210). If working with frozen dough, let it stand at room
temperature for a few minutes before shaping or slicing.
• Rolled cookie dough should never get too warm or it
will spread while baking. When making Spritz Cookies
(page 25), be sure that the dough is at room temperature
as it needs to be soft enough to extrude easily from the
cookie press.
PIE DOUGH
To make the pie dough gluten-free, simply use the Gluten-
Free Dough (page 213) in any recipe that calls for Basic Pie
Dough. For gluten-based dough, it’s important to not
develop the gluten in the dough to avoid a flat, tough crust.
Here are tried-and-true tips to guarantee success every time.
Working with Ingredients
• Use very cold ingredients; butter should be straight
from the refrigerator.
• Be sure the butter is unsalted.
• Use very cold water (or other liquid, depending on the
recipe). Combine ice and water in a measuring cup and
then measure the water from that, avoiding the ice.
• Use a food processor to mix the dough to keep your warm
hands off of the dough.
Creating Dough
• Be careful not to overmix the dough; just pulse the
ingredients in the processor.
• Cut the butter into cubes, then add it to the dry
ingredients in the processor and pulse just until the
butter is the size of peas.
• Add the ice water and pulse just until the liquid is evenly
dispersed. The dough will look crumbly, but it should
come together when pressed firmly. If it crumbles, add
more ice water, a tablespoonful at a time, and pulse just
until the dough holds together when pinched.
Shaping Dough
• Dump the dough onto a well-floured work surface and
press it into a disk.
• Wrap the dough in plastic wrap.
• Chill the dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes
before using.
BREAD DOUGH
Baking bread may seem intimidating to those who have
little to no experience, but anyone with a few minutes to
spare can make homemade bread a dinner-table staple!
Breadmaking is all about developing the gluten; use these
tips as your guide to creating the perfect loaf.
Working with Ingredients
• Work with organic, high-quality ingredients whenever
possible to achieve a well-risen loaf.
• Use a digital kitchen scale for measuring ingredients
whenever possible. Small amounts of less than 10g
should be measured using measuring spoons.
Creating Dough
• A well-kneaded dough should look smooth and feel
slightly tacky to the touch.
• To test whether the dough is ready for the oven, poke it
with your finger. The dough should spring back slowly
and still have a small indentation. If it springs back
quickly, let it rise for a few minutes longer.
15
GENERAL BAKING TIPS
CAKES
Sometimes, despite our best efforts, a cake simply doesn’t
turn out in the way we would like. Here are some of the
most common problems we encountered when testing the
recipes for this book, and the best ways to solve them so
your next cake will bake to perfection.
Before & During Baking
• Once you spread the batter in the cake pan, gently tap
the pan on the counter to release any air pockets.
Alternatively, drag a wooden skewer through the batter.
• To prevent a burnt top, loosely drape aluminum foil over
the top of the cake if it begins to overbrown during baking.
• If your cake isn’t rising in the oven, make sure that you
added the leavening or that it isn’t out of date.
After Baking
• If the cake overbrowns despite your best efforts, use a
long serrated knife to trim the burnt area from the top
of the cake and discard.
• If the cake shrinks from the pan sides during baking,
this may be the result of a number of factors:
• Overmixing the batter—be careful not to overmix the
batter, especially when folding in aerated ingredients.
• Too much leavener—be sure to use level teaspoons,
not
