How to Make Healthier Breakfasts Using Quinoa

How to Make Healthier Breakfasts Using Quinoa.

Quinoa quickly become a very popular and nutritious whole grain. It's available in nearly every grocery store and many people now have access to this great, gluten-free whole grain. Although quinoa is considered a "whole grain," it's actually a seed. It's classified as a grain because it cooks and is eaten like a grain (like rice or couscous). Quinoa in particular, is very high in protein, fiber and a variety of vitamins and minerals. In fact, it has about 5 g of fiber and 8 g of protein per cup. However, quinoa shouldn't only be eaten as a side dish at dinner. You can also use quinoa in your breakfast making it a very nutritious meal.

Method 1 Making Hot Quinoa Porridge for Breakfast.
1. Get out the right cooking equipment. Like oatmeal, quinoa can be made into a delicious and warm breakfast meal. You'll need to get out the right equipment to make warm quinoa porridge for breakfast.
Start by setting out a heavy-bottomed pot. While it is possible to microwave quinoa, cooking it on the stovetop like traditional oatmeal is done more commonly, particularly when you want to cook it to the consistency of porridge.
You will not need a pot with a lid to make quinoa porridge. You need to continually stir without the lid to get the proper consistency of this dish.
You'll also need to keep an eye on your quinoa and stir consistently as it cooks. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to keep it from sticking to the bottom of the pot.
2. Choose your mixing liquid. You'll need to choose what type of liquid you want to use to make your hot quinoa porridge. Depending on your diet, there are a variety of options to choose from.
Try regular milk. Whether you do skim or whole milk, adding milk to your warm quinoa can help make your porridge creamy and rich. Plus, it'll add a hit of calcium and protein.
If you don't want to use cow's milk, you can also do dairy substitutes. Try almond, soy or even rice milk if you'd like. They all work well in this recipe.
If you don't want to use any milk at all, you can also make your porridge with water. It won't add any creaminess to your porridge, but still gets it to the right consistency.
3. Whisk in spices and flavorings. Like oatmeal and other hot breakfast cereals, you can add a variety of different spices or flavorings to your quinoa porridge. Follow a recipe or consider adding your favorite flavors.
If you like you can add some extracts to your hot quinoa to add flavor. Try adding vanilla, almond or even coconut extract to your quinoa.
If you like a natural source of vanilla, consider cooking your quinoa with a split vanilla bean for flavor.
Spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger or clove are also quite tasty in a warm quinoa porridge.
4. Add your sweetener. Quinoa is not naturally sweet. In fact, it can sometimes have a more savory or even slightly bitter flavor. If you're looking for a sweet porridge, you'll need to add a source of sweetness to your porridge.
If you want to add a natural sweetener that isn't as processed as white sugar, consider drizzling in some honey, agave syrup, molasses or maple syrup.
If you're watching your total calorie or sugar intake, you may opt for a no-calorie sweetener like sucralose or truvia.
You can also consider leaving out sweeteners altogether. If you make your porridge with milk and add spices or fruit, there might be enough natural sweetness for your tastes.
5. Consider balancing your quinoa breakfast with other toppings. Once your quinoa porridge is made, there are a lot of different toppings you can add on. Whether you like Chia seeds, nuts, dried fruit or fresh fruit, you can add an additional hit of nutrition with some toppings.
Try fresh fruit on your quinoa. You can add any type of fruit you'd like. Apples would go well with cinnamon and nutmeg or sliced peaches may go well with vanilla extract.
You can also add dried fruit to your porridge as well. It's little chewier and sometimes tart which can be a nice addition to your breakfast meal.
You can also add some healthy fats and protein by adding nuts to quinoa. Whether it's almonds, cashews or pistachios, these are other great toppings.

Method 2 Using Quinoa in Other Breakfast Recipes.
1. Make a quinoa granola. If you like a little crunch on your morning yogurt, consider making a quinoa granola. Using a high-protein grain like quinoa can boost the nutrition of a traditional granola recipe.
Start this recipe by preheating your oven to 350 degrees.
In a large bowl, mix together 1 cup of rolled oats, 1/2 cup uncooked quinoa, 2 cups of nuts, 1 tablespoon of honey and a pinch of salt. Stir to combine.
In the microwave, melt 3 1/2 tablespoons of coconut oil together with 1/4 cup of maple syrup. Stir frequently until the liquids are completely combined. Pour immediately over the dry ingredients.
Pour the granola onto a rimmed baking sheet and press into an even layer. Bake for about 30 minutes. Half way through the baking process, stir the granola to ensure even browning. Allow to cool thoroughly and serve at room temperature.
2. Add cooked quinoa to a breakfast burrito. For a Mexican spin on your breakfast, make breakfast burritos. Adding quinoa will provide an additional source of protein and fiber to your burrito.
Start by scrambling 1 egg over medium heat in a nonstick skillet. Once cooked, place in a small bowl.
Add in 1/3 cup of cooked quinoa and 1/4 cup of thawed chopped frozen or baby spinach to your scrambled egg along with a generous sprinkling of shredded low-fat sharp cheddar cheese.
Place your burrito filling into the center of a 8" whole wheat tortilla. Roll up tightly and serve immediately or wrap in plastic wrap and stick in the freezer for another day.
3. Make a quinoa breakfast hash. If you're in the mood for a savory and filling breakfast, try making quinoa hash. Substitute quinoa for shredded potatoes in this tasty recipe.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat and add four strips of bacon (or skip this step if you don't eat meat or like bacon). Cook until the bacon is crunchy and the fat has rendered out. Remove bacon from pan and roughly chop.
To the still hot pan, add in 1 cup of cooked quinoa, 1/2 cup of diced peppers, 1/2 cup of diced onions and 1 cup of sliced mushrooms. Sauté for about five to six minutes or until vegetables are soft and quinoa is heated through.
Turn up the heat slightly. Press the quinoa mixture down into the bottom of the pan. Allow to crisp up and brown for about one to two minutes. Serve immediately with eggs if you'd like.
An alternate recipe is to make a mixture of cooked quinoa, peeled and grated raw potato then add to eggs and spices to taste. Cook on a large skillet for about seven minutes on each side until golden brown.
4. Bake quinoa muffins. If you're in a rush in the mornings, you can try making quinoa muffins ahead of time for a quick, protein and fiber filled breakfast. Freeze leftovers so you'll have a stock of these tasty muffins.
Start by preheating an oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a muffin tin with cooking spray.
In a large bowl, mix together 1 cup of cooked quinoa, 1/2 cup of applesauce, 1 mashed banana, 1/2 cup of milk, 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 1/4 cup of honey. Mix until thoroughly combined.
Peel and roughly chop 1 apple or pear and stir into the quinoa mixture as well.
Fill each muffin tin to the top with the quinoa mixture. Bake for about 20 – 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for five minutes before enjoying.

Method 3 Purchasing and Using Quinoa.
1. Choose the type of quinoa. Quinoa is now available in most local supermarkets. You don't have to go to a specialty store or health foods store to find this nutritious grain.
When you're looking for quinoa, it will be found in the grain aisle along with rice, couscous and pasta.
There may be more than one type of quinoa available. You may see white, black, red or even tri-colored quinoa.
Of all the quinoa colors, white or tan quinoa has the lightest texture and it cooks up slightly fluffier than other types and has the most delicate taste. Black quinoa has a slight earthy flavor while the red quinoa has a richer taste and a bit chewier texture and nutty. These two take slightly longer to cook than the white quinoa.
If you're using quinoa in a breakfast recipe, especially if kids are eating it, you may want to stick with white as it's most similar in color to oats.
2. Purchase dry or pre-cooked quinoa. Most of the time, you'll be able to find uncooked quinoa in the grain aisle of the grocery store; however, some stores may have pre-cooked quinoa for you.
Quinoa only takes about 15 minutes to cook from scratch. If you can only find uncooked quinoa, that will work perfectly in many breakfast recipes. Plus its not hard to cook from scratch.
If you are lacking in time or are unsure of how to cook quinoa, some stores sell precooked quinoa. You might find this in the grain aisle, refrigerated section, on the salad bar or even in the frozen section.
Pre-cooked quinoa may be a little bit more convenient and make for a faster breakfast recipe.
3. Rinse quinoa before using. If you haven't cooked quinoa before, there is a little secret trick to make it correctly. You'll need to rinse it first before cooking it.
Quinoa has a coating on the outside of the seed that acts as a natural pest repellent. It's called saponin. This is a natural compound that tastes bitter and soapy if not removed from the quinoa.
Place quinoa in a fine mesh strainer or a sieve. Run it under cold water, stirring or shaking it to help get all the seeds washed thoroughly.
Transfer your washed quinoa directly to your pot or pan and begin to cook it.
Note that some boxed quinoa or quinoa mixes are already washed or rinsed. You do not need to repeat this step. Make sure to read the instructions on boxes or packages first.
4. Store cooked quinoa correctly. Many of the breakfast recipes that do use quinoa, call for cooked quinoa. Making it in advance can help cut down on an extra step and cooking time in the mornings.
Consider taking time on the weekend or a free weeknight to go ahead and cook up a batch of quinoa.
Make sure to review what recipes you'll be making for breakfast and note how much cooked quinoa you'll need for the week.
Dry quinoa usually doubles in volume after cooking. 1/2 cup of uncooked or dry quinoa results in about 1 cup of cooked quinoa.
Store quinoa in a airtight container in the refrigerator for about five to seven days. You can also store it in a freezer container for up to three months.
5. Finished.

Tips.

Quinoa is a great whole grain that can be used in a variety of breakfast recipes. Keep trying new recipes until you find something you like.
Quinoa can be used in most recipes that contain a grain — like oats. Just substitute in quinoa instead.
Quinoa can have a unique flavor that may take some getting used to. Trying different flavorings and seasonings until you find a combination you enjoy.

April 08, 2020

how to change your recipes to easy slow cooking recipes

How to Change Your Recipes To Easy Slow Cooking Recipes.

A slow cooker, sometimes known as a crock pot, is an electric appliance that allows you to cook meat, vegetables and spices on a low temperature for approximately 4 to 10 hours. Slow cooking is popular, because it allows you to put ingredients in a pot in the morning, set a timer and arrive back at home in the evening to find the meal ready to serve. If you want to cook your favorite conventional recipes in a crock pot, then you can usually convert them using a few guidelines. Not every recipe can be converted, but if your recipe is usually cooked with a lid, braised or simmered, it can usually be changed with good results. This article will tell you how to change your recipes to easy slow cooking recipes.



