Short Stuff

So what’s “short” about shortcake, or short bread, or shortening for that matter? A short cake is “short” because it doesn’t rise very high. That sounds like a glib answer to that question, but it’s true. Fat, by gunking up the bonding sites at the end of gluten molecules, prevents strong gluten networks from forming. […]

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Horse Sense

One of the great advantages of being a resident of Louisville the week before Derby is being able to rise before sun-up and go watch the horses warm up at Churchill Downs. Standing in the dirt while the horses fly down the track…well let’s just say it’s one of those take-your-breath away moments that are […]

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For the Week of April 30, 2007

Well it’s that magic time of year again, the Kentucky Derby. I know absolutely nothing about horses, but if you live in Louisville, you have no choice but to join the party. That means plenty of local buffet table specialties like Benedictine, pimento cheese sandwiches and bowls of burgoo. Copious mint juleps are obviously a […]

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Site Update

For those of you wondering if my categories (volume-to-weight charts, pizza recipes, book lists, etc.) and links are ever coming back, they are. The same stomach bug that struck the pastry household last week (happily there was plenty of yogurt around) seems to have struck my developer as well. The good stuff should all be […]

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Eye Pastry

It’s been a long week of science with precious little connection to the actual practice of baking. Just to show I haven’t totally lost touch with pastry reality, here are the eclairs I assembled this afternoon for one of the wife’s departmental meetings (thank God eclair shells freeze so well). Here’s to the end of […]

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So What’s With the Yogurt Container Thing?

It’s a marketing gimmick of course. Something some clever French yogurt company executive thought of to sell more yogurt. Not unlike the marshmallow treats recipe on the back of every box of Rice Krispies, except in this you measure out the cake with the container the yogurt came in. Western popular food culture is of […]

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I Own This Town

Getting those coffee cakes baked off in time for the wife to take them to her early class meant rising about 5:30. The first order of business was to acquire some new eggs (I wasn’t about to use those runny old things for my glaze). Happily the mega-mart two blocks away is open all night. […]

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On the Rarity of Really Good Eggs

Every baker has a go-to pastry. The thing you can do with you eyes closed, that never fails to impress, the ingredients for which are always at-the-ready for when surprise guests show up, a neighbor’s great uncle dies or your spouse commits you to a bake sale without your knowledge. For me it’s coffee cake. […]

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Hello Kiddies…

Well it’s been quite a week. The site went down Friday, came back Saturday and remained stuck in cardiac arrhythmia all week. Things are just starting to come back together now, but hopefully the joepastry.com experience will be vastly improved going forward. I have a new host and upgraded software which should both speed things […]

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