The Chewy

Up to this point, everything I've learned about baking I've learned from books, blogs, food sites (like epicurious, one of my faves), and of course, Food Network. Now I'm lucky enough to be heading off to school to be trained by a Master Pastry Chef, but there is such a wealth of information to be had for anyone who wants to learn in their own kitchen.

If you've ever watched Food Network, then you know Alton Brown. I once heard someone (Aarti? I can't remember) describe him as a Culinary Encyclopedia. TRUE. It's because of Alton Brown that I now use bread flour exclusively in my chocolate chip cookies. I LOVE chewy chocolate chip cookies. A little crisp on the outside, but soft and chewy on the inside, in my opinion, is perfection. Bread flour will yield a chewier chocolate chip cookie because the gluten content in bread flour is higher than in, say, all purpose flour. The higher the gluten content, the chewier the cookie.

I learned that by watching you, Alton Brown.

Look, I don't claim to know what's happening with the puppet here, but I promise you will fall for this recipe. Make it your own: I use a lighter brown sugar (they're still PLENTY chewy) and sprinkle coarse ground salt on top, because.....of course I do. Savory Sweet!

Alton Brown video: source Food Network

Rolling (out) the Dough

I didn't have a post planned for today, but on Friday I had to run out and pick up a couple of baking sheets and a sil'pat. Have you ever used a sil'pat? It's a miracle in the oven. Sil'pat provides a nonstick surface without having to spray or flour- that means you don't have to add a THING to your baking sheet and yet (!) your cookies will slide right off with no hassle.

As I picked up my sil'pat, I spotted a roll'pat (Roul'pat) on the shelf.

What's a roll'pat?! I wondered the same thing, so I asked.

It's the same technology as a silpat, but made to be a rolling surface. In the pate brisee post, I briefly mentioned that I like to roll out dough on my butcher block slab. True. I love that it's a large surface that's not a part of my actual counter top, but rolling on butcher block requires a lot of flour. Even rolling on a natural stone surface, like granite or marble, is going to take some flour to keep your lighter doughs from sticking. And extra flour can change your dough. Baking is a science, it IS chemistry actually, and the ratios of flour to fat to leavening agents (if any) matters.

I love trying new gadgets, and I BELIEVE in the POWER of the sil'pat, so I threw the roll'pat in my basket and brought it home. On Saturday I had a chance to try it out when I needed to roll pate brisee for an apple pie I was planning to bring to my sister in law's house on Sunday.

You guys, this thing is amazing. My roll'pat is 25 1/4" x 17 1/2" and provides a GENEROUS rolling surface. It's so flexible that once I rolled out the top of the pie, I picked up the entire mat and stuck it in the fridge to chill the dough while I filled the pie. and the dough peeled off the sheet with absolutely no trouble.

I'm a big fan.

If you want to pick up a roll'pat, you can find it here, otherwise known as the happiest place on earth.

(In case you're wondering, any product recommendations I do are based on personal experience and are not sponsored. Basically, if I really like something, I want to tell people about it. Simple as that.)