Get used to using your slow cooker. Each brand cooks slightly differently, so you should get a feeling for how hot your slow cooker runs even on the low setting. Many people believe that older slow cookers cook at a lower temperature than newer versions.

If you find that your slow cooker runs hot, then you will want to reduce the amount of cooking time listed in the recipe. You may find the vegetables are mushier and meats fall apart, if you do not make the adjustment to slow cooker recipes.



Brown the meat in a frying pan before it goes in your slow cooker. Even if this is not required on your original recipe, it adds a complex flavor to the meat because it seals in the juices. The meat will also hold together better, while it cooks for hours rather than minutes.

You can also dredge raw meat, like chicken breasts or pork cutlets, in an herb and flour mixture. Then brown it on the stove top. The result will be a more crisp, complex flavor.



Adjust the cooking time of your normal recipe. Most recipes should be adjusted to the "low" setting on the crock pot rather than "high." The following times are good guidelines to follow for time adjustments.

If the cooking time is between 15 and 30 minutes on a stove top or in a conventional oven, then set it to cook for 4 to 6 hours on low. You can also set it for 1 and a half to 2 hours on high.

If the cooking time is between 30 and 45 minutes, then set it to cook for 6 to 8 hours on low. You can also set it between 3 and 4 hours on high.

If the cooking time is between 45 minutes and 3 hours, then set it to cook for 8 to 10 hours on low. You can also set it between 4 to 6 hours on high.



Start converting recipes that already use wet heat for cooking. Look for recipes that are stewed, simmered, slow roasted or braised. These recipes will convert easily and with the best results because they use similar methods.



Buy an easy slow cooking cook book. Make sure it includes recipes for slow cooking meats, vegetables, soups, stews and even casseroles. Find the recipe in the book that is most similar to your favorite recipe and model your favorite recipe on it.



Cut the amount of liquid ingredients in half, if you are converting a stew or braising recipe in a slow cooker. The slow cooker traps liquid inside the pot, so extra liquid will result in a soupy texture.

If your recipe does not call for any liquid, and does not contain fatty meats, then add 1/2 cup (118 ml) of broth or water.



Reduce the amount of liquid you put in a converted soup recipe. If the directions say to simmer the soup uncovered, then reduce the liquid by 1/3. If you are directed to simmer it while it is covered, then reduce the amount of liquid by 1/4.



Wait to add your herbs and spices to your recipe, until the end. Herbs tend to break down and disappear over long hours in the cooker, where spices tend to become dominant. To avoid either of these things from happening, add herbs near the end of the recipe, and add extra salt and pepper before you serve.



Place root vegetables into the bottom of the slow cooker. They take longer to cook than other vegetables. Cut them into 1 inch (2.54 cm) pieces and place them underneath meats or other ingredients.



Place dairy ingredients, such as milk, cream, buttermilk or soft cheeses into the slow cooker near the end of the cooking time. Some hard cheeses, such as Parmesan or Swiss may be put in the cooker at the beginning, because they hold together more firmly.



Add cornstarch or flour near the end to thicken the recipe. If you have too much liquid in your pot, remove the lid and turn the heat up to high. You can also drain off the liquid with a baster and reduce it in a pot on the stove.

If you want to add cornstarch or flour to thicken the sauce, create a slurry first. Add a few spoonfuls of flour or cornstarch to a small bowl and mix it with cool water. Make sure there aren't any lumps before adding it to the slow cooker.



TIPS.

Recipes that call for dry heat, such as things that are baked without a cover, will not work well in a slow cooker. Food does not brown, turn crisp, and liquid does not evaporate in this appliance. Slow cookers simmer ingredients in the liquid created by liquid ingredients or in the meat and vegetables.

Use caramelized onions to add flavor to almost any slow cooking dish. If you are unable to find vegetables that will work well in a slow cooker, caramelized onions may add the needed flavor.



WARNING.

Don't lift the lid off the slow cooker until the end of its cooking time. Raising the lid just once drops the temperature and requires you to add additional cooking time to the recipe. It can also spread bacteria, if you are cooking chicken. You will need to experiment with cooking times and keep an eye on it without lifting up the lid.

November 04, 2019

how to cook bulgur

How to Cook Bulgur.

Bulgur is a grain made from cracked wheat that’s popular in Middle Eastern cuisine. It’s a great source of iron, vitamin B, manganese, and magnesium, and it’s also high in fiber. If you like your bulgur soft like rice, then boiling it is your best bet. However, if you prefer a chewier texture, such as for a salad or tabbouleh, then soaking it is the better option. Once your bulgur is cooked to perfection, add your desired seasonings. This versatile grain will take on any flavors you add to it.



Ingredients.

Boiling Bulgur : 1 1⁄3  c (320 mL) of water, 2/3 cup (180 g) of bulgur.

Soaking Bulgur : 1 cup (240 g) of bulgur, 2  c (470 mL) of boiling water.

Making Bulgur in a Slow-Cooker : Butter, oil, or non-stick cooking spray to grease slow-cooker.

1 cup (240 g) of bulgur, 2  c (470 mL) of water or milk.

Seasoning Bulgur.

2  tsp (9.9 mL) of oil or butter and 1/2 tsp (2.5 g) of kosher salt (for simple bulgur).

1 lemon, 2 teaspoons (9.9 mL) of olive oil, 1/4 cup (60 g) of chopped fresh mint, 1 cup (240 g) of chopped fresh parsley, 1 chopped tomato, and 1 chopped cucumber (for tabbouleh).

1 red bell pepper, 1/4 cup (60 g) of Kalamata olives, and 1/4 cup (60 g) of chopped sun-dried tomatoes (for Mediterranean bulgur).

1 chopped apple, 1/2 cup (120 g) of raisins, 1 tsp (5 g) of cinnamon, and 1/4 cup (60 g) of brown sugar (for breakfast bulgur).



Method 1 Boiling Bulgur.

1. Bring 1 1⁄3  c (320 mL) of water to boil in a sauce pan. You can use tap water or filtered water if you prefer. Measure out the water and add it to the pan. Then, turn the heat up to medium-high and bring the water to a boil.

Tip: For extra flavorful bulgur, use chicken, beef, or vegetable broth in place of water.

2. Stir in 2/3 cup (180 g) of bulgur and reduce the heat to medium-low. Use a wooden or metal spoon to stir the bulgur into the boiling water. Then, turn down the heat so that the water is just simmering instead of boiling.

You may want to stir the bulgur once every few minutes so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan or boil over.

3. Cover the pot and cook for 10-15 minutes. Place a tight-fitting lid on the pot and set a timer for 10 minutes. Check the bulgur to see if it has absorbed all of the water. If not, keep cooking the bulgur for up to 5 more minutes until all the water has been absorbed.

Pay attention to the bulgur while it cooks. If it starts boiling again, turn the heat down to low.

4. Let the bulgur sit for 10 minutes with the cover on before serving it. Once the water has been absorbed, turn off the heat. Leave the lid on the pot and set a timer for 10 minutes. The bulgur will be ready to eat after the time is up.

The bulgur will be very hot once it finishes cooking. If you want it chilled, place it into the refrigerator for 3 to 4 hours or longer.

Bulgur will keep well in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.



Method 2 Soaking Bulgur.

1. Place 1 cup (240 g) of bulgur in a heat-proof bowl. Measure out the bulgur and add it to a glass, ceramic, or metal bowl. Some plastic containers are also heat-proof. Check to see if your container is microwave safe before using it to soak the bulgur with boiling water.

Don’t place the bulgur in anything that might melt, such as a plastic or Styrofoam.

2. Pour 2  c (470 mL) of boiling water over the bulgur. Bring 2  c (470 mL) of water to boil in a tea kettle, pot, or microwave-safe container, such as a glass measuring cup. Then, pour the water over the bulgur.

If needed, stir the bulgur and water together to ensure that the bulgur is fully covered in the bowl.

3. Cover the bowl and let the bulgur sit for 20 to 30 minutes. Place a plate or tea-towel over the bowl to cover it completely. Then, set a timer for 20 minutes. Once the time is up, check to see if the bulgur is at the desired consistency. If it’s still too chewy, let it sit for longer.

If all of the water has been absorbed before the bulgur is fully cooked, add another 1⁄4  c (59 mL) of boiling water and stir it into the bulgur. Then, cover the bulgur again and let it sit for 5 more minutes.

Tip: As long as the bowl that you placed the bulgur into is microwave-safe, you can also microwave the bulgur with an extra 1⁄4  c (59 mL) of water to finish cooking it if it’s still too chewy.

4. Drain off any excess water after the bulgur is cooked. When the bulgur reaches the desired consistency, pour it into a colander over a sink to drain off the excess water. If there’s no excess water left in the bowl, you can skip this.

Store your extra bulgur in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.



Method 3 Making Bulgur in a Slow-Cooker.

1. Grease the inside of the slow-cooker. Spread 2 to 3  tsp (9.9 to 14.8 mL) of butter or oil all over the inside of the slow-cooker with a basting brush or your fingertips, or spray it with non-stick cooking spray.

Opt for non-stick cooking spray if you’re trying to keep the fat and calories as low as possible.

2. Add 1 cup (240 g) of bulgur to the slow-cooker. Measure out the bulgur and pour it into the slow cooker. You can double or even triple the amount if desired. Just make sure to double or triple the liquid as well.

Tip: You can add bulgur to chilies, stews, and soups to make them heartier. Just make sure you balance the liquid in the recipe with the bulgur. Aim for a 2:1 ratio of water to bulgur if you want to absorb the liquid entirely, 3:1 if you want a thick stew, or 4:1 if you want a brothy soup.

3. Pour in 2  c (470 mL) of water or milk. Use water for lighter bulgur or add milk to give it a creamier texture. Measure out the water or milk an pour it over the bulgur.

You can also add extra ingredients to your slow cooker at this time if you want them cooked in with the bulgur.

4. Set the slow-cooker on low heat and cook for 6 to 8 hours. Place the lid on your slow cooker and turn the heat to low. Then, cook the bulgur for 6 to 8 hours or until the liquid is fully absorbed. Check it periodically to ensure that it does not get overcooked.

If you want the bulgur to cook faster, turn the heat up to high and cook it for 3 to 4 hours.

Add and extra 1⁄4 to 1⁄2  c (59 to 118 mL) of water to the slow cooker if the water gets low and the bulgur still isn’t cooked. You can always drain off the excess water if there’s too much.

