Ancient Grains for Modern Meals - Maria Speck [21]
MEASURING WHOLE GRAIN FLOUR
A simple digital scale (see “Equipment”) is a worthwhile investment for any baker, regardless whether you use whole grain or regular flour. Using a scale in baking will give you more consistent results than cup measures, which can be packed differently by different methods and by different people. Furthermore, very humid or dry cold winter weather can significantly alter the amount of flour in your measuring cup, enough at times to throw off your favorite recipes. Using too much flour is particularly challenging with whole grains, as the baked goods can become heavy and dense. A scale will provide a more accurate measurement. Hence, I provide the weight of flour for all the baking recipes used in this book. If you don’t have a scale, I recommend using the “spoon and level” method for measuring whole grains. Unlike when you dig your cup into your flour jar, this method results in less flour in the measuring cup and thus lighter results.
Here is how you do it:
• Fluff or stir the flour with a fork to aerate slightly.
• Spoon flour into your cup until it is overflowing. Do not pat down, shake, or bang the measuring cup on the counter, as this will compress the flour.
• Using a knife or a slim metal spatula, sweep across the top to level the cup.
BAKING AND HUMIDITY
The humidity in the air affects your baking, whole grains or not. Biscotti dough may require gentle handling on a dry day, and be as malleable as the proverbial wet noodle on a day heavy with rain. A recipe for delicate scones may require up to ¼ cup less liquid when the clouds hang low in a thunderstorm. Same for icy-cold winter days, when humidity levels in a heated apartment can drop to an arid 10 to 20 percent—your dough will be “thirsty” and need more liquid as a result.
If a recipe says the dough should be moist but yours is more than that, just sprinkle on a bit of flour or add it by the tablespoonful. Alternatively, if your dough is very dry instead of malleable, add a tad more liquid. With time and experience, you will get a good understanding of this balance.
PREHEATING OVENS
I suggest you give your oven at least 20 minutes to preheat. I sometimes allow for 30 minutes—this is especially important when baking “wet” bread dough, which needs the initial heat blast for rapid expansion (see also “The Magic of Wet Dough”). Here is why: I have tested the oven temperature in my new and perfectly calibrated American oven many times. I have noticed that the preheat indicator consistently beeps “ready” a fair bit before the temperature inside the oven has reached the desired setting. So give your oven a little extra time to heat up. And if you want to know your oven even better, buy an oven thermometer!
Equipment
I have always admired home cooks all around the world, be it in Germany, India, Greece, or Tunisia, who create the most amazing lineup of dishes in tiny low-tech kitchens, with just the most basic of tools. Not that I don’t fancy shiny new kitchen gadgets. But all too often, my new tools clutter up valuable work surface without contributing much else. Below, I list the tools and equipment I find helpful for cooking and baking with whole grains. Most of these will not set you back much. After all, cooking is not about fancy high-tech gadgets, but about enjoying the firestorm of flavors you create on your stove.
BENCH SCRAPER
Also called a dough scraper or a bench knife, this tool is immensely useful if you like to bake or make pasta. It enables you to lift and turn dough with ease on your work surface. Bakers use it also to portion dough for individual bread rolls. To me, its best use comes after the work is done: you can effortlessly remove any dried-on pieces of dough from your work surface. I like an old-fashioned stainless steel bench scraper with a wooden handle.