The Clueless Baker. Evelyn Raab

in the wheat germ can turn funny after a while at warm room temperature.

      Gluten-free all-purpose flour is a wheat-free product that can be substituted for regular wheat-based all-purpose flour in many recipes. Gluten-free flour is usually some blend of garbanzo flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, sorghum flour, rice flour and/or cornstarch, among other things. Different commercial brands of gluten-free flour are made of different combinations of ingredients. As a very general rule, if a recipe contains ½ cup (125 ml) or less of regular flour, you can substitute the same quantity of gluten-free flour. The results will probably be slightly different from the original version of the recipe, but if you must avoid gluten, it’s definitely worth experimenting.

      Chocolate. Need we say more?

      Well, yes, actually. We need to say lots more. Because there’s lots to say.

      Chocolate is made from the fruit of a tropical bush. You pick the beans, whack off their shells, roast them and then squeeze out the juice — from which, eventually, chocolate is made. The juice, technically called cocoa liquor, contains both the cocoa solids (the chocolate-flavored part) and cocoa butter (the creamy smooth melt-in-your-mouth part). These two substances are combined in different proportions, with varying amounts of sugar, to make your basic hunk of chocolate.

      Unsweetened chocolate is a mixture of cocoa solids and cocoa butter. No sugar. It has an intense chocolate flavor and is often used in baking when you’re looking for a big chocolate hit without added sweetness. It comes in 1-ounce (28 g) squares (usually in a package of six or eight, which you can find in the baking aisle of the supermarket), or in chunks or squares in a bulk food store. It is absolutely not delicious until you do something with it — a fact that anyone who has accidentally taken a bite of unsweetened chocolate can confirm.

      Semisweet (or bittersweet) chocolate is a mixture of cocoa solids, cocoa butter and sugar (along with various other ingredients added for flavor and texture). Semisweet chocolate contains more sugar than bittersweet chocolate does, but they’re both deliciously edible and are interchangeable in recipes. Semisweet chocolate is commonly sold in packages of eight 1-ounce (28 g) squares, or in the form of large and small bars meant for eating. It’s often better to buy a big bar of good-quality eating chocolate than a package of baking chocolate squares, but you’ll need an accurate kitchen scale to weigh the right amount for your recipe.

      Chocolate chips are usually semisweet chocolate specially formulated to hold its shape when baked in a cookie or cake. In general, you can usually substitute semisweet chocolate chips for an equal weight (hello, digital scale!) of semisweet baking chocolate chunks or bars in recipes where you melt the chocolate. See chapter 1 for equivalent amounts when using chocolate chips in place of semisweet baking chocolate (and vice versa).

      Milk chocolate is mild, creamy and very sweet. It’s made with more sugar than semisweet chocolate is and contains milk solids, as well as other ingredients for flavor and texture. Only occasionally used in baking, milk chocolate is usually just munched in the form of chocolate bars and Easter bunnies. Even though it doesn’t pack a huge chocolate wallop, you still gotta love it, because, after all, it is chocolate.

      White chocolate is pure cocoa butter mixed with sugar and a few other odds and ends for flavor and texture. The cocoa solids (the brown part that tastes like chocolate) have been left out of the picture. A good-quality white chocolate tastes rich and creamy, and is available in chips, chunks, disks and bars. White chocolate can’t be used as a substitute for other types of chocolate — it’s a different animal altogether.

      Unsweetened cocoa powder is basically just processed cocoa solids that have been ground up to a powder. No sugar, no cocoa butter, no nothing else. It is often used in baking to add a serious chocolate punch with no additional fat or sweetness. Very handy. It’s also easy to use, since it can often be mixed with the dry ingredients in a recipe. Unsweetened cocoa powder can be substituted for unsweetened baking chocolate, but you’ll have to add some fat (oil, butter or shortening) to take the place of the missing cocoa butter.

      The food processor: is it good for anything besides shredding cheese?

      Yes, use your food processor to:

      Cut shortening into dry ingredients when you’re making pastry or biscuits

      Combine butter, sugar and flour to make crumble toppings

      Cream together butter, sugar and eggs for cookies or cakes

      Mix and knead yeast bread dough

      Chop nuts

      Slice apples or other fruit for pies

      Shred carrots or apples for cake or muffins

      Uh, yeah, shred cheese

      Roughly chop chocolate

      Puree bananas for cakes or muffins

      Make graham cracker or other cookie crumbs

      No, don’t try to use your food processor to:

      Whip cream

      Beat egg whites

      Grate lemon or orange peel

      Beat cake batter

      Make a piña colada

      Quick Breads

      Beer Bread

      You couldn’t bring yourself to throw it out, could you? That open bottle of beer that’s been at the back of the fridge for two weeks. Now you don’t have to. This delicious bread is best served warm.

      3 cups (750 ml) all-purpose flour

      3 tbsp. (45 ml) granulated sugar

      1 tbsp. (15 ml) baking powder

      1 tsp. (5 ml) salt

      ½ tsp. (2 ml) baking soda

      1 bottle (12 oz./341 ml) beer, flat is fine (fizzy is fine too)

      Optional ingredients: poppy seeds, sesame seeds, caraway seeds, chopped sundried tomatoes, chopped olives, crumbled herbs

      Preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Grease a 9 x 5-inch (23 x 13 cm) loaf pan.

      In a large bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Add the beer and any optional ingredients you like, and stir until thoroughly mixed into a gluey batter. Dump batter into the prepared loaf pan and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until golden brown on top and no longer gooey in the center (do the toothpick test — page 23).

      Remove loaf from pan and serve warm, or let cool on a rack and serve later. Whatever.

      Makes 1 unbelievably easy loaf of bread.

      Whole Wheat Positive

      You can substitute whole wheat flour for all or part of the all-purpose flour in this recipe. Start with a small proportion, and if you like the result, you can use more whole wheat flour next time.

      Great Pumpkin Bread

      Make this loaf with canned pumpkin (the kind you use for pies) or with your own homemade pumpkin puree. You can even use leftover mashed butternut or other baked winter squash if you happen to have some hanging around the fridge.

      1½ cups (375 ml) granulated sugar

      ½ cup (125 ml) vegetable oil

      2 eggs

      1 cup (250 ml) pumpkin puree (canned or homemade)

      1½