holding baked potatoes & cheesecake

[pearl]

What is the best way to hold baked potatoes? And, why does my cheesecake crack!
Many thanks.....

[ShawtyCat]

Do you bake your cheesecake in a hot water bath? Mine always used to crack on top until my MIL told me to try this.

[pearl]

No, I have never tried the water bath method but have always heard that it works. Sometimes is cracks & sometimes it doesn't...and I am a lazy cook! Do you set it in the water bath or just put a pan of water in the oven?
Thanks for answering.

[ShawtyCat]

I usually put the cheesecake pan in a hotel pan or roasting pan then fill the hotel pan with water only a little ways up the side of the cheesecake pan. About half way I think since Ive never measured the water. I bake my cheesecake at about 200-250*F for about an hr and a half or till its done. I never go by time, just by checking.

Hope this helps.

[marmalady]

If you're cooking your cheesecake in a springform pan, wrap the bottom with foil so the water in the bain marie doesn't seep into the springform.

[Athenaeus]

Hi!

I was having the same problem until I searched and I came up with Chef Talk's Colloquium(congress) on Cheese Cake :-))

everything you need to know about cheese cake. One of the most impressive threads in CT

[W.DeBord]

Sorry Pearl didn't see this post until now.

There's a couple reasons why cheesecakes crack and couple ways to help avoid it.

Why they can crack: too hot of an oven, over baked, cooled too quickly, over beaten batter, sides stuck to the pan while cooling forcing center to crack and probably a couple more I'm forgetting at this moment.

Tips: place cakes dirrectly in a water bath if your only baking one or two, place a pan of water on the bottom of your oven to increase humidity, don't use an over temp. over 350f (250 to 275 is best in my opinion), spray the sides of your pan with pan release before adding batter, when cooling run a knive between cake and pan to make sure it's not sticking to sides, avoid all drafts while cooling cake (underbake abit and cool in oven with door propped open), don't cool the cake quickly and don't refridgerate until it's complete down to room temp., don't whip your cream cheese while mixing.

HTH

[chiffonade]

I'm not one who bakes cheesecake in a water bath. But here are some suggestions to possibly avoid cracking...These apply to real, New York style cheesecake and not that fluffed up stuff from the west coast.

1. Do NOT overbeat your cheesecake batter. This causes excess air to be incorporated which makes the cake rise in the oven, then fall, and possibly crack.

2. When the baking time is done, run a paring knife around the edge of the cake to release it from the pan. As the cake contracts, it will come away from the pan instead of cracking to relieve the pressure of contraction.

3. Leave it in the oven for a while after it's finished, with the door ajar. This will slow the cooling process (you can run the knife around, then put it back in the "off" oven).

4. When you do remove it from the oven, beware of drafts. Drafts can cause uneven cooling. This is not the same as putting a cake in the fridge. That cooling is consistent.

I think the most important tip is not to whip a lot of excess air into your batter.

[pearl]

Thank you all very much! What a great resource this site is. I am a long time cafe owner/cook. Now the baked potato question.....I don't like microwaved potatoes and my cook insists that they are fine. Hmmmm.....I would rather do something with the leftover potatoes even if it means feeding them to the chickens. So, how best to bake and hold bakers for no more than 4 hours???
Thanks.

[ShawtyCat]

Here is a link to a previous thread about Cracking Cheesecake.

Cracking Cheesecake

[riverrun]

Ok the baked potato Question
i guess i'm the only daring one here,lol
I find that if u hold the bakers ina pan in the oven set at around 180 they hold pretty good. As for ur left overs u can do lots of things withhence, Soup, fried potato skins and then stuff them, also u can do twice baked potatoes,
Being that ur a resturant owner ur best moneymaker on them will be the potato skins stuffed it's a nice app.

[pearl]

The baked potato question.....sigh....I'm quite sure that any of the money we made in the restaurant biz has come from using up leftover baked potatoes! Make a good cream of potato soup. Was hoping for some new technology or something. Have tried everything (I think.....).
May I ask you all-if you were travelling and went into a cafe for dinner, what would you like to see on the menu? The old American good food kinda stuff. Any thoughts? We make all of our 'stuff' in house and am considering going back to making my own bread. I am sure this is some kind of mid-life insanity.

[marmalady]

A beautiful simply roasted chicken, with gravy and mashed taters. Homemade chicken potpies (or beef potpies, or seafood potpies - how about those leftovers!). Baked ham on the bone, with sweet potatoes (see my sweet potato discussion!). A four-cheese mac and cheese with stewed tomatoes. Beef stew. I'm walking down memory lane, and thinking of the things my grandma would make (cooking skipped a generation - my mom's cooking was early 50's boxes and Swanson frozen dinners!). Highlight in-season foods, like fresh corn on the cob and tomatoes (how about a tomato sandwich or fried green tomatoes). Chicken and dumplings. Pot roast.

-------I'd better stop!

[Suzanne]

If the cafe is anywhere near a good source: fresh LOCAL fish, prepared simply -- grilled or baked or even fried.

Almost anything fried, as long as it's not greasy and not armor-plated. I wish I could live on fried chicken!

Seasonal vegetables, lots of them. Steamed green beans. Sweet-and-sour red cabbage. Mashed rutabagas. Peas with or without pearl onions, cooked with lettuce leaves and well-buttered. Sauteed brussel sprouts. Spinach a zillion ways, especially creamed with REAL cream. Corn a zillion ways, including fritters, pudding, spoonbread. Baked or mashed winter squashes. Scalloped tomatoes (especially if it's NOT tomato season and you have to use canned).

Homemade ketchup. Homemade mayonnaise. Little touches like that which say, "We care."

On the potato question: please, whatever you do, DON'T wrap them in foil! You can always grease the skins and stick them in a hot oven to crisp up again before serving. And NO NUKES. As a customer, I'd rather be told the place is out of baked potatoes, because then at least I'd know they were fresh when you have them.

[W.DeBord]

Good old fashioned, hum....well my spouse and I drive for an hour each way to eat at our favorite diner. Hubby always orders pork grandma style, I order roast turkey. It's really old fashioned good cooking ....and they keep the crowd coming back.

There's so many wonder things you could make but what I really want is to eat what YOU make best. We ask our wait person about whats good specific to your place before we order. We both will try non-usual items if they come recommended. I hate seeing a place offer everything in the world and not make anything REALLY good. What's your speciality?