# Recipe Remedies: In which I attempt to document my experiments with food



## rittenremedy

I tweak recipes. It's just what I do. For our all's entertainment, I thought I'd start posting some of my... successes and failures.

And quiches. So, so many quiches.


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## rittenremedy

I'll get to quiches another day. Today's experiment: adding butternut squash to a perfectly good pastitsio because it's fall and Assassin's Creed Odyssey is out.

Huh. I should have taken pictures. I'll upload some tomorrow.

For once, I didn't do anything different other than the intended change, adding an ingredient.

Well, I didn't change anything I haven't changed before... I have a gluten thing, so I eat gluten free. Brown rice penne and white rice flour replaced the wheat pasta and flour. Somewhere someone started a rumor that rice flour rues are unstable and grainy. These are both lies. I've made this recipe so many times, I only reference the ingredient list for the spices. The white sauce is smooth, delicious, and I've even used it for regular macaroni and cheese (subbing cheddar). Whoever started that rumor, go eat a brick.

What else have I changed? I left out the eggs because I like the smoother texture in the white sauce. I also subbed pork for the lamb because I'm in college and can't afford lamb. ;(

I may have a problem. However, my Frankenitsio is delicious.

Then I added roasted squash. Now, it's still good, but the flavor balance is off. I love the combination of pork, pumpkin, and pecorino, and when you bake all that in a casserole, yeah, that's fall. Now, the simplest answer is leave out the squash. I had a perfectly good recipe before I messed it up. Why add stuff?

Because the squash was there.


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## sgsvirgil

Why jam all those things together and try to force butternut squash into the dish? Its like trying to jam that one last item into your trunk or closet that won't let the lid close. 

Why not use the roasted butternut squash to make a butternut squash bisque or soup to serve as an accompaniment?


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## rittenremedy

sgsvirgil said:


> Why jam all those things together and try to force butternut squash into the dish? Its like trying to jam that one last item into your trunk or closet that won't let the lid close.
> 
> Why not use the roasted butternut squash to make a butternut squash bisque or soup to serve as an accompaniment?





rittenremedy said:


> Why add stuff?
> 
> Because the squash was there.


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## rittenremedy

Oh hey, I took pictures of leftovers. I know leftovers aren't as sexy as the original dish, but it's a casserole. Casseroles are about as sexy as old hoodies anyway.

View media item 141686View media item 141687
Honestly though, I agree with sgsvirgil. Most of my meddling involves taking unnecessary ingredients out, not adding them in. Maybe that'll be the next incarnation of this recipe.


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## sgmchef

Hi rr,

I don't have permission to view the images.

I do appreciate that you are experimenting! Too many people that enjoy cooking, only follow recipes.

When I think of butternut squash, I think of sweet and creamy as dominant traits. Like sgsvirgil, I think about a savory soup option because I wouldn't want that sweetness or additional creaminess in that dish. 

Everyone has a different style and mine tends to the savory side of foods.

I hope you continue to post your ideas!


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## rittenremedy

Hopefully I fixed the image permissions.

Thanks for visiting, sgmchef! I wasn't sure when I started this thread that it was the sort of thing that would be welcome on this site. I know it's more for professionals than random people making casseroles at home, but it's just for fun. I think we learn at least as much from failure as success, so maybe at least it'll provide a laugh for an old chef.

And if my cooking gets better, awesome.


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## rittenremedy

*Dumpling Disaster*​
This week I revisited a failed recipe from the past: pierogis. In the interest of a real experiment this time, I picked a recipe and attempted to stick to it as closely as possible while making it to gluten free. Unfortunately, my ex still has my stand mixer, so mixing the dough was a huge pain and probably contributed to the... lack of overwhelming success.

The original recipe, which I forgot, called for something along the lines of 2 cups of flour, half a cup of water and some oil. In order to make this safe for me to eat and in an attempt to create a baseline, I used only one "flour mix" which was Bob's all-purpose gluten free. I swapped 240 grams of flour and added 1/2 teaspoon xanthin gum.

Because this dough needs to be strong, I used the same method I use to make pie dough. The idea is to add hot liquid to the flour so the gum has time to hydrate fully, and the heat helps to gelatinize some of the starch, making a more stable, flexible gluten free dough. Then the flour is cooled and cold butter added like normal. It works great for pie, just don't make it in front of anyone who knows better than you.

I also swapped an equal volume of water for 1 egg, which I added during the "butter step." I didn't use any oil and relied on the egg to provide fat and some extra strength.

