Kneading Dough

"Many bread and roll recipes tell you to knead the dough but few explain just how to do this. It's not very difficult to do. All you must have is a little patience and some muscle power." (Pinkwater 135)

1. To start, sprinkle a little flour onto a dough board or a smooth counter top. Dust your hands with some flour as well to prevent them from sticking to the dough.
2. Place the dough floured surface. Make sure you don't have too much flour on the surface and your hands; otherwise, your bread will become tough.
3. Push your fingers into the dough, and then press down with the heels of your hands and roll the dough back and forth a few times as you press.
4. Turn the dough one quarter of a circle.
5. Repeat steps 5, 6 and 7, and fold the dough in half every time you complete a full circle so that the dough gets kneaded in all directions. Keep kneading until the dough is elastic and smooth in texture.
   
   
   
   
   
   

I learned this simple process from the book, and it has definitely helped me get my dough in the right form and shape. It has also motivated me to do more recipes that include creating dough in the future.

Are there any other techniques you use for kneading dough?
Pinkwater, Jill. The Natural Snack Cookbook: 151 Good Things to Eat. New York: Four Winds, 1975. Print.

Pizzarito

Most people decide to have sandwiches for lunch in this world. Sometimes pizza, hamburgers, soup, etc. I say, why not have a little bit of two in one? That is why I decided to make a creation that I saw on an online video, which is a mix of pizza and burritos together: pizza-ritos!
Things that you need for this recipe:

• Flour tortillas
• Tomato sauce
• Any type of cheese
• Pepperoni
• Baking tray (I layered my tray with foil, but it is not necessary.)
• An oven

1. You want to take your tortilla and your tomato sauce, and put about a spoonful of sauce near where you are deciding to roll up the tortilla. You don't want throw a lot of sauce on because it will overflow when you are rolling the tortilla and you will have a messy product.
2. Next, you want to add your toppings, which in this case includes cheese and pepperoni.
3. After that, you want to fold the edge closest to the ingredients and then fold the two side edges on top of the first edge.
4. Roll the folds across the tortilla. This will encase the ingredients inside.
5. Put the products on your tray and bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 10-12 minutes. Make sure that it is not too hot, as the pizza-rito will probably be overcooked/burnt and it won't taste good. Using an oven thermometer will be helpful in this task. "You may find that if you set the heat at 350`F, the actual oven temperature is 400`F. If that is the case, turn the temperature a bit and recheck it in 10 minutes." (Pinkwater 127)

Using the oven temperature tip is useful in making sure I don't have too hot of an oven for baking not only a pizza-rito, but any other foods that require heating in an oven. This is definitely a new snack that I can make whenever I want, which has also reignited my motivation to make quick treats like this. If you could change the toppings in this recipe (so instead of pepperoni), what would you put instead?

Pinkwater, Jill. The Natural Snack Cookbook: 151 Good Things to Eat. New York: Four Winds, 1975. Print.

Whipped Cream

Ever wanted to top your snacks off but you don't have anything in your storages? Well, now you can make this easy whipped cream topping for your food satisfaction! It is a very simple task, and your do not need very many ingredients and tools for this.

The ingredients that you will need are:

• Heavy Cream
• Medium Mixing Bowl
• A hand or electronic mixer
• Items like sugar or vanilla to add flavor to the cream

• Before you start creating your cream, you should put your mixing bowl into the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. This will chill the bowl, and make the mixing process go a lot faster.
• The time taken depends on how fast you are mixing the cream. Using an electronic mixer, it will take about 4-7 minutes. Using a hand mixer, it will be about double the time (8-14 minutes). Keep track of the time however. "If the cream whips for too long, it will become butter." (Pinkwater 214)

First, you want to add your heavy cream into the bowl.

Next, you want to get your hand or electronic mixer and start beating the cream.

If you are using an electronic mixer, check the consistency of the cream every minute or two.

After a few minutes, and your cream starts to look thicker and less liquid-like, it is the best time to add your flavors in. You don't want to use the finished whipped cream by itself, because the cream itself does not really have any taste to it. By adding things like sugar or honey, you give the cream more sweetness and taste to it.

You'll know that your cream is done when it keeps its shape (does not fall and sticks to the mixer), and is fluffy. Once you have finished, you can put the whipped cream into a air-tight container, and stick it in the refrigerator for future uses.
This was definitely a great learning experience, and now I can create simple cream toppings in just a few minutes! This has made me more motivated to try and create more desserts.
If you were to create whipped cream, what flavors beside sugar and honey would you add to the cream?

Pinkwater, Jill. The Natural Snack Cookbook: 151 Good Things to Eat. New York: Four Winds, 1975. Print.

Basic Baking Rules

When baking, there are certain general rules that should be followed when you are creating your product. Some of these rules include preheating your oven before mixing your ingredients, or having proper measurements and sizes of pans/pots and ingredients. One rule that is useful when your product has been taken out of the oven is testing for doneness.

"Cakes: Use a cake tester (a special thin, metal pick), a wooden toothpick, a wooden matchstick, or a dry, clean fork. Stick it into the center of the cake and if it comes out clean (almost dry), the cake is done. If it comes out with tiny pieces of soggy cake sticking to it, the cake should be returned to the oven for a few more minutes." (Pinkwater 130)

Testing for doneness can be useful when the outside appearance looks done but you want to make sure that your cake or whatever you are baking is actually complete on the inside. This has helped me at times make sure that my baked product is cooked all the way. Although it is a small helpful tip, it will make sure you aren't accidentally eating a very liquidly and soggy cake!
What different techniques do you use to check if a cake is fully baked or not?


Pinkwater, Jill. The Natural Snack Cookbook: 151 Good Things to Eat. New York: Four Winds, 1975. Print.

The Snack Cookbook

For my IRP 2 book, I am choosing a book that helps you learn about different food recipes and how to enhance the quality of food by doing different processes to the ingredients that go in the recipe. My book is called "The Natural Snack Cookbook". I am hoping I will learn something new from this book and add a little spice to how I create and taste food.