If you have extra bulgur, store it in an air-tight container in the refrigerator. It will keep for up to 3 days.



Method 4 Seasoning Bulgur.

1. Add oil or butter and salt for a simple seasoning. If you want to enjoy the simple, nutty flavor of bulgur, keep the seasoning simple. Pour 2  tsp (9.9 mL) of oil over the bulgur, or mix in 2  tsp (9.9 mL) of butter while the bulgur is still warm so it will melt. Sprinkle 1/2 tsp (2.5 g) of salt over the bulgur and stir everything well.

Serve the bulgur as a side dish with chicken, fish, chili, or anything else you like.

2. Make tabbouleh with lemon, mint, parsley, tomatoes, and cucumbers. Pour the juice of 1 lemon and 2 teaspoons (9.9 mL) of olive oil over the bulgur and stir it together. Then, mix in 1/4 cup (60 g) of chopped fresh mint, 1 cup (240 g) of chopped fresh parsley, 1 chopped tomato, and 1 chopped cucumber in with the bulgur. Chill the tabbouleh for 2 hours or overnight.

Try serving the tabbouleh over lettuce with pita bread and hummus on the side for a complete meal.

3. Add peppers, olives, and sun-dried tomatoes for Mediterranean bulgur. Chop 1 red bell pepper, 1/4 cup (60 g) of Kalamata olives, and 1/4 cup (60 g) of chopped sun-dried tomatoes and stir them in with cooked bulgur. Serve while the bulgur is still warm or chill the bulgur overnight for a Mediterranean style bulgur dish.

Try having this bulgur recipe with a simple salad or steamed veggies.

4. Stir in apples, raisins, cinnamon, and brown sugar for breakfast bulgur. Add 1 chopped apple, 1/2 cup (120 g) of raisins, 1 tsp (5 g) of cinnamon, and 1/4 cup (60 g) of brown sugar to the bulgur after the bulgur is cooked. Stir everything together and serve for breakfast.

Pair your bulgur with a cup of Greek yogurt and a glass of orange juice for a hearty breakfast.

Tip: Bulgur is versatile, so try swapping it in recipes that call for rice, couscous, millet, barley, or even pasta.



Question : Can I use bulgur wheat in a salad ?

Answer : Yes, bulgur wheat is a great salad addition. A good example is tabouli, a popular traditional Middle Eastern salad.

Question : Can I put raw bulgar in my soup while it's cooking?

Answer : You can do this but remember that it absorbs twice its volume in water. This means it will soak up the soup liquid and you'll need to replace that to ensure it remains a soup and doesn't turn into a stew. Try a little the first time you do this with your soup recipe, and gradually adjust it each time you make the soup until you get the amount just right. Or, use a recipe which gives exact amounts of bulgar wheat to add.

Question : What is bulgar wheat?

Answer : Bulgar or bulgur wheat is the wheat kernel with the bran portion removed. The kernel is steamed, dried and ground into different grades of coarseness to finish the product. The grain that results is golden-brown in color.

Februari 22, 2020

how to make oat flour

How to Make Oat Flour

Want to use up your oats in a more creative and a much more delicious way than oatmeal each morning? Suffering from gluten intolerance? Looking for a way to get rid of mountains of rolled oats? Oat flour may be for you. This healthy, versatile flour is easy to make yourself, so don't waste money buying it at the health food store. You only need a food processor and one ingredient to get started.

Ingredients

Oats (Old fashioned, steel cut, or quick-cooking all work).

Blender or food processor.

Part 1 Making Oat Flour.

1. Measure out a portion of oats. The type of oats traditionally used for oat flour are called "rolled oats." These can be bought for cheap at many grocery stores, but are not always available. Luckily, you can use instant, quick-cook, or steel cut as well -- the only difference is grain size, and you're grinding them all up anyway.

Don't use oats that have been flavored in any way, as this flavor will work into your final dish. Plain oats are best.

If you're going to be using your oat flour in a recipe immediately, measure out more oats than the recipe calls for. Once you turn them into flour, they'll settle and take up a smaller volume. You'll generally end up with about 3/4 of the volume of oats you started with.

2. Pulse the oats in a food processor. Any standard blender or "Magic Bullet"-type device will also work well.In a pinch, you could use a coffee grinder. Be sure to clean it out first unless you want coffee-flavored flour. Pulse for 30 seconds or until the oats reach a fine, powdery consistency. They should look a lot like traditional plain, all-purpose wheat flour.

No blender? There are a variety of ways to make manual flour, but you need to know they will take a while. You could try.

Mincing: Using your sharpest knife, rock it back and forth over a small pile of oats to quickly chop them up. They will be a little bigger than a real flour, but will still work.

Grinding: Using a mortar and pestle, grind the oats into a powder.

Mashing: A last-ditch effort, put the oats in a resealable plastic bag, squeeze the air out, and start crushing as if washing clothing by hand. Note that this will likely take a long time.

3. Stir to mix in any stray oats, then pulse again. It can be hard to tell whether any extra oats remain in your flour, so open the food processor or blender and stir the powder a few times to be safe. Pulse again for 10 seconds or so.

4. Use or store your oat flour at once. Your oat flour is ready to use right away. You can use it roughly how you would use plain flour ordinarily, substituting it into recipes. If you need to save some, use the same rules you would use for ordinary flour. Keep it in a cool, dry place in an airtight container. Oat flour lasts for about 3 months in the cabinet and 6 months in the freezer.

These are only estimates, and oat flour will never keep as long as whole oats. Only make as much as you can use in the next few weeks.

Hot and humid environments will lower the shelf life of your flour. Cold and dry areas may be able to store their oat flour a little longer without problems.

Part 2 Using Oat Flour.

1. Use for its subtle oat flavor. The taste difference between plain flour and oat flour won't immediately jump out at you, but it's somewhat noticeable. Oat flour gives the baked goods a nutty flavor and a chewy texture, different from plain flour but not overwhelmingly so. This is perfect for certain dishes — specifically, savory-sweet baked goods tend to benefit from this taste profile.

The classic example, Oatmeal Raisin Cookies, are taken to the next level with oat flour.

In most recipes, you only need 3/4 cup flour for every 1 cup of plain flour. If a cookie recipe calls for 2 cups normal flour, you should use 1 1/2 cup oat flour. except in raised yeast breads that need gluten to give them structure.

If you're unsure how a baked good will respond, mix and match the flours. Instead of 1 cup of plain flour, try 3/4 oats and 1/4 wheat to get the textural benefits of gluten (it gives loaves of bread shape) without eating too much of it.

2. Use to reduce the gluten in recipes. One of the most popular ways oat flour is used today is as a gluten-free alternative to plain flour. Because gluten is a protein that naturally comes from wheat, using oat flour instead of all-purpose flour will usually remove the gluten from baked goods.

Note: The rolled oats you can buy at the store aren't always 100% gluten free. Small amounts of wheat can get mixed into the oats (usually, because the equipment used to process them is also used to process wheat). This can make a difference for people with Celiac disease or gluten intolerance, so be sure to use oats that are advertised as gluten-free to fully protect friends with Celiac disease.

3. Use oat flour to give baked goods a lighter texture. Compared to plain flour, oat flour is slightly less dense, which makes foods baked from it a little fluffier than they normally would be. This can be used to make wonderfully light muffins and biscuits, though it's also great for giving a unique texture to thicker pastries like scones and soda bread.

You don't need to substitute all of the flour to get this effect. To add lightness without losing the taste or consistency of plain flour, use a half-and-half mixture.

Try using oat flour in our scone recipe for a lighter version of this delicious breakfast treat.

4. Use to coat or dredge foods. Just like ordinary flour, oat flour can be used as a coating for a wide variety of foods. For instance, if you're frying breaded cuts of meat, you can coat them with oat flour (instead of plain flour) before dipping in an egg wash and tossing with the breading. Oat flour can also be dusted on proved loaves (loaves that have finished rising, but aren't cooked yet) to create an attractive, crunchy crust.

Another excellent idea is to use oat flour when kneading bread dough to keep it from sticking to your work surface. Because of its lighter texture, it won't make the dough stiff if you incorporate too much.

5. Use oat flour for its nutritional benefits. Oat flour is great for your body even if you don't have gluten intolerance. Oats are naturally rich in protein, fiber, and help your body burn fats. They are lower in carbohydrates than most grains and are known to have minor cholesterol-reducing properties. This makes oat flour an excellent choice for your recipes — even if there isn't a special reason to use it.

Oat flour has high levels of magnesium, making it very helpful for women going through menopause or menstruation. Magnesium deficiencies are a common cause of profuse menstrual bleeding.

6. Finished.

Tips

Gluten is a protein that gives bread and bread products their springy, elastic quality.[10] Because oats don't naturally contain gluten, using oat flour in place of plain flour will change the texture of many baked goods.

In many countries, wheat flour, plain flour, and all-purpose white flour are referred to as one and the same; but plain flour and wheat flour are sold as two different items in some countries such as India. The difference is similar to the difference between brown rice and white rice. Both the ingredients are derived from the same item.

A very small percentage of Celiac patients may experience a negative reaction to oats even though they do not contain gluten. This is because the oats could be contaminated at the factory with plain flours. Make sure the oats are certified gluten-free.

Desember 05, 2019

How to Pull Off Thin Hand-Pulled Lamian Noodles (part 2).

How to Pull Off Thin Hand-Pulled Lamian Noodles  (part 2).

By TIM CHIN.

Trial 4: The Wide World of Dough Reducers
Adding an alkali wasn’t the answer. I had to dig deeper. Based on one translated source, the composition of penghui includes sodium, potassium, and sulfur. And given my previous tests with potassium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate (both alkalis), I was willing to rule out the first two ingredients.
But sulfur? A quick search for sulfur additives in dough led me to this comprehensive post describing the role of dough reducers in industrial breadmaking. Dough reducers (or reducing agents) are a class of dough conditioners used to decrease mixing time and to improve extensibility. Chief among them are the protein-based reagents cysteine and glutathione; and, coincidentally, sulfites.
I reached out to the author, Dr. Jacinthe Côté, a food biotechnologist and Product Management Director at Lallemand Inc., a major research, development, and manufacturing company that specializes in yeasts and bacteria for natural fermentation processes, including industrial dough processing. According to her, reducing agents act like mixing to reversibly break down the gluten network, resulting in increased extensibility. “You have to be aware that those [disulfide] links can be broken. If you manipulate the dough, or if you stretch it too much, the bridge can be broken. It can be done mechanically, or it can be done chemically.”
For Dr. Côté, gluten development during mixing is best thought of as an oxidation-reduction reaction, hence the name “dough reducers.” “The formation of a disulfide bridge is an oxidation reaction…involving gluten [proteins] containing sulfhydryl (or thiol, denoted by -SH) groups. The oxidation process links the sulfhydryl groups on one protein with another.” Breaking those disulfide bonds chemically is a reduction process known as disulfide interchange. Do you need to know all that hard science? Not really. What’s important is this: Each reducing agent participates in some form of disulfide interchange to relax a dough. But they aren’t all created equal.

