, if you are building a shopping list, all you need to do is touch the blue shopping cart above the ingredients and they are added to your list.  But here is where it gets good!  If you choose olive oil, then that is what gets added to the shopping list.  If you choose butter, then the shopping list will show butter.  If you are planning a meal, you can go through all of the recipes and add the ingredients from each of the to the grocery list.  One enhancement I would like to see, though, relates to when you add ingredients to the shopping list from a recipe that contains another recipe, like above.  As it works now, How to Cook Everything simply warns that the ingredients from the second recipe are not added to the grocery list.  I would really prefer a pop-up with selection buttons to let me choose to maybe add the ingredients for the Béchamel Sauce, but not the homemade pasta.  As it works, I need to click and add the ingredients from each sub-recipe manually.

Staying on shopping lists for a moment, it is worth noting that if the same ingredient is chosen in multiple recipes, then the total amount needed is shown rather than multiple occurrences of the ingredient.  Once all of the recipes are added to a grocery list, you can go through and edit the list to remove items you have in your pantry or change quantities.

Once you are cooking the recipe, if there is an instruction like "Cook for three minutes" with a clock icon, touching the amount of time will open a timer dialogue for you.  You can have multiple timers running simultaneously.  When one of them goes off, a dialogue will pop up allowing you to halt the timer, add time if you think it is necessary, or show the recipe where you started the timer.  And it tells you on the timer which step you were at when you set the timer.

As you go along, you can bookmark steps in a recipe so that you know where you are at any time.  Bookmarks have a couple of advantages.  First and most obvious is that you can turn away to stir a pot or help your grandson play Angry Birds, and return to see where you were at.  Also, you can skip between recipes on the fly.  Think of bookmarks like the ribbon in your old Joy of Cooking, only you can have as many as you want and they keep themselves sorted out.  A button on the bottom of the screen shows Bookmarks and Timers.  Touch it and you can instantly go to one of your bookmarks or open the dialogue on one of your times, or you can delete them if you want.  With practice, bookmarks and timers can keep you on track in the kitchen.

Those are the main techie bells and whistles, but How to Cook Everything has a lot more to offer.  Most if not all recipes have a section on Techniques following the instructions that show basic techniques like "preparing Onions" or "Crushing and Peeling Garlic".  Most recipes also contain a tab that gives Variations, for instance how to make Pesto with arugula instead of basil or different options for Chicken Soup.  They also have a Related Content tab that may give information on ingredients, or additions to the recipe.  And they have a Notes tab where you can make your own notes.

Some other useful features include the ability to show metric ingredients, change text size. or prevent the screen from timing out in mid-preparation.  And for the social media types, you can even Tweet or post on Facebook directly from the app!

All in all, How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman is by far the most well thought out and robust iPad cooking app I have found so far.

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If you have food or cooking questions, send them to Questions@KitchenSavvy.com

Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

Steel of a Deal

What do people mean when they say that conventional butcher's steels don’t actually sharpen your knife.  According to the Merriam-Webster on-line dictionary, sharpen means to "make sharp or sharper."  It seems to me that is why I use a steel, and the effect that it has.

--Art

OK, this is something that really bugs me too.  It all boils down to some subtle semantics.

If you look at the edge of a freshly sharpened knife under a microscope, its cross section will look like the letter V, coming to a fine point.  With use, the edge of the V starts to curl over.  At that point, if you look under the microscope again, what you will see is something like the tail of the letter J, the little curled part at the bottom, where the sharp point of the V used to be.  The curl is the result of use, and abrasion against the cutting surface or other materials.

Depending on which reference you look at, a conventional butcher's steel either removes the curl or straightens it back out.  Some people say it "realigns" the curl, whatever that means.  After using the steel, the knife is sharper than it was before using the steel, but not as keen as a newley sharpened knife.  In any case, the curl eventually breaks off and rather than coming to a point, the edge is blunted.  Imagine a V with a flat or rounded bottom.

