Bakin-n-Bacon

On Ratios and Hi-Ratio

Coming off my recent teacake success I decided to revisit the Fall Harvest cake pan. Based on my previous experiments it seemed that a dense, rich cake offered the best chance of success with this intricate design, so I decided to make a pound cake.

Before, I would have turned to several cookbooks and online resources to determine which pound cake recipe to use. However, since reading Michael Ruhlman's excellent tome, Ratio, which provides formulas for many different foods including cake batters, I knew the basic pound cake ratio and did not have to wade through a bunch of recipes. The pound cake ratio is very simple: equal parts by weight of eggs, flour, sugar and butter. (Just to satisfy my curiosity, I compared Rose Levy Berenbaum's Perfect Pound Cake from The Cake Bible to the standard ratio. She increased the butter about 10% and added a couple of ingredients like salt and baking powder, but it is pretty close. Most pound cake recipes do not deviate very far from the ratio, which makes me wonder why there are so many recipes out there!)

Once you know the ratio, it's easy to perform variations on a theme. I wanted to use up leftover egg whites, so I began with those and added a couple more eggs. Since I was going to be a little short on one of the tenderizing agents (yolks), I threw in some sour cream, knowing that the acid in the sour cream would help tenderize the cake and provide a subtle tangy undertone. It was easy, too - I put a bowl on the scale, zeroed it, poured in the whites and then added two whole eggs plus a few dollops of sour cream until I had the weight I needed.

Since the fall harvest pan falls between a loaf pan and a full-size Bundt in size, I decided to go with 12 ounces of each ingredient, thinking that would be about the right amount of batter. I could have boosted the amounts a few more ounces but came darn close with this guesstimate. Again, because I know the ratio, it's easy to scale the recipe to fit the pan I am using.

Now that I had the ingredients down, I needed to decide on the flavor of the cake. The options are limitless, but being devoid of inspiration on a dreary day I chose lemon, adding both the juice and zest of a large lemon. I threw in 1/4 teaspoon of pure lemon extract (Penzey's) and half a teaspoon of salt. Because I planned to rap the pan on the counter to get the air bubbles away from the surface of the pan, thereby partially deflating the batter, I added a teaspoon of baking powder for added lift. 

Now I began to deviate from Mr. Ruhlman's directions. He suggests using the standard creaming method for cake batter: cream together the sugar and butter for several minutes, and add the liquid ingredients alternately with the flour. I prefer a more streamlined version used by professionals called the hi-ratio method (name after the hi-ratio shortening (blech) used by commercial bakeries). I've written about this method before but it bears repeating. You simply stir together all the dry ingredients, add the softened butter and most of the liquid ingredients, mix for 1 1/2 minutes at high speed to aerate the batter and create structure, then add the remaining liquid ingredients and mix another 30 seconds. This technique requires fewer bowls and less fuss yet produces equal, perhaps even superior, results.

I must digress for a moment and talk about softened butter. There is a fairly narrow window between too firm and too soft, a range of about 10 degrees F. For the best results, the softened butter should be between 60 and 70 degrees. You don't even need a thermometer to determine when the butter is softened enough - just bend it. It should bend easily but still hold its shape, like so:

 

Also, one cautionary note about the hi-ratio mixing method: when you add the butter and liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients, start out slow with the mixing speed or you will have a flour volcano erupting in your kitchen.

Before I made the batter I diligently greased the pan using melted shortening and a silicone pastry brush, then tossed in a few tablespoons of cake flour. After tilting and tapping the pan to distribute the flour, I turned it upside down and banged it on the sink divider to get rid of any excess.  After doing all of that, the pan closely resembled the frost-covered branches of the trees in our yard (when the hell is spring going to get here?!).

I mixed the batter following the directions above, scraped it into the pan, rapped the pan firmly on the counter about 15 times, and hoped for the best.

You can tell it was a LOT better than the first cake I made with that pan, although a little of the detail on the acorns is still not coming through. I'm not sure what more I can do, but the results are more than passable. 

I boiled some sugar and the juice of a lemon to make a glaze, which I brushed on the warm cake to give it the sheen you see above.

And if you are wondering how the crumb of the cake turned out:

Tender, moist and lemony - what more could I ask for? 

Pound Cake

Equal parts cake flour, granulated sugar, unsalted butter and eggs.
(about 8 ounces of each for a 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaf pan)

1/2 teaspoon baking powder per 8 ounces flour (if you are going to use a fancy pan and plan to rap the pan on the counter to remove the air bubbles)

1/2 teaspoon salt per 8 ounces flour

Flavoring of your choice (citrus works well - add a Grand Marnier glaze for orange; a spiced cake would be great for fall - especially with this pan)

Heat oven to 350. Grease and flour an 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaf pan.

Stir together all dry ingredients in bowl of standing mixer. Mix eggs together in a small bowl. Add the softened butter and about 2/3 of the eggs to the dry ingredients; starting with a slow speed, mix until blended. Increase speed to high and mix for 1 1/2 minutes. Scrape down the bowl. Add the remainder of the eggs and mix on high for another 30 seconds. Scrape down the bowl again and pour batter into prepared pan.

Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until top is cracked and golden brown and no raw batter remains on a cake tester inserted into the middle. (Cake should be between 195 and 200 degrees F). Let cool in pan for 10 minutes then invert onto cooling rack. Let cool to room temperature.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Read all about these cheesecakes at the Charleston Gazette.

