I'm attempting to make the dough for Stella Parks' homemade Pop-Tart recipe from BraveTart, but I've been running into some issues with the dough being too crumbly, especially when rolling it out. Here's a detailed breakdown of what I've done and the challenges I'm facing:

1. Followed the recipe exactly and used a stand mixer with the paddle attachment. The dough seemed crumbly at first, so I added a couple of teaspoons of water and mixed it on low for about 45 minutes total (checking periodically). I also tried using the dough hook at one point, but it didn’t seem to help, so I switched back to the paddle.
2. Eventually, I was able to knead it by hand in the bowl and got it to form a relatively smooth ball. It felt like it had come together, although it was still slightly crumbly at the edges.
3. Divided the dough into two disks, wrapped them, and chilled them overnight as per the instructions.
4. The next morning, I let the dough sit out for about 30 minutes before trying to roll it out to the specified 15 x 15-inch size. When I rolled it out, it kept crumbling and falling apart once I got close to the edges or reached the desired size. It felt like it just wasn't holding together well enough to handle the rolling process.
5. Out of frustration, I gathered the dough back together into a ball, rewrapped it, and put it back in the fridge.

At this point, I'm wondering:

• Did I undermix or overmix the dough?
• Was the water addition a mistake, or should I have added more?
• Could the issue be with the flour-to-fat ratio, or is this normal for this type of pastry dough?
• Any tips for getting this dough to roll out properly without crumbling apart?

I’ve had great success with other BraveTart recipes, but this one has me stumped. Any advice would be appreciated!

I got a wok for Christmas (man, that feels so long ago) and ever since then, I've been thinking of getting myself The Wok to round out my food lab library. It's on my to-do list!

The complicating factor is that we're also in the middle of a decluttering push (thank goodness!) and my family wants to go meatless where I can manage it (oh goodness) so I don't know if I should get The Wok right now. I've also seen some mixed reviews, so I don't know if it fits my situation, but I do know I want a bit of extra guidance using this thing because I'm tired of burning stuff, haha.

So my question is, how are the meatless recipes in the book? I'm new to using this wok and I'm also not super experienced with finding meat alternatives, so I feel a bit nervous with hot-swapping meat for, like, something else or leaving it out without a substitution.

And if this isn't the best fit for me, are there any recommendations? I'm a bit out of my depth with this mix of new tools, new proteins, and new cultural ingredients, but I really want to use my wok!

https://www.seriouseats.com/best-tortilla-presses-7546817?utm_source=googlepaid&utm_medium=con&utm_content=Cj0KCQiA4-y8BhC3ARIsAHmjC_Go6UiGdqO7E35E1qqKWmOdzjRvZBQXXBZI1T3n4tGSIWGA6mT_xnUaAoDFEALw_wcB&utm_campaign=commerce-dd-AllArticles_SeriousEats_Combined_CommSEM_OrganicLP_DSA&utm_term=&utm_test=&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAACeazfCVs_XWSlRo4L0ou0AE_uPCe&gclid=Cj0KCQiA4-y8BhC3ARIsAHmjC_Go6UiGdqO7E35E1qqKWmOdzjRvZBQXXBZI1T3n4tGSIWGA6mT_xnUaAoDFEALw_wcB

Because I love their science around recipes and pretty much everything on their site I went with recommendations on a tortilla press. Looked amazing in your magazine.

It’s now rusting where the paint chipped off . When I saw it I had to file off sharp little weird metal parts.

I should have come to this community first, as there is a plethora of awful reviews on this.

Gonna make Stella's oatmeal cream pies this weekend. The recipe calls for "plump, moist dried apples." Firstly, I'm assuming they're meant to be diced though this is not explicitly stated. The bigger issue: all the dried apples I can find at the stores near me seem to be pretty well dried out, not what I would call plump or moist. Could I maybe just briefly soak them in something? I made a fruit cake not long ago in which called for soaking all the dried fruit in brandy for a bit first and I thought maybe that would work. Any guidance appreciated. Thanks!

Edit: Also a little follow up question: has anybody made the cream filling in advance? How does it hold up? I was thinking of making it a day or two ahead. Should I put it in the fridge?

It was good and easier than I thought! Maybe a little too sweet, and I wish it was a bit more flavorful. Would skip the powdered sugar on top next time, and probably add more turmeric and ground ginger

It turned out soooo good! Really easy recipe, though I could only manage one sandwich at a time in my pan. Assembling was a bit of a mess too because I don't have a long spatula yet (though I plan on changing that soon!)