Repeated use of the knife and application of the steel eventually makes the knife edge so blunt that in order to sharpen it again metal has to be removed from the two faces of the V to bring them back into a point.  Then it is necessary to use a grinder, whetstone or other device that actually takes away metal.  I use a set of Japanese water stones running from 250 grit to take of the dull edge fast, 1000 grit to sharpen, and then 4000 grit to give a razor sharp mirror finish.

Ceramic steels and ones with diamond dust embedded in their surface actually do remove some metal from the surface, but because they are a fine abrasive, they can't be used easily to re-sharpen a blade that has become too dull.  They are better than a conventional steel at keeping an edge, though.

So:

• A conventional butcher's steel does make a knife sharper, so it sharpens!
• It does not deliberately remove metal from the face of the knife so it doesn't sharpen in the same sense that, say, a whetstone does.
• A ceramic or diamond steel does remove metal from the face, but is not efficient for sharpening an already dull knife.

For the record, I am not a fan of the little pull sharpeners with the handle and a notch to pull the knife through .  I find that while they are convenient, they don't do nearly as good a job as my whetstones and a bit of elbow grease, and they are more aggressive than is needed for times when only a steel is called for.  To me they are a poor middle of the road compromise.

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If you have food or cooking questions, send them to Questions@KitchenSavvy.com

 

Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

Aroma Rice Cooker

The folks at Aroma Housewares Company kindly offered to send me an ARC-150SB rice cooker to try.  Since I have always been a "stove-top rice cooking kinda guy", I saw this as a chance to see how well they work, and whether the technology could entice me from my old habits.

Growing up, we cooked rice on the stovetop in a pot specially designed for just that task.  It had a "C" cross sectioned flange running around the rim of the pot, and a slightly conical lid that sat down inside the flange.  The design created a seal as escaping steam collected on the flange and then ran down around the lid to hold liquid in.  Simple, straight forward, required a little babysitting but produced good rice.  The only problem was that it was a unitasker -- a device with only one function.  So one of the concerns I always had with automatic rice cookers was whether they too were good for only one job.

The 150SB is a basic model that works by heating the contents of an inner pot and monitoring the temperature.  As long as there is water in the pot that hasn't been absorbed or steamed away, the temperature of the pot will stay at or below the boiling point of water (212°F/100°C).  Once the water is gone, the temperature rises quickly above that point and a built in thermometer reacts by switching from cooking to keeping the rice warm¹.

After a few tries, I found that the ARC-150SB does a great job.  White and brown rice made following the instructions come out consistently good.  I particularly like the Keep Warm mode, since it frees me up from worrying about the timing.  Making rice on the stove-top requires more attention to the order of things, but with the rice cooker I could set it up and then go ahead with preparing the rest of the meal.  As long as that took longer than the rice, I had no worries.

I also tried some of the recipes that come with the instructions.  The San Antonio Rice was an instant hit!  With the addition of some leftover cooked chicken breast that I cubed, it became San Antonio Chicken Rice the next time, a one-pot meal that was delicious.  The same recipe with some cooked  ground beef and chili powder, minus the corn, made a tasty Spanish Rice.  I made the Jambalaya as well with good results.

I tried using it to steam vegetables at the same time that the rice was cooking.  While the results were OK, I found to hard to get an even result without fussing, since different vegetables steam at different rates.

The Aroma Rice Cooker says it is able to cook up to twenty "cups" at a time.  One thing I didn't appreciate was the use of a non-standard definition of the word "cup".  According to Aroma, the industry standard for a cup is 180ml, as opposed to the standard cup, which is closer to 240ml.  My problem is that in recipes you can have mixed up measures.  Even in the recipes in the instruction book, sometimes it isn't clear if the amount for an ingredient is a 240 ml cup or a 180 ml cup.  And if you are taking a recipe from another source, then you need to translate measures or forget about the arbitrary "industry standard".  Better to use the common definition of cup.