Sulfites.
Sulfites are a common reducing agent used in cookie, cracker, and biscuit production; they are used to relax doughs for shaping. These reagents act like caps, covering the reactive sulfhydryl groups on gluten proteins. This capping makes it difficult to reform disulfide bonds—resulting in a dough that can’t form a strong gluten network in exchange for extensibility.
The most commonly available form is a salt, such as sodium metabisulfite (which you can find at most homebrew stores as a preservative for wine making). Unfortunately, sulfite salts have the distinct odor of rotten eggs, can cause sensitivity reactions in some people (rashes, hives, indigestion, as some sulfite-sensitive wine drinkers may know), and are closely regulated by the FDA. They are effective at levels between 20-100 parts per million, so even if you used 1/16th of a teaspoon of a sulfite salt, you would need to add it to several pounds of dough to be effective. Ultimately, sulfite salts are not suited for home cooking (unless you’re making a huge batch of dough).
I had read that penghui smelled strongly of rotten eggs. Based on its reported composition and smell, I suspect that penghui contains some kind of sulfite salt, which would explain its dough-relaxing properties. In the end, I didn’t think sulfites were a viable—or healthy—option for the home cook.

Cysteine.
Cysteine is an amino acid, and the go-to reducing agent in commercial bread production. It’s cheap to produce, you can add it directly to a dough, and it acts quickly, reducing the number of disulfide cross-links between glutenin chains via disulfide interchange. Like sulfite salts, cysteine must be used in small amounts (10-90 parts per million), so it’s not the most practical choice for home cooks looking to make a single loaf of bread or a small batch of noodles. While you probably won’t find it in the baking aisle at your local grocery store, you can buy cysteine over the counter as a dietary supplement. But it does have a bad rap among health-conscious consumers: Most cysteine is extracted from the feathers of birds and hog hair. “There’s a big chemical extraction process,” explains Dr. Côté, and it results in a product that hardly resembles feathers or hair at all.
Despite the bad reputation, I decided to give cysteine a shot. I split open a pill of L-cysteine and sprinkled 0.1 grams of the powder into a working recipe of bread flour, salt, and water. The smell of metallic, faintly rotten eggs immediately stung my nostrils. Within minutes of kneading, the dough turned to a puddle in my hands. I could stretch the dough seemingly infinitely. But the dough lacked any semblance of structure, making it impossible to pull noodles that could hold their shape. I had added too much cysteine. Clearly, using cysteine could work to relax my dough, but it was also impractical and difficult to use correctly: I couldn’t justify asking home cooks to buy a whole bottle of cysteine just to use a couple milligrams of the stuff.

Glutathione (a.k.a. The Winner).
Glutathione is a peptide (a peptide is smaller than a protein, usually containing less than 50 amino acids) that contains cysteine, and functions in a similar way to relax doughs. Most commercial glutathione comes from natural sources like heat-treated, inactive yeast. “When you’re drying the yeast, you’re stressing [it] a little bit, and some of the cells die,” says Dr. Côté. “When the yeast cells die, they release some of their components that are inside the cell. One of the components that is naturally occurring is glutathione.” Lallemand specializes in a product called Fermaid, a non-leavening yeast product that is abundant in glutathione. Still, I didn’t want to buy a specialty, industrial-grade ingredient just to make some noodles (like sodium metabisulfite, you can sometimes find Fermaid at homebrew stores).
But what about nutritional yeast? Technically, it’s deactivated yeast, too, so it would have some proportion of glutathione. Could it work to relax a noodle dough? I pitched the idea to Dr. Côté. She lit up. “Ok! That’s a good one, too. That logic makes sense. A lot of bakeries just use regular inactive yeast (which is generally available industrially). I think there’s about 1.5%–2% glutathione in that product, and it works.” You can make inactive yeast by slowly cooking or drying out fresh yeast, but the process is time consuming. And if nutritional yeast was readily available and just as good, it seemed like a better option.
I started testing with a tablespoon of nutritional yeast mixed into my dough. Unlike my tests with cysteine, I found I could use reasonable amounts of nooch without worrying about over-relaxing the dough. To speed mixing up, I combined all the ingredients in a food processor and ran it just until a dough formed, then transferred the dough to the counter. After a few minutes of kneading and twisting, the dough relaxed considerably and became more extensible.
But unlike the dough with cysteine, it still retained its structure. As I dialed up the amount of nutritional yeast, the dough became even more extensible. By the fifth trial, I was able to pull noodles. The cooked noodles were ideal: chewy, even in thickness, and slurp-worthy. Using nutritional yeast also had a couple unintended benefits: It tinted the noodles a pale yellow—reminiscent of Japanese alkali ramen noodles—and it imparted subtle umami flavor (nutritional yeast is rich in glutamate, giving it a savory, cheesy quality, which explains why it’s often used as a stand-in for Parmesan in vegan recipes). And the best part? I went from mixing to pulling and cooking noodles in 15 minutes flat.
Finally, I had found a reliable way to pull noodles—or at least a way to get a dough with repeatable extensibility. And I didn’t need special equipment, special ingredients, or years of noodle school training.

Refining the Formula.
I solved the hardest part of the noodle problem: I had extensible, cooperative dough that could be both pulled repeatedly and made very quickly. All that remained was to home in on a foolproof formula for optimal handling and texture. I’ll break the rest of my testing down briefly, ingredient by ingredient:
Flour.
Flour is by far the most important ingredient in any dough. I tested various brands of low-protein cake flour, all-purpose flour, and bread flour. Each of these flour types vary in their gluten potential (gluten potential is a term for how much gluten development is possible). Cake flour sits at 7-9% protein content (protein content includes proteins like albumin and globulin, in addition to gluten proteins); at the other end of the spectrum, bread flour contains 12-14% protein, depending on the brand. A flour with higher protein content tends to form a dough with more gluten potential and, consequently, more elasticity and chew.
In the end, I found that bread flour (I used King Arthur bread flour, which has the highest protein content available of all common flours you can find at grocery stores) resulted in noodles that pulled easily but had the proper elasticity for structure. The noodles held their shape well during pulling, and separated into even strands. The cooked noodles were chewier and had a more pleasant spring compared to noodles made with other flours. As the protein content of the flour decreased, dough handling and chew worsened. For instance, the same formula with cake flour was stickier and tended to droop and stick to my hands while pulling and stretching; the resulting noodles were uneven, lacked chew, and were spongy. I also observed that higher-protein flours were able to absorb more water without becoming sticky and unmanageable.
Water.
In general, water serves two primary functions in a noodle dough: It is essential to hydrating flour to form a stable gluten network; and it facilitates extensibility, making a dough stretchable. It’s useful to think of dough as a suspension of solid particles (starches) in a viscous fluid. If you add more water to that dough, you are increasing the size of the suspension, giving more space for the solid particles to move around, which means the dough will stretch more. At the same time, adding more water makes a dough stickier, harder to handle, and less elastic. I found the ideal hydration for my noodle dough (as a percentage of flour weight) sat between 62 and 68 percent. At levels lower than this range, the dough tended to be too elastic and too resistant to stretching. At a hydration higher than 68 percent, the dough was more extensible, but stuck to the work surface and to my hands, and was difficult—if not impossible—to stretch evenly.
Salt.
Salt is used mostly for flavor in my formula. But depending on the concentration, salt also acts as a conditioner in a dough, strengthening the gluten network. I tested doughs with and without salt. I found that without salt, doughs tended to be more slack and sticky. Adding salt made doughs more elastic, but easier to handle.
Oil.
Oil has several effects on dough handling and cooked noodle texture. In general, adding oil inhibits gluten development, since a portion of flour absorbs that oil during mixing. Oil also affects viscosity in a similar fashion to water: It makes a dough softer and more extensible. Lastly, oil seems to improve dough handling by mitigating stickiness to surfaces and hands. That final quality was integral to clean, even stretching in my recipe. Adding oil to my dough slightly increased extensibility without having to add even more water, which would have made my dough too sticky to handle.
Nutritional Yeast.
For optimal extensibility, I found nutritional yeast to be effective between 5 and 8 percent of the total flour weight in my tests. As the protein content of flour increased (up to King Arthur bread flour), I could dial up the amount of nutritional yeast to the top end of that range without compromising structure. As the protein content decreased (to say, Pillsbury cake flour), less yeast was required, and additional yeast made the dough too sticky and slack*.
*If you’re curious, nutritional yeast contains 2.5 milligrams of glutathione per gram.
A Note on Alkali.
What about all that hype around penghui and kansui? For this recipe, I noticed that alkali did make my noodles chewier; but it also made pulling noodles more difficult, and the cooked noodle shape was wavy, curled, and uneven. My noodles had plenty of chew already from high-gluten bread flour, and the added benefit in texture wasn’t worth the regression in dough handling and shaping. In the interest of keeping things simple, I decided to leave alkali out. You could definitely experiment with adding some alkali to your noodle dough to improve chew, but keep in mind that it will negatively impact extensibility.
Rules for the Road.
So now we’ve got a dough formula that works. But it’s still up to you to bring it all home and pull noodles. Here are some guidelines and words of advice to keep in mind for successful noodle pulling.
Use a Scale.
You need a scale. I’m not going to pretend otherwise. You might think you could get away with your heirloom tablespoons and that cute chipped porcelain measuring cup that you copped from Goodwill, but trust me when I say: It will do you no good. If you want consistency, use a scale (preferably digital ).
Stretch and Twirl.
After the formula, the most important aspect of this recipe is proper kneading before pulling noodles. All that stretching, twirling, and doubling over of dough might look flashy, but the process serves a function: It aligns gluten in a roughly linear orientation. Most of the time, general kneading (especially in a mixer) mashes gluten proteins in a random, non-linear way. That randomness is great for breads, which must expand in all directions when rising or baking. But noodles are straight, and need to extend in a linear way. Stretching and twirling is basically linear kneading: You’re mechanically making and breaking bonds in gluten, and aligning them in roughly one direction.
Practice Pulling.
Once you’ve sufficiently developed and aligned your dough, it’s time to pull noodles. This stage is a perfect time to practice. Ultimately, pulling noodles is a hand skill that takes some repetition and feeling. “My recommendation is don’t jump the gun and try to boil your noodles. Just practice,” Luke recommends. Generally, flouring the table and rolling the dough in flour helps keep the noodle strands separate when pulling. But once you’ve floured the table, you have to pull noodles and cook them, since additional flour would be worked into the dough, throwing off our intentionally crafted formula.
Fortunately, the un-floured dough has that repeatable extensibility, so you can practice the pulling motions repeatedly, without fear of the dough tearing or snapping back. “Just keep trying to make noodles, over and over again—without actually flouring them and throwing them into a pot and expecting to eat anything. A lot of this is really the dexterity and knowing how to hold the two ends of the dough.”
Don’t Be Afraid.
If I’ve done my job, this should be a very forgiving dough. So don’t be discouraged if you can’t get the pulling motions quite right initially. If the dough tears (it shouldn’t), just roll it back up and try again. Don’t stress. If the noodles are uneven, try again. If one or two strands break as you’re pulling, don’t freak out. Remember: It’s just dough.
Go Forth and Pull.
At this point, the noodle masters of yore are likely rolling in their graves. Traditionalists out there will probably put me on full blast. “Lamian doesn’t have nooch! How dare you. That’s not authentic.”
Tradition was never the point. Exploration and understanding—they are worth far more. I could have just as easily told you to go out and smuggle in some penghui, knead your dough for hours, and make some authentic noodles. But this is a lamian recipe for home cooks. My goal was to develop a noodle dough that anyone could pull; a way to practice noodle pulling without resorting to prohibitive means or herculean efforts.
Just to make sure, I sent my recipe to Luke for him to try out. He emailed me back a couple days later with pictures and even a video of him pulling noodles. It took him ten minutes from mixing to eating—a personal record. “I’m kinda speechless...huge stamp of approval from me!”
No matter the method, making lamian is magic. It’s a perfect demonstration of the alchemy, and chemistry, of cooking. It embodies the excitement, the thrill, and the spirit of making something amazing out of the ordinary. Learning about the process has been equally enriching. So go out and make some lamian dough. Practice, pull, and practice again. Then you'll be ready to cook them up and slide them into a fragrant bowl of lamb soup. (Stay tuned for that recipe.)


