Milk Street Q&A

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 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.

Answered by Evan Petto

Hello! The 12 Recipes That Will Change the Way You Cook free digital issue is located in your introductory email, sent to you when you sign up. The issue can also be downloaded here. Thank you for your membership!

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Karen - American-style yogurt still contains whey, so it has more moisture and a thinner, runnier consistency. Greek-style yogurt is made by allowing the watery whey to drain from yogurt, giving it a smooth, thick texture. We generally find 3/4 Greek yogurt plus 1/4 cup water to replicate the consistency of plain yogurt. Just make sure to use whole-milk yogurt regardless of whether it is Greek or American-style. Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Jim - Were they formally canned in sterilized jars? If they haven't been officially canned they will generally only last as long as any fresh tomatoes would last - about a week to 10 days in the refrigerator. If they have been properly sealed, they can be stored in a cool, dry place for about a year. Hope that helps! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Elsa - The Season 4 2017-2021 cookbook contains all of the recipes from the four seasons of Milk Street TV. I'm not sure exactly how many recipes might also be in the New Rules cookbook, but there will be some overlap. Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi John - Obviously you could just eliminate the dairy element and it would still be delicious, but I assume you want to keep that creamy element on your toast. If you can find it, Kite Hill vegan ricotta is pretty good and would be great here. Or, you could make your own dairy-free labneh. There are a bunch of recipes online that use either coconut or soy yogurt or, even better, cashews in place of the dairy. We do this in our Butter Chicken recipe to add creaminess without the weight of dairy and it's amazing how creamy it is! Let us know if you try any of these options and how it turned out! Best, Lynn C.

Answered by Lynn Clark

Hi Mitch - I'll try to answer your questions in order: Different recipe authors use different terms for exactly the same pre-ferment made with commercial yeast. What one calls a biga, another refers to as a poolish (a Polish term adopted by French bakers), pâte fermentée (prefermented dough), or sponge. A levain is what one would call a pre-ferment using natural yeast (this would be like a sourdough starter). When a preferment is added to a dough, it not only accelerates fermentation but is itself a partially developed dough, which reduces mixing time. Often a poolish is more hydrated (usually 1:1 ratio of flour to water) than a biga or sponge, but there aren't any hard and fast rules on what, exactly, the hydration levels are for a biga or sponge. A lot is going to depend on how much preferment you use. For example, people use different amounts of the preferment (some even change the ratios of flour and water), change the yeast quantities, they use different water temperatures and pre-fermentation temperatures and times. Some even refrigerate it. Each combination will have its own different and unique effect on the dough (including its strength) and the finished crust characteristics, including the taste and flavor of the finished crust, and its color, texture and aroma. Whether you feel the preferment could replace the slower, cold ferment will depend on what you think about the flavor with just the preferment. Cold fermented doughs allow different types of bacterias and yeasts to flourish, which secrete acetic acid giving a generally sourer flavor. Pre-Ferments are usually done at room temperature which promotes lactic acid development. Yes, typically the small amount of yeast in the poolish would be all of the yeast in the recipe. As Matt mentions in the article above, the proofing stages of the dough will be a bit longer. And, yes, however much flour or water you use in your poolish/biga should be taken out of the total amount of flour and water. Hope that answers your questions sufficiently! Best, Lynn C.