As for the 20 cup capacity, the ARC-150SB did a good job, and the rice was evenly cooked through, however I found if you leave it on hold for an hour or so, the weight of the rice on top compresses the rice on the bottom into a lump.  If you are going for full capacity, you probably want to try to time things so the rice is ready to serve fairly soon after it is done.

Overall, I would rate the Aroma ARC-150SB as a useful and versatile tool.  As long as you are reasonably careful with measurements, it makes cooking rice easy and convenient.  While it isn't likely to replace a slow cooker on all fronts, it can be used to make some very convenient one-dish meals.  With a little ingenuity, the possibilities are endless.  That said, when making a cup or two of rice for just Pat and me, I'll probably stick with the stovetop.

¹ Some other rice cookers use fancier technology and cost more, but they all run on the same principle, that the temperature of a container of boiling water that is being heated remains at a constant until the water is gone and then rises.

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If you have food or cooking questions, send them to Questions@KitchenSavvy.com

Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

Egg Wedger

Generally, I am not a fan of unitaskers, those kitchen tools that have only one purpose.  An asparagus steamer or a fish poacher may be just the tool for the job, and if storage space is never a problem, you may want one of each, but for a practical home kitchen, we just don't have enough room for every device that comes along.

That said, there is occasionally a tool that is just the one you need for a task, and no other tool seems to do as well.  One unitasker that gets a place in my kitchen is an egg wedger -- sort of a tong like device that has a cradle on one arm to hold a hard-boiled egg, and on the other arm a criss-cross of wires that, when the device is squeezed together, slices the egg into six perfect wedges.  Perfect for one of my specialties, Salade Niçoise!

What's so great about it?  Well, for one thing the slices are uniform.  I find it much harder to get nice even wedges using a knife.  Quartering is a bit easier, but making six uniform pieces is more challenging.

Also, the pieces stay together.  When using a knife, it isn't unusual for the yolk to stick on the knife and pull away from the white.  With a little care using the wedger, the wedges remain intact, meaning no pieces of white uncurled from their yolk.

Finally, it's cleaner and faster.  Little bits of yolk clinging to the knife stick to the next slice leaving a yellow rim.  Fussy, I know, but easily solved with the wedger.  You can avoid the mess by repeatedly dipping your knife in warm water, but then you take more time and end up with a water slick on things.  With an egg wedger, one brief squeeze and you're done.  Neat, clean, even pieces in nearly no time at all.

Sometimes the payback on a unitasker justifies its existence.  This is one of those devices.

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If you have food or cooking questions, send them to Questions@KitchenSavvy.com

Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

Bundt Strike Out

I have a "non stick" Bundt pan but of course I grease it every time, usually spray it with baking spray until it can't take anymore, then do it again before I put the cake in.  For some reason though, the past couple times the cake has been glued to the sides of the pan and I ultimately had to scoop it out of the pan and call it a crumble cake. Is there a better way to do this?

--Abigail

I am guessing that the problem you have is a build up of dried oil on the inside of the Bundt pan that is now making it more like super-stick rather than non-stick.  I have seen this happen with cooking sprays on non-stick frying pans.

If you have ever seasoned a cast iron frying pan, you might have noticed that once the pan cools down the oil has turned from a liquid to a thick, gummy or even hard surface.  This drying effect is caused by the oxidation of specific bonds in the fatty acids that make up the oil.  This results in cross-linking of those fatty acids which in turn makes the oil either harden into a film or turn thick and gummy.

Several factors can influence the amount of oil that builds up from your spray, including the type of oil in the spray, the amount used and the temperature at which it is used.  It is recommended that only a very light layer of spray be used, as shown in the video below.  From your description, you are using quite a lot more spray than is recommended. 

Also, you need to be sure that you are using a spray that is specifically designed for baking and one that contains flour as a releasing agent.  Regular cooking spray will not work properly.

