Secrets from a Baker

[SoCalVal]

Cake Beret, I believe the King Arthur Flour referenced is not bleached..

Yup - looked it up - unbleached - http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/king-arthur-white-whole-wheat-flour-5-lb

KAF is often more expensive than the store brands, but I have found in my baking that it is worth the cost.

Yeah, I recall my instructor last year in pastry class telling us that there is now grown white wheat that is used for making white whole wheat flour.

[oz diva]

What can I use instead of egg in a cake recipe? I use eggs as little as possible because they kind of freak me out! (weird, I know)

Thanks 

You can use baking powder  oops,  bicarb of soda and vinegar. The resulting chemical reaction causes the rise. Here's a recipe http://allrecipes.com.au/recipe/4534/egg-free-chocolate-cake.aspx

I baked bread yesterday and it was very yummy. Now I am attempting to make a sour dough mother.

[Zilla]

Anyone have a source for AP flour and Bread Flour? 


For various reasons we have been making our own breads for all our needs.  And I would like to find a source for the flour.  I can get great prices on whole wheat and any of the specialty stuff.


I would like to buy them in 25 or 50 pounds bags if possible.  Any idea where to start looking?  I am in the Southeast part of the US.

[PastryGoddess]

You may want to try Sysco if you have one there or just contact King Arthur directly and see if they'll sell you the 50 pound bags.  Also try googling wholesale flour + your state

[CakeBeret]

I just wanted to thank this thread.

I found the white whole wheat flour and I could actually get the off-brand for $.50/lb. Over the weekend I made a loaf of bread and a batch of rolls using part whole wheat and part white whole wheat flour. They are DELICIOUS. Very soft and fluffy and slightly chewy. Just like the taste/texture you would get from using part wheat and part white flour.

Also I got an itch to make a key lime cake. I don't particularly like key lime or cake, but it sounded like a fun cake to make. I used 4 limes, and boiled the lime rinds and excess pulp into a simple syrup to brush the layers with. I made it into 3 layers and used cream cheese frosting on it. It looks pretty fantastic. We're going to take it over to the in-laws tonight, so I haven't tasted it yet, but I've been admiring it on my counter.

[Frog24]

What can I use instead of egg in a cake recipe? I use eggs as little as possible because they kind of freak me out! (weird, I know)

Thanks 

I found a recipe online (not taking credit for this bit of genius in ANY way) where the chef made an egg substitute out of flax.  Here's a single batch, but it's easy to up the quantities.

25g whole flax seed
250 ml water

put flax seeds in water and bring to boil.
simmer for 30 minutes
strain out the flax seeds using a sieve and discard them

the resulting goo is the egg substitute.  let it cool to room temperature and it's ready to go.

The only thing that wasn't provided was how much to use per egg.  The original recipe said to freeze the excess in ice cube trays. 1 ice cube = 1 egg.  But there wasn't anything in the recipe that said "1tbsp (or 2... or 3) of this goo = 1 egg".

Still, it worked like a charm.  The egg-free, dairy-free, gluten-free cupcakes I made were a hit, and rose as though they had eggs in them.

Frog

[PastryGoddess]

What can I use instead of egg in a cake recipe? I use eggs as little as possible because they kind of freak me out! (weird, I know)

Thanks 

I found a recipe online (not taking credit for this bit of genius in ANY way) where the chef made an egg substitute out of flax.  Here's a single batch, but it's easy to up the quantities.

25g whole flax seed
250 ml water

put flax seeds in water and bring to boil.
simmer for 30 minutes
strain out the flax seeds using a sieve and discard them

the resulting goo is the egg substitute.  let it cool to room temperature and it's ready to go.

The only thing that wasn't provided was how much to use per egg.  The original recipe said to freeze the excess in ice cube trays. 1 ice cube = 1 egg.  But there wasn't anything in the recipe that said "1tbsp (or 2... or 3) of this goo = 1 egg".

Still, it worked like a charm.  The egg-free, dairy-free, gluten-free cupcakes I made were a hit, and rose as though they had eggs in them.

Frog

This is really great and you can find flax seed at the grocery store these days.

[White Lotus]

In response to Isometric's question:  For a good non-egg egg substitute in baking, try En-r-g Egg Replacer.  I love the stuff.  Gives a great result in baked goods.  Someone else on another thread doesn't care for it -- it seems to kind of creep her out as eggs do you and egg derived egg substitutes do me, or maybe she notices a difference in result that I don't.  So YMMV.  There are various home-made versions involving flax seed but I haven't used them since I found Egg Replacer and can't remember them any more, but I bet the Internet can. <g>