andrew's Reviews
2 recipe(s) reviewed. Showing 1 to 2Sort by: Title 
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Bouchon Bakery
By Thomas Keller, Sebastien Rouxel
Artisan - 2012
Blueberry Muffins : page 76
These were okay muffins, but nothing special. I'd been led by the instructions to believe they would be something out of the ordinary - they have molasses, honey, lots of butter, and rest in in the fridge overnight, which is supposed to create a 'very moist muffin' with a better crumb.
The result: an almost too dry muffin with a slightly odd taste of molasses which would be better suited to go with pumpkin muffins, perhaps. I baked them for 33 minutes (it's a low temperature bake), taking them out just when they firmed up. I didn't deviate from the instructions except to reduce the salt a little as 1 tsp of regular salt seemed like a lot.
I'll be going back to the very good blueberry muffins I make all the time from this recipe: http://www.cookbooker.com/recipe/1432/lawsuit-buttermilk-muffins
useful (1)
Oatmeal Raisin Cookies : page 32
The first time I made these I followed the recipe exactly, using a gram scale to make sure it was precise, as recommended in the book's foreword. They were almost inedible - the taste of baking soda was overwhelming; I found them too salty and too strongly tasting of cinnamon also. I baked them about half the recommended size and still found them enormous. I dumped them in the compost and tried again.
This time I reduced the baking soda to 3/4 of a teaspoon, which was more in line with other cookie recipes in the book (the TLCs the next page over have only 1/2 a teaspoon, leading me to think perhaps the 1 1/2 tsp recommended in this recipe is an error).
I also reduced the cinnamon to 3/4 of a tablespoon and reduced the kosher salt to a scant teaspoon. I also dropped the brown sugar to about 100 grams, as the weight to cup ratio in the instructions seemed off to me also. Then I baked them at my regular cookie size (a bit smaller than a golf ball - about 30 grams each) for 14 minutes. They were very good with these changes, and rivalled my best other oatmeal cookie recipes (Smitten Kitchen). I'd give them 5 stars with the adjustments.
useful (0)