Xiaoshou's delicious food generation

Leaning on the counter, Ji Xiuyu suddenly asked, "Do you know why low-gluten flour is used for making cakes?"

"Well, I seem to have heard my mother say this..."

Jiang Yifan stopped his hands and thought for a moment, then continued to sift the flour and said, "It's because high-gluten flour tastes more chewy and elastic than low-gluten flour, and low-gluten flour has a more delicate taste. Therefore, high-gluten flour is suitable for making bread and pasta, while low-gluten flour is more suitable for making pastries such as biscuits and cakes."

"Bingo! That's exactly right." Ji Xiuyu snapped his fingers and smiled appreciatively, "The gluten of flour is divided according to the protein content contained in it. We generally call those with a protein content below 8.5% low flour." Gluten flour, and those with a content higher than 11.5% are called high-gluten flour."

Jiang Yifan raised his head and asked, "Is the all-purpose flour sandwiched between the two?"

"It can't be regarded as..." Ji Xiuyu said, "The average protein content of about 11% is called all-purpose flour, which is the ordinary flour we usually use. All-purpose flour is mostly used in Chinese snacks, such as steamed buns, steamed buns, dumplings and the like .”

"Depending on the different gluten properties of the flour, the pastry will have different expansion and hardness. For example, if you use low-gluten flour to make a sponge cake, the finished product will be soft and elastic, and the three-dimensional shape will not collapse. If you use high-gluten flour , it will inhibit the expansion of the cake due to the strong gluten, and cause the finished product to shrink and shrink in size after baking, which will affect the taste and feel a little hard when eating."

Ji Xiuyu concluded, "So, low-gluten flour is usually used to make cakes, biscuits, rolls, etc. that are soft and loose in texture."

At this time, Jiang Yifan had already sifted the flour, and started to stir the batter with a scraper.However, Ji Xiuyu stopped him before he could strike.

Jiang Yifan looked up at him, waiting for his next order.

"Although we use low-gluten flour to make cakes, it still has some gluten. If you don't follow the same direction, but stir up and down from side to side, it will easily produce gluten, so that the cake will not expand very high and the texture will not be fine. The result will be the same as It's the same as the one made with high-gluten flour."

After Ji Xiuyu finished speaking, he signaled Jiang Yifan to stir the batter in a clockwise direction.

"The stirring time should not be too long. It is enough to stir until the granulated flour is invisible and the batter is smooth."

Jiang Yifan nodded to show that he understood, and then began to stir the batter regularly and slowly.

Ji Xiuyu was very satisfied, so he continued talking about the topic just now.

"The protein content of high-gluten flour is about 13.5% on average. Because of its high protein content and strong gluten, it is mostly used to make bread, and it is mostly used in muffins and hollow cream cakes in western cakes, such as puffs. In terms of cakes, Restricted to use in high-ingredient fruit cakes."

"Do you know the biggest difference between bread and cake making?" Ji Xiuyu asked.

Jiang Yifan shook his head honestly.

Ji Xiuyu smiled and said, "The biggest difference between bread and cake making is the method of expansion. Bread is made by fully kneading the dough made of high-gluten flour, so that the dough forms a net-like gluten structure, which has strong viscosity and elasticity. It can block the carbon dioxide produced by the yeast, so that the dough can expand."

Seeing Jiang Yifan's understanding expression, Ji Xiuyu continued, "If low-gluten flour is used to make dough, not only will the gluten formed be less, but the viscosity and elasticity will also be weaker, and the carbon dioxide produced by fermentation will overflow, making the dough The dough rises less."

While stirring, Jiang Yifan digested what Ji Xiuyu said.

Suddenly, he thought of a question, "What if there is no low-gluten flour?"

"This is a good question." Ji Xiuyu smiled, "If you can't find low-gluten flour, you can use medium-gluten flour and cornstarch at a ratio of 4:1, or you can use high-gluten flour and cornstarch at a ratio of 1:1 or put the high-gluten flour in the microwave for 2 to 3 minutes to reduce the gluten and mix it with cornstarch to make low-gluten flour.”

"Understand?"