This one was also pretty good, but I prefer the flavor profile of the Kimchi version. Could be that I needed to add more variety in the seafood, but all I had was shrimp. The sauce though really amped everything up. And the overall cooking process went much more smoothly. I think the batter could have been a little lighter though to make it a little thinner. Overall, these were good!

I recently made the Penne a la Vodka recipe out of The Food Lab, and nowhere in the recipe is there instructions to add salt except for in the pasta water. I did exactly as directed and the dish seemed to be lacking some salt - so my question is, why? Is this a typo or is this traditional to the dish? I tried doing some independent research and didn’t find much.

This may seem like an incredibly stupid question, but I can't seem to find a way to browse ALL recipes on the SeriousEats website. I feel like I have to keep drilling down by tags/categories/etc. Am I just completely lost here?

I followed this video to a tee, and it was perfect.

The reason I don’t do seafood very often is that I am terrified of that “fishy” flavor. What is deeply bewildering is that I don’t even know if that’s what I actually mean. I love sashimi, and I loved this, but on the other hand I hate seaweed, kelp, and tinned fish. There was also a bottled water from Georgia called Borjomi that had a taste in that same general flavor neighborhood. It was terrible.

Also, just in case you’re curious about what’s under it, it is just mashed cauliflower. I know it is most often steamed or boiled, but I roasted it like the rapscallion that I am.

Please don’t suggest cast iron!! I’ve had no luck seasoning/treating them and they always rust. Same thing with my wok. Rust city. :(. I’m an amateur obviously.
I want a pan I can use on highest heat (gas stove). Preferably an inch deep at least. Dishwasher safe is ideal, but I dont mind hand washing. Non stick is okay, but remember I want to use it over a big gas flame. My main goal is not having to coat them and all that stuff, because I’ve already ruined Woks and cast iron pans. Thanks !

I know Kenji has a digital recipe where it’s stovetop only, but I am doing his chili from the book which calls for a 225* oven for cooking the chili. I know in an amendment to his chili verde he cooks it at 250* so it is done sooner. Should I do that for my short rib chili as well? I’m worried that 225 for 2.5-3 hours may not be tender, then again they are pretty small chunks.

Hello!

I am going to make the Hostess style cupcakes. Stella says in the recipe description that she starts with safflower oil, but there isn’t any listed in the ingredients. It lists virgin coconut oil. Should I sub the safflower oil for coconut?

Thanks!

I am looking at this recipe (https://www.seriouseats.com/chickpea-potato-and-spinach-jalfrezi-with-cilantro-chutney-recipe).

In the description is says Jalfrezi is more like a dry fried Chinese dish than a typical wet Indian curry. However, in the ingredients, it says a can of chickpeas with their liquid. In the instructions it says to add the chickpeas with no mention of the liquid.

Question is - does the liquid from the can go in with the chickpeas? That's what the ingredients suggest but that would surely make it fairly wet?

Came out very good. I used bone in chicken thigh. For the garlic sausage I used a kielbasa from the local butcher.

Only thing different I would do is to use a low sodium chicken stock. It was one notch above the too salty level.

https://www.seriouseats.com/traditional-french-cassoulet-recipe

I just finished the quick deep fry per the recipe and now will freeze the fries until I cook them. Kenji makes no mention of the best container for the freezer. When I remove the frozen sticks of spud love, I will deep fry them in batches to maintain proper temperature so I’m assuming I should freeze batch portions and not the entire two pounds?

Is a freezer bag by itself optimal? Should I use paper towels or parchment paper as a liner? Am I overthinking it because I’m proud of myself for not cutting any appendages while slicing the potatoes em with my mandoline of death? Recipe link: https://www.seriouseats.com/perfect-french-fries-recipe

Kenji instructs here to cure the dough. This is done overnight to dry out the dough and make it crispier. Lets say I'm short on time and didn't plan ahead well. Could I cook the flattened dough at a very low temp in the oven for some amount of time to achieve a similar result? Just a random thought I had while I was making the dough earlier today.

Anybody have experience with the Luvan Pepper Mill available on Amazon? It appears to be a knockoff pepper cannon that checks all the same boxes, and I’m wondering if it’s any good?

I’m tired of buying $40-$50 mills and having the metal points pull out of the head of the grinder within 5 months and want something higher quality, but I’m not sure I’m ready to jump all the way to the Pepper Cannon.

These were delicious! Starting up the next section of the book with these Korean style Kimchi pancakes and already looking forward to the upcoming recipes. Mine had cooked for half the total time recommended (5m vs 10m) and came out okay, but I will turn the heat down next time for a slower pan fry. Definitely would make this again!

Hello, I am looking to see if you can float berries, chocolate chips in a basque cheesecake by adding them when it’s just setting? Thoughts.