Bakegab: The Bellgab Bakeshop

[Juan]

I made a Southern-style cornbread in a skillet recently. After mixing the batter, I realized I lacked enough bacon grease, butter, or oil to lube the pan. I dumped in some coconut oil.

After baking, I was surprised to find that the coconut oil left a slight coconut taste in the lower crust. It was so good, I’m thinking of adding coconut milk to the batter next time. Of course, this is a rather plain batter - not one where I add onions, garlic, peppers, etc.

[K_Dubb]

I think that the variable would be flour and not egg size.  I believe that wheat flour up until the 19th century did not have much gluten in it, compared to now.  Also, the equipment used would play a role.  Were you beating with an electric mixer?  Obviously not available in 1775, and so maybe ten minutes of hand beating is really just to aerate it, as you suggest.

Haha yes it did occur to me that my (rather powerful) electric mixer was doing the duty of an army of Irishwomen but I kind of want to see what a well-beaten batter tastes like.  I did not know that about high-gluten modern flour; I wonder if cake flour would be closer to what they were using.

[K_Dubb]

I made a Southern-style cornbread in a skillet recently. After mixing the batter, I realized I lacked enough bacon grease, butter, or oil to lube the pan. I dumped in some coconut oil.

After baking, I was surprised to find that the coconut oil left a slight coconut taste in the lower crust. It was so good, I’m thinking of adding coconut milk to the batter next time. Of course, this is a rather plain batter - not one where I add onions, garlic, peppers, etc.

Nice, Hawaiian cornbread!  Reminds me of the baked coconut mochi they make in Hawaii.  I wonder if using coconut oil instead of butter (it's called butter mochi) would make it even more coconutty.

Hmm I have a box in the cupboard

[SredniVashtar]

Can I use polenta to make cornbread? I keep meaning to make it, and it doesn't look very hard, but I'm not sure if I can find the right ingredients here. I know you can't buy a mix like you're used to over there.

[K_Dubb]

Can I use polenta to make cornbread? I keep meaning to make it, and it doesn't look very hard, but I'm not sure if I can find the right ingredients here. I know you can't buy a mix like you're used to over there.

Here polenta is usually the cooked, set porridge (cornmeal and water).  When you say polenta do you mean the dry cornmeal?  Yeah you can use that.

[SredniVashtar]

Here polenta is usually the cooked, set porridge (cornmeal and water).  When you say polenta do you mean the dry cornmeal?  Yeah you can use that.

Polenta has to be the dullest food in the world on its own, so I hope it turns out better in cornbread.

[K_Dubb]

Polenta has to be the dullest food in the world on its own, so I hope it turns out better in cornbread.

Haha little joyless slabs of starch.  I don't know why people bother with it if they're not starving.  I think because it sounds Italian they don't realize it's common gruel.

[Juan]

I suppose it depends on how finely the polenta is ground. If it’s about like grits here, I wouldn’t think it would be good. Corn meal is about like wheat flour. Perhaps polenta could be more finely ground in a food processor.

[SredniVashtar]

How are grits served in a diner? I used to think they came as lumps like hash browns but the Quaker boxes (which they don't sell here but I have tried) are basically savoury porridge.

[K_Dubb]

How are grits served in a diner? I used to think they came as lumps like hash browns but the Quaker boxes (which they don't sell here but I have tried) are basically savoury porridge.

There's the mush grits, and then there's fried grits where you take yesterday's mush (which has now set) and fry like polenta.

[SredniVashtar]

Haha little joyless slabs of starch.  I don't know why people bother with it if they're not starving.  I think because it sounds Italian they don't realize it's common gruel.

They tried to convince us that polenta was hip and groovy some years ago but it's hard to jazz up those congealed lumps of misery as anything other than what they are. It really must be tough being an Italian peasant if you spend a hard day in the fields and you come home to that mess for dinner.

[Kidnostad3]

There's the mush grits, and then there's fried grits where you take yesterday's mush (which has now set) and fry like polenta.