This is where it went wrong. The dough was WEEEEEET. The downside of adding the liquid first is the inability to adjust the hydration after the egg is added. I had to add a lot of extra flour, and without a machine, the dough was incredibly difficult to get smooth. Then, because it was gluten free, still too wet, and unevenly mixed, rolling was a mess.

In the end, the dumplings got made. The dough held together, but was thick and fragile. The flavor of the finished product was actually delicious. The filling was ground pork, onion, apple, black pepper, and a bit of cinnamon. So, so good. The dough was actually nicely savory from the bean flour (and adequate salt, my one unexpected success). The chew was actually nice, just too thick. They were edible, but nowhere close to letting anyone else eat them.

*Thoughts*

Normally gluten free flour is much thirstier than wheat flour. I was surprised the dough was too wet. If I ever make these again, after I get my mixer back, I'll probably forgo the pie method until I get the correct amount of liquid more or less nailed down.
I really, really want to see what happens if I halve the flour with sweet rice flour. I want a thinner dough, and I like think the mix of bean-based AP and chewy mochiko could really work out.


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## ChefBryan

rittenremedy said:


> I'll get to quiches another day. Today's experiment: adding butternut squash to a perfectly good pastitsio because it's fall and Assassin's Creed Odyssey is out.
> 
> Huh. I should have taken pictures. I'll upload some tomorrow.
> 
> For once, I didn't do anything different other than the intended change, adding an ingredient.
> 
> Well, I didn't change anything I haven't changed before... I have a gluten thing, so I eat gluten free. Brown rice penne and white rice flour replaced the wheat pasta and flour. Somewhere someone started a rumor that rice flour rues are unstable and grainy. These are both lies. I've made this recipe so many times, I only reference the ingredient list for the spices. The white sauce is smooth, delicious, and I've even used it for regular macaroni and cheese (subbing cheddar). Whoever started that rumor, go eat a brick.
> 
> What else have I changed? I left out the eggs because I like the smoother texture in the white sauce. I also subbed pork for the lamb because I'm in college and can't afford lamb. ;(
> 
> I may have a problem. However, my Frankenitsio is delicious.
> 
> Then I added roasted squash. Now, it's still good, but the flavor balance is off. I love the combination of pork, pumpkin, and pecorino, and when you bake all that in a casserole, yeah, that's fall. Now, the simplest answer is leave out the squash. I had a perfectly good recipe before I messed it up. Why add stuff?
> 
> Because the squash was there.


Rather than jam the squash in the casserole just for the sake of doing it, why not roast it, puree it, and add it to the custard? could use it to help thicken the custard while adding the flavor more subtly. No reason the squash shouldn't work with the warm spices in pastitsio along with the pork.


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## rittenremedy

ChefBryan said:


> Rather than jam the squash in the casserole just for the sake of doing it, why not roast it, puree it, and add it to the custard? could use it to help thicken the custard while adding the flavor more subtly. No reason the squash shouldn't work with the warm spices in pastitsio along with the pork.


OMG that's such a good idea. I need to try this!


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## ChefBryan

rittenremedy said:


> OMG that's such a good idea. I need to try this!


I've done several custards, panna cottas, and crème brulees with butternut squash. It adds great body, allowing you to reduce the fat and make a healthier product without compromising mouth feel too much. You can just puree it, or puree it and strain it if you want a smoother texture.


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## ChefBryan

rittenremedy said:


> OMG that's such a good idea. I need to try this!


I've done several custards, panna cottas, and crème brulees with butternut squash. It adds great body, allowing you to reduce the fat and make a healthier product without compromising mouth feel too much. You can just puree it, or puree it and strain it if you want a smoother texture.


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## Seoul Food

How is Assassin's Creed Odyssey? I just finished Syndicate.


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## rittenremedy

Seoul Food said:


> How is Assassin's Creed Odyssey? I just finished Syndicate.


I haven't played it myself, but I've been watching and it's on my list once I get my computer. You should check out some streams on YouTube. The guy I follow is Japic O'Death. He does a lot of Assassins Creed and pretty adventure games.


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## rittenremedy

It's been awhile since an experiment that deserves reporting here. Not that I haven't, because I can't resist, but with holidays and school starting back up, I haven't had the time for anything beyond playing with flour ratios in biscuits. I should post my gluten free experiments here. I look for low cost, simplicity, and reliability, so maybe one of the pros could actually use the information.

Anyway, I'm thinking about playing with that pastitsio again. I swear I've only made one casserole since the original post (kale and pecorino, I needed a cheap offset to Christmas dinner). I should try ChefBryan's suggestion of squash mornay, but I had this crazy idea I can't find any examples of on the internet. What would happen if I ground eggplant like lamb/pork? Would it turn to mush? I don't know. I have to find out.


