Up your Sunday roast game with these easy tips.
Sorry, Nanna. UK scientists reckon they’ve cracked the code to the perfect Yorkshire pudding.
Yes, we know that everyone has their own ‘secret’ technique for making the ultimate Yorkie and of course, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. However, scientists at the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) deem that the perfect Yorkshire pudding is made of just five ingredients: plain flour, milk, water, eggs and salt, and must be prepared in a very particular way.
Plain flour is key, according to the Brits. The addition of bicarb or baking powder should not be added to the mix at all, and can even cause the puds to become flat, dense, or even burn. The logic behind this is that rising agents like bicarb and baking powder cause the batter to rise too quickly before the gluten has time to strengthen the mix, causing the pudding to collapse.
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Next up is the liquid. Where most home cooks will exclusively use milk in their Yorkshire puddings, British food technologist Elizabeth Head says that a ratio of 92 percent milk and eight percent water is the ticket; “The extra moisture from the water leads to lighter, puffier Yorkies, because the movement of the stream created by the heat encourages them to puff upwards.”
The egg element is all the rising agent that a Yorkshire pudding needs in line with the RSC’s method. The eggs not only add moisture to the puddings, but bind the batter together and cause the Yorkies to rise when the batter makes contact with the hot oil.
Once your mixture is whipped to a thin cream-like consistency, it must be left at room temperature. Just like cooking a steak straight from the fridge, a cold batter will not cook evenly.
Finally, once you’ve popped your puds into the oven – back away. The temptation to open the oven and check on your puddings is practically irresistible, we know, but if you open that door, the temperature will fluctuate and you’ll end up with flat puddings. Anything shorter than 10cm is not technically a Yorkshire pudding, after all.
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How to make the perfect Yorkshire pudding
Makes 6
Ingredients
- 85g plain flour
- 2 small eggs
- ½ tsp fine salt
- 230 ml milk
- 20 ml water
- 3-4 tbsp vegetable oil or beef drippings
Method
- Preheat oven to 200 degrees
- Sieve plain flour and ½ tsp salt into a mixing bowl
- Add the two eggs to the flour and gradually add the milk and water until a smooth, thin consistency. Set aside at room temperature for at least 10 minutes.
- Add 1-2 tsp of your chosen fat into each bowl of a cupcake tin and place into the oven until smoking hot
- Give the batter a final stir and pour into the smoking fat. Transfer immediately to the hot oven and cook for 12-15 minutes
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