Experiments with the New Equipment

So the induction range (with convection oven) and the new microwave are installed. Before we left for Portland, we didn’t have much time to play. I brought a cold home with me and called in sick on Wednesday, so both of us did a bit more experimenting. Here are our initial observations.

They’re so shiny! That didn’t last.

The stove heats water for my tea very quickly, in about half the time as our old electric burner. Our teakettle is rather lightweight, so it skitters around the burner if I’m only heating a small amount of water.

One of the best features of the oven is an extendable rack, which makes it easier to get a cookie sheet out.

The heavy induction pans work well (they don’t skitter around the burner). To keep food from sticking, you heat the pan wicked high before you add the oil/butter. I tried this with my morning omelet today and the butter nearly burned on contact. But the eggs didn’t stick.

Although there are no heating elements and burner pans to clean, the cooktop is pretty finicky. Only certain cleaners work. In addition, the black top shows lots of dust if you don’t use it for a long weekend.

While I was home sick on Wednesday, I tried my hand at making Syrian sesame bagels using the convection feature. This is a recipe from Bernard Clayton Jr.’s The Breads of France. I made them once many years ago, but haven’t since. For 24 mini-bagels, the recipe calls for 1 cup of butter. The dough comes together easily in the mixer and rose quickly, despite the large amount of fat. Unlike regular bagels, these do not get boiled prior to baking. Clayton recommended turning the oven temperature down 50° if using convection. I wound up leaving them in the oven a bit longer than the recipe indicated because they didn’t brown much. However, they came out well. Julian and my officemates enjoyed them.

Syrian sesame bagels, also known as ka’achei sumsum.

More experiments to come, particularly with convection. The problem is that I don’t bake as much as I used to because so many of my friends have genuine wheat, gluten, or egg allergies. However, Julian is still in need of regular cobblers and other goodies.