To crimp something -- say, pastry, pizza or pie dough -- is to decoratively fold the edges of it, slightly overlapping the folds to create a rounded border.
Crimping is easy to do and makes the edges of sweet and savory pies, empanadas, dumplings and calzones look more finished. Crimping also seals two pieces of dough tightly to keep the filling ingredients from leaking out during baking.
Aluminum foil or parchment paper is also crimped when used to make a papillote. The sealed package seals in the steam that cooks the meat or fish.
A laminated dough is created by pressing together alternating layers of dough and butter.
Laminated dough is a pastry staple, most recognizable in the sharp crunch of puff pastry or the chewiness of a croissant.
The specific technique of pressing together the butter and flour depends on what kind of pastry you're going for, but generally butter is spread on a thin layer of the dough, and then the dough is folded and rolled out repeatedly to create many alternating layers, which then puff up in a hot oven. For more details on what happens as a laminated dough is cooked, check out Joe Pastry's explanation.
Calzones are easy to prepare at home. While having a pizza or bread stone certainly helps to make a crisp crust, you can bake calzones on a heavy sheet pan with great results.
Start with the best pizza dough you can find, or make some yourself.
Using approximately 6 ounces of dough per calzone results in a good shape and serving size; since the vast majority of pizza shops use 12-ounce balls of dough per pizza, it's also an easy weight to find. Making your own dough can be rewarding, but it's simpler to buy some from a local pizza place or market for a few dollars.
Flatten out the half-ball of dough into a rough oval. It's more important that the dough be stretched to an even thickness than be a uniform shape, since you are going to fold it over and crimp the edges to seal it.
Start your calzones off with a base layer of cheese; fresh ricotta is shown here. The cheese makes a good bed for the rest of the ingredients.
Distribute the calzone fillings of your choice evenly over the cheese, avoiding the urge to overstuff. The calzone will puff up during baking and a large mound of ingredients could cause the dough to split and break. Make sure to leave an appropriate border around the edge for crimping -- about 1 1/2-inches of untopped dough.
Fold, pull and gently stretch the top of the dough oval to cover the ingredients. Lightly press the edges together and prepare to crimp. A few dabs of water may help if your dough feels dry to the touch.
Start to crimp from one edge, gently rolling the dough over your finger and pressing in firmly. The dough will adhere to itself and create a decorative finish as you crimp around the edge.
Not only does the finished edge look nice, but it's firmly closed around the filling and will keep the calzone together as it rises and bakes.
Cutting a series of small vents into the top of the calzone will let steam from the filling to escape, preventing an explosion in your preheated 500F oven.
A light sprinkling of coarse cornmeal helps prevent the calzone from sticking to the pizza peel and baking stone as well as lending a slight crunch to the crust. If you do not have a baking stone, a preheated baking sheet covered with parchment paper works well to create a nice crust on calzones and pizzas.
Wait a few minutes for your baked calzones to cool down and serve with a side of tomato sauce if you'd like.
A pavlova is the national dessert of New Zealand and Australia. A light, elegant disk of meringue topped with whipped cream and fruit, it's a snap to assemble.
Cornstarch and vinegar are often added to the meringue mixture before baking to give it a crisp exterior and a pillowy interior. You can top your pavlova with whatever kind of fruit you like -- kiwi, passion fruit, raspberries, peaches, or pomegranate seeds for Christmas, when it is often served.
The pavlova was named for Anna Pavlova, a lightfooted Russian ballerina, during her visit to Australia in 1929, though the New Zealanders claim to have invented it first.
Recipe: Pomegranate Pavlova With Mixed Fruit (Cookthink)
Caster (or castor) sugar is superfine refined sugar. That makes it finer than granulated sugar but not as fine as confectiones sugar.
Caster sugar dissolves easily and so is used to give baked goods (especially meringues) a lighter texture.
If you don't have any or can't find caster sugar, you can pulse regular granulated sugar in a food processor to help break down the grains.
Recipe: Rhubarb Syllabub (Cook & Eat)
Recipe: Meringue Cookies (Cookthink)
Related Article: Meet the sugars