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## phatch

I predict mush. 

Rather freeze tofu then finely chop if you need it to bind together, use some egg. And a powder starch of one sort or another


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## ChefBryan

rittenremedy said:


> It's been awhile since an experiment that deserves reporting here. Not that I haven't, because I can't resist, but with holidays and school starting back up, I haven't had the time for anything beyond playing with flour ratios in biscuits. I should post my gluten free experiments here. I look for low cost, simplicity, and reliability, so maybe one of the pros could actually use the information.
> 
> Anyway, I'm thinking about playing with that pastitsio again. I swear I've only made one casserole since the original post (kale and pecorino, I needed a cheap offset to Christmas dinner). I should try ChefBryan's suggestion of squash mornay, but I had this crazy idea I can't find any examples of on the internet. What would happen if I ground eggplant like lamb/pork? Would it turn to mush? I don't know. I have to find out.


My first thought if I were trying this would be to do a small dice on the eggplant and then roast it. You'll draw out the moisture, improver the texture, and add some umami.


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## rittenremedy

ChefBryan said:


> My first thought if I were trying this would be to do a small dice on the eggplant and then roast it. You'll draw out the moisture, improver the texture, and add some umami.


I like that idea. It probably has more potential than grinding it. I think ground eggplant would either turn to mush or burn in an oven. Unfortunately, eggplant's not in season now, so I can't find it near me. I'll have to bookmark this idea for the summer.


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## rittenremedy

Now about this new cookbook I bought, *Korean Home Cooking by Sohui Kim*! I've been oddly haunted by Korean things the passed two weeks, so when I saw this in the university bookstore, I bought it. The last time I bought a cookbook full price was, actually, never, but, so far, I have no regrets. There's a few small issues that someone who has no experience with Korean food and didn't read the book cover to cover might encounter, like she lists "sesame oil" but means _toasted _sesame oil. There's a picture in the front, but no mention of the different oils.

And I have to dodge gluten in the form of soy sauce (easy), gochujang (difficult), and rice cakes (don't have the time). Oh man.

So anyone who actually reads this is going to get to watch me tinker with gluten free flours after all. The first recipe I tried was pajeon, scallion pancakes. They're supposed to be thin (or less thin if you add shellfish yum!), savory, and crispy. Kim calls for a mixture of half AP wheat flour and half potato starch.

Normally, recipes that cut a large chunk of wheat flour are easy to make gluten free. I usually don't have to change anything but the flour. I didn't have potato starch, but I did have corn starch, so I used that and Bob's Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour, which I can get from the local Smart Foodservice for a great price.

Wow, it was a starchy mess. The batter held together perfectly, without xanthan gum and with less water than the recipe called for. The flavor, aside from being too starchy, was actually nice. I like the Bob's GFAP flour in savory recipes. The texture was just awful, a gummy mess.

The next change I made, this was all in the same week so no time to visit the grocery store for potato starch, was 120 grams GFAP flour and 15 grams corn starch. It was better, less starchy, crisper, edible, but not something I'd serve to anyone else. The next two trials on my list are all GFAP flour and the original recipe half potato starch. Bob's GFAP flour already contains potato starch, and even the low starch trial was gummy, So, I don't want to, but I will. What I really want to try is part rice flour.


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## ChefBryan

rittenremedy said:


> Now about this new cookbook I bought, *Korean Home Cooking by Sohui Kim*! I've been oddly haunted by Korean things the passed two weeks, so when I saw this in the university bookstore, I bought it. The last time I bought a cookbook full price was, actually, never, but, so far, I have no regrets. There's a few small issues that someone who has no experience with Korean food and didn't read the book cover to cover might encounter, like she lists "sesame oil" but means _toasted _sesame oil. There's a picture in the front, but no mention of the different oils.
> 
> And I have to dodge gluten in the form of soy sauce (easy), gochujang (difficult), and rice cakes (don't have the time). Oh man.
> 
> So anyone who actually reads this is going to get to watch me tinker with gluten free flours after all. The first recipe I tried was pajeon, scallion pancakes. They're supposed to be thin (or less thin if you add shellfish yum!), savory, and crispy. Kim calls for a mixture of half AP wheat flour and half potato starch.
> 
> Normally, recipes that cut a large chunk of wheat flour are easy to make gluten free. I usually don't have to change anything but the flour. I didn't have potato starch, but I did have corn starch, so I used that and Bob's Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour, which I can get from the local Smart Foodservice for a great price.
> 
> Wow, it was a starchy mess. The batter held together perfectly, without xanthan gum and with less water than the recipe called for. The flavor, aside from being too starchy, was actually nice. I like the Bob's GFAP flour in savory recipes. The texture was just awful, a gummy mess.
> 
> The next change I made, this was all in the same week so no time to visit the grocery store for potato starch, was 120 grams GFAP flour and 15 grams corn starch. It was better, less starchy, crisper, edible, but not something I'd serve to anyone else. The next two trials on my list are all GFAP flour and the original recipe half potato starch. Bob's GFAP flour already contains potato starch, and even the low starch trial was gummy, So, I don't want to, but I will. What I really want to try is part rice flour.


