Bread and pastry and other delicious things

What kinds of pies or other desserts do you make for the holidays? I usually make pumpkin (from a family recipe), and during this last Thanksgiving I also tried a new recipe for a lemon cheesecake sort of filling (from a book "Best of Country Pies").

I've been using frozen pumpkin the last couple pies, and I feel like the texture is mushy. Has anyone else had that experience with frozen pumpkin?

I was following this recipe from seriouseats.com and I am pretty happy with the way they came out.

The crust is probably as good as it can get given I am using a silicone mold but I was wondering if the inside is too dense and custardy. If anyone has made them before I would appreciate your input, thanks!

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My peanut butter mixture always gets too melty and then leaks everywhere and I need to use way too much chocolate to cover it to the ratio is all messed up. What am I doing wrong?

This is my latest obsession - bread filled to the brim with seeds and whole grains. A bit like the danish rugbrød and I bet the Germans have something similar too.

Method (1 loaf)

The only things I measure is the water and seeds, the rest I find no use in measuring. Whole flour coarsely ground can have such varying absorption rates depending on age and storage. Going by feel is mandatory.

• 500g water
• Some yeast (or sourdough). Use a quantity that makes the bake fit into your schedule. I used about 8-10g fresh yeast.
• Dissolve yeast into water with your preferred method.
• Add seeds. I used 2dl in total split between 1dl sunflower, 1/2dl flax and 1/2dl psyllium seeds
• Begin adding flour. I used a mix of coarse ground whole rye (1/3) and graham flour (2/3). This is a tricky part to describe as I go by feel. At this point I want a "sloppy batter". It will stiffen as the flour absorbs water. My desired final texture is a "shapeable batter", something that holds a shape for a little while but is very much squishable. Adjust water/flour if needed. Look at this consistency as a reference.
• Let rest until risen to at least half again size (150%), for me it took about 2 hours. Adjust time as needed.
• After it has risen give it a light work, you won't get any gluten development with all those additions.
• Put dough in tin, I prefer to bake in parchment paper to get it out easier. I took the dough directly from the bowl into the tin, just spread it evenly.
• Let rest again, I gave it another 2 hours. You decide. Let the bake fit into your schedule.
• Preheat oven to 250C.
• Put tin in oven, lower to 200C and bake for 30 minutes
• (optional) Remove bread from tin and put on grate. Have nothing to back it up but I feel I get better crust all around, less moisture trapped in tin.
• Heat oven to 225C then turn it off. Let bread rest in cooling oven until room temperature.
• Let bread rest for at least 24 hours
• Devour. This bread has a lot of flavour and is paired really well with strongly flavoured condiments such as gravlax, matjes herring or just butter.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/463068

Chocolate Muffins Recipe based on Preppy Kitchen's Chocolate Muffins

Ingredients for 12 muffins

• 2 eggs
• 200gr Greek or Turkish yogurt
• 120ml (butter) milk
• 150ml sunflower oil, or any other mild oil
• 200gr all purpose flour
• 60gr finely chopped dark chocolate
• 40gr Dutch processed cocoa powder
• 200gr sugar
• 16gr vanilla sugar (2 sachets)/ or 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2tl baking powder
• 1tl baking soda
• 1tl espresso powder
• 1/2 tsp table salt
• 200gr dark chocolate chips or coarsely chopped chocolate

Supplies

• 2 large mixing bowls
• Measuring cup
• Whisk
• Scales
• Muffin tin for 12 muffins
• 2 tablespoons/ ice cream scoop
• Baking paper for 12 muffin liners, or bought liners.

1. Combine the eggs, yogurt, milk, oil in one of the bowls and mix together with the whisk.
2. Combine the flour, finely chopped chocolate, cocoa powder, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, espresso powder, salt, vanilla sugar in the other bowl and mix well.
3. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until just combined. Then add 2/3 of the chocolate chips and carefully fold them into the mixture. Too much mixing causes gluten development, making the muffins more chewy.
4. Let the mixture rest for 5 to 10 minutes. Not much longer, because then the gluten also develops too much.
5. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F
6. While resting, you can make the muffin shapes. Here you can see how I do it. If this too much work, you can always buy liners. Self-folded does give higher muffins, where the ribbed liners give the muffins a muffin top.
7. Divide the mixture over the 12 muffin tins, using spoons or an ice cream scoop. Try not to spill too much, but this is almost impossible. All drops that stick to the liners will burn in the oven. You can easily remove these from the baking paper as soon as the muffins have cooled down.
8. Put the muffin tin in the oven and bake for 8 minutes at 220C/425F. Reduce the temperature of the oven to 180C/350F and bake for another 10 minutes.
9. Remove the muffins from the oven and let cool.

Additional info These baking times are tailored to my oven, maybe it is better for you to stick to what the original recipe says: Bake at 220C/425F for 6 minutes then reduce to 180C/350F and continue baking for about 14 minutes or until the centers are set, a toothpick or skewer inserted in the center will come out clean.

They're not pretty, but for sure delicious 🤟.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ml/post/1374152

> Dough: > 2 eggs > 35g sugar > 580g bread flour (I used @kingarthurbaking) > 12g kosher salt > 35g softened unsalted butter > 100g whole milk > 6g instant yeast > > Tangzhong: > 120g whole milk > 120g water > 40g bread flour > > +4 mozzarella sticks cut into 3 sections (12 total) > > > 1. Make the tangzhong. Whisk all tangzhong ingredients in a small pot until no lumps remain. Then stir continuously over medium heat until the mixture resembles mashed potatoes. Remove from heat and let cool for 5 mins > > 2. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the tangzhong and all other dough ingredients except for butter. Using the dough hook attachment, mix for 5 mins until the dough comes together. Add the butter and mix for 8-10 mins or until a rough window pane is achieved > > 3. Shape the dough into a ball, place into a bowl, cover, and let rise for 1.5-2hrs or until almost doubled in size > > 4. Punch dough to deflate and divide into 12 equal sections. Form into balls. Cover and let rest for 10 mins. Meanwhile lightly grease a 9”x13” pan > > 5. Doing one at a time, roll the dough into a long oval ~9” long. Cut slits lengthwise as shown in the video, making sure to stop 3/4 of the way. Place the cheese at the end with no slits and roll into a log. Place into the pan. Repeat with remaining dough and cheese > > 6. Cover and let rise for ~30mins or until noticeably puffy. Preheat oven to 350F > > 7. Lightly brush with a little milk before baking. Bake for 25-30mins or until the top is golden > > 8. Optional: brush with 1 tbsp of melted butter mixed with 1 tbsp of honey for a shiny top

My muffin pan is rusty as hell (my own fault) and I failed to remove the rust even with scrub daddy and barkeepers friend. Usually I am cooking with liners, but I also make candy in them (ie marshmallows) and don't feel like putting anything sticky in a pan that dirty.

Do you have a muffin pan you really like? Preferably one that's easy to clean. What about silicone? I heard it doesn't bake easily but I wonder if it matters for something small like cupcakes

What's everyone's favorite cookbooks?

My #1 is going to have to be Tartine Bread by Chad Robertson. It was my introduction to real sourdough, and the basic Country Loaf recipe is a staple in my house.

https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/61gPRNM3vjL.\_SX426\BO1,204,203,200\.jpg