Chatting with a baker in Seattle changed how I look at salt

I was grabbing a coffee after a long shift and got talking with the pastry chef from the bakery next door. She mentioned she always adds a pinch of flaky sea salt to her chocolate chip cookie dough after it's mixed, saying 'it wakes up the chocolate.' I've been doing it for my restaurant's dessert specials and it really does make a difference. Do you have any other simple, one-ingredient tricks that elevate a basic recipe?

3 comments

3 Comments

parker_webb7d ago

Got a similar tip from a butcher friend about pepper. He grinds fresh black pepper over steaks right after they come off the grill, not before cooking. The heat wakes up the oils in the pepper in a way pre-ground pepper just can't do. It's a night and day difference for something as simple as a seared steak. That single change made my home cooked steaks taste way more like a steakhouse.

shane_morgan7d ago

Oh wow, @parker_webb, that's a total game changer for steak night.

max7167d ago

My buddy's steak game changed after trying that.

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