What do you think about getting together every Friday 7pm BST (British Summertime) for Kitchen Hour?
Edited 7:45pm BST
Thank you so much to everyone who left a comment in this first Kitchen Hour discussion thread. It’s clear that many people want to join a weekly discussion but are not able to do so within one particular hour of the week.
Going forward, I will set up a new weekly discussion thread and post it each Friday morning around 8 a.m. BST. That way, everyone can participate throughout the day.
Updated 22nd June 2024. This thread is now replaced with an ‘Open Kitchen’ discussion thread, which, beginning 22nd June, will be posted each Saturday with a new theme for us to discussion.
We have a great community on which I want to build.
Lynn x
Would that suit most people? Let me know in the comments..
A few other substack food writers and I will be around for about an hour to answer any questions, but anyone can join in and keep the conversation going for a further hour or so after that.
All questions will be related to food. eg meal planning, growing your own. Searching for a recipe. We can work things out as we go along.
Kitchen Hour. What do you think of the title?
I am open to all ideas.
I am posting this early Friday morning, 7:45am ish BST Summer Solstice, to see what response there is throughout the day. From then on, I will post a new Kitchen Hour Thread each Friday at 7 p.m. You will also find the Kitchen Hour tab on the main web page.
What do you think? Please leave a comment below or ask a question. Let’s start the conversation and connect with each other.
If any of the library publication writers want to be around for the hour and contribute regularly to Kitchen Hour, feel free to join in and introduce yourself.
Hi Lynn, just stopping by to say hello and that this is a great idea. I will try to join or follow the thread when possible. Thanks for creating this new community. 👐
It's great to have you here Sarah. Please join in when you can. I think opening up the discussion for one hour a week isn't going to be acceptable to everyone, so the discussion can carry on for the whoel day if needed so that people can drop in when they feel like it.
I would love to have your Substack publication listed in the library. Here's the form to fill in if it interests you.https://forms.gle/8TETr9pFJzPWkQ2PA
Kitchen hour sounds great, and love the way you are opening up your kitchen. Friday night at the mo is my main family time. Don't let this change your plans. I'm sure this is great for other folk. Looking forward to hearing/reading about it.
Thanks for joining the discussion. I think the best option is to make it a 24 hour Kitchen Hour, if that makes sense. That way people can dip in and out of the discussion when they have the time.
Good idea, Lynn. I'm not always available as I'm gardening on Fridays and my energy levelsl have often departed by early evening. It's a great space to be able to ask and answer questions.
I've just come in from the garden myself. The neighbours are having a party outside and the music is pretty good. So I thought I'd water my plants to the beat. :-)
To make this discussion accessible to everyone, I may upload a new thread each Friday morning BST so that the community can join in when they have the time, rather than just for 1 hour each week. In the same way I am doing here.
Great, thanks! I suspect the wider surface area provided by a round cake pan allows the moisture from the batter to dissipate more quickly and more evenly as it cooks. We'll certainly give the baking bands a try though – should help, even with a rectangular loaf pan.
Yeah I think other people have mentioned that the app doesn't allow us to post photos in these chats. Oh well, maybe they'll add the function later on.
Hi Lynn, what a great idea, thanks for hosting this!
Sadly I won't be able to attend the first Kitchen Hour today, but here's an issue I've run into, and maybe other home bakers would be interested too – how to adjust a cake recipe for a pan that's not the size specified.
Think this has happened to a lot of us – you just can't get the right size, or you need a cake that's more "travel-friendly".
Latest conversion attempt: A very basic sponge cake (leavened with eggs only, no baking agents, no oil, no dairy). From an 8" round cake pan (full recipe) to a 7x4" loaf pan (half the recipe).
- Round cake pan, at 180C for 20 min (as specified in the recipe): Nice and fluffy.
- Loaf pan, 180C, 25 min: Top had a huge crack down one side. Also a bit dry.
- Loaf pan, 170C, 30 min: Only minor cracks. But still a bit dry.
Lowering the temp to factor in the smaller surface area seems to have helped, so we're thinking of doing 160C next, for 25 min only. Any ideas from other bakers in the chat?
Thank your for being the first to comment. I will be around at 7pm this evening BST to moderate and anwser any more comments.
As for your question, working out the different size tins to use and how to adjust quantities is often trial and error. My sponge cakes always use a raising agent and contain butter, so my mixture will behave differently from yours.
When I make a cake using a loaf tin, it nearly always cracks along the centre line. Circular cakes, not so much. In fact, I get a nice flat surface using baking bands (soaked in water) wrapped around the outside of the circular cake tins.