I did a special not too long ago that was chicken and waffles with a Korean twist, Seoul food if you will. I made a watermelon gochujang glazed chicken thigh on top of a kimchi jeon in waffle form, using only rice flour and cornstarch. The recipe wasn't perfect, but it was good. It could have probably used a third starch to cut some of the rice flour flavor, but I think you're on the right track.


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## ChefBryan




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## ChefBryan

View attachment 66019


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## chrislehrer

Korean rice cakes shouldn't have gluten. They're the same as Japanese mochi, but usually formed into a stick and then sliced into shapes. If you get them frozen, they usually have just rice for ingredients.


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## rittenremedy

ChefBryan said:


> I did a special not too long ago that was chicken and waffles with a Korean twist, Seoul food if you will. I made a watermelon gochujang glazed chicken thigh on top of a kimchi jeon in waffle form, using only rice flour and cornstarch. The recipe wasn't perfect, but it was good. It could have probably used a third starch to cut some of the rice flour flavor, but I think you're on the right track.





ChefBryan said:


> View attachment 66019


Adorable! Watermelon gochujang glaze? Yes, I want to eat this.

Actually, the store was out of potato starch, so even though that was supposed to be the first (relative) attempt, I went straight for the 50% Bob's GFAP 50% rice flour. What a winner! I made the batter just slightly too thick, but it still came out deliciously savory, light, and so crispy. I probably will never try the potato starch. I'm not a fan of overly starchy flours anyway, so I'll leave that to others. Like ChefBryan's it wasn't perfect; a little thinner batter and a pinch of xanthan gum would probably be about as perfect as a gluten free pancake can be. And, man, was it tasty. When I make it again for dinner tonight, I'll take pictures.


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## rittenremedy

As promised: pictures. I tried to make them look pretty. This thread needed something that wasn't a hot mess of yum.

View media item 141702The flour mix:
35 grams Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour
40 grams white rice flour
1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

View media item 141703YUM.

The one issue I'm still having is retaining the level of crispy from pan to table. The edges are all crispy and wonderful. The sides? top and bottom? the flat part is crispy when I straight from the pan, but softens within a minute. Morning sure if anything can be done about that. Thoughts?


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## ChefBryan

rittenremedy said:


> As promised: pictures. I tried to make them look pretty. This thread needed something that wasn't a hot mess of yum.
> 
> View media item 141702The flour mix:
> 35 grams Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour
> 40 grams white rice flour
> 1/8 teaspoon xanthan gum
> 1/4 teaspoon salt
> 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
> 
> View media item 141703YUM.
> 
> The one issue I'm still having is retaining the level of crispy from pan to table. The edges are all crispy and wonderful. The sides? top and bottom? the flat part is crispy when I straight from the pan, but softens within a minute. Morning sure if anything can be done about that. Thoughts?


Try adding some cornstarch


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## rittenremedy

ChefBryan said:


> Try adding some cornstarch


Cool, I'll try that next. I've heard from gluten free writers that cornstarch is crisper than root starches like tapioca and potato, but I haven't tried any comparisons. Any experiences there?

I made another tonight; same flour, slightly thinner batter, slightly lower temperature, and a couple minutes longer cook. It was noticeably crispier. Even the center pieces were lightly crisp. I think it's finally gotten to the point where I'd serve it to other people.


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## ChefBryan

rittenremedy said:


> Cool, I'll try that next. I've heard from gluten free writers that cornstarch is crisper than root starches like tapioca and potato, but I haven't tried any comparisons. Any experiences there?
> 
> I made another tonight; same flour, slightly thinner batter, slightly lower temperature, and a couple minutes longer cook. It was noticeably crispier. Even the center pieces were lightly crisp. I think it's finally gotten to the point where I'd serve it to other people.


Yes, I have added cornstarch to many different waffle batters to make it crispier. That's why I put it in the kimchi jeon as well, I was having issues with the extra moisture from the kimchi. I never did work out any sort of ratio though, I just experimented on one off bases with each batter depending on composition. My struggle is no matter what I do they won't stay crisp for long as I am serving them out of a hot well for employees on break.