(source : https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2020/04/hand-pulled-lamian-noodles)

Agustus 02, 2020

how to make popovers

How to Make Popovers.

Popovers are light and fluffy pastries that almost burst from the pan as they are cooking. Trapped steam inside of them puffs the pastries up while the outside turns a beautiful – and tasty – golden brown. Perfect with butter in jam in the mornings or alongside a good cut of meat for dessert, popovers are a simple and easy dish that anyone can make at home.

The following recipe makes 6 popovers.

Ingredients.
1 cup all-purpose flour, 2 large eggs, 1 cup milk, 1/2 teaspoon salt.
2 tablespoons butter, cut into six pieces, or non-stick cooking spray.
Optional Ingredients.
2 tablespoons melted butter, 1-2 tablespoons sugar, 1 teaspoon rosemary, basil, thyme, black pepper.
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 ounces chopped semi-sweet chocolate.
5 ounces grated cheese (gruyere, cheddar, manchego, pepper jack), 6 tablespoons crumbled, cooked bacon.
1/4 cup minced chives or roasted shallots.

Steps.

1. Preheat the oven to 450 °F (232 °C). Popovers get their shape because the high heat quickly puffs up the steam inside the pastry, so your oven needs to be hot.

2. Place a small piece of butter at the bottom of each well in a muffin pan. You do not need a popover pan to make them, as a regular muffin dish will work fine. You can also use 6-ounce custard dishes.

Non-stick cooking spray can substituted for butter.

3. Whisk the eggs, milk, and salt together. You can also use a food processor if you prefer.

4. Whisk in the flour until it is completely mixed. You do not want to overmix, as this leads to a coarse and chewy popover. Simply whisk it until there are no more chunks of flour, then stop.

You should see little air bubbles – this is what will cause the popover to rise later.

5. Place the muffin pan in the oven for 2-3 minutes to warm. To make popovers “pop” you need to preheat the pan. This heats up the batter and causes it to grow rapidly in the first 20 minutes in the oven.

6. Divide the batter into each cup. Put an equal amount of batter in each popover pan, muffin dish, or custard cup and put them in the oven.

Some cooks suggest quickly whisking the batter before pouring so that it is frothy and airy as it goes into the pan.

Be careful-- the dish will still be hot from the oven.

7. Bake for 20 minutes at 450 °F (232 °C). Quickly get the batter back into the oven after pouring the batter and cook it for 20 minutes.

8. Do not open the oven. This is the golden rule of popovers! The high heat inside the oven creates steam that shoots the popover sky high, but even quickly opening the oven lets out enough heat to deflate them. Resist the temptation to check your pastries and leave the oven closed.

9. Turn the heat down to 375 °F (191 °C) and bake for an additional 10 minutes. After the first 20 minutes, the popovers will have a crispy shell and will retain their form. Lower the heat and cook them for an additional 10-20 minutes, or until the outsides are golden brown.

It is safe to open the oven door during this second cooking period.

If you have 2 pans of popovers in, rotate them now so that they heat evenly.

10. Remove the popovers and turn them out on a wire rack to cool. The outside will be crispy and the popover won’t collapse or crumble, so quickly pull them out of the oven and set them aside to cool.

11. Use a knife to cut a slit in the bottoms. This allows the steam to quickly escape the pastry and keep it crispy when you serve it.

12. Serve while still warm. Popovers are best right out of the oven, so eat them right away whenever possible.

Method 1 Variations.

1. Add melted butter for a richer pastry. Melt 2-3 tablespoons of butter and whisk it into the batter with the milk and eggs for a rich, buttery popover.

Let the butter cool slightly after melting it – otherwise it might cook the eggs slightly.

2. Top your popovers with shredded cheese before cooking. Simply sprinkle shredded cheese, such as gruyere or cheddar, on top of the batter before it goes in the oven, then cook normally. The final popover will by topped with crispy, delicious cheese.

3. Try sweet popover recipes. Simply add 1-2 tablespoons of sugar with the flour and whisk it into the batter, then add whatever other sweet ingredients your heart desires. Some ideas include: ½ teaspoon vanilla extract and 2 teaspoons orange zest, ½ teaspoon vanilla and 1 ounce chopped semisweet chocolate.

Brush the tops of cooked popovers with melted butter, then sprinkle with ground cinnamon and sugar.

4. Try out savory popover recipes. Popovers are a fantastic addition to dinners in place of rolls or bread, and can be customized to fit your meal. Try mixing and matching the following variations, adding them to your batter with the flour:

¼ cup chives, chopped finely, ¼ cup roasted shallots or garlic, chopped finely, 1 teaspoon rosemary, thyme, or basil, minced, 4 pieces cooked bacon, finely chopped.

Question : Is there a way to added pumpkin to the mix for a seasonal taste? If so, how much?
Answer : While beating, add some pumpkin mix in, but not too much at once. My rule of thumb is 4 oz per pound, to give a slightest hint of pumpkin.

Tips : Refrigerate any leftovers for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave for a quick snack.
Warnings : No matter how tempting, do not open that oven!

Januari 17, 2020

How to Use Coconut Flour

How to Use Coconut Flour.

Coconut flour is an alternative to wheat flour. It can be used to make recipes low-carb and gluten-free. Whatever the reason you want to switch to coconut flour, you can use it in a variety of ways, including baking, but you need to make sure you know how to use it before you start cooking with it.

Method 1 Using Coconut Flour in Baking.

1. Add less coconut flour than you would wheat flour. Coconut flour is much more absorbent than wheat flour. That means that you usually need much less of it in a baking recipe. How much less depends on the recipe, but you may be using as little as a third of what you'd normally use.

2. Consider adding extra protein. Because coconut flour has less protein than wheat flour, it can sometimes come off as a bit dense. Wheat flour produces gluten, which helps provide stretch and bite to baked goods. It can help to add in a bit of whey powder to your recipe when using coconut flour to help replace the gluten.

3. Pay attention to differences between flours. Not every coconut flour is the same. Some are denser than others, making your recipes turn out differently. Pay attention to what the dough looks like before you bake it. It should be similar in consistency to a dough made with wheat flour. If it's not, you may need to adjust the recipe.

4. Add liquids in equal parts. Unlike recipes calling for wheat flour, you need to add a significant amount of liquid to dough using coconut flour. Usually, you'll use one part liquid to one part coconut flour. You can use water, coconut milk, milk, or any other liquid you think would go well with the recipe.

Another way to avoid dryness is to add pureed fruits to your baked goods, such as applesauce or pumpkin.

5. Add extra eggs. When baking with coconut flour, the texture of the finished product relies more heavily on the eggs than it does on the flour. That means you need to add extra eggs when baking with coconut flour. You may use as many as 6 eggs while only using 1/2 a cup (118 milliliters) of coconut flour.

6. Try an established recipe first. That is, you may decide you want to just substitute coconut flour in your favorite recipe. However, that's likely to end in disaster if you just substitute coconut flour for wheat flour one to one. It's better to use a recipe made for coconut flour that someone has already tested. Once you get the hang of baking with coconut flour, then you can start making changes to fit your needs.

Looking for a good place to start? These coconut flour cupcakes are simple but delicious!

Method 2 Using Coconut Flour in Other Ways.

1. Add it as a binder for meatloaf and meatballs. Coconut flour works well as a binder in recipes where you'd normally use ingredients like cracker or bread crumbs, such as meatloaf. However, you will need to double the liquid in the recipe because the coconut flour will absorb so much of it.

2. Experiment with using it in sauces. Some people have good luck using it to thicken sauces, while others do not. In fact, some cooks recommend not trying it at all. However, you should experiment and see what works for you. You may find it works well as a thickener for your purposes. Don't forget that coconut flour will absorb more liquid than wheat flour, though, so only try a little bit at a time.

3. Use it as a base for coconut shrimp or chicken. If you want to make coconut chicken or shrimp, coconut flour makes a good base. Simply dip the meat into an egg wash first (whisked egg), then dip it into the coconut flour. You can also season it with salt and pepper. Next, dip it back into the egg, then roll it in coconut flakes. Finally, fry the meat as normal in oil.

