Your cooking Nemesis

[grldtnr]

I do have bread flour but since it is bit lumpy and needs sieved I suspect that is the problem. I do know the theory and have made bread in the past with no problems.
I sympathise about the hours you had to work as I had ambitions of being a chef but abandoned that idea when I realised the antisocial hours I would need to work. Strangely I also was a postman for a while.

Flour does age, if it's lumpy then it's dumpy to time.

 

[Gwylan]

Rice. Always ends up sticky and lumpy, gonna be buying a rice cooker I think.

Easy peasy.

Heat a little oil in the pan,
Carefully measure the rice, by volume.
Fry the rice a bit in the hot oil
Reduce the heat.
Carefully add water that is twice the volume of the rice.
Set the heat to a gentle simmer to cook.
Whisk up with a fork to stop it sticking
Watch carefully, the rice should be done when the water is gone.

 

[grldtnr]

Flour does age, if it's lumpy then it's dumpy to time.

I use strong bread flour to make my yorkies', but i've given up home baking , rarely eat Yorkies', these days.
I have type 2 diabetes,so have to eat
Starchy food In moderation
My fail safe is equal measure of egg, milk ,Flour salt & pepper.
Mix & rest, a really hot oven, smoking hot tray with oil or dripping if you have it, 20 mins door shut, 5 mins door open,.
Always rise, always crispy, the door open dries them out that little bit, gauranteed crispy bake.

 

[JohnHughes307]

I use strong bread flour to make my yorkies', but i've given up home baking , rarely eat Yorkies', these days.
I have type 2 diabetes,so have to eat
Starchy food In moderation
My fail safe is equal measure of egg, milk ,Flour salt & pepper.
Mix & rest, a really hot oven, smoking hot tray with oil or dripping if you have it, 20 mins door shut, 5 mins door open,.
Always rise, always crispy, the door open dries them out that little bit, gauranteed crispy bake.

That would be a lot of salt and pepper if it was an equal amount to the egg, flour and water😁

 

[Reynard]

Rice. Always ends up sticky and lumpy, gonna be buying a rice cooker I think.

I could never get it right either, until I got a rice cooker.

Well, the rice cooker I have was gifted to us many years ago by a friend who was a nun in a convent in Hong Kong but never used for reasons I won't go into here. I dusted it off after one claggy pot of rice too many and haven't looked back.

 

[Reynard]

Bread needs Bread flour, a strong flour, a high gluten content,it's important to double prove it, then really stretch and knead it hard the 2nd time round.
You also need to be accurate with the salt/ sugar and heat off the water, you use, too much salt will kill the yeast,too much sugar over feeds the yeast.
The trick is in the kneading, you have to be quite 'hard' on it,
I used to be a baker, but gave it up a I couldn't see any dough in it.......actually I hardly saw daylight during winter....so went and joined the post.
Best job going.

Good flour, yes. I tend to use a mix of strong white and atta (chapati) flour.

Kneading. No, you don't *have* to be hard on it. Some of the best breads are made by folding the dough in the bowl, rather than bashing the living daylights out of it. I fold in the bowl out of preference, as it's far less messy. Especially working with higher hydration doughs.

2% salt to quantity of flour is the sweet spot when it comes to flavour / "handbrake" on the yeast. I don't put sugar in my bread, there's no need.

Heat the water? No, you'll kill the yeast that way. Besides, a slow cold bulk ferment (in the fridge or unheated hallway overnight) brings out the flavour much more.

Best tip I got was "watch the dough and not the clock"

Though I understand that there's very different time pressures in a commercial environment compared to baking bread at home.

 

[grldtnr]

That would be a lot of salt and pepper if it was an equal amount to the egg, flour and water😁

Ah , well you know wot I mean, juss a little bit over seasoned, perhaps?

 

[T4tomo]

It was almost my oven yesterday, I think its thermostat may be reading too low, I had to delay lunch by 30 mins as the internal temp of my roast beef was only 36*C when I first probed it! Thank goodness for a decent meat thermometer. It was a very thick piece of top side to be fair.

 

[numbnuts]

Just a thought, I use one small egg for two yorkshires, what do you use ?

 

[bikingdad90]

My fail safe Yorkshire recipe is:
140grams of plain flour
200ml of semi skimmed milk (whole milk and skimmed don’t work as well)
4 large eggs or 5 medium eggs.

Whisk until they have lots of air in them.

I use vegetable oil as it has a lower heat threshold than olive oil and I don’t have lard or goose fat. Heat in the oven until the oil starts to smoke. If you put the mixture in and it doesn’t bubble then the oil is not hot enough. I cook mine at around 200degrees in the middle of the oven and don’t open the door until they are done.

 

[bikingdad90]

I can’t cook custard very well. I struggle to make it without it catching the bottom and the milk burning slightly.

 

[KnittyNorah]

I can’t cook custard very well. I struggle to make it without it catching the bottom and the milk burning slightly.

Best made in the microwave, IMO. I've also done it in a slow cooker I know well, when making it in quantity, but my preference is for the microwave.

 

[Reynard]

Are we talking custard powder here? Or custard made from scratch with eggs?

Either way, best tip is to use a pyrex bowl over a pan of simmering water and a balloon whisk.

 

[bikingdad90]

Powder @Reynard

 

[Reynard]

Powder @Reynard

Try as above, with the bowl (or a second, smaller pan). The trick is to keep whisking, so the milk hasn't got the chance to catch. Same's true if making a bechamel or a mornay sauce. Also, you don't want too fierce a heat under the pan.