Jiang Yifan nodded, "Understood." Even if he didn't understand, he had already recorded it with his mobile phone, and he could take notes while listening later.

Seeing that he was almost done stirring, Ji Xiuyu asked him to stop and started preparing to whip the egg whites.

"Beating egg whites is the key. Whether the egg whites are beaten successfully will affect the success of the cake. After the egg whites are beaten, use the large number of fine air bubbles in the egg whites to raise the batter. The purpose is to make the cake fluffy and taste better. Rather than collapsed, it tastes like death."

Ji Xiuyu said, "A protein should be mixed with at least 20g of sugar, so that the beaten protein is more stable. If it is less, it should not be less than 15g, otherwise the beaten protein will be unstable."

In the process of speaking, he has already weighed out three parts of 20g of white granulated sugar with an electronic scale, "You can use fine granulated sugar, soft white sugar, and brown granulated sugar for whipping egg whites."

"Pour a drop or two of white vinegar into the egg white first. If there is no white vinegar, lemon juice is fine." Ji Xiuyu said, moving aside a little to make room for Jiang Yifan.

Although Jiang Yifan didn't understand the reason for doing this, he still added a little white vinegar into it with a small spoon as Ji Xiuyu said.

Seeing Jiang Yifan's confusion, Ji Xiuyu explained, "Because protein is alkaline, adding some acidic substances such as lemon juice, white vinegar or cream of tartar can increase the stability of meringue. In fact, a professional cake maker I will use a copper basin, and the effect is the same as that of the copper basin, because the copper will release a small amount of acidic substances when whipping, and the volume of the egg white will be larger than that of other standard containers. However, copper basins are generally used at home There will be no equipment, so the second choice should be stainless steel basins."

Jiang Yifan suddenly realized that there are so many principles and exquisiteness in making a small cake.Then, he took a weighed portion of white sugar and poured it into the basin containing the egg whites, and then took the portable electric egg beater that Ji Xiuyu handed him.

Ji Xiuyu pointed to the row of numbers and switches in front of the handle of the egg beater and said, "This is the switch gear, and this is from gear 1 to gear 8, which indicates the frequency of beating eggs. When beating egg whites, you should start from low speed to Medium and high speed, if you use high speed to beat the protein at the beginning, the volume of the beaten protein will not be large enough and it will be unstable because of too much foam.”

"As the amount of egg white is beaten, the number of gears and the time of use are gradually increased. This requires a few more trials. After accumulating experience, it will be clearer. If you don't use an electric egg beater, choose to use an egg beater. Then you have to choose a larger number of steel rings, preferably a spiral type, which will be easier to pass.”

Ji Xiuyu signaled Jiang Yifan to add the white sugar he weighed just now into the egg whites, and then asked him to tilt the basin, "Because the amount of egg whites is relatively small, tilting the basin a little can make the egg whites fully contact with the egg beater, which is beneficial Egg whites."

Jiang Yifan holds the egg beater with his right hand, and fixes the basin left and right.Ji Xiuyu helped him turn the first gear, and the egg beater started to rotate immediately. Jiang Yifan's right hand could feel the vibration of the egg beater, but there was no annoying "buzzing" sound. It seems that the egg beater's The quality is pretty good.

The egg beater was in contact with the egg white, and it didn't take long for the egg white, which was originally light yellow, to turn white quickly, and there were a lot of thick bubbles.At this time, Ji Xiuyu added another portion of sugar into it.Jiang Yifan noticed that when Ji Xiuyu put the sugar, he gradually added it while leaning up against the basin wall, instead of pouring it all at the center like he did just now.

Jiang Yifan couldn't help asking, "Did I do anything wrong when I poured the sugar just now?"

"It's okay..." Signaling Jiang Yifan to continue whipping, Ji Xiuyu said, "It doesn't matter if it's the first time you did it just now, but after you whip it, you have to put it like me, or the meringue that has already been whipped It might blow up."

"When beating egg whites, we will add sugar three times." Ji Xiuyu explained, "Because if all the white sugar is added at one time, it will inhibit the air denaturation of the protein in the egg whites, which will make it more difficult to beat than adding sugar separately. Doing sugar three times creates more air bubbles and more egg white volume."

