The Great British Bake Off: How to Avoid a Soggy Bottom: And Other Secrets to Achieving a Good Bake

193 Pages·2013·3.03 MB·English

by  Baker

CONTENTS
Cover
About the Book
List of Recipes
Title Page
Introduction
Cakes and Biscuits
A Slice of History
Types of Cake
Cakemaking Methods
Giving Rise to Your Cake
All About Eggs
Recipe Substitutions
Troubleshooting
Biscuits
Bread
The Humble Loaf
The Power of Flour
The Properties of Yeast
Making Bread
Baking Your Loaf
Sourdough
Sweet Doughs
Pastry
Early Pastry
The Importance of Fat
Making Pastry
Troubleshooting
‘Fancy’ Types of Pastry
Desserts
The Rise of the Dessert
Creamy Desserts
Soufflés
Whisking Eggs
Flavours and Fillings
Sugar
Cream and Buttercream
Vanilla
Chocolate
Index
Copyright
About the Book
Banish sunken sponges, burned caramel and soggy bottoms from your
kitchen forever!
This book answers over 150 essential baking questions, looking at the
common techniques we use and the history of how they came about.
Why do cakes sometimes sink in the middle?
How can I tell if my bread is perfectly risen?
Why haven’t I been able to whisk my egg whites properly?
There are also 30 classic recipes demonstrating the key skills that every
baker should know – all to help you perfect your baking at home.
List of Recipes
A Modern Pound Cake
A Simple White Loaf
Angel Food Cake
Bara Brith
Boiled Fruit Cake
Choux Pastry
Cocoa Macaroons
Clotted Cream
Crème Anglaise
Croissants
Flourless Chocolate Roulade
French Vanilla Buttercream
Gooseberry Pie
Gingernuts
Hotwater Crust Pastry
Italian Meringue Buttercream
Italian Meringue Macaroons
Olive Oil Pastry
Puff Pastry
Pastry Cream
Rough Puff Pastry
Sally Lunn Bun
Scones
Shortbread
Shortcrust Pastry
Sourdough Bread
Sourdough Starter
Sugarfree Fruit Cake
Sweet Pastry
The Grant Loaf

INTRODUCTION
Whether you are already an avid baker wanting to improve your skills or
just thinking about making a cake for the first time and interested to find
out more, this book is for you.
How to Avoid a Soggy Bottom is not your usual cookery book, however. It’s a
helpful guide and a friendly companion to your well-stocked cookbook
collection. By gently guiding you through the rules of baking, it will show you
how to improve your techniques and hopefully give you the confidence to
experiment with your own recipes or adapt recipes from your favourite
books. Ultimately, it’s going to make your baking better.
Every good baker should have a thorough knowledge of the art, science
and history of their craft because learning about the origins of the processes
and the principles behind them will really help you to understand why you do
things a certain way or why things might not have worked. With this in mind,
this book investigates the chemistry as well as the history behind the age-old
methods we use – why baking powder was invented and how it works; how
brewing came to play such an important role in breadmaking; why you cream
a sponge cake, but use the rubbing-in method to make scones; and how
gluten affects the texture of your pastry.
To help you along the way, there are tried-and-tested recipes that use the
key skills explained in each chapter. Have a go at making yeasted and
creamed sponge cakes, kneaded and unkneaded loaves, and rich pastries
made with butter, olive oil and lard to see what they do to the bake’s flavour
and texture. These recipes will give you a good foundation to build on so that
you can take your baking to new heights.
With this book in one hand and your wooden spoon in the other, you
needn’t fear the risk of over-whisked egg whites, damp biscuits, grainy
caramel or, indeed, a soggy bottom ever again.
Gerard Baker