Lemon muffins

Lemon mffins

I love lemon and lime in any form. Growing up, I squeezed lemon juice on just about every green vegetable I ate. Broccoli, green beans or spinach were rarely consumed without lemon. Even today, I will squeeze fresh lime on carne asada at our local Mexican restaurant. And I find that the addition of lemon to many baked goods imparts a refreshing goodness.

I first discovered the Filipino lime, called calamansi, when I first visited the Philippines in the early 1970s. Milder and slightly less acidic than the common lemon or lime, the juice can be used in place their place in most recipes. Unfortunately, I haven't located a source of calamansi in Northern California.

So, it's no surprise that this recipe began life as calamansi muffins. The original recipe was adapted for the scale by a Filipina living in Southern California, known as @CarolineAdobo on Instagram. Caroline posted the recipe to her blog, When Adobo Met Feijoada, a reference to her Brizilian-born husband (@DadTheBaker). I'm envious because she has a local source of fresh calamensi.

I have posted the recipe in both weight and volume measurements. While I haven't tested the recipe for volume, give it a try if you don't own a digital scale. These muffins will make an appearance this summer at Oakland Feather River Camp.

LEMON MUFFINS

Should you have a source for calamansi juice, whether fresh or bottled, feel free to substitute it for the lemon juice.

180 grams (1-/2 cups)  all-purpose flour (100 baker's percent)
5 grams (1 teaspoon) baking powder (2.7%)
2 grams (1/4 teaspoon) salt (1.1%)
120 grams (1/2 cup) lemon juice (67%)
120 grams (1/2 cup) milk (67%)
112 grams (1/2 cup) softened unsalted butter (62%)
200 grams (1 cup) granulated sugar (111%)
105 grams (2 large) eggs (58%)

Glaze:
60 grams (1/2 cup) powdered sugar
15 grams (1 tablespoon) lemon juice
5 grams (1 teaspoon) butter
finely grated lemon zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with cupcake paper liners. Set aside.

Measure the flour, baking power and salt into a small bowl. Sir to combine, then set aside. In a separate small bowl, measure the lemon juice and milk. Sir to combine, then set aside.

In a mixer bowl, cream butter on medium-high speed, adding one tablespoon of sugar at a time. Once added, cream until the mixture is light and fluffy, about five minutes. Scrape the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula.

Reduce speed to medium and add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with the lemon-milk mixture. Mix just until the batter is combined.

Fill each cupcake liner with 1/4-cup of batter. (A #16 scoop or disher with yield 12 muffins, and a #20 scoop will yield 15.) Bake at 350 degrees for 18 to 22 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool muffins on the pan for about 10 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Cool completely before icing.

For the glaze, heat butter and lemon juice until butter has melted. Whisk together powdered sugar and the lemon-butter mixture until combined. Spread about one teaspoon over the top of each muffing. If desired, garnish with lemon zest. Let glaze dry and for a slight crust before serving.

No mixer, no problem

Last Saturday I catered a banquet for the San Jose Youth Shakespeare in the Bay Area. With an ambitious menu at hand, I began meal production with rosemary-garlic dinner rolls at 12:30 in the afternoon. After unloading the equipment, food and supplies into the kitchen, I setup the scale, opened the bag of bread flour and began measuring.

With over 20 pounds of flour, along with yeast, salt, sugar, egg, oil, herbs and water to mix, I'd normally knead the dough in a 20-quart stand mixer. However, the kitchen at the rental hall was not equipped with one. With a large bus tub, I mixed the dough by hand. The pictures tell the rest of the story.

All in ingredients were weighed into a 20 by 15 by 7-inch bus tub. The formula called for 100% bread flour, 6% sugar, 4% chopped fresh parsley, 4% minced garlic, 2% instant yeast, 2 % kosher salt and 1% dried rosemary for the dry ingredients. I used 20 pounds 5 ounces flours as the basis for the dough. Click here for a discussion on baker's percent.

After pouring in about 55% water, 16% egg and 8% olive oil, I mixed the dough by hand. It took several minutes for the dough to come together.

After the dry ingredients were thoroughly mixed into the wet, I cleaned my hands and let the dough rest for 10 minutes. This lets the flour begin to absorb moisture and hydrate.

I started others on separate projects before working on the dough. My niece learned how to dice 10 pounds of yellow onions as another (to my right) set up the buffet area. As the dough came together, I folded the corners into the center of the bus tub. And two gallons of apple cider reduced on the range behind me.

Once the dough was workable, I turned it out onto the bench and continued kneading.

I could only fold the dough 10 to 15 turns before it was too stiff to handle. I gave the dough a 10 to 15-minute rest between kneading sessions. I then divided the dough in half and set each piece in a bus tub to ferment.