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## rittenremedy

*Beans!*​
How do you cook beans so they aren't dry inside?

I'm sure this is answered somewhere on the internet, and probably here, already, but search results all turned up "how to cook dry beans." No, I mean how do I cook NOT dry beans? Am I missing something here? I didn't grow up eating beans outside of chain Mexican restaurants. Is that a quality of beans, dryness? Or am I just supremely unlucky when buying beans? I mean from-the-can beans as well as the few times I've cooked them myself from dry. They're never quite how I expect or want them to be, textually, even in soup!

This is a more open ended post than my usual... meddling, but I feel like I'm missing out on a whole type of food. I'd like to give beans the best chance with any of your suggestions. Help?


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## butzy

Half the trick is finding dry beans that are not too old.
I like to soak mine, but it is not really necessary. It does make them softer in my opinion, and obviously they cook quicker.
You can try using a pressure cooker as well.
Just whatever you do, some types need to be boiled vigorously for the first 10 minutes to get rid of some potential toxins. At least that's what I've been told. Hope it is not an old wife's tale


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## rittenremedy

butzy said:


> Half the trick is finding dry beans that are not too old.
> I like to soak mine, but it is not really necessary. It does make them softer in my opinion, and obviously they cook quicker.
> You can try using a pressure cooker as well.
> Just whatever you do, some types need to be boiled vigorously for the first 10 minutes to get rid of some potential toxins. At least that's what I've been told. Hope it is not an old wife's tale


From what I've heard it is NOT an old wives tale. Certain beans contain ricin, which can make you sick and, when enough is ingested, can kill according to the CDC. Since most people eat canned beans, it's not really a huge problem in homes, but apparently people do occasionally get sick from slow cooking kidney beans. Just to be safe, I'd boil them. They're little pebbles at first anyway; it can't hurt.


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## butzy

rittenremedy said:


> Since most people eat canned beans, it's not really a huge problem in homes,


Maybe in the states, but here, I guess about 90-95% of the beans (and peas) are cooked from scratch.

Other thing: have you tried lentils and split peas (for dhal, pea soup and the like)? They don't need cooking for that long and they do get a creamy texture. 
Yes, I know, they are not beans, but to me, sometimes the difference between dried peas and dried beans becomes a bit vague


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## rittenremedy

butzy said:


> Maybe in the states, but here, I guess about 90-95% of the beans (and peas) are cooked from scratch.
> 
> Other thing: have you tried lentils and split peas (for dhal, pea soup and the like)? They don't need cooking for that long and they do get a creamy texture.
> Yes, I know, they are not beans, but to me, sometimes the difference between dried peas and dried beans becomes a bit vague


Correct, I was assuming canned based on what most recipes I encounter use. But since I live in the US, I'm sure Google doesn't prioritize recipes from Canada or New Zealand or other English speaking countries.

I have cooked lentils before from dried, but I didn't really know what I was doing. Care to post some instructions?


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## butzy

Ah, instructions....
I'm no expert. I figure beans and lentils are best done by the Indians and my favourite there is Madhur Jaffrey. Just google
And I am giving you this one as welll https://indiaphile.info/guide-indian-lentils/
They can explain better than I ever can


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## rittenremedy

*Beans! Part 1, Brining*​Just started a batch of beans to soak for cooking tomorrow. I used pintos because they're the ones I've had the closest sort of success with, they're going into leftover chili, they were on sale, and they're pretty. I used:
4 cups water
1 tablespoon salt
1/2 pound pinto beans

When I stirred the beans around after adding them to the brine, I noticed the skins almost instantly began loosening. Uh oh?? I've never added salt to soaking water before, so I don't know if that's usual, but I quit agitating them as soon as I noticed. Tomorrow I'll cook them, but I'm not sure if I should cook them in plain water, lightly salted water, or the stock I'll be using to bulk out the leftover chili. Ideas?


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## butzy

As said, not an expert at all, but I never use salt when soaking beans.
Whether it really makes a difference or not, I do not know.
In theory though, you want the beans to take up water. Water moves from the lowest osmotic potantial to the highest (water and salt).
I also do not use salt when cooking, as I normally add a lot of savoury things to the beans, so I feel it is unnecessary


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## rittenremedy

butzy said:


> As said, not an expert at all, but I never use salt when soaking beans.
> Whether it really makes a difference or not, I do not know.
> In theory though, you want the beans to take up water. Water moves from the lowest osmotic potantial to the highest (water and salt).
> I also do not use salt when cooking, as I normally add a lot of savoury things to the beans, so I feel it is unnecessary


I've never used salt when soaking before either, but since every other time hasn't been worth repeating, I thought I'd experiment. If it's awful, there's always the other half of the bag.


