I'm a baking newbie and I'm having trouble. I just started my cooking career and I've tried baking brownies. For some reason my brownies will not turn out. I baking a few other things like cookies and bread and they turned out fine but not the brownies didn't. I tried twice and the first time they were really gooey in the middle and the second time I tried leaving them in for a little bit longer, and they got too done. For information purposes I had the oven on 350.
"Shanelle" wrote in message news:bj8kc8$3s4$ snipped-for-privacy@ins22.netins.net...
Without a recipe, it's hard to say what is going wrong. That being said, there are a few things about brownies that it helps to know, especially if they're new to you and you're new to baking. There are two types of brownies, one that is fudgy and one that is more cake-like. From the sounds of it, I would hazard a guess that your recipe is for the fudgy type. When this type of brownie is done baking, it will seem a bit underdone in the center. Not liquidy, but soft, very moist, almost gooey. It will set up as it cools. They can be very difficult to determine doneness, which is why it's important to know the temperature your oven bakes at and follow the times recommended in the recipe. The general rules for distinguishing between a fudgy brownie recipe and a cake like brownie recipe are mostly centered on the sugar and butter. For example, I have 2 brownie recipes in front of me right now. Both are meant for a 9x13x2 inch baking pan. Both have 4 eggs, both have 1 cup flour. However, the first recipe, a cake-like brownie, contains 1 1/2 cups of sugar and 1 stick (4 oz) butter, while the fudgy second recipe contains 2 1/2 cups of sugar and 2 1/2 sticks (10 oz) of butter. If you have an oven thermometer, check the temp of your oven and write it down if there is a discrepency. For example, I have a 40+ yr old thermador oven that runs about 15* lower than what the dial says...so in order to bake accurately, I simply turn up the dial by those 15*...so instead of setting it for 350*, I will set it for 365*. Check brownies for doneness as you would a cake, by inserting a skewer into the center. Cakelike brownies will have a mostly clean skewer, with a few crumbs on it. Fudgy brownies will have larger, moister crumbs when done, but shouldn't have any fluid batter on the skewer. Search google for Barb Schaller's brownie recipe...it's pretty much no fail if you follow the instructions, and they're out of this world!
There are so many variable here that without specifics it would be hard to give good advice. Some things that people don't take into considerations when they start baking is that measurements can vary widely. For instance, if you measure a cup of flour using the dip and sweep method one time and then spoon it into the cup the next time, your flour won't be the same each time. Eggs can very in size, so if you buy extra large eggs this week and large eggs next week there is going to be a difference. You should generally have your ingredients at room temperature. Mixing methods and time can impact the results. Your oven may not be accurate or have wide swings in temperature. For instance, if you set the oven at 350F it may go up to 360F and turn off until it reaches 330F -- or it may not really register anything close to the temperature selected. You may not have baked them in the same pan or on the same shelf both times.
I would carefully measure everything use room temperature ingredients use a dull aluminum pan check the temperature of the oven with an oven thermometer bake the brownies in the center of the oven
I would also reduce the temperature to 325. Check the brownies at the minimum time in the recipe and every 10 minutes thereafter until they are done. Brownies are generally fudge-like. If you bake them until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out dry they will be overdone and dry. You should remove them from the oven when the toothpick comes out with some moist crumbs (not batter) stuck to it.
On older ovens it is often possible to calibrate the temperature by removing the temperature selection knob and rotating the metal retaining clip on the back. If you have the owner's manual it may be covered there. Here are some general instructions that I found: To Calibrate Your Oven Test your oven with an oven thermometer first to see which way and how much to adjust your oven. Remove the oven temperature knob by pulling on it. Turn it over and you see two screws along with two arrows showing "hotter" or "cooler". Loosen these screws and rotate towards desired direction. Tighten screws and replace knob. Unfortunately it does not give the degrees that you are trying to get, so you will need to use your oven thermometer again.
They are easy to overbake and underbake. I have recipes (commercial)=20 that call from 15 minutes (375 F) to 1 hour (325 F) baking time and=20 they all turn out. But you will have to bake by feel for the first time=20 until you get to know the oven and adjust the time accordingly. These=20 times and temperatures are only guidelines. Of course, sometimes they=20 are utterly imprecise. I have never baked the Gisslen brownies for=20 longer than 45 minutes.