Unfortunately, once you start to get a film of oil there is probably no way to return the pan to its original non-stick condition.  Any effort to remove the extra layer will likely damage the non-stick coating underneath.  You might try using it as if it was a normal (not non-stick) pan by coating it with butter or vegetable shortening and then dusting it with flour and shaking out the excess.  If that doesn't work, the pan is likely destined for the dustbin.

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If you have food or cooking questions, send them to Questions@KitchenSavvy.com

Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

 

Weighing In

My new kitchen scale has a button labeled "Tare".  I'm not sure what it is for or how to use it.  Can you help?

--Tandi

The 'Tare' button, sometimes labeled as a 'Zero' button, is used to reset the scale to zero.  It can be used in a number of ways.  The simplest is to make sure that the scale is actually reading zero.  When you turn on your scale to use it, it will sometimes not read exactly zero.  Pressing the 'Tare' or 'Zero' button will set it to zero.

Now, suppose you want to weigh an ingredient, maybe a piece of chicken breast or the amount of pie filling you have.  Obviously for health or clean up reasons you don't want to put it directly on the platform of the scale.  Instead you might put a measuring cup or a bowl onto the scale to keep it clean.  Now the scale shows the weight of the container.  Rather than having to do the math by hand, if you press the 'Tare' button the scale will read zero again, having subtracted the weight of the empty bowl from the reading, and you can go ahead and weigh the ingredient.

For some recipes, like making bread using Baker's Percentages, you want to weigh a number of ingredients in succession into the same container.  In that case, you can weigh the first ingredient, press 'Tare' to set the scale to zero again before weighing the second, press 'Tare' again, and so on until all of the ingredients have been added.

Another use for 'Tare' is when you are measuring something off of a larger chunk.  Suppose, for example, that you need 4 ounces by weight of grated cheese.  You could try to guess how big a four ounce piece would be and cut it off the larger block before grating it.  Or, you could grate some cheese, put it into a bowl on the scale to see if you have enough and keep going back and forth until you have the four ounces you want. 

Somewhat easier and a lot more convenient is to weigh the whole block of cheese and then press the 'Tare' button.  The scale will read zero, and when you take the cheese off, it will show the weight again, but this time with a minus sign ('-').

Now go ahead and grate the cheese,  When you think you may be getting close to the amount you need, put the whole block back on the scale.  The weight shown will be the amount that you have removed from the block, again with a minus sign in front.  If necessary, grate some more and reweigh  until the scale reads minus four ounces.  This is easier since you don't need to stop to move grated cheese from the work surface to a container.  You will likely also get fewer dishes or utensils dirty that you then need to clean afterward. 

Note that if the number shown when you weigh the block is less than 4 (ignoring the minus sign), you need to grate more.  If it is larger than 4, you have grated too much.  The first few times you use this method, you may need to think it through before it makes immediate sense, but it works.

The only challenge with the last use for the 'Tare' button is that most electronic scales have a time-out which turns the scale if if it is not used in a minute or two.  You need to be faster than the time out, or just put the block back onto the scale to reset the time-out timer.  Worst case is it times out and you either need to remember how much you started with and do the math by hand or you need to weigh the final amount of grated cheese.

For those who are incurably curious, the word 'tare' comes from an old Italian word 'tara' which in turn came from the Arabic 'tarha' meaning 'that which is removed'.

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Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

A Pizza Find

For years, I have been trying to make a good thin crust pizza.  When my wife and I were in Italy several years ago, we really enjoyed a pizza we had in Rome, near the Trevi Fountain.  The crust was so thin and crisp that it was almost cracker like.

I tried everything I could think of to make a crust like that -- varying the water/flour ratios, making the dough with or without olive oil, rolling the crust thinner, using different oven temperatures, placing my pizza stone on a rack as high as possible in the oven, super-heating the pizza stone for a few minutes using the boiler before putting the pizza into the oven, even changing the order of ingredients on the pizza.  These all made some difference.  None of them gave the crust I was looking for.