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## ChefBryan

rittenremedy said:


> I've never used salt when soaking before either, but since every other time hasn't been worth repeating, I thought I'd experiment. If it's awful, there's always the other half of the bag.


I don't know if anyone here has tried this or has any experience with it, but what about nixtamalization?

http://nordicfoodlab.org/blog/2015/8/13/nixtamalisation-the-secret-of-the-tortilla

This is a blog about nixtamalizing different grains. They had a chart with different things and different soaking times. One of the things on there was black beans, but it did not talk about the results with those. they were grinding everything to make tortillas, so if you wanted to keep the beans whole and intact you may have to play with the soaking time and lime ratio so they don't just fall apart when cooking. it would be an interesting experiment. Acid toughens up the starches. Maybe to get the perfect bean you could try several different steps. Nixtamalizing, brining, then acid soak to toughen up the outside so they don't fall apart? or adding some acid in the beginning of the cooking process?


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## chrislehrer

rittenremedy said:


> I've never used salt when soaking before either, but since every other time hasn't been worth repeating, I thought I'd experiment. If it's awful, there's always the other half of the bag.


Brining beans works. The old notion that you can't add salt until the beans are fully cooked turns out to be false. But it does make cooking times a bit longer, and consistency across all the beans a bit trickier. You have to be a bit more stable with boiling temperature, in fact, which is one reason why a pressure cooker does such a nice job.


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## rittenremedy

Well, I cooked them, a couple day ago actually but I had a midterm and no time to write a coherent post. I boiled for 10 minutes and cooked on low for 1 hour. I started with that time because most recipes estimate 1-3 hours cook time, but after 1 hour, they were a bit overdone! They went into soup anyway so not a big deal. They were okay taste- and texture-wise. They look a mess though.

View media item 141704
View media item 141705


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## rittenremedy

Oh, I have been playing around with masa harina. This stuff is awesome! Because I'm so used to gluten free dough, I find masa super easy to work with.


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## ChefBryan

rittenremedy said:


> Oh, I have been playing around with masa harina. This stuff is awesome! Because I'm so used to gluten free dough, I find masa super easy to work with.


Lol it seems as if you and I have been working parallel on many things. I am also playing with masa seca. Tomorrow as part of our employee appreciation celebration one of the entrees I am preparing is tacos al pastor, but on a flat bread. I am making a masa flatbread, topping it with a pineapple compote for the sauce, roasted peppers, red onions, pork braised in achiote and sour orange, and finishing it with cilantro and cotija. If I have time I will make a sample today and post a pic.


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## rittenremedy

ChefBryan said:


> Lol it seems as if you and I have been working parallel on many things. I am also playing with masa seca. Tomorrow as part of our employee appreciation celebration one of the entrees I am preparing is tacos al pastor, but on a flat bread. I am making a masa flatbread, topping it with a pineapple compote for the sauce, roasted peppers, red onions, pork braised in achiote and sour orange, and finishing it with cilantro and cotija. If I have time I will make a sample today and post a pic.


Please do that sounds so amazing my caps lock was on!


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## Voldor

rittenremedy said:


> Please do that sounds so amazing my caps lock was on!


You both say such good ideas! But you do not share the recipe and I really want to see a photo of what you got.


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## ChefBryan

Voldor said:


> You both say such good ideas! But you do not share the recipe and I really want to see a photo of what you got.


Sorry, I got busy that day, and forgot to take a pic once cooked. Here is the flatbread prior to cooking. 
As for a recipe, I didn't write anything down, I just threw it together. All the components are listed above


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## ChefBryan

Voldor said:


> You both say such good ideas! But you do not share the recipe and I really want to see a photo of what you got.


I will be doing another masa special soon. I have not decided on whether or not it should be a breakfast or lunch special. I have some of my crab dip that was left over from a special event in the freezer, as well as some more lump crab and cotija to use up. I was debating on doing either a crab pupusa with cotija for a lunch special, or another play on eggs bene with a masa cake, crab dip, oe egg, cotija, and either a raspberry jalapeno jam or a poblano hollandaise. any thoughts?


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## rittenremedy

ChefBryan said:


> I will be doing another masa special soon. I have not decided on whether or not it should be a breakfast or lunch special. I have some of my crab dip that was left over from a special event in the freezer, as well as some more lump crab and cotija to use up. I was debating on doing either a crab pupusa with cotija for a lunch special, or another play on eggs bene with a masa cake, crab dip, oe egg, cotija, and either a raspberry jalapeno jam or a poblano hollandaise. any thoughts?


