Fruit sweet and sugar free - the fine art of baking #1

1 servings

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Fruit Sweet and Sugar Free by Janice Feuer 1993 Royal Talon Ranch Chapter 1 - The Fine Art of Baking ********************************** : Baking and preparing all food is pleasurable both for yourself and for those whom you serve. As you develop the fine art of baking, master its techniques, and understand its philosophy, you will become freer to create and produce satisfying and nurturing works of beauty and flavour that can bring joy to all.

: Allow me to share my own understanding of the fine art of baking and give you a few suggestions on how to make the whole process more efficient and enjoyable.

: Over the years I've come to understand that the four essential elements of fine baking are love, technique, temperature and recipe, in that order.

Love ****

: I learned about the element of love many years ago from the opening quote in one of my first cookbooks, the Tassjara Bread Book: : Love is not only the most important ingredient, it is the only

: ingredient that really matters.

Love is the ingredient that keeps your mistakes from being a problem; love is the ingredient that increases your patience and enables you to strive and do better next time; love fills you with joy, making every aspect of the baking process a new delight; love is the desire to work with each ingredient to bring forth its fullest potential; and love develops your senses; especially the sensitivity of your hands, nose, mouth, and eyes, the most important baking tools you possess.

: Love is a somewhat intangible element. The other three elements are very tangible and can be learned easily.

Technique *********

: Technique is the reason why one person's cake is light and fluffy while another's is dense and heavy, even though both say they followed the recipe exactly. The difference can be that one person stopped beating the butter and sweetener too soon. Or she may have used a bowl too small for her hands and the volume of the ingredients, so that in folding the cake batter she deflated it before the cake even entered the oven. Such is the importance of technique.

: Technique is the key to adapting recipes for use with liquid fruit sweeteners and whole grain flours. The introductory notes and baker's tips should give you the techniques you need for your own success in producing fine baked goods.

: Organization is a very important aspect of technique. It is organization that enables The Ranch Kitchen bakery to daily produce its array of cakes, pies, custards, muffins, cookies, and breads.

Everything that can be done in advance without compromising taste, texture, or appearance is done in advance; nuts are sorted, toasted, chopped, and frozen; pie crusts and tart shells are formed and frozen unbaked; cake layers are baked and frozen; glazes and sauces are made and refrigerated; dry mixes for muffins or coffee cakes are pre-combined, etc. With so much done in advance, the preparation of everything from the simplest quick breads to the most elaborate cakes becomes simply a matter of skillfully assembling the parts.

: These same principles of organization apply to the home baker. When you have extra time, stock your freezer and pantry. When you are well organized, you will be prepared for both the expected and the unexpected, making all of your baking more efficient and more enjoyable. Submitted By JIM WELLER On 10-09-95

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