And a big Happy Valentine's Day to my sweetie. He surprised me with these:

My favorite, Holl's Chocolates. I've had chocolates from many different purveyors, both domestic and foreign, and these beauties (made in Vienna...West Virginia), are among the best. I must have been very good this year!

Michael Ruhlman's Dinner Rolls

Michael Ruhlman  recently posted a dinner roll recipe on his blog that he invited readers to test since he had just converted it from volume to weight measurements. (The recipe was first published in Saveur magazine.) Since I have often railed on my blog about weighing ingredients to ensure accuracy and consistency in baking, I decided to test the recipe. Of course, Donna Ruhlman's food photographs always leaves me drooling so I did not need much convincing. And of course baking bread is a wonderful way to spend a snowy Sunday afternoon. 

I began by weighing the ingredients (well, duh).

I'm using the myWeigh7001, which is capable of weighing up to 11 kilograms with (alleged) 1 gram accuracy. I have my doubts about the accuracy (I think the resolution is closer to 2 grams) but that's still pretty good for a scale that only cost $35. Somewhere in the dark, cold recesses of the garage I have a scale that resolves to hundredths of a gram, but it will only weigh up to 200 grams. (I got it in the trunk of a BMW that I bought at a sheriff's auction of seized vehicles. I'll give you one guess as to what the scale was likely used for.)

Next my trusty old Kenwood mixer kneaded the dough for several minutes:

I let the dough rise for about 2 hours, until it was doubled in size and when I poked the dough with my finger it didn't spring back. I divided the dough into 12 pieces (using the scale to divide them equally), and, as the recipe directed, formed them into boules (balls). (I wonder why many people insist on using French terms when they cook or bake. Sometimes the French terms are more descriptive, but more often they are just French and, IMO, pretentious.)

Here is a video on how to form the dough balls. I must apologize for the audio quality - I used the video setting on my cheap digital camera and the microphone is apparently shot. What I am attempting to say is that I am keeping pressure on the back side of the ball as I am rolling it away from me, thereby pulling the dough taut. My goal is to have a smooth ball that has a tiny "belly button" on the underside (always an "innie"), meaning that it is evenly taut all the way around. If the belly button is too large, I will pinch it shut because otherwise the dough might shrink back up and leave a large gap in he underside of your roll.

In addition to rolling the dough in my cupped hand, I turn it several degrees after each roll to help it become evenly smooth.

Also, note that I am using my stovetop instead of a cutting board to make the balls. This is because I need a little resistance or stickiness to help in pulling the dough taut, and my cutting board is too slick (and my countertops are too ugly).

I hope the video demonstrates the technique well enough for you to replicate it.

Once I formed the balls, I put them in a parchment-lined pan to rise a second time.

After they had risen, I brushed them with melted butter (eek - I screwed up. I was supposed to brush them with egg!), sprinkled them with sesame seeds and popped them into the oven. They baked for about 40 minutes until the interior of the outside rolls registered 195 degrees F. I removed them from the oven and brushed them again with butter. The end result is the photo at the top of this post.

My husband and I each devoured a roll as soon as I finished photographing them, without waiting for them to cool for 10 minutes. Who can wait when you have such a lovely aroma wafting through the air? The rolls were light and tasty and I believe this is a pretty solid recipe.

However, I do recommend a few minor changes. I think dividing the dough into more pieces (say 16) and using a bigger pan would help since these puppies rose like a skyscraper and the rolls in the interior were slightly doughy. Ruhlman's recipe directs you to use a springform pan, but since I now have none (because they leaked every time I used them in a water bath no matter how diligently I wrapped them), I used a 9-inch cake pan. Since the rolls were so large and threatened to spill out over the edges, a 10-inch round or 9-inch square pan may be a better choice. The more I think about it, making 16 rolls in a 9-inch square pan would be perfect. So  here is my take on Ruhlman's take on Saveur's recipe:

Buttermilk Cluster Rolls

28 ounces/800 grams AP flour

20 ounces/570 grams buttermilk, room temp or microwaved for 40 to 60 seconds to take the chill off it

1/4 ounce/7 grams (1 package) active dry yeast (I used instant yeast)

1/2 ounce/14 grams kosher salt (1 tablespoon) (I used Diamond crystal)

1.5 ounces/40 grams honey (2 tablespoons)

vegetable spray or butter for greasing a 9-inch square pan

1 teaspoon sesame seeds (or poppy seeds)

1 egg

1 tablespoon melted butter, optional (good for photos!)

Combine the flour, buttermilk, yeast, salt and honey in the bowl of a standing mixer.  Mix on medium till the dough is smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.

Cover and let rise till doubled in volume (dough shouldn’t spring back when you poke it with your finger). This will take at least two hours or more depending on the temperature of your dough and the temperature of your kitchen.

Turn the dough out onto your counter and give it a good knead.  Divide the dough into 16 equal portions (about 3 ounces each).  Form each into a tight ball by rolling it on the counter (see video). Spray or butter a 9-inch square pan and line with parchment. Fit the balls into it, cover it with a damp towel and let the dough rise for an hour.

Whisk the egg until it’s uniformly yellow. When the rolls have risen again, brush them with the egg wash, sprinkle them with the seeds and bake them for 40 minutes (to an internal temperature of 195-200 degrees F).  Let them rest for about 10 minutes before serving, if you can wait that long.