Once the dough fermented 90 minutes in an out-of-the-way corner of the kitchen, it was all hands on deck to cut and mold individual rolls. This process took around 30 minutes. We produced 455 rolls Saturday. The diners ate 2 rolls each on average.

Using baker's percent to adjust challah bread recipe

I recently set out to bake whole wheat challah bread at home. The decision came late one Friday evening, too late to shop for ingredients. The quantities of flour, both whole wheat and bread flours, plus the sugar, salt, eggs and oil in my kitchen would have to do.

My standard recipe for challah bread calls for 3 pounds 8 ounces of bread flour. My plan was to substitute 50 percent (by weight) whole wheat flour for the bread flour. The adjusted formula called for 1 pound 12 ounces each of bread and whole wheat flours.

Once I weighed the flours, I learned that 1 pound 8 ounces of whole wheat flour and a little more than 9 ounces of bread flour were all I had on hand. Though insufficient to prepare the recipe as written, I adjusted the amount of yeast, salt, sugar, water, eggs and oil in proportion to make the recipe work. My adjusted recipe prepared 3 pounds 12 ounces of dough, enough for two loaves of whole wheat challah bread.

This dilemma is one encountered by professional and home bakers alike. The question is, how do I adjust the recipe while maintaining the relationship of each ingredient to the flour? To develop a successful product, you need to use the ingredients in the correct proportion. The answer is found in the baker's percent method.

Baker's percent

Commercial bakers use the baker's percent method to adjust recipes. It gives the baker with an easy format to convert recipes from small to large batch sizes. It works for bread and pastry recipes and can be applied American system of measures as well as the metric system.

Since most bakery recipes contain flour, flour is the basis for baker's percent. Flour is always considered to be 100 percent. All other ingredients are measured by weight as a percentage to the flour. Baker's percent allows the baker to quickly -- and accurately -- adjust the formula of a product to yield any quantity of dough that he desires.

The same unit of measure must be maintained when using baker's percent. Pounds must must be used with pounds. Kilograms must be used with kilograms. The formula breaks down when you mix pounds and kilograms. I recommend using a calculator when working with baker's percent.

The flour is always listed as 100 percent. To determine the percentage of the other ingredients, take the weight of the ingredient and divide by the weight of the flour. Then multiply by 100. The product is the baker's percent of the ingredient. The formula is displayed like this:

Weight of ingredient / weight of flour x 100 = baker's percent

Here's an example using instant yeast:



1 oz instant yeast / 50 oz flour x 100 = 2% 

In the example, the formula uses 2 percent by weight of instant yeast. That means that for every 100 pounds of flour, the baker adds 2 pounds of instant yeast to the dry ingredients. A baker that uses the metric system adds 2 kilograms of instant yeast for every 100 kilograms of flour.

The home baker also uses baker's percent as effectively as the professional. The same principle applies even though he uses much smaller quantities of flour. For evey 10 ounces of flour the home baker adds .2 ounces (that's two-hundredths) of instant yeast to the dry ingredients.

Remember we are talking about the relationship of each ingredient to the flour. The sum of all wheat flours used in the recipe is considered 100 percent. If your formula calls for bread flour and whole flour, the weight of the two flours are added to give you the total amount of flour used in the recipe.

Challah bread formula conversion

Let's use my formula for challah bread as an example for our calculations in baker's percent. Here is the formula that I used:

Bread flour -- 100%
Instant yeast -- 1.25%
Granulated sugar -- 7.5%
Salt -- 1.9%
Water -- 42%
Eggs -- 14%
Oil -- 10%
TOTAL = 176.65%

Other than an indication of the method used to produce the dough (straight dough in this case), this all the information that the baker needs to produce his bread. Ingredient quantities aren't noted because he most likely prepares a different amount each time.

When I weight the flours, I found that I only had 1 pound 8 ounces of whole wheat flour and a little more than 9 ounces of bread flour, not the 3 pounds 8 ounces called for in my recipe. (I rounded the bread flour to 10 ounces with some all-purpose flour.)  The two flours equaled 34 ounces when added together. This became the starting point (or 100 percent) for my adjusted formula.

I then multiplied the baker's percent of each ingredient times 34. The formula for the conversion is as follows:

Baker's percent for ingredient / 100 x weight of flour = quantity to use



Here's an example using the eggs:



14 / 100 x 34 ounces = 4.76 ounces eggs

I repeated this process for each ingredient. Since we're dealing with small quantities, I rounded the quantity of each ingredient to the nearest tenth. Here's the formula that I used to bake two loaves of whole wheat challah bread:

1 pound 8 ounces whole wheat flour (71%)

10 ounces bread flour (29%)

.4 ounces instant yeast (1.25%)
2.6 ounces granulated sugar (7.5%)
.7 ounces salt (1.9%)
14.3 ounces water (42%)
4.8 ounces eggs (14%)
3.4 ounces oil (10%)
TOTAL weight = 3 pounds 12 ounces

Weighing tenths of an ounce is easily done on a digital scale like the one pictured above. A 2009 article addresses my use of digital scales (and it gives you a recipe for four cheese pizzas). I will post the recipe for challah bread soon.

