By Ragan  Robinson | Hickory Daily Record

Published: July 2, 2009

NEWTON - Shirley Corriher is as much scientist as chef.

Flour flies from her fingers as she acts out how proteins bond or sugars break down.

Culinary fans will recognize Corriher as a regular on the Food Network show "Good Eats." At-home cooks might keep her bestseller, "Cookwise," and her more recent contribution, "Bakewise," at the ready.

For folks at Midstate Mills on Wednesday, she was more than a TV adviser or a cookbook guru.

Corriher showed up in person to teach a cooking class for plant employees, crafting her signature Touch of Grace Biscuits from Midstate Mills flour.

"Cookwise," has just been my bible," said Belinda Ellis, a consultant for Midstate who helped bring Corriher to Newton.

The flour made at Midstate Mills, from North Carolina-grown wheat, is exactly the kind Corriher prefers for baking — low protein, soft winter wheat.

"We've got a good flour here," she said, rubbing the fine white powder between her fingers. "It's like silk."

That's the secret to great baking, according to Corriher.

Her husband, Arch, has another one. If you're working with flour, wear black, he said. The white clouds that invariably show up on your clothes make it look as though you're working harder.

Julia Child and Procter & Gamble representatives have come to Shirley Corriher for problem solving and advice. She shared a little of her skill with the folks in Newton, too.

1. A wet dough, like she makes for her Touch of Grace Biscuits, will create steam and keep the biscuits moist. Shoot for the consistency of cottage cheese. If the mixture gets too soupy, you can always add more flour.

2. A little heavy cream in biscuits makes them taste more like those made with milk fresh from the cow.

3. For firmer cookie dough and a fluffier cookie, make the dough the night before, or even 36 hours before making the cookies.

4. To get a smooth, flawlessly iced cake, make a big batch of icing. Ice the cake as normal, reserving about 1/3 of the icing. Chill the cake. When the icing on the cake is set, heat the icing you reserved. Then, pour it over the cake, tilting it to get the whole thing covered.

5. Egg whites are drying agents. Corriher makes that work to her advantage when she makes cream puffs. Instead of four whole eggs, she uses two eggs and two egg whites. The whites keep the cream puff from staying gooey inside when they're baked.

6. A typical oven set to 350 will fluctuate by as much as 30 degrees in either direction. Using a baking stone, available at most kitchen supply stores, keeps the temperature the same the whole time, distributing heat evenly and causing a higher rise.

7. Thousands of recipes are over-leavened, meaning they have too much baking soda or baking powder. That makes cakes heavy. Use this rule of thumb: 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons of baking powder per cup of flour and 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda per cup of flour.

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