That seems prudent, but there are way too many formulas.
A brownie that is underbaked will still feel liquid and 5 minutes later, =
it's like concrete. It depends on the oven too, a ceramic clad oven =20 will bake way different than one of sheet metal and a gas oven different =
than an electric one.
For me, a brownie should not be like cake at all, more like a really=20 fat/sweet/gooey semi-custard that is firm but moist after cooling. But it all depends, some recipes are more like cake, although I don't=20 think a bownie is/should be like a cake.
You will run into the same problem when baking creme caramel/brule and=20 pecan pies too.
Of course, the commercial recipes are in metric weights, so an accurate=20 scale is a must for repeatable results.
Email me if you bake commercially.
--=20 Sincerly,
C=3D=A6-)=A7 H. W. Hans Kuntze, CMC, S.g.K. (_o_)
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"Nexis" wrote in message news:Sy16b.28574$S_.14092@fed1read01...
I should put you in touch with my mother. She limped along with the original cooktop and wall oven that she selected when my parents built their home in 1956. The oven was a 24 inch model with an interior about the size of a microwave oven. The clock stopped working years ago but continued to make noises like the Titanic on its way down. Only one burner of the cooktop continued to work 100% with another one working 50%. About 2 years ago she remodeled replacing the cooktop with a ceramic cooktop which I advised against but she had to have because she thought it would be easy to clean. Since she insisted on a white cooktop she now spends her time polishing it! The oven got replaced with a 27inch convection oven with all the electronic bells and whistles. She has never used the probe or any of the timers or convection features because she is afraid of what might happed. I have never been able to get her to tell me what those things might be. She replaced her hood with an over the range microwave hood. It also has all sorts of features including a sensor and a special browning tray and cycle for browning things like burgers and chicken. She has also never used any of the pre-programmed setting, sensor cook features, or the browning tray and cycle. She had me replace her thermostat with an electronic touch screen model. Now she has to call me every time she wants to change the temperature. I programmed it for heating and cooling when I installed it. God forbid I have to walk her through the programming steps over the phone! Each time I visit I have to explain how to use the VCR to watch tapes. I hope she never decides to record something! She has succeeded in breaking two of my sister's vacuum cleaners. She used one to extract water from a rug when my sister's dog dumped his water bowl. She managed to get something stuck in the belt of my new vacuum. The pulley rubbed against the belt and melted it. She continued to vacuum despite the fact that it was emitting the smell of burning rubber. The melted rubber found its way to my off white carpeting and formed streaks across the room as she vacuumed!!! So, if you hear of a massive power failure that is traced back to a home in eastern Ohio, you can be certain that my mother caused it somehow when she decided to simultaneously programs the thermostat, VRC, microwave, and convection oven while using a patch cord to connect the oven's meat probe to the cable box.
I'm not that bad...I just can't afford to remodel the kitchen right now. The ovens, other than the temp discrepancy, which is no big deal to me, work great. The noise from the clock, I can relate to that though lol. The cooktop has always just had the two working burners since we bought the house. Eventually I will replace it, hopefully with a gas one. Currently I'm in the midst of remodeling my bathroom, which had some water damage in front of and under the shower. I was completely unaware that the tile (which was easily twice as thick as anything comparable I've seen in the stores) was set in about 3 inches of cement, layered with chicken wire and metal lathe. To add to the fun, the tile extended around the wall over the tub and on to the next wall, behind the commode, and a half wall seperating the commode from the vanity. By the time we got it all off, we were up to our waists in debris! My brother saved the day, using a wheelbarrow to cart it all out to the driveway so it could be picked up. Luckily, the marble all stayed intact save for a small shelf/seat that had been in the shower.