This recipe produced two loaves, each with 1 pound 9 ounces of dough in a standard 5 by 9 by 3-inch loaf pan. You could also mold the dough into one large loaf and place it on a sheet pan. Since my adjusted formula produced 60 ounces of dough, I used the remaining 10 ounces to make cinnamon rolls for breakfast.

At a later date, I will show another way to use baker's percent. Starting with the quantity of dough needed for production, the baker can work backwards to determine how much flour to use in his formula. We'll save the article for another day.

Now that you understand how to use baker's percent, a world of baking possibilities opens up. I used it to adjust my recipe to the amount of flour I had in the kitchen. It's used to express the relationship between flour and the other ingredients in bread and pastry recipes. Once you know the basic formula, you can produce bread in any quantity desired.

Artisan no-knead bread recipe for camp

My premise for artisan no-knead bread in camp is simple. Mix the dough inside a food storage container at home one or two days before you head to the campground. Flavor builds as the yeast works in the refrigerator. Ignore the dough as you prepare for the trip.

Just before you leave the house, pack the dough inside securely the ice chest. Once in camp, bake a fresh load of artisan bread each night in a cast iron Dutch oven. With little effort or mess, this recipe will let you enjoy freshly baked bread on the table each night.

I suggest you read the instructions two or three times until you understand the recipe. Most effort on your part takes place at the beginning and the end of the process. The dough spends the majority of its time under refrigeration. This lets you focus on your enjoyment of the wilderness.

ARTISAN NO-KNEAD BREAD FOR CAMP

The recipe and instructions are adapted for camp from the Artisan Bread in Five website by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Franscios.

3 cups plus 3 tablespoons (26.6 ounces) warm water (80 degrees F) (baker's percent: 83%)
1 tablespoon (.35 ounce) instant yeast (1.1%)
4 teaspoons (.85 ounce) kosher salt (2.7%)
2 pounds bread flour (100%)

You will need a 5- to 6-quart food storage container with lid. I used an 8-quart Cambro brand square storage container for the test batch. While a 5- to 6-quart container will accommodate this recipe as it rises in the refrigerator, the larger size lets me multiply the recipe for larger groups. The smaller container will be adequate for most batches.

Mix the dough at home. Start this process at least 48 hours before you intend to bake your first loaf of bread in camp. For example, mix the water, yeast, salt and flour on Thursday evening so that you can bake it Saturday evening in camp. The dough needs a minimum of 48 hours to ferment and develop flavor. You can mix the dough up to a week in advance of the camping trip if desired. It'll just taste that much better in camp.

Dump the water, yeast and salt into the storage container. Dump in the flour and stir with a long handled wooden spoon. The dough will be wet. Loosely place the lid on the container. Do not snap it shut as you want gasses to escape during the long fermentation.

Let the dough sit at room temperature for 2 hours. The dough should rise to the 4-quart mark (or a little beyond) on your container. Place the container in your refrigerator. The yeast will continue to work in the cold environment.

Pack for camp. Remove the container of dough from your home refrigerator and set it inside your cooler. Make sure it sets on the floor of the cooler to lessen the chance of spilling. If necessary, snap the lid closed for the trip. Unsnap the lid when you arrive in camp.

Bake bread in camp. Begin the process of baking a loaf of bread three or more hours in advance of the meal. The dough will take 1 to 2 hours to rise before you bake it in a 10- or 12-inch Dutch oven. Proofing time is dependent on ambient temperature, altitude and wind chill factor at the camp site.

Dust the surface of the dough with a little flour. This will make it easier to pull off a piece of dough. Pull a piece of dough out, cut with kitchen shears and form into a ball. The dough ball should equal 1/2 or 1/3 of the total dough (14 to 29 ounces). This batch will give you 2 or 3 loaves. Return the remaining dough to the cooler.

Set the dough on a piece of parchment paper. This will make easier to set the dough inside the Dutch oven. Otherwise, rest the dough on a cutting board or pizza peel dusted with cornmeal. Rest the dough for 60 to 120 minutes.

I prefer to proof the dough until it feels like a soft pillow. It should jiggle when touched. You will notice that the dough won't spring up like a standard loaf of bread. The dough will spread, however. With experience, you'll learn the optimum time to bake the loaf. The longer rise gives the bread its characteristic open crumb texture. Cut the loaf with 1/4-inch slashes using a serrated knife or razor blade.