Then, this past weekend, I pulled "Brother Juniper's Bread Book" by Peter Reinhart off the bookshelf and turned to his section on pizza.  In the inset on Memorable Pizza there was a suggestion I hadn't even thought of trying -- that the pizza stone should be put on the bottom shelf or even right on the floor of the oven and pre-heated for at least 20 minutes at 500°F (260°C) or higher.

Since I use parchment paper to keep the crust from sticking to my peel (actually an old piece of 1/8 inch plywood) I have to keep the temperature at or below 450°F (232°C), but I could certainly try putting my pizza stone on the floor of my oven.  My oven is electric, but the heating element is under the floor so that isn't a problem.  Other than that, I made a plain lean pizza dough with just water, flour, yeast and salt.  No fat, no sugar and no flavorings.  I rolled a thin crust and assembled the pizza in the traditional North American order of sauce, ingredients and finally the cheese on top, and baked it for 13 minutes.

I knew as soon as I sliced the pizza that this was the missing link.  I could hear the knife crunching through the crust.  The result was the cracker thin, crunchy crust I had been trying for.  Because the stone had been heated directly by the element, the crust cooked quickly, before the other ingredients could make it soggy, as sometimes happens.

I know there is still some room for improvement.  Next time, I need to let the dough relax a bit more as I roll it out, and I think I'll try adding a little oil.  Both of those should help the overall texture, but I'm pleased with the result so far.

So, if you have been trying for that thin crunchy crust too, try lowering your pizza stone.    It may just be the secret you are looking for.

If there is nothing to get in the way, try putting the stone right on the floor of the oven. If you have an electric oven with the element above the floor then you will need to use a rack in the lowest position and put the stone on that.   If you are worried about safety, or the warranty on your oven, you may prefer to use a rack at the lowest position.

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If you have food or cooking questions, send them to Questions@KitchenSavvy.com



Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

Cuisinart Convection Breadmaker - Not Ready for Prime Time

For Christmas this year, I asked for and was given a Cuisinart Convection Bread Maker, model CBK-200C.  If your idea of a bread maker is, "I'll set this up and have fresh bread when I get home from work," or "when I get up in the morning," then the CBK-200C is probably not the one for you.

I have only had it for three months, and have only used it on weekends, but I have encountered a number of problems.

More an aggravation than a problem, I don't see any indication whether the recipes  are for United States or Canada.  Canadian flour tends to be higher in protein than its southern counterpart so we need to use less of it to get the same rise.  Since the product label on the machine and the manual both say Cuisinart Canada, I would have expected the recipes to be suited to Canadian ingredients.  Maybe not!

The first time I used my new bread maker, I tried the recipe for a 2 pound loaf of  "Basic White Bread-Machine Bread."  It is a good thing I was there to watch over things.  Not just once but twice I had to reach in by hand and tear out chunks of wet dough during the baking cycle as the bread rose until it touched the underside of the window in the lid.  OK, I'm used to correcting recipes for bread makers, but in the end the largest loaf I can make uses a mere 2 2/3 cups of flour.  That is even less flour than is given in the 1 1/2 pound recipe in the book that came with it.

Another aggravation, and admittedly this is partially a matter of taste, is that I find the cooking time to get a perfect crust on the basic white bread recipe is half way between the light and medium crust settings.  At the light setting, I find the crust dull and flavorless, but at the medium setting it is over cooked and so dry that it tears the roof of my mouth.

I have noticed that if I leave the machine alone to do its stuff for the entire cycle, some of the damp flour collects in two corners of the pan and doesn't get mixed in during kneading.  If I'm lucky, it may stick to the dough during the first rising, but it may also just stay there creating unpleasant lumps in the corners of the bread.  To be sure of a proper loaf, with no caked flour corners, I need to stop the machine and reach in with a scraper to get the flour out of the corners.