Oh man, I am always down for an eggs benny! And poblano hollandaise!?


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## ChefBryan

rittenremedy said:


> Oh man, I am always down for an eggs benny! And poblano hollandaise!?


I did this one a little over a year ago. It was a poblano and asadero stuffed cornbread with the same crab stuffing and a cilantro lime hollandaise. That was one of the reasons I was leaning away from the masa bene. I thought it might be a little too similar. Each chef special I have done over the last 5 years here has been different and unique. I have yet to repeat one. Maybe a pupusa with curtido, and make the curtido with a raspberry jalapeno agrodolce.


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## rittenremedy

ChefBryan said:


> I did this one a little over a year ago. It was a poblano and asadero stuffed cornbread with the same crab stuffing and a cilantro lime hollandaise. That was one of the reasons I was leaning away from the masa bene. I thought it might be a little too similar. Each chef special I have done over the last 5 years here has been different and unique. I have yet to repeat one. Maybe a pupusa with curtido, and make the curtido with a raspberry jalapeno agrodolce.
> View attachment 66323


That looks so good. You know me; I totally support trying something new!


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## rittenremedy

Omg that benny looks so good....

Anyway....

BEANS! I soaked some chickpeas in salted water, cooked in slightly less salted water, because it makes no sense to brine and then dilute the flavor with more water, and this time they actually turned out pretty good! Didn't have any skins sloughing off or beans cracking in half. Not sure if it was the bean, the age, or what. They even taste pretty good.

Any idea what I can do with the other half pound of pintos? Use for soup? Save as pie weights?


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## ChefBryan

rittenremedy said:


> Omg that benny looks so good....
> 
> Anyway....
> 
> BEANS! I soaked some chickpeas in salted water, cooked in slightly less salted water, because it makes no sense to brine and then dilute the flavor with more water, and this time they actually turned out pretty good! Didn't have any skins sloughing off or beans cracking in half. Not sure if it was the bean, the age, or what. They even taste pretty good.
> 
> Any idea what I can do with the other half pound of pintos? Use for soup? Save as pie weights?


Hummus or bean dip


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## rittenremedy

*The Quiche Trials*
Messing around with gluten free flours.​
And baking temperatures.​
And pastry techniques.​
And parbaking.​
And a little custard ratios​
Wow, that's a lot of quiche.​
That's... a quiche a week for eight weeks? Yes, it is.​
I probably should have been spamming this thread the whole time, but I've moved, and now I'm not only drowning in chemistry but also stuff I haven't put away yet. So here's what I have so far.

*GFAP = a really terrible abbreviation for Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All-Purpose Baking Flour. But I'm not typing that whole name every time. This is the flour I'm experimenting with due to its low cost. It's available in bulk from food service supply, so for you chefs, it might be useful information.

*Quiche #1*: All GFAP, traditional pasty technique, no par bake, 325F.

Oddly bready. The custard seeped into the dough, and the layers, while well defined and puffed, were soft and bread-like. Flavor was pleasantly savory, but the texture was bad.

*Quiche #2*: All GFAP, traditional pasty technique, par baked, 325F.

Indistinguishable from #1.

*Quiche #3*: 90% GFAP, 10% cornstarch, traditional pasty technique, par baked, 325F.

The worst by far, it was inedible. I suspect I got the moisture ratio wrong, or maybe the custard soaked into the crust, or maybe the cornstarch did something awful.

*Quiche #4*: 50% GFAP, 50% sweet rice flour, traditional pasty technique, no par bake, 325F.

Pleasantly mild, buttery, traditional pastry flavor. Exposed crust nice and crisp, soggy bottom.










*Quiche #5*: 50% GFAP, 50% sweet rice flour, traditional pasty technique, par baked, 325F.

Nearly identical to #4, with a golden brown, but still soggy, bottom.

*Quiche #6*: 50% GFAP, 50% sweet rice flour, hot milk technique, par baked, 350F.

Same at #4 and #5, just over cooked.

*Quiche #7*: 50% GFAP, 50% sweet rice flour, hot milk technique, no par bake, 350F.

Indistinguishable from #7. 350F is not a good temperature for quiche.

*Quiche #8*: 50% GFAP, 50% sweet rice flour, hot milk technique, no par bake, 325F.

Same at #4 and #5, with a slightly better flake. Could be due to practice though.

















At the end of this experiment, I got a lot of practice working gluten free pastry dough. I can even do the rolling pin into the pan trick. I also ate very well, and not too expensively, considering a six-slice quiche comes to just over $1 a serving. But, I didn't manage to hack Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All-Purpose Baking Flour into a decent pastry flour.