Light a chimney of charcoal briquettes around 30 to 45 minutes before you bake the bread. When the coals are ready, pre-heat a 12-inch Dutch oven for 10 to 15 minutes with coals for 450 degrees (11 under the oven and 22 on the lid).

Remove the lid and carefully set the dough inside the Dutch oven. Replace the lid on the oven. Bake the bread 30 to 35 minutes or until a deep brown color develops. Remove the parchment paper after 20 minutes. Continue baking until the bread is done. Cool the bread before slicing.

This batch will yield 2 or 3 loaves of wonderful bread. Keep the remaining dough in the ice chest. Bake one or more loves for subsequent meals. you can certainly bake two or more loves at once with additional Dutch ovens.

Bakery scales and pizza

I have long advocated the use of scales in the bakery. Measurement by weight is more accurate the by volume. This is especially true for the dry ingredients like flour.

The actual weight of a cup of flour, for instance, varies considerably. A cup of sifted bread flour weighs about 4 ounces while a cup of unsifted weighs about 4-3/4 ounces. The difference is considerable when working with multiple cups of flour.

For consistent results, bakers weigh most of the ingredients. This includes the water and most other the wet ingredients. Although a "pint is a pound the world 'round," liquid measures vary in capacity, unlike scales.

The dough comes together nicely when weighing the ingredients. You'll achieve the right balance between flour and water (usually in the neighborhood of a 3:2 ratio by weight). If the dough is a little loose, you can work some additional flour into it.

After using a mechanical portion scale for 10 years, I purchased a digital scale last month. The digital scale is convenient. To measure, set a measuring container on the scale, press the tare button and it's ready to go.

To add a second ingredient without removing the first, press the tare bottom again and add the next ingredient. This method is helpful when you're going to sift the dry ingredients together.

I purchased the My Weight 7000DX digital scale (pictured) from Old Will Knot Scales on the Internet. The scale has a capacity of 7,000 grams or 15.45 pounds. With the right-sized measuring container, you can weigh enough flour for 15-pound batch of bread, pizza dough or pastry.

I plan to take the scale with me to camp this summer (without the bowl). Its slender profile easily fits inside a duffel bag with a few other must-have baking tools, like a dough cutter, plastic bowl scraper and lame.

CHEESE PIZZA

This recipe makes enough for 4 (10- to 12-inch) pizzas. It'll yield 24 to 32 slices, depending on how you slice the pizzas. You can double the recipe when using the 5-quart Kitchen Aid mixer.

I provided baker's percent so you can adjust the recipe to fit the needs at your camp.

1 pound 12 ounces bread flour (100 baker's percent)
1/4 ounce instant yeast (.9%)
1/2 ounce table salt (1.8%)
1/4 ounce sugar (.9%)
3/4 ounce olive oil (2.7%)
1 pound warm water (57%)
3 ounces pizza sauce
4 ounces shredded cheese

Place flour, yeast, salt and sugar into 5-quart mixer bowl. Mix dry ingredients using paddle attachment. Replace paddle with dough hook. Knead dough for 15 minutes on medium speed.

Use widow pane test to determine if dough is kneaded long enough. Pinch off a small piece of dough and slowly stretch it like pizza dough. As you gently pull and rotate the dough, stretch it until a thin, translucent membrane forms. If it tears easily, continue kneading for a few more minutes and test again.

Roll pizza dough into a smooth ball on counter top. Place into a stainless steel or glass bowl. Add a little olive oil to the bowl and toss to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and ferment 45 minutes, until double in size.

Place the pizza stone onto bottom of a cold oven and turn the oven to its 500 degrees F. If the oven has coils on the oven floor, place the tile onto the lowest rack of the oven.

Split the pizza dough into 4 equal parts, about 11 ounces each. Flatten into a disk on counter top and then fold the dough into a ball. Let dough relax 5 to 10 minutes.

Work with 1 dough at a time. Flatten dough with hands on a slightly 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 dough until it won't stretch further. Let relax 5 minutes and then continue to stretch it until it reaches the desired diameter, 10 to 12 inches. Flatten edge of the dough where it is thicker.

Dust pizza peel with light coat of cornmeal. Place pizza on peel. Brush with light coat of olive oil. Spoon on tomato sauce and sprinkle with cheese.

Slide pizza off the peel onto pizza stone. Bake 7 to 10 minutes until cheese is golden and crust has browned. Remove pizza from oven with peel. Rest pizza about 3 minutes before slicing.

Cut each 12-inch pizza into 6 or 8 slices as desired.