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Should I call Sassi? She will probably answer, "I play canasta." She plays canasta. Do I know what canasta is? I have no idea. Hello everyone, I'm Claire Saffitz. Welcome to my home kitchen. Today we return with a new episode of "Clarified." We've had some really, really good questions from viewers, so we're going to answer all your baking questions. Let's get started. I just got back from the grocery store. How are you Well, we're filming now. But we're currently recording episodes of "Clarified," so I thought you should ask your question.
Several of my recipes simply call for "salt." It doesn't specify what kind of salt it is. So I'm assuming it's the same one that comes in a blue bottle, jar, or whatever it's called. This is iodized salt and I don't want to use it, I would prefer kosher salt but I don't know how to calculate the equivalent. I think you're right, it's table salt, because these are old recipes, right? Yes, very, very old recipes. Recipes from 50 years ago. Yes, I think that in old recipes, where it simply says "salt," it means iodized table salt, fine salt. But I agree with you that this kind of salt can be a little bitter. It is too salty. So,
if you want to use kosher salt, which is my main ingredient for recipes, you need to use half the amount of kosher salt. So, if you need half.No, is that correct? No, double the amount. Sorry. I count in the other direction. So if the recipe calls for half a teaspoon of plain salt, i.e. iodized, use one teaspoon of kosher. I understand. Good. So, I understand, and this is very helpful because I prefer to use kosher salt over iodized salt. Yes. It's convenient to have just one type of salt in the kitchen for baking.
Good. Yes? Otherwise it's annoying. So, okay. Well, of course, you can have five or six different types of salt in your kitchen, but that's really inconvenient. But yes. Um, okay, thanks for the question. Okay, Claire. Thank you very much for your answer. And don't forget to like and subscribe. Perfectly. Okay, thank you. We'll call you later. Goodbye. Okay, bye. Okay, Sharon G. Bowman, 2:34 p.m. What's the best way to control oven temperature if you don't have a very modern oven? It seems to me that my oven is either too hot or is baking
something for an eternity. Any advice? Always, always, always buy an oven thermometer. If the oven is heating unevenly, you will immediately understand this if you put slices of bread on a baking sheet and put it in the oven. You take it out, and the far left corner is very dark, and the front right corner is completely light. This shows where the hot spots are. The best way to deal with this is to place an unglazed ceramic tile on the bottom of the oven, covering the entire surface. I did this in my old kitchen, apartment, because the oven was ordinary, cheap, "from the landlord." Buy a thermometer, check for hot spots, put a tile there. It absorbs heat and then radiates it back, so the temperature becomes more uniform. But remember that it
needs to be heated longer. Chana Cats asks: What is the importance of adding ingredients in the order "dry-wet- dry" in recipes where it is called for? Very good question. This is common in many cakes, for example, you cream the butter with the sugar, add the eggs, and then alternate between the dry and wet ingredients, starting and ending with the dry. This is necessary to maintain the emulsion. In such recipes, an emulsion of eggs and fat is usually formed. If you add too much liquid at once, you will overmix it, the emulsion will break, and the mixture will look "layered". On the contrary, if you add all the dry ingredients at once, it will become too thick. That's why you alternate them, starting and ending with dry, because
that essentially maintains the correct consistency of the dough. This keeps the mixture from separating and is just a gentle way to add the rest of the ingredients. Very good question. Big Bang VIP 5773 asks: Do you have any kitchen organization tips, recommendations for items or ingredients? Yes, I have a lot of them. I'm one of those people who has to have everything at hand, otherwise I won't use it. That's why I believe that you should keep things within reach, meaning that what you take most often should be closest. That's why my flour and sugar are right here. So, organize your space based on this principle. The things you use most often should be in the most accessible place in your kitchen. That's why I have all these ceramic containers
in plain sight. We use all these kitchen utensils all the time. That's why I always have oils and vinegars on hand. Maybe it doesn't look very neat. You can often see different people's kitchens in magazines like Architectural Digest. There is nothing on the countertops at all. How can you even live like this? I use my kitchen several times every day. I just can't keep everything empty. Joanna VL: "Hi Claire, what can I substitute for the cream cheese frosting? Will regular buttercream work? "I want to try Barefoot Contessa's coconut cake, but I don't like cheese." Any buttercream is suitable for coconut cake For example, a plain vanilla
Swiss meringue cream would be a great option. In general, cream cheese frosting has a thinner consistency than buttercream. This means that cream cheese frosting is not a good substitute for buttercream, but buttercream is a great substitute for cream cheese frosting because it has a texture that cream cheese frosting lacks. As for the taste, if you want to add a little sourness because you don't like the taste of cheese, you can add a little crème fraîche or something similar to the buttercream. But yes, buttercream is a great choice. Mr. Midnight 3194: how to know when it's time to replace spices?