The second time I used the machine, the pan jumped its guides and twisted around in the machine.  To hold the pan in place, there are two metal springs attached to the inside of the oven.  On the narrow sides of the pan there are corresponding metal tabs that are supposed to catch either side of each spring to hold the pan in place.  These tabs are quite small and don't appear to be adequate to hold the pan as it gets jostled about by the kneading of the dough.

Equally as poor is the design of the drive.  Both the plate in the base of the oven which engages the crossbar on the shaft holding the paddle and the crossbar itself are made from stamped metal.  This means that the sides are not perfectly perpendicular.  If the pan lifts up even a slight amount, as it seems to do during kneading, then the plate and crossbar slip.  The plate is then free to turn a half turn before slamming into the crossbar again, making a loud banging noise.  Again, it is a good thing I was around to hear the ruckus.  It wouldn't take long with it running like that for something to break.

Twice now I have had the paddle lift completely off of the drive shaft.  The first time, I didn't know, but found out when I went to take the paddle out before final rise.  The second time, today, I happened to be in the kitchen and heard the motor free wheeling during the initial knead.

Something like half of the times I have used this machine, something has gone wrong.  The pan has shifted, the drive mechanism has slipped due to the pan moving up, or the paddle has come off during kneading.  This is definitely not a machine I feel I can trust to do the job right when I'm not around to watch over it.

My rating for the Cuisinart Convection Bread Maker -- several slices short of a full loaf.

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If you have food or cooking questions, send them to Questions@KitchenSavvy.com



Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

Breadmaker Jewish Rye Bread

If you own an automatic breadmaker and are getting tired of the same old loaf with the paddle hole in the bottom, then you should try using it for something new.  I frequently use my bread maker as a mixer/proofer and then shape the loaf by hand to cook in the oven.

The following recipe is for Jewish-style rye bread, based rather loosely on the book Secrets of a Jewish Baker: Recipes for 125 Breads from Around the World by George Greenstein.  It reminds me of the caraway rye bread that my father used to like.  Somehow, when we were kids, Dad convinced my siblings and me that the best part of the bread was the heel - the crusty end of a loaf of bread.  Whenever there was a new loaf of bread, he would ask "Who want the end?"  Four voices would cry out, "I do, I do!"  Dad would make a big show of deciding who had yelled first, and then cut the end off the bread and hand it to one of us.  So, in honor of Dad ...

Breadmaker Jewish Rye Bread

This recipe is made to work with my Black & Decker B1630 Breadmaker, which can make loaves up to two pounds in size.  You may need to adjust it for your breadmaker.  The recipe has a starter, which is mixed and allowed to proof overnight, followed by making the actual dough.

Starter
Amount		Measure	Ingredient
1	¼	c	Rye Flour
1	⅓	c	Water
1		tsp	Active Dry Yeast
1		tsp	Caraway Seeds - optional
	¼	tsp	Onion Powder - optional
Dough
Amount		Measure	Ingredient
	⅓	c	Water
2		tsp	Salt
1		tsp	Caraway Seeds - optional
3	¼	c	White Flour
1		tsp	Active Dry Yeast

1. If using caraway seeds, start by grinding the teaspoon of caraway that goes into the starter mixture.  Following your breadmaker's instructions, add the ingredients for the starter.  As soon as mixing has completed, turn off the breadmaker, or unplug it.
2. Leave to proof at room temperature in the pan of the breadmaker overnight or up to 24 hours.  The longer it rests, the more sourdough flavor will develop.
3. Set the breadmaker to the dough setting and add the rest of the ingredients.  Allow to run through the entire dough setting.  If your machine doesn't have a dough setting, then just shut it off or unplug it after the dough is complete and has risen, but before it starts to cook, about 2 hours depending on your breadmaker.
4. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, punch it down and then shape into a round or elongated loaf.  Place onto a baking sheet or, if you have a large enough pizza stone to hold the loaf, put the loaf onto a piece of parchment paper.  Cover loosely with a lightly floured cloth and let rise until nearly doubled.
5. Meanwhile heat your oven to 375°F (190°C).
6. When the bread is ready to cook, uncover the loaf, using a sharp knife or razor blade make a few slashes in the top and place it in the oven.  If you are using a pizza stone, use a peal to transfer the loaf on its parchment paper onto the stone.
7. Cook for about 40 minutes, until brown and the loaf makes a hollow thump when tapped on the bottom, or until an instant read thermometer reads 205°F (96°C).