Actually a cracked top isn't really a deal breaker for us, unless we're taking the cake to a potluck. Personally, I rather like the rustic look haha. But we'd like the cake to come out as moist and fluffy if possible. As you say, trial and error – we'll update after our next try.
I prefer the rustic look too. Keep us all posted and perhaps we will have other members give their thoughts and you can check for responses later today.
Lynn, I really like how you've opened your kitchen to everyone here. What a great way to get folks interacting! I can't wait to see what you cook up!
Thanks. It's a shame we can't add images to the comments.
Hi Lynn, just stopping by to say hello and that this is a great idea. I will try to join or follow the thread when possible. Thanks for creating this new community. 👐
It's great to have you here Sarah. Please join in when you can. I think opening up the discussion for one hour a week isn't going to be acceptable to everyone, so the discussion can carry on for the whoel day if needed so that people can drop in when they feel like it.
I would love to have your Substack publication listed in the library. Here's the form to fill in if it interests you.https://forms.gle/8TETr9pFJzPWkQ2PA
Kitchen hour sounds great, and love the way you are opening up your kitchen. Friday night at the mo is my main family time. Don't let this change your plans. I'm sure this is great for other folk. Looking forward to hearing/reading about it.
Thanks for joining the discussion. I think the best option is to make it a 24 hour Kitchen Hour, if that makes sense. That way people can dip in and out of the discussion when they have the time.
Good idea, Lynn. I'm not always available as I'm gardening on Fridays and my energy levelsl have often departed by early evening. It's a great space to be able to ask and answer questions.
I've just come in from the garden myself. The neighbours are having a party outside and the music is pretty good. So I thought I'd water my plants to the beat. :-)
To make this discussion accessible to everyone, I may upload a new thread each Friday morning BST so that the community can join in when they have the time, rather than just for 1 hour each week. In the same way I am doing here.
Great, thanks! I suspect the wider surface area provided by a round cake pan allows the moisture from the batter to dissipate more quickly and more evenly as it cooks. We'll certainly give the baking bands a try though – should help, even with a rectangular loaf pan.
I had hoped to be able to post a picture as a comment, of the baking bands wrapped around the tins. But it appears we can't.
Yeah I think other people have mentioned that the app doesn't allow us to post photos in these chats. Oh well, maybe they'll add the function later on.
Uploading photos will require a great deal of hosting for them.
Hi Lynn, what a great idea, thanks for hosting this!
Sadly I won't be able to attend the first Kitchen Hour today, but here's an issue I've run into, and maybe other home bakers would be interested too – how to adjust a cake recipe for a pan that's not the size specified.
Think this has happened to a lot of us – you just can't get the right size, or you need a cake that's more "travel-friendly".
Latest conversion attempt: A very basic sponge cake (leavened with eggs only, no baking agents, no oil, no dairy). From an 8" round cake pan (full recipe) to a 7x4" loaf pan (half the recipe).
- Round cake pan, at 180C for 20 min (as specified in the recipe): Nice and fluffy.
- Loaf pan, 180C, 25 min: Top had a huge crack down one side. Also a bit dry.
- Loaf pan, 170C, 30 min: Only minor cracks. But still a bit dry.
Lowering the temp to factor in the smaller surface area seems to have helped, so we're thinking of doing 160C next, for 25 min only. Any ideas from other bakers in the chat?
Thank your for being the first to comment. I will be around at 7pm this evening BST to moderate and anwser any more comments.
As for your question, working out the different size tins to use and how to adjust quantities is often trial and error. My sponge cakes always use a raising agent and contain butter, so my mixture will behave differently from yours.
When I make a cake using a loaf tin, it nearly always cracks along the centre line. Circular cakes, not so much. In fact, I get a nice flat surface using baking bands (soaked in water) wrapped around the outside of the circular cake tins.
I’m sure others will be able to give some advice.
Sharing this as it relates and may be useful, I find myself referencing this article by Alice Medrich a lot when trying to scale a recipe up or down.
https://food52.com/blog/13239-how-to-make-your-baking-recipe-fit-your-pan-size
Thanks Sarah. I'm sure Leana will find it interesting. Shame we can't tag people in these comments either.
Oh Medrich is such a great resource, thanks!
Actually a cracked top isn't really a deal breaker for us, unless we're taking the cake to a potluck. Personally, I rather like the rustic look haha. But we'd like the cake to come out as moist and fluffy if possible. As you say, trial and error – we'll update after our next try.
I prefer the rustic look too. Keep us all posted and perhaps we will have other members give their thoughts and you can check for responses later today.
Definitely!