Ever have shrimp and grits in Savanah, GA?  It is made with sort of a French garlic sauce and it's superb.  Have tried other versions of the dish in other places in the south but nothing compares.

[K_Dubb]

Ever have shrimp and grits in Savanah, GA?  It is made with sort of a French garlic sauce and it's superb.  Have tried other versions of the dish in other places in the south but nothing compares.

I have not; that sounds wonderful.  I haven't spent much time in the South but I do remember hush puppies with honey butter.

I guess it's like any other starch:  add fat, sugar, salt, seasoning, meat and cook it twice and brown it and it tastes pretty good.

[SredniVashtar]

I have not; that sounds wonderful.  I haven't spent much time in the South but I do remember hush puppies with honey butter.

https://www.hushpuppies.co.uk/

I think I'd rather eat the buried haddock, or whatever noisome muck you people like.

[K_Dubb]

I suppose it depends on how finely the polenta is ground. If it’s about like grits here, I wouldn’t think it would be good. Corn meal is about like wheat flour. Perhaps polenta could be more finely ground in a food processor.

Yeah it might make a rougher-textured cornbread.  I suppose he can parboil it if he's worried about it, or just bake slower and longer.

[K_Dubb]

https://www.hushpuppies.co.uk/

I think I'd rather eat the buried haddock, or whatever noisome muck you people like.

Haha no little deep-fried balls of cornbread!  You get at fried-fish places there instead of potato fries.

[K_Dubb]

I got curious and because in Norwegian grøt is a general term for porridge and looked up the etymology of "grits".  Sure enough.  Same with the word "groats" you don't hear any more.  Dumb me always thought it was describing the texture.  Actually they're all kind of related.

[K_Dubb]

I am baking hveteboller (a sweet bun with cardamom and currants) to try the overnight rise in the fridge with half the batch baked the normal way tonight and the other half tomorrow morning.  A few stupid questions:

1.  Will the dough rise in the fridge, i. e. should I allow room for it to expand?
2.  Tomorrow morning, how long should I allow for the cold dough to wake up?
3.  Should I shape the cold dough into buns, or wait for it to come to room temp first?

I will try to resist getting up to check on it in the middle of the night.

[whoozit]

I am baking hveteboller (a sweet bun with cardamom and currants) to try the overnight rise in the fridge with half the batch baked the normal way tonight and the other half tomorrow morning.  A few stupid questions:

1.  Will the dough rise in the fridge, i. e. should I allow room for it to expand?
2.  Tomorrow morning, how long should I allow for the cold dough to wake up?
3.  Should I shape the cold dough into buns, or wait for it to come to room temp first?

I will try to resist getting up to check on it in the middle of the night.

1. Yes
2. 60-90 minutes
3. I don’t think it matters if you let it rise before baking but why not shape before going in the fridge?

When I make cinnamon rolls I shape and let rise in the fridge overnight.  I let them sit at room temp for an hour or so before going in the oven.

[K_Dubb]

1. Yes
2. 60-90 minutes
3. I don’t think it matters if you let it rise before baking.

When I make cinnamon rolls I shape and let rise in the fridge overnight.  I let them sit at room temp for an hour or so before going in the oven.

Cool, thanks!

[K_Dubb]

Hveteboller, literally "wheatballs" or sometimes just boller, are as ubiquitous as glazed donuts.  I make them every week or two.



I tried the ice cubes and they do have more of a steamed feel to them.  Nice trick, thanks!

[K_Dubb]

Here is Mrs. Beeton's Very Good Seed-Cake:



Aside from looking like it has been attacked by shipworms it's not a bad cake.  Very fine but velvety texture, not at all tough, faintly boozy, delicately flavored.  Though the dark brown crust penetrates deeply and the bottom is actually black, it is just shy of being thoroughly baked with a few tiny pockets of dough.  Mrs. Beeton didn't specify a temperature, of course, but the 350 I picked as the standard moderate oven is too high for that pan.

