(continued)

bert:
How do you temper chocolate?

DorieGreenspan:
Bert -- I don't type fast enough to answer your question about tempering chocolate, but you might take a look at Alice Medrich's Chocolate Ruffle Cake recipe in Baking with Julia -- it includes information on tempering --

Cookie Monster:
What makes chewy brownies chewy? I love chewy brownies.

DorieGreenspan:
Cookie Monster -- chewy brownies often have brown sugar -- they're also a slightly different recipe from cakey brownies -- I take it you're a chewy fan?

PieFace:
Dorie, sometimes I use double-skim-milk (twice the powder) instead of heavy cream. Is this killing my recipes? Is it Just Wrong?

DorieGreenspan:
Pie Face -- double-skim milk instead of cream? At holiday time? Really?

FrederickCooke:
How old were you when you first started baking?

DorieGreenspan:
Frederick -- I burned the kitchen down when I was in 7th grade -- that was my first experience -- ever the optimist, I knew it could only get better

Josh Greenspan:
Hi mom

DorieGreenspan:
Hi Josh --

Judy:
I need to substitute something for milk in recipes because of lactose intolerance. Do you suggest, for baking, soy milk, rice milk, nondairy creamer, or none of the above?

DorieGreenspan:
Judy -- why not opt for meringues or Viennese nut tortes -- can you have butter?

Judy:
Yes, I can have butter and also heavy cream in reasonable amounts (how much is reasonable? I don't know.)

DorieGreenspan:
Judy -- if you can have butter then there are lots and lots of great desserts you can make -- and then you can top them with a reasonable amount of whipped cream.

Judy:
Thanks for your suggestions!

Brendan:
What's the best way to tell when baked goods are done? Is the old clean knife in the cake the most effective way?

DorieGreenspan:
Brendan -- not to complicate matters, but the same tests don't always work for all cakes -- but for most cakes, the knife-comes-out-clean test works.

Kevin Staff:
Dorie - Are there any one week or weekend workshops in baking that you would recommend to expand a persons baking knowledge?

DorieGreenspan:
Kevin -- Where do you live?

Kevin Staff:
Southern California

DorieGreenspan:
Bristol Farms in Pasadena does classes, and you should look at Shaw Guides -- it has an international listing of cooking and baking classes.

food processor:
Dorie, do you ever bake with those butters that have greater fat content?

DorieGreenspan:
food processor -- I've used those high-fat butters for pastry -- especially puff pastry -- but my everyday butter is Land O'Lakes unsalted from the supermarket.

Kenny:
Josh G., do you also bake like your mom? or burn down the kitchen?

JoshGreenspan:
Um, I can bake.... does breakfast count? No, I wish I could. Sandwiches and 15 Minute Magic are about it

Cookie Monster:
Where is your favorite place to go out for dessert in New York?

doriegreenspan:
Cookie Monster -- my new favorite -- and I think it's going to be my favorite for a long time -- is Payard. The pastry chef is Francois Payard from Restaurant Daniel, and he's really talented.

Brendan:
I love freshly baked bread, but it seems like such a lot of work. Are any of those "automatic" bread makers any good, or is the good old fashioned way the best method?

doriegreenspan:
Brendan -- I've turned out ok loaves from the bread machine -- take a look at the bread machine recipes in Baking with Julia or look at Lora Brody's bread machine books (one on breads, one on desserts) -- she's the queen of the machine.

Brendan:
Thanks!!

PieFace:
Okay, it's me again, the low-fat person. Sometimes I use this pureed fruit stuff instead of fat, and sometimes I cut the fat in half and use mushed up bananas to make up the rest. Does that horrify you? Are there better ways to cut the fat?

DorieGreenspan:
No, I'm not horrified, but I've never used that method for cutting fat, though I know a lot of people who have and who have been happy with the results, particularly with muffins and loaf cakes. I wouldn't try it in a pie crust, though.