Desember 27, 2019

Homemade Pizza | The Best Homemade Pizza You'll Ever Eat.

Homemade Pizza | The Best Homemade Pizza You'll Ever Eat.

BY ELISE BAUER.

What to do when your 8-year old nephew comes to visit? Make pizza, of course!

Well, not of course, actually. I didn’t think of it until we exhausted Sorry, Monopoly, and gin rummy. But it did turn out to be a brilliant idea as my father had just received a baking stone for Christmas, and my nephew loves pizza.

I told him if he helped me make it I would talk about him on my website and he would be famous. That seemed to get his attention. He thought the dough was “slimy and gross” but he loved picking his own toppings, and the finished product was “awesome”.

The following method I patched together from recipes in both Joy of Cooking and Cook’s Illustrated’s The Best Recipe. The pizza dough recipe makes enough dough for two 10-12 inch pizzas.

Next time I’ll be a bit more patient with stretching out the dough so I can get it even thinner. Look to the end of this post for some excellent links about pizza from other food bloggers.

Pizza dough is a yeasted dough which requires active dry yeast. Make sure the check the expiration date on the yeast package! Yeast that is too old may be dead and won't work.

You can use all purpose flour instead of the bread flour that is called for in the recipe, but bread flour is higher in gluten than all-purpose flour and will make a crispier crust for your pizza.

Cup measurements can vary depending on how you are scooping the flour (we fluff the flour, lightly scoop it, and level with a knife). So I recommend using a kitchen scale to measure out the flour amounts by weight. This is the only way you'll get a consistently accurate measurement.

INGREDIENTS.

Pizza Dough: Makes enough dough for two 10-12 inch pizzas.
1 1/2 cups (355 ml) warm water (105°F-115°F).
1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) of active dry yeast.
3 3/4 cups (490 g) bread flour.
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (omit if cooking pizza in a wood-fired pizza oven).
2 teaspoons salt.
1 teaspoon sugar.

Pizza Ingredients.
Extra virgin olive oil.
Cornmeal (to help slide the pizza onto the pizza stone).
Tomato sauce (smooth, or puréed).
Firm mozzarella cheese, grated.
Fresh soft mozzarella cheese, separated into small clumps.
Fontina cheese, grated.
Parmesan cheese, grated.
Feta cheese, crumbled.
Mushrooms, very thinly sliced if raw, otherwise first sautéed.
Bell peppers, stems and seeds removed, very thinly sliced.
Italian pepperoncini, thinly sliced.
Italian sausage, cooked ahead and crumbled.
Chopped fresh basil.
Baby arugula, tossed in a little olive oil, added as pizza comes out of the oven.
Pesto.
Pepperoni, thinly sliced.
Onions, thinly sliced raw or caramelized.
Ham, thinly sliced.
Special equipment.
A pizza stone, highly recommended if you want crispy pizza crust.
A pizza peel or an edge-less cookie or baking sheet.
A pizza wheel for cutting the pizza, not required, but easier to deal with than a knife.

MAKING THE PIZZA DOUGH.

1 Proof the yeast: Place the warm water in the large bowl of a heavy duty stand mixer. Sprinkle the yeast over the warm water and let it sit for 5 minutes until the yeast is dissolved.

After 5 minutes stir if the yeast hasn't dissolved completely. The yeast should begin to foam or bloom, indicating that the yeast is still active and alive.

(Note that if you are using "instant yeast" instead of "active yeast", no proofing is required. Just add to the flour in the next step.)

2 Make and knead the pizza dough: Using the mixing paddle attachment, mix in the flour, salt, sugar, and olive oil on low speed for a minute. Then replace the mixing paddle with the dough hook attachment.

Knead the pizza dough on low to medium speed using the dough hook about 7-10 minutes.

If you don't have a mixer, you can mix the ingredients together and knead them by hand.

The dough should be a little sticky, or tacky to the touch. If it's too wet, sprinkle in a little more flour.

3 Let the dough rise: Spread a thin layer of olive oil over the inside of a large bowl. Place the pizza dough in the bowl and turn it around so that it gets coated with the oil.

At this point you can choose how long you want the dough to ferment and rise. A slow fermentation (24 hours in the fridge) will result in more complex flavors in the dough. A quick fermentation (1 1/2 hours in a warm place) will allow the dough to rise sufficiently to work with.

Cover the dough with plastic wrap.

For a quick rise, place the dough in a warm place (75°F to 85°F) for 1 1/2 hours.

For a medium rise, place the dough in a regular room temperature place (your kitchen counter will do fine) for 8 hours. For a longer rise, chill the dough in the refrigerator for 24 hours (no more than 48 hours).

The longer the rise (to a point) the better the flavor the crust will have.

MAKE AHEAD FREEZING INSTRUCTIONS.
After the pizza dough has risen, you can freeze it to use later. Divide the dough in half (or the portion sizes you will be using to make your pizzas). Place on parchment paper or a lightly floured dish and place, uncovered, in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes. Then remove from the freezer, and place in individual freezer bags, removing as much air as you can from the bags. Return to the freezer and store for up to 3 months.

Thaw the pizza dough in the refrigerator overnight or for 5 to 6 hours. Then let the dough sit at room temperature for 30 minutes before stretching it out in the next steps.

PREPARING THE PIZZAS.

1 Preheat pizza stone (or pizza pan or baking sheet): Place a pizza stone on a rack in the lower third of your oven. Preheat the oven to 475°F (245°C) for at least 30 minutes, preferably an hour. If you don't have a pizza stone, you can use a pizza pan or a thick baking sheet; you need something that will not warp at high temperatures.

2 Divide the dough into two balls: Remove the plastic cover from the dough. Dust your hands with flour and push the dough down so it deflates a bit. Divide the dough in half.

Form two round balls of dough. Place each in its own bowl, cover with plastic and let sit for 15 minutes (or up to 2 hours).

3 Prep toppings: Prepare your desired toppings. Note that you are not going to want to load up each pizza with a lot of toppings as the crust will end up not crisp that way.

About a third a cup each of tomato sauce and cheese would be sufficient for one pizza. One to two mushrooms thinly sliced will cover a pizza.

4 Flatten dough ball, and stretch out into a round: Working one ball of dough at a time, take one ball of dough and flatten it with your hands on a lightly floured work surface.

Starting at the center and working outwards, use your fingertips to press the dough to 1/2-inch thick. Turn and stretch the dough until it will not stretch further.

Let the dough relax 5 minutes and then continue to stretch it until it reaches the desired diameter - 10 to 12 inches.

Treat the dough gently!

You can also hold up the edges of the dough with your fingers, letting the dough hang and stretch, while working around the edges of the dough.

If a hole appears in your dough, place the dough on a floured surface and push the dough back together to seal the hole.

Use your palm to flatten the edge of the dough where it is thicker. Pinch the edges if you want to form a lip.

5 Brush dough top with olive oil: Use your fingertips to press down and make dents along the surface of the dough to prevent bubbling. Brush the top of the dough with olive oil (to prevent it from getting soggy from the toppings). Let rest another 10-15 minutes.

Repeat with the second ball of dough.

6 Sprinkle pizza peel with corn meal, put flattened dough on top: Lightly sprinkle your pizza peel (or flat baking sheet) with cornmeal. (The corn meal will act as little ball bearings to help move the pizza from the pizza peel into the oven.)

Transfer one prepared flattened dough to the pizza peel.

If the dough has lost its shape in the transfer, lightly shape it to the desired dimensions.

7 Spread with tomato sauce and sprinkle with toppings: Spoon on the tomato sauce, sprinkle with cheese, and place your desired toppings on the pizza.

8 Sprinkle cornmeal on pizza stone, slide pizza onto pizza stone in oven: Sprinkle some cornmeal on the baking stone in the oven (watch your hands, the oven is hot!). Gently shake the peel to see if the dough will easily slide, if not, gently lift up the edges of the pizza and add a bit more cornmeal.

Slide the pizza off of the peel and onto the baking stone in the oven.

9 Bake pizza: Bake pizza in the 475°F (245°C) oven, one at a time, until the crust is browned and the cheese is golden, about 10-15 minutes. If you want, toward the end of the cooking time you can sprinkle on a little more cheese.

Elise Bauer.
Elise Bauer is the founder of Simply Recipes. Elise launched Simply Recipes in 2003 as a way to keep track of her family's recipes, and along the way grew it into one of the most popular cooking websites in the world. Elise is dedicated to helping home cooks be successful in the kitchen. Elise is a graduate of Stanford University, and lives in Sacramento, California.

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Juli 19, 2020

How to Melt Jolly Ranchers

How to Melt Jolly Ranchers.

Jolly Ranchers are a treat in their own right, but by melting them down, you can make all kinds of new treats. Whether you’re in a hurry or have time to be a perfectionist, melting Jolly Ranchers for your next dessert recipe is quick, easy, and most of all, tasty!

Method 1 Using a Microwave.
1. Place 4 Jolly Ranchers in a microwave-safe dish. A bowl will work, but depending on where you will be pouring the melted candy, a coffee cup will pour a little cleaner.
If you are microwaving more than 4 candies at a time, you will need to increase the cooking time.
4 candies will produce about 1 tablespoon (15 mL) of liquid.
Be sure whatever it is has a handle because the candy will be quite hot once melted.
A glass Pyrex measuring cup works quite well. If heating multiple batches, though, give the glass time to slowly cool between heating.
2. Microwave the Jolly Ranchers at 80% power. Initially cook them for approximately 1 minute. Microwaves will vary, so you will need to adjust based on your specific model. This should get all four pieces to melt in one go.
If the candies do not melt entirely on the first heat, cook them again in 15-second intervals. Then in the second batch, heat for the combined time.
3. Remove the candies from the microwave carefully. Once the candies are melted, they will be very hot, so handle with care. Using an oven mitt or dish towel can help you handle the dish if it is hot as well.
The liquid will begin to harden again within a few minutes, so you will need to work quickly. If it hardens again, simply reheat the candy in 15-second intervals to liquify them again.

