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penuche

bread making instructor, a little pastry on the side, just arrived in New York, food blogs reader whenever i have the time....

  • Website
  • Location: Central Valley new york
  • Favorite foods: mostly vegan, tofu dishes, bread based meals, (in short, sandwiches), grilled cheese (another sandwich), pasta, tomato based, fruits and salads
  • Last bite on earth: tomato and legumes with mushroom thick soup with my own oatmeal and sweet potato bread on the side...

Sugar Rush: Ensaimada and Cafe con Leche at El Quinto Pino

That is pretty expensive, so far, no one has told me where one could find the Valencia version other than the one posted here. My sister lives in Manhattan for 18 something years, maybe she has come across some Filipino bakeries that sell them since Ensaimadas are like the second most loved bread or pastry in our country. I will post it here if i happen to find one. If we are neighbors, i could easily give you a sample, but i live Upstate, way upstate :(.

frustrated with flour

Thanks dmcavanagh, you're absolutely right i have been using SAF Gold for 10 years now, and had to bring some with me ( because i knew i will have a problem buying them here). I have tried Bruggeman and Fermipan 2 in 1 (for chilled or retarded doughs back home), also Puratos and Edward Keller's bread improver ( only when i sell them for extra softness ). I used some of the bread improver i have with me to aid in the proofing, add to that an overnight 14 hour sponge. Never had a problem with my breads before though. I like to slow rise my breads before and use very little yeast with no adverse effects in the final products. I even freeze my dough using the Fermipan 2 in 1 yeast (up to two days) and get excellent results using my bread flour.

I own a small bakery back home and in our place, we can buy 500 gram packs of SAF yeast ($2.50), Red Star, Milk for baking purposes (adds volume and increases water absorption), bread flour by the kilogram (if you want it in retail packs or by the sack of 25 kgs.) at only . 60-.70 cents/2.2 lbs. Here, i found out that LeSaffre does not have a retail store distributorship, except for some internet sites that sell them like kitchenkrafts etc.,. It was a good thing i brought extra yeasts and ingredients with me, well, except for the flour because i would look stupid in the airport.
If i use a sponge i don't use any bread improver at all because the sponge does the job very well even if i use a middle class bread flour back home, but with the flour i am using right now, no matter how long my sponge is, 4 hours, 6 or 12 or 14, and with a dough improver (Dobrim from Edward keller) oddly enough, still not the same. Anyway, i am excited to test these flours, i used the regular Gold Medal flour with my ensaimada ( it's like brioche but shaped like a coil) and it was very good compared to this Canadian All Purpose ( no wonder it was on sale). Now what to do with 10 lbs of this all purpose flour? thanks, guys!!!!

frustrated with flour

Thank you all for your comments i wrote down All Trumps and Hecker's and i would love to try these two brands. I am also thinking of ordering bread flour over some internet sites i found, and pick out the best for my baking needs. My recipes are mostly high in sugar and butter or margarine (0 trans fat), we Filipinos (except me) eat breads with at least 18% sugar and my fat runs from 12% to a high 25% sometimes so i need a bread flour that is really strong. I never had a problem back home just now. Thank you all, this site is a great help, i am learning more about New York too!

frustrated with flour

thanks, i apprenticed at a Flour and Bakery Product Research and Development Company (Purefood's) way back 10 years ago so i have a little background in commercial breadmaking. I have my own favorite brands of flour that i use back home and now i need to familiarize myself with US made flour. I have the Asian Baking Institute and American Baking Institute's books, so with that, i just think i need the flour issue settled at the moment. Thanks for the suggestion.

I have too much lovage. Any ideas what to do with it?

You can benefit from it by using it as a tea, dry the leaves and store them or pick the leaves, and add to your regular everyday tea by dumping the leaves once the water boils. I had quite a collection of oregano which i cannot eat everyday so i added them in my tea. You get a twist in the flavor of your tea and get anti oxidant nutrients from it as well.

What's a Reasonable Automatic Gratuity?

TIP means To Insure Promptness right? I'm sure you guys out there know this, but for large tables and if the restaurants are located near the tourist belts, maybe it isn't that bad, on the other hand,, that takes away the whole idea of tipping. You are tipping because you want good service.

Sugar Rush: Ensaimada and Cafe con Leche at El Quinto Pino

Tthis ensaimada is so different from the ensaimadas we make in the Philippines, but so much like what my friend said she ate when she went to Spain.. ours is made of pure butter, and eggyolks and shaped like a coil or snail. nice!!!!

buying baking supplies

great help guys, now i know where to go to when i visit these streets, i live in central valley so i would probably need a map first.... gracias!!!

Thoughts on cake you can "cut out" for a child

Use any pound cake recipe, i have done this before and pound cakes are sturdy. After baking, chill the whole sheet cake after wrapping it in cling wrap overnight, unwrap then unmold the cake on a flat board, then start cutting.. chilling the cake will make firmer and cleaner edges... have fun!!!

Nut-free Macaron recipe

i have seen a recipe using pure coconuts (unsweetened flakes) and sugar, plus eggwhites pretty much close to the jewish macaroon type, it is light so you can try it, i found recipes like this in the internet, just type coconut macaroons

Accidently bought a large container of ground annato

You can always use your annatto to color up almost anything, I am from Asia and we buy fresh Annatto seeds to brighten up Noodle dishes, adds a wonderful hue aside from the soy. Any sauces or gravy for meat dishes, just a pinch, and yes, to any rice dish, pilaf, fried rice chinese style, even congee or rice savory porridge with chicken. We basically sautee it after the onions, garlic and tomatoes (if there is one in the recipe), sauteeing it in the oil makes the color brighter, tones the bitterness down....

How to Buy, Store, Use (and Re-Use!) Spices

great article, i love spices since i barely use meat in my dishes to flavor them, good work!!!! sad to say, we live miles apart, i could have supplied you with breads every week for an article of this quality.... for free, not just tea...

frustrated with flour

Once again, i tried my darn best to come up with a slightly better rising bread or dinner rolls and failed. Having a control bread in mind, ( i cannot get it out of my mind ) i used 100% pure all purpose flour and was disappointed with the results really.. My next trial is to use Gold Medal Better for Bread. Same formula, i will use the same sponge and fermentation time, we'll see what happens. Although the bread i made yesterday was soft and light, delicious since my mother already had 5 pieces and end up not being able to eat lunch in the process. I want that big puffy rise in the oven, (ovenspring) and was hoping the sponge would do that. Not. So off i go, my mother requested that i make again the soft buns so maybe half of this and half of that dinner rolls?

Got any advice on what bread flour you use? I have King Arthur flour, but i need more bread flours to try... I am new in New York and i have no idea which bread flour is the best aside from King Arthur? email me at irla2010@aol.com, i will appreciate it...

buying baking supplies

I have been here in New york for a couple of months now and i cannot find Cream of tartar for my chiffon cakes. I want to bake my mother a mother's day cake and the grocery stores i visited do not sell them. Also any store you know that sells large packs of yeasts, 500 gram pack such as Lesaffre or REd Star? i do a lot of bread baking and the larger packs seem more practical for me. I really appreciate if you can tell me.. thanks.

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