Cooking is also a science that does not stand still. In the traditional understanding and widespread technology, biscuit dough consists only of eggs, sugar and flour, not counting some additional components that do not significantly affect the main technological process of dough preparation. But the idea of making biscuit in boiling water is not without originality and logic. Bravo, inventive housewives!
For those who are accustomed to "make" biscuit dough in the traditional way, and do not understand what the essence of the unusual method is, we reveal secrets and share recipes.
Boiled biscuit - basic technological principles
To understand the essence of this method of preparing a biscuit dough, you will have to dig deeper into some biochemical processes taking place inside the dough, compare the classic options with the innovative method of making biscuit.
A common way to prepare a biscuit is based on mechanical beating of eggs and increasing them in volume by 2-3 times. As a result of beating, egg white forms long fibers that hold air bubbles together. Further, sugar and flour are added to the beaten egg mass, which, also forming fibers, but more stable, unlike egg white, increase the density and elasticity of the semi-finished product after baking.
Classical technology involves the introduction of dry flour into the egg mass. At the same time, flour should be mixed with beaten eggs quickly and carefully, because the structure of the egg "threads" is very unstable, and barely holds air bubbles. The introduction of flour, one way or another, reduces the splendor of the egg mass due to the difference in density, weight and humidity. Once in the egg mass, the flour, combining with the protein mass, begins to absorb moisture from the eggs, as a result of which the structure of the protein filaments is disturbed, part of the air bubbles disappears. True, when baking, the biscuit still rises, but at the expense of the newly formed strands of gluten flour, more stable than egg white. Thanks to flour, the semi-finished product acquires elasticity and stability.
We also note that the ratio of solid particles to liquid in the biscuit dough should be the same, since for any of the methods of its preparation it is important not to violate this consistency so that the semi-finished product after baking does not turn out to be wet and heavy.
Every housewife knows that the most difficult stage in the classic preparation of biscuit dough is mixing the egg mass with flour, because it requires a lot of experience, extreme accuracy. The slightest careless movement can ruin the work and dessert: dry flour can curl up into lumps, and the dough should not be intensively mixed so that it does not settle. As you can see, difficulties in making a biscuit exist.
Now let's move on to an innovative way of making biscuit. To begin, we will answer the questions:
What gives the biscuit test the brewing method (adding boiling water)?
How to maintain the required humidity if water is added to the dough?
In the light of the known laws of physics and biochemistry, the question also arises of a structural change in protein under the influence of high temperatures. In other words, will egg white curl up at the wrong time when boiling water is added to the biscuit dough?
We answer the questions posed in order:
Flour perfectly swells in water, while its gluten forms strong filamentary fibers precisely in the process of brewing. Such a dough will not draw moisture out of the egg mass to form a gluten-free flour bond, because the flour combines with the egg mass in a wet state and with the prepared gluten.
To maintain the required ratio of liquid to solid ingredients in the dough, it is enough to reduce the number of eggs in direct proportion to the amount of water added to the flour or increase the number of dry ingredients in the dough. It can be not only flour, but also cocoa (for chocolate biscuit), starch. Soda, ammonium or baking powder is well suited to such a test: these additives will give an additional volume and slightly dry the dough when baking.
Flour dough, made from flour and water, mixes faster and easier with beaten eggs, because both masses have a liquid consistency, and according to the laws of physics they can easily be combined into a homogeneous mixture.
To avoid clotting of egg white, it is enough to monitor the temperature regime, and this is much easier to do than mix evenly dried flour with beaten eggs without violating their magnificent volume.
Having figured out the basics of the innovative method of cooking biscuit dough, it remains to overcome the stereotype that has developed over the years when the biscuit was prepared by professionals and amateurs using familiar and well-known technology. Remember that the old proven ways of making biscuit were once innovative too. The classic biscuit dough is being prepared hot and cold, with the addition of butter, and these technologies are officially recognized by the standards, are fixed in the technological maps of the largest confectionery enterprises.
Boiled biscuit, as a relatively new way of preparing bulk dough, is still under development. The ideal way to make such a dough has not yet been found. But, given the subtleties of the technological process described above, it is possible that one of the readers will be able to open an ideal recipe for a biscuit with boiling water.
To make it easier to understand and adopt a new non-standard method, try to test this technology in practice.
Boiled Vanilla Sponge Cake
Ingredients:
Eggs, dietary (large) 3 pcs.
Baking powder 25 g
Water 110 ml
Flour 450 g
5 mg vanilla extract
Refined Sugar 125 g
Cooking method:
Pay attention to the composition of the products: the weight of a diet egg is 65-70 g without shell. 3 eggs each 70 g - 210 g. The mass of eggs and water - 330 g. To this mass we add the weight of sugar - 125 g, because sugar refers to liquid ingredients. Despite its crystalline texture and flowability, sugar contains a lot of moisture and melts at high temperature. Total: wet ingredients by weight - 455 g, which corresponds to the mass of dry ingredients, including baking powder. We also take into account that the flour also contains moisture, although in a small amount.
The correct proportions are observed. We proceed to the preparation of the dough, but first we preheat the oven to 180 ° C, prepare the form, as for an ordinary biscuit.
