"how to" news and stories

Thinking about making whipped cream? Find out the best way to make it so that you can maximize every ingredient and whip the cream easier to a higher volume.

It's the bacon sensation that's sweeping the nation, and now one of the innovators of the Bacon Explosion tells Slashfood just what you'll need to perfect this smoked wonder for your celebration.

Ever since Jason Day and his barbecue buddy Aaron Chronister first blogged about the Bacon Explosion on Dec. 23, 2008, bacon fans have been drooling over the four-pound pork-roll concoction, a smoked bacon-and-pork meat treat that's found fans from Facebook to the New York Times.

"We compete as Burnt Finger BBQ, and it was just to generate some funds to help us support our hobby," said Day, a 27-year-old Kansas City Barbecue Society competitor from Roeland Park, Kan. "I guess we just struck a chord with America and the world."

Unlike plastic cutting boards, wooden cutting boards need to be dealt with differently to preserve their quality. Find out quick and easy ways to clean and to remove stains from wooden cutting boards.

If you bake a lot of bread, you've almost certainly come across directions to fold the dough. In times past, bread recipes instructed you to punch down the dough after it had fermented, though now bakers are generally directed to "deflate" the dough. Folding accomplishes the same goals as deflating, but with some added benefits.

Folding is a technique that's more often used with wetter, or more hydrated, bread doughs, as well as doughs that have been underdeveloped for some reason or other. Doing this procedure does two things: it redistributes air/gasses and evens out temperature, and it aligns/develops the gluten structure. Deflating only accomplishes the redistribution element of folding, but that's really all that's needed for less hydrated doughs. Folding is always used as part of the fermentation stage. Generally, you'll proof the dough for an hour (first rise), fold it, then let it proof (rise) for another hour or so. An under-developed, wet dough can be fermented for many hours with multiple folds.

Now that's artisan bread.

To fold, first flour your work surface fairly well. Turn your dough out onto it and pat out most of the gas. I like to work left to right, top to bottom, but use whatever directions work for you as long as you hit all points of the compass. Take the first side, stretch it out and fold it onto the middle of the dough. Repeat this for the opposing side, then do the same thing to the top and bottom. To finish, get you hands under the dough and turn it over so that the smooth side is on top. Then put it back into whatever proofing container you're using and let the dough finish proofing. Check out the gallery below for images matching the directions.

Although not at the same time. The folks over at World Hum feature lots of wonderful information on traveling and things you should know before flying off to a new country. In a recent feature, a Terry Ward walks you through how to behave and what to expect when eating with your new French friends.

For those of you who are challenged when it comes to getting all the husk and silk off an ear of corn, wikiHow has some guidance for you, along with step-by-step instructions to ensure that you do it correctly. My favorite piece of wisdom from their article is how they instruct you to deal with any little critters you might find in your corn, "While they look unpleasant, there is no need to discard the ear. Just cut away the damaged portion." Waste not, want not!

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