chairmanpao's Profile
Barefoot Contessa Choc. Cupcake w/ P.B. Frosting Recipe Help
You're right, babette -- I was mixing up chocolate and cocoa. Cocoa powder can actually have different amounts of butter fat (they don't press all of the butter fat out when they make the presscake that is ground into cocoa), but the difference (I've seen some at 10 percent, others up to 24 percent) probably wouldn't affect the product's moistness, since most recipes don't call for huge amounts of cocoa). So back to the problem with BC's recipe. Maybe the thing to do is ask Ina herself on her website...
Bittman's No Knead bread is out of the oven - anyone else?
Brushing the surface of the loaf with butter when you take it from the oven will help soften the crust, too. I would suggest, though, that you make a different bread for sandwich bread. One that I like is the "Steel Cut Oats Bread" recipe on the back of the box of Arrowhead Mills Steel Cut Oats. Takes less time, has a softer crust, and tastes really good (though totally different from the NYT no-knead bread).
Barefoot Contessa Choc. Cupcake w/ P.B. Frosting Recipe Help
Did you use a very high cacoa-content cocoa? (Like 70 percent or higher?) I've read that it can cause baked goods to dry out a little. Apparently you have to check them earlier and possibly adjust the baking time. You might want to try the recipe again using a lower-percentage cocoa. I tasted cupcakes made from this recipe with a 70-percent cocoa and noticed that they did have a strangely dry texture, though they didn't seem to be overcooked and were tender.
Bittman's No Knead bread is out of the oven - anyone else?
I think oiling the pot might make the crust softer, at least on the areas that are in contact with the oiled part of the pan. If you want a soft crust, you're supposed to oil it, at any rate (or brush with butter). I think the crispness of this crust is one of its best features, so I don't think I'd do it -- but to each his/her own! I found that the bread sticks to my Le Creuset if I try to take it out before cooling. If I wait until it cools, it seems to come out without sticking (based on just a sample of 2 tries, though...)
Bittman's No Knead bread is out of the oven - anyone else?
According to "Whole Grain Baking," (great new cookbook by King Arthur Flour) buckwheat has no gluten, so don't use more than 1/3 buckwheat to 2/3 white flour. They say it has stronger flavor, also, but that if you make bread with a sponge (as in this recipe) it mellows the flavor out considerably. Good luck!
Restaurant help in Cary, NC
Another great Indian restaurant not far from Cary is Azitra, in the Brier Creek shopping center near the airport. Great food every time I've gone, nice, upscale atmosphere (with a pleasant patio), and very good service. Hard to beat.
