Cuisinart SM-35 User Manual - Page 6

• Turn off and unplug the unit. the white prevents the white from whipping • Reduce the load by removing some of the ingredients, and allow the mixer to stand for a few minutes. properly. • S craping the entire bowl - sides, bottom and paddle over the course of mixing and adding • P lug in and reset the speed. If the stand mixer does not start when you turn the speed dial on, allow the unit to stand for new ingredients - ensures even incorporation of ingredients and overall best results. The more you scrape the bowl, the better. additional time. TIPS AND HINTS • Before preheating your oven, adjust racks to accommodate your baking task. Most recipes use the middle rack; pies often bake best in the lower third of the oven. • Carefully follow each mixing step in a recipe. Take care not to over- or under-mix. • F or whipping egg whites, both the mixing bowl and chef's whisk must be spotlessly clean and dry. Any trace of fat/oil will prevent the egg whites from whipping properly. • T o check the freshness of eggs, place them in a bowl of warm water - if they float, they are not fresh. This is most important when using for whipping egg whites. The fresher the eggs, the more stable the foam. • Do not crowd the oven, and avoid opening the oven door during baking - use the oven light to help you watch. With certain recipes, particularly when baking more than one tray of cookies at a time, rotate halfway through baking. • T o melt chocolate for a recipe, put chopped chocolate in a double boiler insert or larger bowl over a pan of barely simmering water. The water should not boil, nor should it touch the bottom of the double boiler insert or bowl. If it does, this could cause the • Proper measurements are very important when baking. To measure flour correctly, stir the flour first, then spoon into the measuring cup. Level off the top with the blunt side of a knife blade or the handle of a spoon. Do not press or compact flour. It is also very important not to measure directly from the bag - while the flour is pre-sifted, it has been pressed/compacted to fit into the bag. Baked goods made from unstirred flour are likely to be heavy and dry because too much flour is used. • For most baking recipes, refrigerated items like butter, milk and eggs incorporate better when they are at room temperature. • Remove butter from the refrigerator and cut into ½-inch pieces to help it come to room temperature faster while you measure out the remaining ingredients. chocolate to "seize" and you will not be able to use it in your recipe. • A lways test yeast for freshness before using it in a recipe. Sprinkle a little over warm (105°F-110°F) water and add a pinch of sugar from the recipe. If it does not become foamy/bubbly in 5 to 10 minutes, the yeast may be "dead." Start over with fresh yeast from a new package. COOKIE BAKING • U se an ice cream scoop to measure out cookie dough - this keeps the cookies evenly shaped and uniform in size. We recommend ice cream scoops in several sizes - #40, #50 and #60, as well as a larger one (about 1⁄3 to ½ cup) for jumbo cookies. Ice cream scoops are also good for filling muffin tins. Use a #16 ice cream scoop to make muffins. • To separate eggs for use in any recipe, break • T o better maintain cookie shapes, put them one at a time into a small bowl. Gently scoops of cookie dough onto sheets of remove the yolks, then transfer the whites to waxed paper or plastic wrap on a tray and a spotlessly clean glass or stainless bowl. If chill before baking. Most cookie dough can a yolk breaks into a white, use that egg for be refrigerated for 2 to 3 days prior to baking another recipe. Just a drop of egg yolk in - be sure to wrap well. 6