grainy mess. You’ll probably want to use half again the amount of chocolate your recipe calls for, and use a little less butter. Worked for me, more or less, but it’s not an exact science. You may also want to punch...

One of the reasons I love Alton Brown is the way he explains food science “whys” in easy to understand language. I imagine his baking book will have some good explanations.

) under where it says “Maize Flour” if that helps. I went on YouTube and typed in “Cornflour” and all I got were science experiments for kids using this stuff. I was kind of hoping since it is in the...

technical the OPs wife is. I’m a science geek and love baking and knowing why things happen. And, I’ve liked the recipes I’ve used.

I regularly bake bread, and do so for several families on the holidays, and while it is good, I wonder if it could be improved, my questions are,as follows 1. the recipe I use calls for shortening, in thinking about this I would...

I agree with bellywizard that it’s going to change the texture of your baked goods. Might not make much difference in cake or cornbread, but I wouldn’t try it in pie crust or cookies. If for some reason I had to use...

: a baker friend of mine recommends pre-baking the pans before you use them the first time. Wash and dry the pans, then put them in a 425 degree oven for 20 minutes. I am not sure if there is any science behind this technique,...

Has anyone used sugar in the raw for baking? Do I use the same quantities as granualted sugar? I’m making some chocolate chip cookies and thought I’d try it out.

I have two but so far I haven’t used them for baking. I use them to roll out pastry, one above and one below the pastry. It allows me to roll out my very high-fat dough without adding extra flour. For baking I like...

usually replace about one-sixth of the flour with oats. I’m no expert on the science behind pancakes, but the recipe I like most calls for both buttermilk and milk and both baking powder and baking soda.

This isn’t really a direct answer to your question but if you are ever in the middle of baking a cake and find that you don’t quite have enough eggs, you can sub in some mayo in a pinch. When you think about it, mayo...

harvesting. (I have also found differences in results between electric and gas ovens) Some people like to rub their potatoes before baking, in bacon fat, or olive oil. See? It’s all subjective. And there’s no exact...

I believe roasting is a special type of baking - the item being cooked, in this case vegetables, is done with only air surronding the vegetable - baking you could also have a juice/sauce or casserole like composite

What makes for a crunchy cookie recipe? I’m thinking it’s a more butter/less flour thing on top of baking them a bit longer, but really have no idea. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Check out Rose Levy Bernbaum’s “Bread Bible” from your local library for some good bread baking tips, strategies, a bit of the science behind the baking, and of course, recipes! According to the Alton Brown...