Sometimes I buy some rare spice and don't use it for several years. When should they be replaced? This is the eternal problem with spices. You buy some cool mix because you're on vacation somewhere, use it a couple of times to roast vegetables, and then it just sits there. We definitely have old spices in our cupboard, and I still use them. But I think if it's a recipe where spice plays a key role, it's the foundation of the dish. I once made donuts with cinnamon and sugar, where the cinnamon flavor is very important, and if you have old cinnamon, it's better to replace it, because you want to feel a fresh, spicy, and rich flavor.
Spices can be frozen. I don't think it does much to prevent the flavor from fading, but I would replace them every couple of years. Slayestio: What are some tips for tart dough that keeps tearing when you work with it raw? Maybe there isn't enough flour in it. Although for a dough, like for tarts or pies, yes, you want it to be tender, but it should have minimal structure. In other words, gluten development is needed to somehow hold it together. So maybe it's not mixed enough. Maybe he's a little short on flour. Maybe it just got a little warm. One thing you can do with tart dough is to refrigerate it instead of rolling it out, because it is very tender. Cool it and grate it Use a regular grater.
Scrape the cold dough into the tart pan and press. This is just an amazing trick. Hey, Patrick asks, "Hi Claire, my biggest problem with baking is math." I always want to try new recipes or bake from scratch, but the math always makes things difficult if you don't follow the numbers in the recipe. I come from a family where cups and tablespoons are not used, they only cook "by eye", from the heart. Do you have any tips for the math aspects of baking that can be intimidating? I would n't want to spend hours testing recipes. Where the math in recipes gets tricky for me is when, for example, I'm going from an 8- inch pan to a 9- inch pan and I need to increase the volume by 24% or something like that. And that can be annoying because,
for example, you have two eggs. How do you scale this? The answer is to always convert to grams. Keep a notepad in the kitchen or a pencil to take notes in the margins of cookbooks or whatever you're cooking. Take a calculator and multiply all your grams by 1.24. And weigh everything. So the answer is something like this: get a kitchen scale, convert to grams, and then the math. it doesn't exactly get any easier, but. well, it actually does. This makes it easier to follow the recipe. One way is to study the relationship. If you act on the logic of " by eye", try to study the proportions. I always think of a basic cupcake or single layer cake. That's about 2 cups of flour, about half a cup of liquid, about two eggs, about a cup of sugar. Understanding how
proportions work. For example, if it's two eggs and two cups of flour, the amount of baking powder in teaspoons almost always corresponds to the number of cups of flour. So it's like two cups of flour to two cups of total baking powder in teaspoons, it could be baking soda or baking powder. So, if you memorize these basic proportions or write them down somewhere, it will help you if you want to improvise a little in the kitchen. And if you want to use grams and kitchen scales. Renee Delcante, 4258. Please advise on how to keep cookies fresh longer. I've tried everything, but nothing keeps it fresh for more than a day or two. I can't stand baking on the day of the event, when there's already so much to, I understand that. It's like
cookies-they get softer over time Freeze it. Any baked goods will soften a little during storage even if you bake them well to make them crispy. It will never be as fresh as the day you baked it, and it just sat at room temperature, without refrigeration. But if you don't want to bake the day of the event, you can freeze the already-made cookies. And it will still be-I would rather eat a cookie that's been in the freezer for two days and thawed than one that's been sitting on the table for two days, if you know what I mean. I mean, if by baking the day of the event you mean preparing the entire recipe from start to finish, I totally understand, but if you don't mind just putting balls of frozen dough on a baking sheet and putting them in the oven for 15-20