When the protein was beaten until it became fine foam and lines appeared, Ji Xiuyu asked Jiang Yifan to add the remaining sugar.

Seeing that Jiang Yifan was beating in one place all the time, Ji Xiuyu gestured on the egg whites with his hands, and said, "Let the egg beater draw circles in the basin continuously, so that the egg whites and the egg whites can fully contact. Whip to the back, If there are more, when you need to rotate the pot, you should pay attention to the direction of rotating the pot and the direction of the egg beater is opposite."

Jiang Yifan listened to what Ji Xiuyu said just now, holding the eggbeater and making circles in the basin, sometimes the eggbeater would touch the basin wall or the basin, making a slightly harsh friction sound.

As time went on, Jiang Yifan also adjusted the eggbeater to the middle range, and the texture of the egg white became clearer and clearer. Suddenly, Ji Xiuyu asked Jiang Yifan to stop.

Ji Xiuyu said, "Pick up the egg beater and have a look."

Jiang Yifan picked up the eggbeater and found that there were small curved points on the egg whites on Bold's head.

"Egg whites include the coarse foam at the beginning, and the current one is called wet foam." Ji Xiuyu pointed to the peak of the egg white and continued, "There is also a neutral foam, which can also be called nine distributions; After hitting the back, it will be hard foam, also known as ten hair."

Ji Xiuyu asked him to continue to send, because their cake needs hard foaming.

It can be seen that Jiang Yifan is still a little confused, Ji Xiuyu smiled, "You can find what I just said in the books I gave you when you go back, and they are all explained very clearly."

"Oh." Jiang Yifan understood.

For a short period of time, neither of them spoke, only the slight sound of the eggbeater and the sound of colliding with the basin.

When Jiang Yifan hit the back, he felt a little resistance. It was not so easy to hit compared to the beginning, and the lines where the eggbeater passed would not disappear so quickly.

At this moment, Ji Xiuyu suddenly yelled "stop".

Jiang Yifan quickly took out the egg beater, and then turned off the egg beater.

Ji Xiuyu pointed to the eggbeater and said, "Did you see that the egg whites are peaked at this time, and if you turn the basin upside down to see, the egg whites won't flow out so easily."

Jiang Yifan slowly tilted the basin upside down according to his words, and found that the result was really as Ji Xiuyu said.

Seeing Jiang Yifan's surprised expression, Ji Xiuyu found it funny.

Ji Xiuyu said, "In addition to what you did just now, you can also use chopsticks to test the degree of egg white." He said, he took a chopstick, inserted it into the egg white, and the chopstick stood upright for a long time.

"When beating egg whites, you must pay special attention to the later stage, because it only takes about ten seconds, and the egg whites will become dull due to excessive stirring, so you need to master the state of egg whites."

"After the protein is sent, it is best to use it immediately, otherwise it will start to water after five or six minutes."

With that said, Ji Xiuyu walked up to Jiang Yifan, scooped one-third of the egg whites into the mayonnaise with a spatula, and asked Jiang Yifan to hold the spatula.

Jiang Yifan looked at Ji Xiuyu puzzled, who knew that he would directly hold his hand holding the spatula in the next second.

Jiang Yifan was taken aback by Ji Xiuyu's actions, and the warm body temperature of Ji Xiuyu came from the back of his right hand.It is rare to have such close contact with people, Jiang Yifan's body was a little stiff for a while, and then he suddenly felt that there was not enough oxygen in the air, otherwise why would he feel chest tightness, blushing and difficulty breathing?

Ji Xiuyu was half a head taller than Jiang Yifan. At this time, he didn't notice Jiang Yifan, but said seriously, "I'll teach you how to stir."

Ji Xiuyu's pleasant and hoarse voice suddenly rang in his ears, and Jiang Yifan nodded indiscriminately in response, while sensitively feeling that his right ear was hot and numb.

Ji Xiuyu took Jiang Yifan's hand and turned it up and down like cooking, stirring the whipped egg white and mayonnaise batter evenly.

