Comments on: (April) fools in the King Arthur test kitchen.

By: Heather

Heather — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 16:49:36 +0000

I know this is an old post, but I just wanted to say THANK YOU! I had a full day of cooking / baking disasters on Sunday, and it gives me hope that experienced cooks also have their share. My biggest continued failure is sourdough bread. I just can’t get it right - store bought or homemade starter, I end up with a brick. I’m going to try the King Arthur starter, once I get my nerve up to try again!

By: Nicole

Nicole — Mon, 05 May 2008 23:44:48 +0000

Ah, yes cooking disasters, heres one…We were new to the neighborhood and it was Thanksgiving, we were cooking the turkey in the lovely old wall oven when a fire broke out inside, we had to call the fire department out and worse, we had to finish the turkey in the microwave. It was a little rubbery, but we ate it lol. We didn’t have too many friends on our street after that.

By: Joel

Joel — Thu, 01 May 2008 21:27:07 +0000

You can add me to the “Lemon Meringue Soup” list. I’ve also generated the same variety of pie disaster with a failed attempt at chocolate pie. I have to say that the Cayenne Apple Cake sounds interesting, with a little work you might make that into a truly tasty desert.

By: Sarah

Sarah — Thu, 01 May 2008 07:16:16 +0000

Numerous kitchen disasters here, but the most recent was not my own- my brother-in-law decided to bake some oatmeal cookies. He is one of those fast-moving guys, and threw in the ‘cinnamon’ without looking too hard.
The kitchen was soon filled with a rather nauseating scent, and we found out that he’d used CUMIN instead! The 2 spices have the same beginning and ending letter, and that was good enough for him. Those Mexican-flavored cookies were horrid, but he ate them all!

By: Carla Lapierre

Carla Lapierre — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 20:19:32 +0000

OH my!! HowI laoghed! and remembered… My mother made the most wonderful Applesauce Cake (now my sister & I do), but one time she mixed up the spices… She THOUGHT the cinnamon was a little off color, but she was a bit hurried. Well that was the hottest Apple Sauce cake on earth! She had used cayenne instead.

By: Linda

Linda — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 02:34:06 +0000

One of the latest ones I remember was a batch of brownies that appeared done but when I cut them the next morning the middle was too raw for sharing. I cut all the done parts up into portions and took those to work. The middle I put in a convection oven to bake again. I forgot about the twice-baked brownies. When I remembered them, they were hard as bricks but tasted fine–not burned. I put the pieces in the food processor and ground them into brownie crumbs and used them for an additive in other recipes like brownies and cake. The mistake turned into a great add-in–but I wouldn’t want to do it again and hope for such luck!!

By: Linda

Linda — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 02:30:42 +0000

Mine wasn’t my own (though I’ve had a few!). My mom years ago made a pound cake, put it in the oven, and asked me to watch it and remove it when done. I did a cursory check and discovered the cake pouring over the sides of the pan like a volcano erupting. My mother had her regular flour and self-rising flour in identical containers and had accidentally used the self-rising in the recipe. I was scooping burning cake batter off the bottom of the oven when she got home. To say the least, the cake was ruined and the oven required some major cleaning before the next baking project!

By: Sue Hoffman

Sue Hoffman — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 20:20:34 +0000

What fun to read of everyone’s kitchen adventures. I had a number of those as a new bride but that was 53 year ago. I live in an area that has a l-o-n-g winter so this year I decided to perfect my bread baking skills. With the help of King Arthur (I have literally read The King Arthur Flour Baker’s Companion from cover to cover this winter) I have made major strides. I have learned that patience and gentle handling of the dough are what I lacked in the past. I set the dough to rise in my microwave oven with a 2 cup measuring cup of very hot water - gives warmth and moisture so makes a very good rising environment. I am a very devoted fan of King Arthur products! And your hot line is great.

By: PJ Hamel

PJ Hamel — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 20:06:15 +0000

You guys, you’re all cracking me up… It’s not exactly misery loves company - more like the camaraderie of chagrin! Sandie, your husband is EVIL! I love it.

By: Sandie

Sandie — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 19:30:01 +0000

Once I made a French bread that didn’t quite rise enough, and so when it came out of the oven it was pretty much a solid rock. I threw it in the trash, but behind my back, my husband retrieved it. For the next few weeks, I found that thing everywhere. In my purse, under my pillow, it was great fun for him, and incredibly embarrassing for me.