minutes-that's the best option. You can also try " reviving" cookies in the oven. If it's a little stale from sitting out for a couple of days, you can put it back on the baking sheet and just quickly reheat it. This also helps. Frosty Ryan, when you cook or bake for a show, what do you do with the food you cook in the video? Do you cook it again at home to eat, give it to friends, etc.? Great question, and the answer is: I do all of these things. I usually give everything away. For example, I have Calvin Minch here. If it's the last day of filming, I give everything to them at home. Like, take this to your families. We often
treat our neighbors. Sometimes I still keep a little for myself, or I save one piece-it's my dessert for later-and I give the rest away. Yes, I mean, that's true. Often we really have a lot left over. Let's say if I'm making a cheesecake that needs to cool, I need a substitute that's already cold so we don't have to wait 12 hours. So at the end of the shoot, we're left with a whole cheesecake. And we just give it away. Almost 99% of the time they enjoy it. Laura Cola, how do you add extracts or flavorings to whipped cream so it doesn't separate and become grainy? I recently used ube extract and it didn't mix completely. When you're whipping cream, adding almost any amount of
liquid. um, it'll mess it up. As for ube extract, I've never used it. If it's something very thick and starchy, you can whip the cream to soft peaks, take a little extract, a little cream, mix them together, and then carefully fold into the main mass . For something to pair well with another product, they need to have a similar texture, so thin out the ube consistency and then introduce it. But in general, the best way to flavor whipped cream is to let the cream sit before whipping. For example, add coffee beans or vanilla, or if you're making bourbon cream, you can whip the cream completely first and then add the liquid, but I would n't add more than a tablespoon or two. But yes, your best bet if you want maximum flavor is to heat the cream
with additives, cool it, strain it, and then whip it. Tiana: "Hi Claire, I've been trying to bake sourdough bread and similar fermented foods like injera, an Ethiopian flatbread, but I'm having trouble. I think my starter is too active or acidic because everything turns out sticky and dense. How to fix this? How do you know if sourdough is suitable for baking? Thank you. "It depends on whether it's a sourdough starter that you made yourself? Did you get it from a friend? All of this matters, but if you feed your starter and it consistently doubles in size in 8 hours at room temperature, then it's probably fine.
You will know that the sourdough is of high quality and mature if it grows steadily after feeding. Regarding the stickiness and density, I'm assuming you have a fermentation problem, meaning the basic fermentation and proofing of the dough is going wrong. So I'm not sure it's necessarily a problem with the sourdough. If your starter is behaving predictably, it's probably fine. It also depends on what you feed her. For example, if you feel it is too acidic, you can try feeding it a different flour to correct this. But the fact that the bread turns out sticky and dense is most likely due to fermentation, which is a matter of time and
temperature. So make adjustments. You may not be fermenting or proofing the dough enough. Experiment with fermentation times and see what happens. That's all for today. I love answering your questions. It makes me feel like a detective, like I'm solving the little mysteries of what goes on in your kitchen. Sometimes I don't understand what's happening at all. What are you doing there anyway? I don't know. Therefore, the more information you provide, the better. But be sure to write us your questions. Send them more. I will always try to answer as best I can. So write to us in the comments below. And thank you very much for watching. Don't forget to like and subscribe.
