5 holiday baking tips
Fiddling with pie crust, fretting that your bread won’t rise and praying that cakes and cookies turn out perfectly can be nerve-wracking. Don’t you wish you had a pro by your side during the holidays? Well, here’s the next best thing: Baking tips from Henk Drakulich, executive chef at Southern California’s La Brea Bakery.
Chances are good that you’ve tasted La Brea’s fare. The bakery’s ciabatta, sourdough and seasonal cranberry-walnut loaves and holiday stuffing rolls are sold in markets across the Bay Area, and there are La Brea cafes in Downtown Disney, as well as other locations.
Now Drakulich — whose “Game of Thrones” warrior-prince sounding name comes from his Serbian-American father; his mother is Italian — is sharing five helpful holiday baking secrets.
1. Put vodka in your pastry crust.
Sounds crazy but Drakulich makes pie dough 50 pounds at a time so hear him out. “Without getting technical, water makes flour develop gluten. Vodka does not create gluten in flour. Vodka is a bland liquid and its flavor doesn’t come through,” he says. “Look for that recipe and substitute 10-20 percent of your water with vodka.” We’ll drink to that!
2. Make sure bread dough has risen properly.
Home bakers tend to underproof their breads. “Once you think it’s ready, give it another half-hour.” And while we’re on the subject of bread, here’s a bonus tip: Bake breads partway and freeze them. “You don’t want to be worrying about dough and proofing on the day before Christmas. Bake it 80 percent and keep it in the fridge a couple of days, then pop it back in the oven for five or 10 minutes.”
3. Practice any new recipes.
“Make it a couple of weeks ahead to make sure it comes out correctly. If you’ve never made it before, and something doesn’t look right, then you go into panic mode. Take the element of surprise out of the equation.”
4. Do the math.
If you’re cooking for a crowd you’ll be doubling and tripling dishes. Make calculations and print out a fresh copy of the recipe. “When I’m doing volume recipes and multiplying by 10, that’s when I make mistakes.”
5. Use leftover holiday bread.
Drakulich made panettone and pandoro growing up and always saved the remains. “Make it into French toast and desserts. The drier it gets the more royale (milk, cream and eggs) it soaks up and it becomes even richer.” And use any leftover La Brea stuffing rolls to bake your dressing. “It’s a shortcut because it already has sage and thyme in it.”