Milk Street Q&A

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Amy - It's definitely not there for the flavor since there's actually not a whole lot of real vanilla flavor in vanilla pudding mix. Vanilla pudding mix is basically just sugar and cornstarch and it's the cornstarch that is the key ingredient in your cookies. The combination of cornstarch and flour in the cookie is creating an almost cake flour-like hybrid. Cake flour contains a relatively low amount of protein compared to all-purpose flour, which leads to less gluten formation. Cookies made with all cake flour will be very soft even when you've over-baked them. Since chocolate chip cookies are easy to over-bake and can become too crispy quickly, the pudding mix was added as a foolproof way to keep the cookies soft. They will, however, be more cake-y and lack the chew that comes from using higher-protein all-purpose flour, depending on how much cornstarch is in that pudding mix. I would experiment with eliminating the pudding mix and adding a couple of teaspoons of cornstarch to your dough to try to replicate it. Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Jacqueline - We tested our version with almond flour, but ultimately found that we liked the flavor and texture better using our own ground almond meal. This also allowed us to toast the almonds that we ground for inside the cake. The toasted almonds intensified the roasted quality of the chocolate. Since we really wanted the added crunch from whole sliced almonds on top of the cake, we found it was easier to just call for one ingredient and use it two ways. Unfortunately, we did not test our final recipe using almond flour in place of the sliced almonds. Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Kim - Depending on what your gluten-free pasta is made from (rice, corn, chickpea, buckwheat, etc.), the starch content could vary. There is also the issue of using the pasta water from rice noodles due to the reported levels of arsenic in rice. We found a great alternative that will work with all gluten-free pastas (and whole-wheat pasta which doesn't produce enough starch either). Hope that helps! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Elizabeth Mindreau

Hi Karol - 200°F - 210°F for bundt cakes 210°F for pound cakes

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Bruce - Grape molasses is generally much sweeter than pomegranate molasses so you may have to add some vinegar to balance the sweetness. Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Joshua - If you drop an egg into hot liquid, it will scramble. The keys to preventing this from happening are gradual heat and dilution. This is often achieved through the process of tempering, in which you slowly add some of the hot liquid to the eggs while vigorously whisking, before combining it all. Sometimes you need to temper your eggs, and sometimes you don’t. Obviously you want to temper your eggs if you are adding them to a hot broth, such as in our Georgian Chicken Soup or a Greek avgolemono, which are both enriched with eggs. For custards or ice creams that you are infusing first (with a vanilla bean or whole spices), you will also want to temper the eggs since you are starting with hot milk or cream. But if your recipe doesn't require any kind of preheating of the liquid, then tempering isn’t necessary. Simply combine the eggs with the cold liquid and any other ingredients, then set the mixture over low heat and cook, whisking constantly. The early dilution and slow heating minimize the risk of curdling. This will take a bit longer and require pretty constant attention, but it's a one-pot, no-fuss method. Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Elizabeth Mindreau

Hi Keith - Thank you for reaching out. Our Fast & Slow recipes are developed using 6-quart Instant Pots. If you are using a larger one, it's quite possible that the liquid is evaporating too fast due to the greater surface area. This could account for why your rice and beans were under hydrated.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Kenzie - How awesome that you've found a macaron recipe that works for you! Macarons can be so tricky, especially when you try to add flavor to the shell. You've got the right idea to add freeze-dried fruit powder to the shell, which will add flavor but not any extra moisture that will affect the success of the macaron. Since freeze-dried fruit powder packs a punch, you can probably just add a couple of tablespoons and get pretty strong flavor. Regardless of how much you add, you will need to remove an equal amount of powdered sugar to compensate for the added volume. Hope that helps! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Lizabeth and Julie - We called for bread flour (we like KA because it has a higher protein content, but any brand will work) in our pizza dough recipe because it's simply more widely available and versatile than 00 flour. The main difference in how it behaves is due to the exact type of wheat used and the grind size—American bread flour produces stretchier, chewier breads than Italian "00" bread flour. Flour labeled Tipo "00" has nothing to do with protein content. Rather, it refers to the fineness of the milling. Tipo "00" is the finest grade of flour milled in Italy, and it has a consistency similar to baby powder. It's available with several different levels of protein intended for different baking projects, just like American flours. American bread flour has a protein content similar to that of the Italian Caputo bread flour (King Arthur's regular bread flour actually gets a little bit higher even). Unfortunately, King Arthur doesn't specify the protein content of their 00 flour. Because of the fineness of their milling, they don't need quite as much water as an equivalent regular bread flour so you can't substitute one for the other without adjusting the water as well. Pizza made with 00 flour will produce great crust with a crackly-thin layer of crispness, a nice open and airy hole structure, and just a modicum of chew. Pizza made with regular bread flour won't produce a traditional Neapolitan pizza with a super-crisp, airy, and delicate crust, but the pizza it does produce is great for its own merits. Hope that helps! The Milk Street Team

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Tiza - You can watch Erika stretch the pizza dough for this recipe in this episode of the TV show. She does a great job of illustrating how it should be done. Good luck! https://www.177milkstreet.com/tv/pizza-and-pasta Best, Lynn C.