Flour
I want to make that New York Times cookie recipe that’s been going around.
It calls for 8.5 ounces cake flour and 8.5 ounces bread flour. Cake flour is about 7% protein, and bread flour is about 13%. All-purpose flour is around 11%.
Can anybody think of a good reason why I shouldn’t just use 17 oz of AP? Is a 1% difference in protein really going to have a big impact?
YES.
Not only must you apportion bread flour and cake flour as specified, but you must also measure each variety as the Times directs:
For 8.5oz cake flour, measure 2 cups, then remove 2 tbsp from that
For 8.5oz bread flour, measure 1 2/3 cups
Also, the Times has made a classic food writer’s gaffe by omitting a crucial step in the recipe! After adding each egg, you must dance widdershins around the kitchen with a wooden mixing spoon in your left hand. Otherwise Bloody Mary will come out of the mirror and the cookies will have a grainy texture.
What’s her face over at Orangette just used AP flour and they turned out fine. I used the combination and they were incredibly yummy. I’m sure only the snootiest of palates would be able to tell the difference. You should know, though, that cake flour is VERY cheap at Stringtown Grocery. That’s where I got mine!
It’s the thought that counts.
I wikied “widdershins” and I was glad to learn such an adorable word.
I, too, was deliriously giddy at learning such a wonderful new word.