A pretzelz is a type of baked bread product made from dough most commonly shaped into a twisted knot. Pretzels originated in Europe, possibly among monks in the Early Middle Ages.[1] The traditional pretzel shape is a distinctive nonsymmetrical pleasing form, with the ends of a long strip of dough intertwined and then twisted back into itself in a certain way ("a pretzel loop"). Pretzels now come in different shapes. Salt is the most common seasoning for pretzels, complementing the washing soda or lye treatment that gives pretzels their traditional "skin" and flavor through the Maillard reaction; other seasonings include sugars, chocolate, glazes, seeds, and/or nuts.
Banana bread is a type of bread made from mashed bananas. It is often a moist, sweet, cake-like quick bread; however, there are some banana bread recipes that are traditional-style raised breads.
Banana bread first became a standard feature of American cookbooks with the popularization of baking soda and baking powder in the 1930s. It appeared in Pillsbury's 1933 Balanced Recipes cookbook, and later gained more acceptance with the release of the original Chiquita Banana's Recipe Book in 1950.
National Banana Bread day is 23 February. Bananas appeared in the US in the 1870s and it took a while for them to appear as ingredient items for desserts. The modern banana bread recipe began being published in cookbooks around the 1930s and its popularity was greatly helped by the introduction of baking powder on the market. Some food historians believe banana bread was a byproduct of the Great Depression as resourceful housewives did not wish to throw away overripe bananas (as they were still a costly item to purchase), others believe the modern banana bread was developed in corporate kitchens to promote flour and baking soda products.
Chocolate cake is made with chocolate; it can be made with other ingredients, as well. These ingredients include fudge, vanilla creme, and other sweeteners. The history of chocolate cake goes back to 1764, when Dr. James Baker discovered how to make chocolate by grinding cocoa beans between two massive circular millstones.
The Duff Company of Pittsburgh, a molasses manufacturer, introduced Devil's food chocolate cake mixes in the mid-1930s, but introduction was put on hold during World War II. Duncan Hines introduced a "Three Star Special" (so called because a white, yellow or chocolate cake could be made from the same mix) was introduced three years after cake mixes from General Mills and Duncan Hines, and took over 48 percent of the market.In 1828, Conrad Van Houten of the Netherlands developed a mechanical extraction method for extracting the fat from cacao liquor resulting in cacao butter and the partly defatted cacao, a compacted mass of solids that could be sold as it was "rock cacao" or ground into powder. The processes transformed chocolate from an exclusive luxury to an inexpensive daily snack. A process for making silkier and smoother chocolate called conching was developed in 1879 by Rodolphe Lindt and made it easier to bake with chocolate as it amalgamates smoothly and completely with cake batters. Until 1890 to 1900, chocolate recipes were mostly for drinks.
In the U.S., "chocolate decadence" cakes were popular in the 1980s; in the 1990s, single-serving molten chocolate cakes with liquid chocolate centers and infused chocolates with exotic flavors such as tea, curry, red pepper, passion fruit, and champagne were popular. Chocolate lounges and artisanal chocolate makers were popular in the 2000s. Rich, flourless, all-but-flourless chocolate cakes are "now standard in the modern pâtisserie," according to The New Taste of Chocolate.
The dessert is named not directly after the Black Forest (Schwarzwald) mountain range in southwestern Germany but rather from the specialty liquor of that region, known as Schwarzwälder Kirsch(wasser) and distilled from tart cherries. This is the ingredient, with its distinctive cherry pit flavor and alcoholic content, that gives the dessert its flavor. Cherries, cream, and Kirschwasser were first combined in the form of a dessert in which cooked cherries were served with cream and Kirschwasser, while a cake combining cherries, cookies / biscuits and cream (but without Kirschwasser) probably originated in Germany.
Today, the Swiss canton of Zug is world-renowned for its Zuger Kirschtorte, a cookie / biscuit-based cake which formerly contained no Kirschwasser. A version from the canton of Basel also exists. The confectioner Josef Keller (de) (1887–1981) claimed to have invented Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte in its present form in 1915 at the then prominent Café Agner in Bad Godesberg, now a suburb of Bonn about 500 km north of the Black Forest. This claim, however, has never been substantiated.
Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte was first mentioned in writing in 1934. At the time it was particularly associated with Berlin but was also available from high-class confectioners in other German, Austrian, and Swiss cities. In 1949 it took 13th place in a list of best-known German cakes, and since that time Schwarzwälder Kirschtorte has become world-renowned.
