The Baking Answer Book (20 page)

Dried fruit should be moist,
soft, and pliable. If it isn’t, it will draw moisture from the batter to rehydrate itself, making your quick bread or muffins dry. Purchase dried fruit only from a market where the turnover is high and care is taken with its storage. Individual airtight packages guarantee freshness. Open bins of dried fruit, sometimes found at natural-food stores, are the enemy of the fruit’s moisture. If you have leftover fruit, place it in a resealable plastic bag and squeeze out as much air as possible before sealing. To bring desiccated dried fruit back to life, soak it in very hot tap water for 1 hour, drain, and pat dry before using.

Drain or cook off moisture
before adding fruits and vegetables to a batter. Carrots and zucchini can be grated, mixed with a little sugar, and set in a colander for 30 minutes to drain away excess liquid. Apples and pears can be grated and then squeezed between layers of paper towels, or sautéed with a little butter and sugar to cook off some of their moisture. This extra step will give your baked goods a better texture.

Q
No matter what kind of quick bread I bake in my loaf pan, there is always a deep fissure down the middle of the finished bread. Did I do something wrong?

A
The crack running from end to end of your bread is a normal result of baking. The surface of the bread has set before the interior batter is finished rising, so as this rising continues, the top splits open. Consider the crack a rustic decoration and a sign that your loaf is well-risen.

Q
What is Irish soda bread?

A
The answer you get will depend on where you are asking the question. In the Unites States, Irish soda bread is a slightly sweet quick bread, enriched with a little butter, moistened with buttermilk, and flavored with raisins and caraway seeds. In Ireland, soda bread is a much leaner affair, a plain bread made with flour, baking soda and salt, and a cupful of buttermilk. Either way, the dough is shaped into a round, either tall or slightly flattened, with a cut in the shape of a cross as a religious symbol but also allowing for the characteristic splitting of the loaf into quarters as it bakes.

Q
My quick-bread loaf is golden-brown on top, but the interior is underbaked. What should I do?

A
If you’ve discovered this by inserting a cake tester into your loaf right out of the oven, simply return it to the oven, loosely tenting the top with foil so it won’t burn, and continue to bake it until the cake tester comes out clean. If you’ve discovered this only after your cake has begun to cool, then there’s not much you can do except try again after reading on.

Assuming that you are working from a well-written and reliable recipe, there are a few explanations for this uneven baking. First, you might check your oven temperature. If your oven runs as little as 25°F (4°C) warmer than what its setting indicates, your bread will bake too quickly on the outside without baking through on the inside. Check the temperature with an oven thermometer and adjust your dial accordingly.

Even if your oven is displaying an accurate temperature reading, it may be heating unevenly, with the air in the top half of the oven hotter than the air in the lower half. This won’t affect the internal temperature of your bread, but it may cause the crust to brown too rapidly. Check on your loaf 10 minutes before it should be done. If the top looks very brown already, loosely tent it with foil to prevent burning.

And remember that even a slightly different pan size will alter the way a quick bread bakes. If your recipe calls for a 9-inch loaf pan and you’re using an 8-inch loaf pan because that’s all you have, your loaf will be thicker than the one the recipe author had in mind, and it will take longer to bake.

Q
What is stone-ground cornmeal?

A
Whichever color cornmeal you prefer, you are sure to like it even better if it is stone-ground rather than put through a commercial roller mill. In stone-grinding, water-powered mills grind corn between stones, retaining some of the nutritious hull and germ. In contrast, steel roller mills remove almost all of the hull and germ. Oils contained in the germ give stone-ground cornmeal its wonderful flavor and aroma, but the oils also give stone-ground cornmeal a shorter shelf life than commercial meal. Store it in the refrigerator or freezer in an airtight container and use it within four to six months of purchase. Look for stone-ground cornmeal in natural-food stores and in many supermarkets.

Q
Can yellow and white cornmeal be used interchangeably in corn bread recipes?

A
The biggest difference between yellow and white cornmeal is the color of the corn from which the meal was ground. Yellow cornmeal is ground from yellow corn and white is ground from white corn. In my opinion, yellow cornmeal tastes more like corn, and that’s why I use it when making my own corn bread and muffins. But countless bakers, especially in the South where white cornmeal predominates, prefer white to yellow in baking.

Basic Corn Bread

Corn bread is one of the most versatile quick breads, and can be endlessly adapted according to taste and occasion. Use the following basic recipe, and then choose from the add-on ingredients listed on the next page to customize your corn bread.

SERVES 8

¾ cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1¼ cups yellow cornmeal

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1¼ cups whole milk

1.
Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Coat the inside of an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray.

2.
Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.

3.
Whisk the butter, egg, and milk in a large mixing bowl. With a wooden spoon, stir in the flour mixture until just combined. Stir in any add-on ingredients (see the next page, if using).

4.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Bake the corn bread until it is golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Let the corn bread cool for 5 minutes in the pan and serve it warm.

Q
How long will quick breads stay fresh? Can they be frozen?

A
Lean quick breads such as Irish soda bread, and breads that don’t have added dried fruits and nuts for moisture and richness, like corn bread, will get stale quickly and are best eaten on the day they are made. It’s difficult to toast these breads because of their crumbly texture, and, unlike yeast breads, which become refreshed when reheated, quick breads dry out even more. Use stale leftover breads like these to stuff a chicken or a Thanksgiving turkey.

Moist, rich breads like banana bread or date-nut bread will keep for several days, wrapped in plastic, in the refrigerator. In some cases, they’ll taste even better the day after baking, when the flavors have had a chance to meld. These breads also freeze well, so you might think about baking them two at a time, cooling them completely, and saving one for later by wrapping it in plastic, placing in a resealable plastic bag, and freezing for up to one month. Defrost on the countertop for a few hours and then rewarm in a 350°F (180°C) oven for 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Q
How is a scone different from a biscuit? How are they similar?

A
If you live in the United States, the difference is simple. These two items are closely related, but biscuits generally don’t have eggs or more than a spoonful of added sugar, while scones tend to contain one or both and are sweeter and more cakelike. Americans will serve biscuits with dinner, in place or rolls or bread. Biscuits sometimes contain cheese, chopped ham or bacon, and/or herbs, making them even more savory. We usually enjoy scones at breakfast or as a snack when we crave something a little sweet. Our scones can contain raisins, currants, or other dried fruits.

Of course, there are examples of sweet biscuits and savory scones in the United States, and in England the terminology is a little different. A scone will more often than not resemble an American-style biscuit, with or without currants or other chopped dried fruit but little added sugar. Ask for a “biscuit,” and you’ll get a cookie.

But their differences are not as important as their similarities. Biscuits and scones use the same mixing method, in which cold butter is cut into the dry ingredients before the addition of liquid, to encourage a high rise. Both doughs should be kneaded as gently and quickly as possible for a tender result. And both are best warm from the oven, as they will become hard and dry in a matter of hours.

Q
Is there a secret to baking tender, light scones?

A
Make sure your butter is well chilled, don’t overmix the dough, and bake the scones in a very hot oven until just cooked through.

Scottish Oat Scones

These scones contain two parts flour to one part rolled oats, which gives them a balance between light and pleasantly chewy. I suggest 1 stick of butter, but you can reduce the amount to 4 tablespoons or increase it to 10 depending on how lean or rich you like them.

Substituting one egg for ¼ cup of the milk in most scone recipes will make your scones less crumbly.

MAKES 12 SCONES