This is a puffy pancake made from 1/2 cup of flour, 1/2 cup of milk, a dash of salt, and 3 eggs. That’s all…here’s the recipe if you don’t believe me. You bake the mix in a 350 degree oven for 20 minutes in a pan lined with butter, and it puffs up! I’m told that this is a form of popover. I’m astonished that such simple ingredients can do this, and even more astonished at how easy it is to mess up.
Baking is essentially a form of chemistry, and thus there is a narrow window of excellence that’s tough to nail. I would say that that this applies to all food preparation; I would guess that the vast majority of food we eat (at least here in the U.S.) is between 40-70% of its ultimate expression because of overcooking, errors in technique, or unbalance in ingredients. That’s just my uninformed opinion, but it’s one that generally keeps my apetite in check. Why get excited about eating something that isn’t the best it could be? Those are the emptiest calories!
I never enjoyed chemistry that much in high school, with all the memorizing of reactions and so forth, but in the context of making yummy things to eat it is much more interesting. With the tiny ingredient list, making a puffy pancake is all about timing, temperature, measurement, and technique.
I wondered what would happen if I used a shiny stainless steel pan instead of the dark cast iron one. Mistake!
The result was a dense, very eggy pancake that crawled out of the sides of the pan. Not puffy at all. Very disappointing. However, it’s possible that I overmixed the batter; I was reading that when making unleavened quickbreads, you don’t want to mix the ingredients too much, as this releases more gluten. As the popover is leavened by steam as opposed to an active ingredient like baking soda or yeast, I guess the presence of gluten makes the dough too elastic and rubbery to rise.
And so the experimentation continues. What if I use fewer eggs? Or a higher temperature? Or try a different flour? Add baking soda? It’s actually pretty exciting, sort of my own personal version of Yakitate! Japan (a manga/tv series about baking bread)…but I’ve gained 10 pounds since starting this experiment. Time to close the lab!
Continuing on the pancake theme, I also came across this set of cartoon instructions from a Japanese pancake mix, thoughtfully translated by everyone’s favorite gaijin and robot raconteur Matt Alt. I’ve always wondered what those cute cartoons were saying; actually, I still do :-)
9 Comments
Ha ha! Those cartoon instructions are AWESOME!
Hmm, I wonder what YOUR pans are saying? It’s hard to tell when they don’t have faces. :)
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It is a Dutch Baby!
Ultra Deliciousness: Place diced apples with brown sugar, cinnamon, and butter on the bottom of the pan, then pour in batter and bake. Oh, I am so hungry now.
WOW…THAT IS AN INCREDIBLE IDEA!!!
cast iron has a character all its own. i’m lusting after a good one. they last forever..
have you read On food and cooking by harold mcgee? he explains about how food becomes food and other things. i’ve only read the first chapter (i had to return it to the library) but one day i’ll finish it!
I like Abi’s idea. Reminds me of German Pancakes from The Village Inn.
You can also try adding just a little bit of vanilla flavoring, and maybe a little cinnamon as well.
I love cast iron too :-) Haven’t read on food and cooking!!! I was looking for just such a book…I’ll see if my library has it.
Mark: so that’s what a german pancake is? Mmm. Cinnamon is a great idea.
I have a great love for funnelcake too. I may have to investigate this flat bread thing in more detail…I like this pancake, but it’s a little too eggy for my tastes.
The ingredients for crepe (and probably other steam leavened breads) are pretty similar, but with more flour/liquid and less egg.
Another good couple of reads on cooking:
What Einstein Told His Cookhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0393011836/sr=8-1/qid=1149300529/ref=pd_bbs_1/102-6730529-3763350?_encoding=UTF8 by Robert Wolke
I’m Just Here for More Food by Alton Brown (excellent, and all about baking!)
and
Cookwise by Shirley Corriher
These should give you more than you really want to know about how cooking works. Of course, as mentioned above, McGee’s On Food and Cooking is also essential reading.
Quick and fairly easy party treat:
Make a batch of savory pate a choux using Alton Brown’s recipe—don’t let the “expert” rating fool you—from the Food Network. Fill with chicken salad consisting of chicken (I usually used canned chicken, drained, for the sake of expediency), Hellman’s light mayonnaise (I just like the consistency a little better in this recipe), and Mrs. Dash seasoning to taste. Yummy.
Don
Karl: CREPES! I must investigate! Responsibly, that is. I’m not even sure what a crepe is supposed to taste like…will investigate local options. Anyone know of a source of crepes in the new england area, near boston / north of boston?
Don: Oh, I didn’t know the second AB book was about baking! I have his first book, and of course watch his show religiously :-) The other books sound great too. The Pate a Choux sounds particularly yummy…I remember being enthralled by that episode :-)