Beat the chilled eggs in the bowl of the combine, adding the extract at the end of the beat. Sift flour into boiling water at the same time, stirring the mass with a whisk. Of course, all flour will not fit in 100 ml of water, so make no more than 100 g. Combine the rest of the flour with baking powder and sugar and put into hot brewed dough. Stir until sugar is dissolved.
Pour beaten eggs into a warm flour mixture, gently mix the dough until smooth, pour into a mold and bake. Check the readiness of the dough with a wooden skewer or a toothpick. Place the hot mold on the wire rack until completely cooled. After remove the biscuit.
Boiled biscuit with starch - the second way
Ingredients:
Refined Sugar 125 g
Corn Starch - 50 g
5 mg vanilla extract
Baking powder 25 g
Eggs, dietary (large) 3 pcs.
Flour 450 g
Milk (2.5%) 120 ml
Cooking:
The whole technology of dough preparation is exactly repeated as in the first recipe, but the amount of flour is reduced by 50 g, and the same amount of starch is added. Instead of water, milk is used to brew the dough, which is taken slightly more than water, taking into account the dry mass in its composition.
Chocolate creamy biscuit with boiling water
Ingredients:
Milk 150 ml
Butter, 75 g
Sugar 250 g
Vanillin 6 g
Water 150 ml
Flour 650 g
4 eggs
Cocoa 100 g
Baking powder 20 g
Salt 12 g
Operating procedure:
Prepare the oven and demountable baking dish by lining the bottom with greaseproof baking paper. Boil milk with sugar and cocoa. Cook to medium consistency by adding oil. Beat the chilled proteins to the maximum volume and stable foam. In boiling water, add a portion of flour (150 g), quickly stir with a whisk, remove from the stove, continuing to whisk with a whisk, placing the bowl in a bowl of cold water. Drive the yolks into the choux pastry, one at a time, add the hot chocolate mass, pouring it into the dough in parts and stirring. Add the remaining flour, combined with baking powder and salt. Shuffle. Insert carefully whipped proteins into a warm dough, and pour the whole mass into the prepared form, filling it to half the volume. Bake at 170 ° C on the middle shelf. Soak the cooled sponge cake for at least 5-6 hours. After you can cut the layers, soak in syrup and form a cake.
Vegan Orange Biscuit with Boiling Water
Ingredients:
Starch 75 g
Water 250 ml
Citrus juice (orange or lemon) 200 ml
Flour 500 g
Baking powder 20 g
Vanilla Extract 6 mg
Sugar 125 g
Salt 10 g
Cooking:
Bring the water to a boil, add sugar. Dissolve starch in cold juice, mix and pour into sugar syrup, intensively stirring the mass with a whisk. When it thickens, remove from heat and, continuing to beat, sift flour into the liquid, combined with baking powder and salt.
Pour the dough into the prepared form and place in the preheated oven. Bake at 180 ° C for 40 minutes. Check the preparedness of the semi-finished product with a bamboo stick.
After cooling, stand the finished biscuit for 5-6 hours.
Boiled biscuit with poppy seeds
Ingredients:
Milk 200 ml
Sugar 180 g
Poppy, pastry 150 g
Vanilla Powder 8 g
4 eggs
Oil 120 g
Flour 550 g
Salt 16 g
Soda 10 g
Cooking:
Rinse the poppy, let it drain in water, and boil it in milk with sugar. When the poppy has steamed well, add a little flour, sifting it in parts, stir the mixture so that it does not burn. If lumps accidentally form, punch the mass with a blender. It should be a thick, but not tough dough. Remove it from the stove. Rub yolks with butter, add to a warm dough. Salt, add soda. Lastly, add the whipped whites to a firm foam.
Transfer the dough into a mold lined with oiled parchment and place in a hot oven. The temperature for baking should be medium.
Pink sponge cake with boiling water and kefir
Ingredients:
Juice, raspberry 200 g
Water 100 ml
Sugar 250 g
Kefir 150 g
5 eggs
Flour 70 g
Oil 120 g
Vanillin
Soda 25 g
Starch 50 g
Cooking:
Combine the juice with starch, pour the mixture into boiling water, cook until thick. Add half the sugar to the thick and hot jelly, and rub the rest of the sugar with butter and yolks. Beat whites separately. Sift flour into a deep bowl, add vanillin, soda, a little salt. Stir the dry mixture and pour hot jelly, then kefir. Stir the dough constantly. Add the butter mixture after kefir, and finally add the whipped whites. Gently mix the dough with a spatula, shift into detachable forms (24 and 28 cm), filling them in half, and bake the cakes for a two-tier cake. It is advisable to leave semi-finished products overnight on a wooden surface, covered with a linen napkin.
Hot sponge cake - useful tips
Biscuit dough is one of the types of bulk (liquid) dough. Whatever recipe is chosen for cooking, pay attention to the consistency of the resulting dough before sending it to the oven. The biscuit dough, in any case, should have a consistency of thick sour cream, with a moisture content of 30-40%. After baking, some of the moisture will evaporate. After cooling, the finished semi-finished product should remain elastic: when pressed with a finger, no dents should remain on the surface of the cooled biscuit.
Achieve the required consistency of the test, regardless of what is written in the recipe. Remember that each product has a different degree of moisture, including flour.
Always try to beat eggs to get lush pastries. If this is not written in the recipe, do it by default, because any dough that is as saturated as possible with oxygen is doomed to success.
