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Cristof de Loet

Baking

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    TIL: It’s really hard, to the point of practical impossibility, to over-knead yeast bread dough by hand…but very easy not to knead enough! 🍞

    Can You OVERKNEAD Bread Dough By Hand? (Yeasted) - Bake with Jack

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    Purists will probably say it’s a crutch, but using this (Rubbermaid) Clear 16-Cup Measuring Cup makes it much easier to judge when a dough has doubled. 🍞

    I marked the initial state with a rubber band (this is obviously a bit more than double).

    If only it had truly straight sides!

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    Benne Wafers

    (I forgot to take pictures of the finished cookies. They didn’t last long!]

    Ingredients

    • 4 ounces unsalted butter
    • 3/4 cup sesame seeds (sometimes I sub. in 1/4 cup chia seeds because I like the contrast)
    • 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
    • 1/3 teaspoon fine sea salt
    • 1 large egg
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla paste or extract
    • 1/2 cup all purpose flour

    Directions

    1. Preheat the oven to 325°F.
    2. Put the butter and sesame seeds in a medium pot set over medium heat and cook, stirring, until the seeds are a pale golden brown and the milk solids are fragrant. The butter will melt and then foam as you stir. When the foaming dissipates, you are usually done. Remove from heat immediately to prevent the solids from burning and transfer the seeds and butter to a medium sized heatproof bowl.
    3. Add the dark brown sugar and salt and stir with a silicone spatula until all the sugar dissolves.
    4. Add the egg and stir quickly to incorporate.
    5. Add the vanilla and mix to blend.
    6. Finally, add the flour and stir until it forms a thick batter. Then set it aside for at least 5 minutes to hydrate and thicken.
    7. Line your sheet pans with parchment paper.
    8. Uuse a small sorbet scoop or a teaspoon to portion the dough. Drop scoops of the dough 2 inches apart on the sheet pans.
    9. Bake for 12-13 minutes until golden brown around the edges for classic benne wafers of for 14-15 minutes until the cookies are golden brown for crunchy benne wafers.
    10. Let cool for 5-7 minutes and then transfer the cookies to a rack to cool completely.

    Source: IDEAS IN FOOD: Quick, Easy, Super Delicious Benne Wafers