It’s about the right gadgets

Last week I was working on the first baking challenge in the Healthy Breads in Five Minutes (HBin Five) – Spicy Whole Grain Snack Crackers. I emailed the group about my failure – my crackers were pillows of bread instead of crispy crackers. Michelle, our fearless leader, suggested that I needed to just practice rolling them thinner, adding the importance of a good rolling pin.

I had used my mom’s rolling pin – a heavy, glass Roll-Rite with lots of memories. She had used this so many times in my youth rolling out pie dough and cookies. I rarely use it, but when I do it makes me feel like she’s there helping me.

Since Michelle had mentioned the importance of the rolling pin, I decided to put aside the memories and grabbed  hubby’s wood rolling pin from our catch-all drawer. I couldn’t believe the difference and the ease in rolling out the dough. This pin is not only light, but it spins with little effort.

I started rolling out the dough and decided I’d first make breadsticks. Since I hadn’t tried making them before, I didn’t have any history of failure. After the dough was rolled thin, I used hubby’s long pizza knife to cut the long strips, instead of the regular pizza cutters suggested by the book. I was so happy with the breadsticks that I attempted the crackers. Using the pizza knife to cut the dough into squares worked like a charm. The crackers were much better this time, but still a tad too thick. However, had I worked the dough just a little longer they would have been perfect. I see a lot more breadsticks and crackers in my future.

Now that I think about it, Dad use to tell me that you need the right tool (or gadget) for the job. And, he was so right. If you are interested in baking through this interesting book, join us here.