Per Slice: 82 Calories; trace Fat (3.3% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 17g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 179mg Sodium

NOTES:

1. During the resting period the top of the breadmaker pan can be covered with plastic wrap to prevent drying.  Do not operate the breadmaker with the plastic wrap in place.
2. If you want a shiny crust, typical of some rye breads, make a solution of 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to ½ cup of cold water.  Heat it in your microwave or on the stovetop, stirring occasionally, until it thickens.  Brush this solution onto the loaf just before slashing the top.

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If you have food or cooking questions, send them to Questions@KitchenSavvy.com



Due to the volume of questions received, not all can be answered.
© Lost Hobbit Enterprises 2004 onward

Cleaning Cutting Boards

I recently received a plastic and a wooden cutting board.  Unfortunately neither came with cleaning instructions.   I use the plastic type for the meats, and the wooden for vegetables, fruits and breads.  How do I make sure I am not having any bacteria or other bad things pass on to other foods?  In other words, how do I clean my cutting boards?  Thanks

--Gordon

It may surprise you to hear this, but tests of bacteria counts on well maintained cutting boards actually show that wood may actually be as safe as, or safer than, plastic!  The grooves cut into the plastic board during regular use are a great harbor for nasties.

Cutting boards are made from several materials, including wood, various plastics, glass and bamboo.  Wooden boards may be solid block, glued up pieces, laminates or wood composite particle boards.  Dealing with the first issue, if you have a glass cutting board, throw it out.  Glass dulls knives.

Generally, wooden boards that are either solid or glued up from boards or blocks need to be hand washed.  Washing them in a dishwasher or leaving them to soak will leech out natural oils and eventually cause the wood to check or split.  Use a clean dishrag to scrub them well in hot soapy water.  After cutting poultry, it is a good idea to either clean them first in a weak bleach solution (1 tablespoon of chlorine bleach to 1 gallon of hot water) or have a spray bottle with the chlorine solution to spray them down with.  Rinse and then wash as above. Rinse again to remove any soap left on the surface.

Some people like to occasionally wipe their wooden cutting boards with a cloth moistened with mineral oil.  This helps restore the surface appearance and may help prevent food odors from getting into the pores of the wood.  If you do that, allow it to sit for a minute and then buff with a paper towel to remove any excess oil.

If your wooden board starts to get deep cuts or chunks missing from the surface, or if it develops an off odor, then either replace it or it may be possible to have it resurfaced by planing off the top of the board.  Plastic or laminate boards that are badly marred or become smelly should be thrown out.

Plastic cutting boards can usually be washed in your dishwasher, assuming you have one, but should not be run through a sterilize or heat dry cycle as these may permanently damage the board.  The hot water and dishwasher soap should be enough to sterilize the board, but you may still want to give them a bleach treatment after cutting up poultry before putting them in the dishwasher.  If you don't have a dishwasher, then wash them as above for wooden boards.  Plastic boards can be left to soak.

Some laminate and bamboo boards will tolerate  the dishwasher, but follow manufacturers'  instructions.  If you aren't sure, then hand wash.

Personally, I almost exclusively use rigid white plastic cutting boards because of their convenience.  I look for ones that are not so smooth as to slide around or have the knife or food slide on them.

One final comment on the issue of cross contamination from your cutting board, always cut meat or poultry last.  If you can't do that, use a second board or wash your cutting board well, as described above, before cutting anything else.

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