About 4 years ago I decided to regrout the shower. When I used the grout saw some of the tiles came off. No problem - so I thought. As I continued more tiles came off and I noticed that the greenboard under them was soft. I realized that I had a bigger problem on my hands, but I knew that it had to be addressed. The tile was a very common size from a major manufacturer. I figured that I could get more if needed. The wall damage continued to the next wall and then to the half-wall that separated the spa tub from the shower. No problem I thought. The shower door and glass surround walls were made by a major manufacture that happened to be located a few miles away. I ended removing the shower door and the rest of the glass along with the half wall. Then I realized that the tub had not been installed right. They just sat this huge whirlpool tub on the floor and the only thing holding it in place was the plumbing and gravity. Furthermore, it was about
2 inches too big for the space so they notched the studs on the half wall and buried part of it in the wall. I had to remove the tub. That's when I found out why the tile on the skirt of the tub was failing - they just glued it to a piece of drywall screwed to thin lath pieces. When the tub got deformed from being filled with water it pressed on the skirting and caused the whole thing to bow. When the tub came out I found that the builder just shoved it against the studs without any interior sheathing or insulation! It turned out that the tile was no longer available so I had to removed all the tile from the rest of the room. The insulation and drywall had to come out because of water damage and mold. The tub surround was also not being made any longer. Before it was all over I had to gut the room, put in new insulation and replace all the green board with cement backer board. I had to build a new half wall and design and build a proper support for the tub which got set into a bed or mortar this time around. I built a new surrounds for the shower from glass block and had a new frameless door install. We got a new toilet (why not at this point?), new lighting (recessed cans in the ceiling and a new fixture over the sink). I put in crown molding and a wall mounted TV, painted and wall papered.
Ahah! That could be part of it. Those dark, almost black pans, some called non-stick others not, are awful for baking. The dark pans transmit the heat too quickly to the outer surface of the dough, ceeking that part too soon while the inside remains underdone. Checking and adding extra cooking time just burns the outside of the brownies (or whatever) while the inside is still not done.
Stick with using a shiny stainless steel, or the dull greyish which advertise as non-stick, but still are not. They all need to be greased. The best tip I learned in 30 years of baking was from Barb Schaller's infamous recipe: use parchment paper to line the pan, including up the sides. (You'll figure out how to foldd it in the inside corners.) After cooling, lift out the contents by tghe ends of the paper (you did leave and extra couple of inches at the end), and slide onto a counter or cutting board. Voila! No stick, and a clean pan remainnins (almost). The paper is kind of pricey, but I value my time and convenience.
Shanelle, I've notice that a couple of kind folks have referred to the following recipe. I'm still not sure what makes it so swell, but it is. One thing that is different (to me) is the specification for having the oven rack in the center of the oven. I usually bake on the bottom position, but move the rack up one level for these. I have two pans that I use for these: a Mirro aluminum pan that is about 3" deep and an Ekco that is more like 2" deep. Both work equally well. If you used the same pan for both of your batches, and all other things being equal, perhaps your oven is funky. Can you check it or have it tested?
{ Efficaciously Exported from MasterCook Mac }
Barb Schaller's Famous Orgasmic Chocolate Brownies
Move oven rack to center and preheat oven to 350° F. Line a 9x13" metal baking pan with parchment paper.
In microwave oven, on medium-high power, melt butter and chocolate in
2-quart microwave-safe bowl, about 3 minutes. Stir until smooth. Mix in granulated sugar, then beat in eggs, one at a time, with wire whisk. Mix in vanilla and almond. Stir in nuts. Combine cake flour, baking powder, and salt and fold into chocolate. Spread batter in 9x13" pan lined with baking parchment and bake in preheated oven at 350°F for about 33-35 minutes. Do not overbake; toothpick may have fudgy crumbs on it, but not wet batter.
Cool pan on wire rack for 15 minutes before removing (if you wish) brownies from pan. ????? Notes: Please, keep the moaning down; it annoys the neighbors. I use the baking parchment so the whole can be removed from the pan for easy transport to a lucky recipient. You may want to support the bottom with cardboard when transporting.
First Place, Plain Brownies, 1997 and 2002 Minnesota State Fairs. Didn't win diddly in 2003. Adapted from recipe in Cook's Illustrated magazine, March/April 1994. Please note that I do use real chocolate, unsalted butter and cake flour. If you do not, don't complain to me about it. In fact, don't complain to me about it anyway.
When I read Your message I couldnt have agreed with you more. My brownies never turn out either they are too sticky or they dont cook in the middle. I find if you leave them in for the correct time and you follow the recipe exactly they still dont turn out. I even have trouble baking cookies either they burn or they dont seem cooked or they are really hard when they cool down and I love chewy cookies.
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