Baking

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Heather - At Milk Street we don't work on low-carb or low-sugar recipes, so we aren't super experienced with those types of substitutions. What we can say that this recipe has liquid sugar rather than granulated sugar, which will inherently make the mixture more/too wet and loose. We would probably recommend using a granulated sugar substitute like monk fruit sweetener instead. Best, The Milk Street Cooking Team

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Karmen - We think you could probably sub an equal amount of greek yogurt for the coconut cream, but it, obviously, won't have the same flavor profile as the cake was intended. Since there are many brands of sour cream that are a lot thinner than greek yogurt or coconut cream, we probably wouldn't recommend that substitution. Best, The Milk Street Cooking Team

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Chris - If you check out your supermarket's international food aisle, you may find Goya brand finely ground cornmeal or another brand like Caribbean Rhythms or Iberia. If you do decide to use the food processor, just make sure not to overprocess it. I would use the pulse setting and process a little at a time to make sure it doesn't go too far. Best, The Milk Street Cooking Team

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Heidi - We usually get complaints that zucchini bread is \too\ moist and bordering on soggy so this is an unusual problem. Some ways to ensure a moist quick bread are to use oil instead of butter (oil stays liquid at room temperature, therefore maintaining moisture), add an ingredient like sour cream or yogurt (these not only add fat and moisture but acid, which inhibits gluten development), and, of course, bake properly (insert a toothpick in the center and pull the bread out once it is clean). Best, The Milk Street Cooking Team

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Thoms - It's actually really easy to make your own crème fraîche using heavy cream and buttermilk. Here are the instructions. Just make sure to start the project the day before you want to make the cheesecake. Best, The Milk Street Cooking Team

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Rosemarie - At Milk Street we typically use grapeseed oil, but any oil without significant flavor, such as safflower oil, canola oil, or avocado oil, should work fine. Avoid peanut oil, extra-virgin olive oil, or unrefined coconut oil due to strong flavors. We also would avoid refined coconut oil since it's solid at room temperature. When calling for oil in baking it's usually because we want a fat that stays liquid at room temperature, which creates a cake that is and stays moist. Hope that helps! The Milk Street Cooking Team

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Miranda - Unfortunately we don't develop recipes that are specifically gluten-free. That being said, it has been our experience that using a gluten-free flour \blend\ is the closest approximation to wheat flour for baking. You can find gluten-free flour blends in the supermarket or make your own - there are plenty of recipes online. We recommend visiting food magazine websites or published cookbooks for gluten-free recipes rather than online blogger versions - these are typically not well-tested like those by a reputable source and won't necessarily work as described. King Arthur Flour has a good flour blend and some excellent recipes on their website. Good luck! Best, The Milk Street Cooking Team

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Zimran - There is salt added to the dough at the beginning of Step 2: Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of salt over the dough, then knead on medium until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes; the dough will be wet enough to cling to the sides of the bowl. At Milk Street we use Morton's Coarse Kosher Salt. Because Morton salt is smaller and denser than Diamond Crystal, 1 teaspoon contains 5 grams of salt. 1 teaspoon of Diamond Crystal has just 3 grams. In practical terms, 1 teaspoon of Morton equals about 2 teaspoons of Diamond Crystal so keep that in mind if you use Diamond Crystal. Best, The Milk Street Cooking Team

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Roger - We recently answered a similar question in the Off The Air feature in the January-February issue of the magazine: A great popover should have a crisp crust, an airy yet custardy interior and—most importantly—its signature billowy shape. A popover pan might appear to be nothing more than a tall muffin tin, but it actually is uniquely designed to deliver these results. Popover pans are designed to convey heat directly to the batter, which is quite wet. As the batter bakes, that heat turns the moisture into steam, causing the popovers’ dramatic rise. The deep cups of a popover pan give the batter plenty of room to rise, and provide support for the sides of the popovers as they do so. The pan shape also promotes swift, even heat distribution, crucial for achieving popovers’ trademark crispy exterior and tender interior. By contrast, the wide, shallow cups of a muffin tin don’t provide the same level of support or space. As a result, popovers baked in muffin pans spread outward rather than upward, resulting in short, squat pucks. Still, we know not everyone has—or wants to buy—a popover pan. So we tested ways to make a standard muffin pan work. For maximum puff, we needed as thin and wet a batter as possible. We started by using low-fat milk instead of whole. We also let the batter rest for 25 minutes to give the flour time to fully hydrate. Next, we skipped nonstick pans. To get the best rise, the batter would need to grip the sides of the cups; nonstick would be too slippery. We filled each cup three-quarters full, but left the two center cups empty to mimic the way a popover pan allows for better heat circulation. Finally (and somewhat unexpectedly), we found we got the best results if near the end of baking we pierced each popover with a skewer. This released steam and let the interiors dry a bit, helping them crisp and hold their shape. Here is our recipe for popovers that corresponds with these instructions. Best, The Milk Street Cooking Team

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Carolyne - Since we don't have an Ooni pizza oven in the Milk Street kitchen we haven't tested this but it should work. Arriving at the right temperature for baking, though, could be tricky since a pizza oven is inherently hotter than a traditional oven and the heat is much more direct and concentrated. We would recommend checking out the Ooni website to see what they recommend for a similar-style focaccia (similar thickness, baked in the pan) in terms of temperature adjustments and placement of the pan. Best, The Milk Street Cooking Team