Jiang Yifan let Ji Xiuyu lead him to move with his heart beating like numbness. At this time, his senses seemed to become more sensitive. His warm breath was next to his ears, his warm temperature was on his hands, and the tip of his nose was his warm breath. The smell of the shower gel.

In fact, it’s not that they haven’t been so close when cooking before, not to mention they have shared the same bed so many times, and it’s not uncommon for them to be closer than this distance, but Jiang Yifan doesn’t understand why there is such a reaction now .

Ji Xiuyu didn't do this to take advantage of Jiang Yifan. The two have always been serious in cooking teaching, so it's not surprising that there is such a picture now.However, this scene fell into the eyes of Xie Yuan who knew Ji Xiuyu's sexual orientation, so it was so ambiguous no matter how he looked at it, and how impure no matter how he thought about it.

Of course, Xie Yuan's thoughts didn't affect the two people in the kitchen at all.

Just when Jiang Yifan was still wondering what he was thinking, Ji Xiuyu suddenly stopped what he was doing.

After the temperature on the back of his hand evacuated, and Ji Xiuyu's slightly angry voice sounded in his ears, Jiang Yifan finally reacted.

"Did you hear me?" Ji Xiuyu frowned dissatisfiedly at him.

Knowing that the other party was angry, Jiang Yifan quickly put away his messy thoughts and apologized to Ji Xiuyu.

"Sorry! I shouldn't have been distracted!"

Ji Xiuyu is very serious when teaching. He doesn't like other people to be distracted, because it will not only affect the taste of the food, but also hurt himself or others because of inattention in the process of cooking, and bring trouble to himself and others.

Seeing that the other party had a good attitude of admitting his mistakes, Ji Xiuyu's anger level dropped a little.

"I told you that you must be careful not to wander off during the cooking process. Do you take my words as wind in your ears? Or is it in the left ear and out in the right ear?"

Jiang Yifan apologized again sincerely, "I'm sorry!"

Ji Xiuyu asked sternly, "Did you remember what I taught you just now?"

Jiang Yifan quickly recalled those pitifully few memories, and replied with a guilty conscience, "I remember..."

Ji Xiuyu didn't believe him, "Then you do it and see."

Jiang Yifan burst into tears in his heart. If he had known earlier, he would not have deserted. What is wrong?

Picking up the spatula, he thought about what Ji Xiuyu did just now, and Jiang Yifan did it once with great anxiety.

The roar of fear did not appear, Jiang Yifan breathed a sigh of relief silently, proving that he was right!

Sensing Jiang Yifan's small emotions, Ji Xiuyu's originally angry mood seemed to have spit out with Jiang Yifan's breath just now, he took a breath and said, "Just follow this, after stirring, pour them into the remaining Continue to stir in the protein according to the method just now.”

"Understood." Jiang Yifan responded with a low eyebrow.

Seeing Jiang Yifan's "little daughter-in-law" expression, Ji Xiuyu felt inexplicably happy.

After Jiang Yifan finished stirring the cake batter, Ji Xiuyu took the six paper cups and put them in front of him, and said, "Pour the cake batter into the paper cups, it doesn't need to be too full, it should be [-]% full."

"it is good."

Jiang Yifan nodded, picked up the basin, and carefully poured the cake batter into the six paper cups with a spatula.During this time, Ji Xiuyu preheated the oven.

After all the paper cups were packed, Ji Xiuyu put them in a baking tray, then put them in the oven and bake them at 180 degrees for 15 minutes.

Taking advantage of the cake baking time, Ji Xiuyu and Jiang Yifan cleaned up the kitchen together and made a summary at the same time.

Jiang Yifan said, "Separate the egg whites first, then beat the egg yolks, add the batter and stir the batter, then beat the egg whites, and finally mix the two, pour them into paper cups and put them in the oven."

Ji Xiuyu asked, "Tell me about the process of whipping egg whites?"

Jiang Yifan thought for a while and said, "First add sugar and white vinegar and beat it into thick foam, then add sugar for the second time and beat it into fine bubbles, then add sugar for the third time, and then beat it until it becomes hard foam."

Ji Xiuyu was very satisfied with Jiang Yifan's answer. Although someone lost his mind during the process, the result was still good.