Klaus Tenbergen

Q: With such a large variety of fresh apples available, which varieties are best for baking?
J.F., Easton, Pa.

A: More than 7,000 varieties of apples exist, and plenty work well for baking. Look at apples' sugar content; baking apples should be tarter than apples you just eat. The Gravenstein apple is harvested early, and is considered by many to be the best apple for baking pies and tarts, but the Granny Smith has supplanted it as the premier baking apple. For baked apples that need to retain their shape, Braeburn, Empire and Rome apples are all excellent choices. For uses where the apples don't need to retain their shape, McIntosh, Jonathon and Jonagold varieties also are good choices.

Q: We are using fresh mint to garnish many of our desserts and beverages. What types work well with baked products?
D.S., Glen Mills, Pa.

A: Fresh chocolate mint leaves are a great revelation. Chocolate mint leaves smell and taste like mint and yes, chocolate. This remarkable herb comes from the spearmint family and has a purple stem with green leaves. You can use it like any mint plant in drinks, salads, desserts, sauces or as a garnish. More than 600 varieties of mint span many categories of flavor, including peppermint, spearmint, lemon, chocolate, pineapple, ginger, orange and apple.

Q: Our bakery is known for using locally grown ingredients, and we have several elder trees in our area. Can elderberries be used in baking?
Christine, via e-mail

A: Elderberries are small, dark berries that grow in clusters on elderberry bushes. The European elder, or Sambucus nigra are black to dark blue, and it's the type of elderberry most frequently used in baking. Do not use the red elderberries. The white flowers of the elderberry bush can be lightly battered and fried into fritters, or stirred into muffins or sponge cakes for a light, sweet flavor. The ripe berries, cleaned and cooked, can be made into many things: extracts, syrups, pies, jams or used as a garnish, dye or flavoring. Elderberries have tiny seeds that tend to stay crunchy even after baking; for this reason, many bakers like to use elderberries in conjunction with other fruits, such as apples or pears, to produce mild flavor and smooth texture.

Q: We converted some of our formulas from compressed yeast to dry yeast. But now all the doughs are rather dry. Did we do something wrong while converting the formulas?
J.B., Hopkins, S.C.

A: When converting from compressed to dry yeast, you need to make some provision for the water that is added to the dough formulation. For each 1 oz. or 1 pint of dry yeast, you may want to add 2 ozs. or 2 pints of water to compensate for the decrease in water not contained in the dry yeast.

Q: Our customers really like our donuts, which we make from scratch. But we are not pleased with the color of the finished product as these donuts are too light in color. What can we do to improve crust color of our donuts?
Annette, via e-mail

A: Adding 2 percent dextrose/glucose (based on the total flour weight) to donuts batter will improve crust color, so will the use of nonfat milk solids that aid in crust color development.

Q: What is salt rising bread, and is it made with natural or chemical leavening agents?
Lori, via e-mail

A: Salt rising or salt risen bread is bread in which the bacterium clostridium perfringens is used to leaven the bread rather than yeast or baking soda. The salt is used in the starter to suppress yeast growth and provide a more hospitable environment for the clostridium perfringens bacterium. This allows the flavors from the bacterial metabolic products to predominate over the more typical yeast and lactobacillus flavors in situations where reduced salt might be necessary. Salt rising bread is an artisan bread made from wheat flour with a starter consisting of a liquid (water or milk); corn, potato or wheat flour and some other minor ingredients. The starter distinguishes itself from a sourdough starter by working best with an incubation period of six to 16 hours at temperatures ranging from 98°F to 113° F (38°C to 45°C); a sourdough starter will usually work best at or below room temperature. The resulting bread has a dense crumb and favorable cheese-like flavor.

Q: We are trying to make our own hard shell ice cream topping, but what ingredient hardens the shell?
Steve, via e-mail

A: Hard shell topping gives plain ice cream a little crunch and flavor that is delightful. Edible, food-grade paraffin wax and soybean oil is mixed with chocolate to create the hard shell topping. Once the ice cream is dipped, the topping remains slightly warm and pliable.

Q: We have used both brown and white eggs in our bakery. Is there a difference in the eggs beyond shell color?
Gonzalo, via e-mail

A: The simple answer to your question is that, beyond the color, there is no difference. White and brown eggs are nutritionally identical. The color of chicken eggs is determined by materials that are deposited while the eggs develop inside the hen's oviduct. Some chickens deposit white pigments, while others deposit brown pigments. Some chicken breeds, such as the Aracauna and Americauna, lay blue to green eggs, just to add to the color spectrum.

Q: Can you share some guidelines on how much filling we should use in our coffee cakes?
Reza, via e-mail

A: The amount of filling used for a Danish dough may vary from 8 percent for a melt-away or vanilla cream filling to as much as 30 percent for a hazelnut, cinnamon and pecan filling or even 35 percent for a coconut filling based on the total laminated dough weight.