An ancient form of cheesecake may have been a popular dish in ancient Greece even prior to Romans' adoption of it with the conquest of Greece.The earliest attested mention of a cheesecake is by the Greek physician Aegimus, who wrote a book on the art of making cheesecakes.Erliest extant cheesecake recipes are found in Cato the Elder's De Agri Cultura, which includes recipes for two cakes for religious uses: libum and placenta. Of the two, placenta is most like most modern cheesecakes, having a crust that is separately prepared and baked.
A more modern version is found in Forme of Cury, an English cookbook from 1390. On this basis, chef Heston Blumenthal has argued that cheesecake is an English invention.
Modern commercial American cream cheese was developed in 1872, when William Lawrence, from Chester, New York, while looking for a way to recreate the soft, French cheese Neufchâtel, accidentally came up with a way of making an "unripened cheese" that is heavier and creamier; other dairymen came up with similar creations independently.
The type of modern cheesecake that has an uncooked, cream-cheese filling on a cookie-crumb base is an American invention that differs greatly from English cheesecakes, which traditionally include dried fruits and spices and are baked in the oven.
Cheesecake is a sweet dessert consisting of one or more layers. The main, and thickest layer, consists of a mixture of soft, fresh cheese (typically cream cheese or ricotta), eggs, and sugar; if there is a bottom layer it often consists of a crust or base made from crushed cookies (or digestive biscuits), graham crackers, pastry, or sponge cake.[1] It may be baked or unbaked (usually refrigerated). Cheesecake is usually sweetened with sugar and may be flavored or topped with fruit, whipped cream, nuts, cookies, fruit sauce, and/or chocolate syrup. Cheesecake can be prepared in many flavors, such as strawberry, pumpkin, key lime, chocolate, Oreo, chestnut, or toffee.
Favorite basic kitchen tools for baking starts with pans. Always want to make sure to get a nice quality 8 or 9 inch round and square pan. These are great for brownies, these are great for cakes, and make sure get two of each. That way can make a double layer cake, or a double layer square cake. Those are really important. They should be nice and heavy, good materials, and do not want to get something that is very thin. That way they will have even cooking temperature and cake will turn out right every time.
Another important tool for your kitchen is a cupcake pan, or a muffin tin. Now, cupcakes could not be more popular these days, so it is really important to have a cupcake tin on hand. Obviously these are also really great for muffins, they are original concept. But, want to make sure that it is nice and non-stick, scratch free, and, again a good quality metal, so get even heat distribution and everything turns out the same every time. And make sure get at least two, that way you can use the whole package and make twenty four-cupcakes or twenty four-muffins.
Another really important tool in the kitchen is a sheet tray. Now this is considered in restaurant cooking a half sheet tray and it is really important. These fit really nicely in oven. Good construction, they are made of solid aluminum, and can keep them nice and clean because of that. They have excellent heat retention, so everything bakes evenly every time, and they are very professional.
Now, to make it easier to cook, can use what is called a sil pad, a silicone pad. See how this one fits perfectly inside half sheet tray? It is made for that, so make sure buy the right size. Now, a silicone pad is awesome, because it is always nonstick, it rolls up and takes up really small space in cabinet and it keeps everything from sticking, from chicken wings to brownies.
Now lets talk about some utensils for baking. Of course a really good whisk is important. I like to have a nice metal whisk with an easy handle to hold, because sometimes with baking are whisking for a long time, and want to make sure it is a nice, comfortable utensil. Also, a pastry brush, make sure you get a nice quality pastry brush. That way can brush on butter on phyllo dough or chocolate on cookies and it will turn out great every time.
Now something that is really important for baking is understanding the difference between a wet measuring cup and dry measuring cups. When measuring water, oil, or honey want to make sure you use a wet measuring cup. It has a spout, it has a handle, and it looks like a pitcher. It also has the measurements right on the side. When measuring flour, cornmeal, or sugar should use a dry measuring cup. This makes a big difference, especially in baking.
Baking is a science, so if ingredients are off a little bit thing may not go as planned. So want to make sure that liquids go in here and dry ingredients go in here. If measure a half a cup of flour in here and pour it in here, it will not measure a half a cup. Go ahead, test it, if do not believe me. But make sure that this is for dry stuff and this is for wet stuff, and baking goods will turn out awesome every time. And those are my favorite equipment and utensils need for baking in kitchen