Method 2 Melting in the Oven.
1. Preheat your oven to 350 °F (177 °C). Some recipes call for different heats, which you can follow, but this temperature will allow the candies to be melted in a shorter time.
2. Place your unwrapped candies in an oven safe pot while the oven heats. Use a little more candy than your recipe or idea calls for so you have extra to work with. Make sure the candies are level with or lower than the lid of the pot so that the liquid will not overflow when it is done cooking.
Put the candies in evenly stacked layers to ensure they melt evenly in the pot, depending on how much liquid you need to make.
You can expect the liquid to be about half the height of the candies themselves depending on how well they are packed into the pot.
3. Heat your candies in the oven for 10-12 minutes. You do not need to stir the liquid. The less agitation while heating, the fewer air bubbles you will have. If working towards a thin candy-coating, air bubbles will cause cracking.
4. Remove from the oven when the candy has melted. Keep an eye on the liquid as you get near the 10 minute mark. You will want to remove the candy once all the pieces have melted fully. If you heat for too long, it will begin to bubble from the heat. Don’t forget to use oven mitts!
Use the liquid immediately after removing it from the heat. Keep the oven on in case the mixture begins to harden again, but you should have a few minutes to work with the liquid before it does.
If the liquid re-hardens before you are done, pop it back in the oven for about 2-3 minutes.

Method 3 Using Your Melted Jolly Ranchers.
1. Use a mold to reshape the candy. By using a decorative mold, you can reshape the Jolly Ranchers into a themed candy. Allow the candy liquid to cool and re-harden for about 10-15 minutes at room temperature.
Make sure your mold is approved for high heat. Some plastic or chocolate molds will not hold up to the melted liquid.
2. Coat apples with your Jolly Ranchers. Dip each apple in the liquid and hold above the pot for about 30 seconds to allow the liquid to stop dripping. Then place the apple onto a non-stick sheet or plate to cool. In 10-15 minutes, you’ve got a new take on caramel apples.
If the liquid isn’t deep enough to dip anymore, you may need to transfer them to a smaller, deeper bowl or pot. Otherwise, you can pour the liquid over the apples, although this can be more messy!
Use a stick or skewer to pierce and handle the apples. This makes dipping and eating cleaner and safer.
Each apple will need about 12 candies to coat it.
3. Make lollipops using molds and candy sticks. You can find specific lollipop molds in stores that just require pouring the liquid over the candy stick into the mold!
Using either of the melting methods above, you will simply pour the liquid over the molds that have a lollipop stick in them.
Once the candy hardens completely, it will have formed around the stick into a lollipop.
4. Mix the liquid into your favorite drinks. The melted candy will dissolve well into other liquids, such as alcohol. Approximately 12 candies to 8 fluid ounces (227 mL) of liquid will make a fairly sweet drink.
Try mixing them into a brewed tea while it is hot. Then once it cools, you will have a fruity iced tea!
Cooled drinks will take a little longer for the candies to mix with. Consider heating the drink before mixing in the candy liquid if you are in a hurry.

Community Q&A

Question : What is a Jolly Rancher?
Answer; A Jolly Rancher is a hard candy that usually comes in an individually wrapped plastic package. The main five flavors are green apple, grape, cherry, watermelon, and blue raspberry.
Question :  tried several times microwaving and using an oven and it still did not melt. What do I do?
Answer : Melt them for 2 minutes at 30 second intervals. If this does not work, try adding more or less time, depending on your microwave wattage.
Question : Does it work with other candy?
Answer : Any hard candies. It also works with gummy bears!
Question : How can I prevent the Jolly Ranchers from sticking to the bowl and ruining it?
Answer : Use a large, heatproof glass bowl when melting the Jolly Ranchers. Plastic bowls cause the candy to stick to the sides, burning it easily and making it hard to wash off. A glass bowl can prevent this from happening.

Tips.

If you have air bubbles, use a small metal spoon or a toothpick to press them out.

Warnings.
Do not leave the oven or microwave unattended while cooking.
Be absolutely certain your mold is rated for high heat. The candy will be extremely hot, and you don’t want to melt the mold.
Things You’ll Need.
Jolly Rancher candies, Microwave or oven, Microwave or oven-safe pot or bowl, Oven mitt, Spoon, Candy mold, Apples (if making candied apples).

Mei 09, 2020

how to make espresso powder

How to Make Espresso Powder.

Espresso powder is most often used by bakers to enhance the flavor of brownies, cookies, and chocolate cakes. You can buy it from specialty stores, but you can also make a batch of your own espresso powder at home. All you need is espresso beans, a baking sheet, and a coffee grinder. Use your espresso powder to amp up baked goods, make a delicious steak rub, and even whip together a delicious hot beverage.

Part 1 Roasting the Beans.

1. Use 1 cup (200 grams) of espresso beans to make 1 cup of espresso powder. Depending on how often you use espresso powder, you could make a bigger or smaller batch. Fresh beans that have been newly purchased will produce the best flavor, so try to make your espresso powder before your beans go stale.

Beans generally stay fresh for about 2 weeks after they’ve been opened. If they’re in a special container with a degassing valve, they could last for up to 6 months.

Tip: If you have espresso grounds leftover from your morning coffee, you can also use them to make espresso powder. Simply spread the used grounds out on a baking sheet and bake them in the oven at 200 °F (93 °C) for about 1 hour. Run the baked grounds through a grinder to pulverize them even further, and then store them in an airtight container.

2. Preheat the oven to 200 °F (93 °C). The goal of baking the espresso beans is to slightly roast them while also drying them out even further. This helps them be ground to a much finer consistency.

If you use a temperature lower than 200 °F (93 °C), you’ll need to increase the total cooking time to compensate. For example, cooking at 170 °F (77 °C) would require about 1.5 hours of baking time.

3. Spread the espresso beans over a baking sheet in a single layer. Use an unlined, ridged baking sheet. The ridge will keep the beans from accidentally spilling over the edge. Try to space the beans apart a little bit so that the hot air can get between all of them.

A perk to baking the espresso beans is that your house will smell fantastic for a little while!

4. Bake the espresso beans for about 1 hour to give them a toasted flavor. Set a timer and let the oven do its work. There’s no need to check on the beans or flip them during the 1-hour cook time.

If you skip the baking step, the beans could create a powder that is a little too bitter for your baking needs.

5. Let the beans cool off for about 10 minutes once they’re done baking. Once the timer goes off, use an oven mitt to remove the baking sheet from the oven. Set the baking sheet on top of the stove and let the beans cool off until they’re no longer hot to the touch.

If you let the beans cool off for longer than 10 minutes, that is totally fine. 10 minutes is just the minimum so that the beans aren’t still hot when you go to grind them.

Part 2 Grinding and Storing the Powder.

1. Grind the espresso beans in small 1/4 cup (50 gram) batches. Smaller batches will make a finer powder. If you did the entire cup at once, it would be hard to really grind things down to a fine consistency. Use a coffee grinder set to the finest grind possible and pulse each batch for 15 to 20 seconds.

Tip: If you don’t have a coffee or spice grinder, you could also use a mortar and pestle or even a food processor.

2. Transfer the espresso powder to an airtight container. Once the espresso beans have been ground into a fine, powder-like substance, use a spoon to transfer them into a storage container. Pick a container that is resealable or that has a tight-fitting lid.

Keep in mind that a plastic container will absorb the smell and oil from the powder, so you may want to designate a specific container for your espresso powder.

3. Store the espresso powder in a cool, dry location for up to 6 months. If you made a big batch of espresso powder, rest assured that you have ample time to use it all up. Put it in a cupboard or pantry where it won’t come into contact with any moisture.

After 6 months, the powder will still be technically good, it just won’t be as fresh or the best quality anymore.

Part 3 Adding Espresso Powder to Recipes.

1. Add espresso powder to your baking recipes for a rich, deep flavor. For most cookies, brownies, and chocolate cakes, add just a teaspoon (2 grams) of espresso powder to really enhance the flavor of the recipe. Add an additional teaspoon (2 grams) for an actual coffee flavor.

Don’t worry—a little espresso powder doesn’t have to make your sweets taste like coffee. It really just enhances the flavors that are already in a sweet treat, especially when chocolate is involved.

2. Create a smokey steak rub with espresso powder, paprika, and brown sugar. Use 1 teaspoon (2 grams) of smoked paprika, 1 teaspoon (2 grams) of light brown sugar, 2 teaspoons (4 grams) of espresso powder, and 2 teaspoons (4 grams) of salt. Mix them together in a small bowl and sprinkle the rub onto both sides of a steak before you cook it. Cook the steak however you prefer and enjoy!

Feel free to mix up the rub by adding different spices. Cinnamon or chili powder would make a great addition!

3. Make mornings special with cinnamon-sugar-espresso toast. Combine 1 tablespoon (12.5 grams) of sugar, 1 teaspoon (2 grams) of cinnamon, and 1 teaspoon (2 grams) of espresso powder. Make your toast, butter it, and sprinkle the sugar mixture overtop.

If you don’t like butter, use a butter substitute. One or the other is necessary, otherwise, the sugar mixture won’t have anything to stick to.

4. Enjoy a hot mocha toddy during the colder months. In a saucepan over medium heat, mix together 1/4 cup (50 grams) of light brown sugar, 1 tablespoon (7 grams) of cocoa powder, 2 tablespoons (12 grams) of espresso powder, 2 cups (470 mL) of milk, and 1⁄2 cup (120 mL) of heavy cream. Heat the mixture until it is almost boiling, and then distribute it amongst mugs. Top the drink with whipped cream sprinkled with espresso powder.

To add an extra kick to your hot toddy, pour 1⁄2 cup (120 mL) of vodka into the pan along with the other ingredients.

Tips.

If you don’t have or can’t make espresso powder, use double the amount called for of instant coffee. You could also sub out some liquid from the recipe and use that same amount of liquid espresso.

Espresso powder is caffeinated, so use decaf espresso beans if you want to steer clear of the caffeine.

Desember 17, 2019

how to make potstickers guo tie

How to Make Potstickers (Guo Tie).

Called "guotie" in Mandarin, and translated to "potstickers" in English, these are a popular type of dumpling traditionally eaten in many Asian countries. Follow the instructions below to make the guo tie completely from scratch, or purchase potsticker or Chinese dumpling wrappers ready-made and make your own filling. The following recipe makes about 20 dumplings, enough to serve as a meal for three or four people, or an appetizer for ten.





Making the Potsticker Wrappers.



Ingredients.

Potsticker Wrappers (alternatively, use storebought wrappers).

2 cups (480 mL) all-purpose flour (have extra on-hand).

1/3 cup (80 mL) boiling water.

2/3 cup (160 mL) room temperature water.

1 egg (optional).

1/4 tsp (1 mL; a small pinch) salt (optional).

1 tsp (5 mL) vegetable oil (optional).



Mix boiling and room temperature water together. The potsticker dough may reach a better consistency if the water is slightly warm.[1] Boil 1/3 cup (80 mL) water, then remove from heat and add 2/3 cup (160 mL) room temperature water.