I have cracked gluten free quiche before though, using Bob's 1 to 1 flour. It's also available in food service stores.


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## rittenremedy

*A quick review of Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour and Pizza.*​
In case I forgot to mention, last fall I bought a 25-pound bag of *Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Baking Flour*. I bought it for the price and availability hoping to make it work. It's been around for years and is marketed at businesses; it can't be bad!

I've got probably 10 pounds left, and I have struggled with almost every application to make a recipe edible. That's right, not great, just edible. Sometimes it's just weird, like Quiche #1 and #2. Sometimes it's inedible, like My first attempt at pizza. The only recipes that turned out okay from the get go were recipes that don't require a specific flour, like pancakes or banana bread.

On a side note, seriously it's impossible to mess up banana bread. I've made it with everything from expensive mixes and perfected homemade blends to all oat flour without even gums, eggs, or replacers and even almond butter. Seriously what even is banana bread? It can't be just flour and bananas!

Anyway, back to a less robust recipe, pizza. My first attempt was inedible. Just awful. Even worse, I used the manufacturer's recipe. I picked off the cheese and tossed the crust. Blegh. Take two, I decided screw unicellular, asexual organisms and went yeast free. It might have been better with a parbake. Here's try three:

















I parbaked at 450F, turning the heat down to 350 halfway through because I was afraid it would burn. Then topped with sauce, mozzarella, and pesto, and baked at 450 for 6 minutes.

It was... edible. At one point, I thought, "this is what people mean when they complain, 'it tastes gluten free.'"

So far, I've made cookies, pancakes, a few different quickbreads, biscuits, crepes (don't), a whole bunch of pie dough, pizza, and regular old bread. Bob's GFAP flour is on the stronger, higher protein side of all purpose, so it makes sense that it doesn't behave well in pastry recipes. What's unfortunate is that it behaves equally poorly in bread recipes. The narrow selection of recipes it managed to pull off, pancakes and quickbreads, aren't dependent on flour to be good. I cannot recommend this flour. It just doesn't perform.

This is only my opinion, as a home cook. For perspective, I usually bake with more rustic flours, oat and buckwheat are my favorites, and if I can leave out ingredients like xanthan gum, eggs, or extra sugar and dairy, I do. I'm not opposed to weighty baked goods, as long as they weigh in with substance and flavor. I tried to give Bob's my best. I even used their xanthan gum. If you've managed to hack this flour into something edible, please share how! I would really love to know.


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## rittenremedy

OH GOD HAVE I REALLY BEEN GONE ALMOST A YEAR.

In my defense, I did graduate this year! Still need to get into grad school, but step one is done at least! I have been cooking, and occasionally experimenting, just not documenting anything. Which is terrible. I made a hot sauce which is fantastic, and I have no idea how to replicate it. Gonna have to figure out soon because I'm almost out. I also finally convinced myself to start fermenting things. My first attempt (technically second, but my first attempt years ago without an airlock got mold, and I tossed it) but anyway my first re-attempt with decent equipment, no black mold in the walls, and plenty of antimicrobial ingredients for backup: kimchi!


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## rittenremedy

popping in to let you all know that Bob's Red Mill gluten free pie crust as written is the fourth worst crust i've ever made. i'm fairly confident i can hack together a better crust from the odds i have left in my pantry. pretty sure it's the recipe not the flour, but i'll never know.


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## chrislehrer

rittenremedy said:


> popping in to let you all know that Bob's Red Mill gluten free pie crust as written is the fourth worst crust i've ever made. i'm fairly confident i can hack together a better crust from the odds i have left in my pantry. pretty sure it's the recipe not the flour, but i'll never know.


Post the recipe. There are people here who understand this stuff well.


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## rittenremedy

chrislehrer said:


> Post the recipe. There are people here who understand this stuff well.


Actually if you go back to the start of this thread, I posted the results of baking something like 8 gluten free experimental pies. Usually I mix my own stuff, but I'm out of flour due to Covid-19 and had to settle for the premixed stuff. _Never again._ Stuff was a nightmare to work and expensive.


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## chrislehrer

rittenremedy said:


> Actually if you go back to the start of this thread, I posted the results of baking something like 8 gluten free experimental pies. Usually I mix my own stuff, but I'm out of flour due to Covid-19 and had to settle for the premixed stuff. _Never again._ Stuff was a nightmare to work and expensive.


I'd forgotten, sorry!


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## rittenremedy

chrislehrer said:


> I'd forgotten, sorry!


though i'm still far from an expert!


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