As it was covered while still warm and stood for a couple days, the moisture level is nicely equalized and the once-hard crust is now about as tender and moist as the rest of the cake though it has that deeply browned flavor I associate with some granny's unloved bundt in the church basement.  The black bottom was now soft enough to just peel away.

The cake smelled strongly of caraway when baking and I was afraid it would be a musty old thing but it's quite mild.  It is definitely not going to appeal to modern funfetti pudding-in-the-mix cake lovers, though.  It will be fun to compare to Shreddie's separated eggs, baking powder version to see how modern techniques have changed it.

The refrigerated dough was a bonk.  I think since it had a lot of butter it got too hard in the fridge to rise much and it was a good 4 hours before it was stretchy enough that I could shape buns out of it.  Once it got to room temperature it behaved normally, though I couldn't tell any difference in taste compared to last night's batch.

[Roswells, Art]

Hveteboller, literally "wheatballs" or sometimes just boller, are as ubiquitous as glazed donuts.  I make them every week or two.



I tried the ice cubes and they do have more of a steamed feel to them.  Nice trick, thanks!

I love that radio. I do the ice cube trick too but I think it's to make a harder crust. Pro bakeries oven's steam automatically for the first few seconds of the bake.

[K_Dubb]

I love that radio. I do the ice cube trick too but I think it's to make a harder crust. Pro bakeries oven's steam automatically for the first few seconds of the bake.

Thanks, that is my kitchen radio.  It still works but takes forever to warm up.

Haha I must have missed that part!  Thankfully the crusts didn't get hard, probably because there's egg wash and I put them in plastic to steam a little while still warm like I see the Chinese bakeries do with their sweet buns.

[Roswells, Art]

Thanks, that is my kitchen radio.  It still works but takes forever to warm up.

Haha I must have missed that part!  Thankfully the crusts didn't get hard, probably because there's egg wash and I put them in plastic to steam a little while still warm like I see the Chinese bakeries do with their sweet buns.

Heh, a radio that needs to warm up. I miss the old days. Those look like like good buns, you're a baking maniac. I bet you are your family's favorite son.

[K_Dubb]

Heh, a radio that needs to warm up. I miss the old days. Those look like like good buns, you're a baking maniac. I bet you are your family's favorite son.

Ha we're not that nice.  It's my silent rebuke to the girls with their big updated kitchens and stand mixers sitting quietly under their dust covers.  Plus I like how it smells like grandma's house.

[K_Dubb]

My mom got a key lime pie from a local bakery and, after I pointed out that the filling has but three ingredients and that I could make a better crust and do it for a lot less than the $35 she forked over for the damn thing, I noticed that it had whipped cream piped on top that was very sharp and firm but still tasted good and rich, like you didn't even notice the stabilizer.  Does anyone know how to make that?  I think Safeway uses the same stuff on their pumpkin pie in the fall.

[Roswells, Art]

My mom got a key lime pie from a local bakery and, after I pointed out that the filling has but three ingredients and that I could make a better crust and do it for a lot less than the $35 she forked over for the damn thing, I noticed that it had whipped cream piped on top that was very sharp and firm but still tasted good and rich, like you didn't even notice the stabilizer.  Does anyone know how to make that?  I think Safeway uses the same stuff on their pumpkin pie in the fall.

Boy, did you ask the right person. I used to make them almost every day in Key West. I used a graham cracker crust and a meringue top.

[WOTR]

Thanks, that is my kitchen radio.  It still works but takes forever to warm up.

Haha I must have missed that part!  Thankfully the crusts didn't get hard, probably because there's egg wash and I put them in plastic to steam a little while still warm like I see the Chinese bakeries do with their sweet buns.

I have an old 1937 (I think) radio in the basement. Great big floor model that I had rebuilt a few years back and no longer works right (pretty certain it's a capacitor issue.) That said, I considered a nice bakelite table model, but never did buy one. I'm assuming AM (and shortwave) only? How do you find the reception?

[Roswells, Art]

Also, we used just regular fresh squeezed lime juice, not key lime.