Alternatively, heat 1 cup (240 mL) water on low heat and remove from heat after one to three minutes. If the water begins to simmer or boil, remove from heat and let cool to slightly above room temperature before using.



Consider adding optional ingredients. While none of these ingredients are required to make guo tie, some recipes call for salt, vegetable oil, and/or egg.[2][3] Stirring roughly 1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt (or a small pinch) into the water may add flavor. The other optional ingredients should be added to the flour instead, before you continue to the next step. Mix the flour with 1 tsp (5 mL) vegetable oil and/or 1 small egg to add flavor and help the dough stick together. Continue as usual, but be aware that the egg will add more liquid to the dough, so you will probably not end up using all your water in the next step.

If this is your first time making potstickers, you may wish to skip this step to keep things simple. If the wrappers fall apart or taste too bland, you may add one or more of these ingredients in your next attempt.



Mix the water gradually into the flour until it becomes sticky. Put 2 cups (480mL) all-purpose flour into a large bowl. Add the warm water a little at a time, stirring the ingredients together with chopsticks or a wooden mixing spoon. Stop adding water once the dough feels slightly sticky, and there is no more dry flour visible.

Depending on the brand of flour and the humidity in your kitchen, you may not need to use all of the water you prepared. Keep the extra water around during the next few steps in case the dough dries out.



Knead the dough with your hands until it becomes smooth. Once the dough becomes too sticky to stir, place the dough on a clean, lightly floured surface and knead the flour and water together. The dough should become smooth within a few minutes of kneading. Stop when the dough has no lumps and can be formed into a ball.

Add a light dusting of flour to the work surface or your hands if the dough sticks to them. Knead in more flour if the dough is too wet to work with.

If you see dry flour that isn't mixed into the dough, or if the dough won't stick together into a ball, add a little more warm water and knead it in.

Remember to wash and dry your hands thoroughly before you begin kneading.



Wrap the dough and let it sit 10–30 minutes. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap or place it in a small bowl and cover it with plastic wrap or a damp cloth. This will trap the moisture released by the dough and cause it to soften.[4] Let the dough sit for at least 10 minutes, and preferably for half an hour.

To save time, make the filling while you wait. This step does not have to be precisely timed, so return to the dough once you are done making the filling.



Divide the dough into roughly twenty pieces. Return to the dough after it's had enough time to "relax," or soften into an easily manipulated ball. Pull it apart into small pieces, each one using about 1/20th of the total dough. You may find it easier if you first divide the dough into four large pieces, then cut each of these large pieces into five smaller ones.

Alternatively, you may use your hand to roll out the entire ball of dough into a long log 1 inch (2.5 cm) thick. Cut this log into discs 1/2 inch (1.25 cm) wide.[5]



Roll each piece of dough into a circle. Sprinkle flour over a flat, clean counter or cutting board to prevent the dough from sticking. Use a rolling pin to flatten each piece of dough over this surface, creating circles about 3 inches (7.5 cm) across.[6] Use smaller circles if the dough breaks apart or looks translucent, as the dumplings may fall apart if they are rolled too thin.

You can speed up the rolling process by using the heel of your palm to flatten each piece of dough into a roughly circular shape before you roll it out more thoroughly.

Filling the potstickers may be easier if you keep the center of the circle thick and the outside edges thin.



Sprinkle each circle with flour. After each circle is finished, sprinkle both sides generously with flour to prevent sticking, and add it to the stack of finished dough circles. Your dumpling wrappers are now complete.



Keep the wrappers wet. Cover wrappers with a damp paper towel to keep them moist as you work. Once you have made the wrappers, it is best to fill them immediately before they dry out. Store unused wrappers in the fridge if you will use them within a few days, or freeze them and use any time in the next few months.[7]







Making the Filling.



Ingredients Filling.

1/2 lb (250 g) ground meat (pork, shrimp, or beef are all common).

1 cup (240 mL) Napa cabbage, Chinese cabbage, or bok choy (finely chopped).

2 tsp (10 mL) sesame oil or Chinese cooking wine.

1 tsp (5 mL) fresh ginger.

1 tsp (5 mL) fresh garlic.

1-2 stalk(s) green onion.

2 tsp (10 mL) soy sauce.

1 tsp (5 mL) salt.

1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) pepper.

1/4 cup (60 mL) chicken stock (optional).



Finely chop the cabbage. Finely chop the vegetables until you have 1 cup (240 mL). While you can use any hard, leafy, green vegetables, guo tie are traditionally made using Napa cabbage or bok choy. Both of these vegetables are sometimes sold under the name "Chinese cabbage."

If you are making vegetarian potstickers, chop 2 cups (480 mL) of vegetables instead.



Remove excess moisture from the cabbage. Toss the chopped cabbage in 1 tsp (5 mL) salt. Let sit five minutes while the salt draws out moisture, then drain the cabbage in a strainer or colander.[8]



Peel and chop other herbs and vegetables. To add a spicy flavor to the guo tie, peel fresh ginger and fresh garlic, then chop them finely until you have 1 tsp (5 mL) of each. Finally chop one or two stalks of green onion (scallions).



Mix the vegetables and ground meat together. Mix these vegetables in a large bowl containing ground or finely minced meat. In different areas of Asia, ground pork, beef, or shrimp are all commonly used, or a mixture of these.

Wash your hands in warm, soapy water after handling raw meat to reduce the risk of exposure to harmful bacteria. Clean any surfaces or utensils that came into contact with the meat in hot, soapy water once you are done using them.



Add seasonings. Mix in 2 tsp (10 mL) soy sauce, 2 tsp (20 mL) sesame oil or Chinese cooking wine, and 1/2 tsp (2.5 mL) pepper. There are many variations on this recipe, and you may decide to replace some seasonings or add your own. Other common options include 1/4 cup (60 mL) chicken stock or chicken broth, a dash of chili powder, or a dash of Chinese five spice powder.[9]

If you'd like to adjust the seasonings before you make the potstickers, take a small spoonful of filling and fry it in oil until it is browned through. Taste the filling and add more seasoning if necessary.







Filling the Potstickers



Hold a potsticker wrapper on the palm of your non-dominant hand. Take one of your circular potsticker wrappings and place it on the palm of the hand you use least.



Place the filling in the potsticker wrapper. Take approximately 1/2–1 tablespoon (7–15 mL) of filling using a spoon or chopsticks and place in the center of the potsticker wrapper. If the dough is thin or the circles of dough are small, use less filling.



Fold the wrapper loosely around the filling. Fold the potsticker in half to make a half-moon shape, but do not press the edges completely together. Only press the center of the edges together, so the corners of the dumpling are still unattached.

Note: If you are using storebought dumpling wrappers, use wet fingers to dampen the edges until they are soft enough to press together.



Fold a piece of dough at one corner. Grasp one layer of dough at the corner with your index finger and thumb, then fold it toward the center of the potsticker edge, where the two sides of the circle are pressed together.[10] The soft dough should stretch into a classic potsticker pleat or wrinkle. Press the two layers of dough together at the fold to keep it in place.



Repeat until there are three or four folds on each side. Using the same technique, grasp one layer of dough at the corner and fold it over toward the center edge. Press together with the opposite layer of the potsticker. Repeat this until there are three or four folds on each potsticker, and the potsticker is completely closed.







Frying the Potstickers



Heat a pan of oil. Add cooking oil to a wok, flat skillet, or frying pan, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan in a thin layer. Heat over medium heat until the oil begins to shimmer, or when a small piece of vegetable or filling sizzles when placed in the oil.

Use a vegetable oil with a high smoking point, such as canola oil or peanut oil.



Add the potstickers to the hot oil. Carefully drop the potstickers into the pan from a short distance above the oil. Arrange them with a heat-safe utensil so the dumplings are close together but do not touch each other.[11]

You will likely need to cook your potstickers in several batches. Do not pile potstickers on top of each other in the pan, or they may not cook properly.



Reduce heat and cover the pan. Cover the pan, reduce to low heat, and fry for a few minutes until the bottom of the potstickers are crisp and golden-brown. Depending on the temperature of the pan, this could take anywhere from two to seven minutes.[12][13] You may lift the lid to check on the potstickers' progress.

Remove from heat immediately if you smell burning. Use a heat-safe utensil to unstick the potstickers from the pan, and continue after one or two minutes.



Add a small amount of water to the pan. Once one side of the potstickers are brown, lift the lid and pour 1–3 tablespoons (15–45 mL) water onto the pan, just enough to cover the base of the pan with a shallow layer.

Pour the water while rapidly moving in a circular motion around the edge of the pan. This distributes the water evenly and prevents one part of the pan from cooling down too quickly. This also reduces splatter from hot oil and water coming into contact.



Cover and cook for a few minutes more. Cover the pan again and cook on moderate or low heat for 4-5 minutes. Add more water if it boils away before the potstickers are done cooking. Note that you do not need to flip the potstickers at any point in this process; it is intentional that they are only crisp on one side.

Remove a potsticker and cut it open to check that it is done. The filling inside should be browned and fully cooked.



Serve immediately with dipping sauce. Remove the potstickers from the pan and cook additional batches if necessary. Once all the potstickers are cooked, serve them with a sauce of your choice:

Any dark vinegar can be used alone or mixed with an equal amount of soy sauce and a dash of sesame oil.

Mix vinegar with sherry or dry wine and sweet soy sauce for a sweeter dipping sauce.

Black pepper and sliced ginger add a sophisticated flavor, and can be provided with or without a dipping sauce.



Dipping Sauce.

2 tbsp (30 mL) dark vinegar (especially Qing Kiang)..

2 tbsp (30 mL) soy sauce.

1 tsp (5 mL) sesame oil.

Ground white pepper to taste.







Tips.

If you do not wish to fry your dumplings into potstickers, cook them in boiling water for 4–6 minutes instead. This method is also traditional in many areas where potstickers are eaten.

Based on preferences, filling can vary--in components and ratio--from pure meat (pork, shrimp, chicken, etc), to pure vegetables (bamboo, shiitake, cabbage, bok choy, etc), to a mixture of meat and vegetables.

The measurements for the dipping sauce can vary depending on how much sauce you want, as well as how salty or sour you would prefer the sauce to be. Feel free to experiment!



Things You'll Need.

Large bowl.

Mixing utensil.

Cling wrap.

Wok, frying pan, or flat skillet.

Lid that fits over the pan.

November 14, 2019