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Gems Without Eggs
Do not be afraid to try these. They will be light in spite of the reader's doubts, if the recipe is followed exactly, making no change in measurements. 1 cup cold water 1 cup cold milk, or 2 cups either water or milk 2 cups unsifted Graham flour, whole-wheat, or white flour 1/2 teaspoon salt Beat (not stir) the flour into the liquid with a wire whip, wire spoon, or Dover egg beater, sprinkling the flour in slowly with the fingers. Beat vigorously for two minutes. Pour into hot oiled gem pans, and bake in a hot oven. These gems will be lighter if the batter is allowed to stand for several hours, or overnight, in the refrigerator. Do not stir the batter in the morning.
This is a popover in muffin form: no eggs, no baking powder, nothing but flour, liquid and salt, with steam doing all the lifting. That makes the mechanical details — hot pans, hot oven, hard beating — the whole recipe.
- Gem pansGem irons are heavy cast-iron muffin pans, with anywhere from six to a dozen small cups. A cast-iron muffin tin or a popover pan is the closest modern equivalent; thin, light tins hold less heat and give flatter results.
- Preheat the pan, not just the ovenThe pan must be in the oven getting hot while it heats, then oiled and filled fast. Batter hitting cold metal will not throw off the burst of steam that raises these.
- "A hot oven"Read that as 425-450F. Bake 25 to 35 minutes and leave the door shut for at least the first 20; opening it early collapses them.
- Why the measurements are fixedThe ratio here is one part flour to one part liquid by volume, which gives a batter about the thickness of heavy cream. Adding flour to thicken it defeats the leavening, which is entirely steam.
- Unsifted flourThe instruction is deliberate. Scoop and level rather than sift; an unsifted cup runs roughly 4 1/2 to 5 oz (130-140 g). Sifted flour measures short and thins the batter.
- Graham flourGraham flour is coarsely milled whole wheat with the bran returned. Ordinary whole-wheat flour works and is what most cooks will have; white flour will probably give the highest rise of the three.
- BeatingTwo minutes of vigorous beating develops enough gluten to hold the steam. A hand mixer or stand mixer does it faster than a wire whip, but do not run it so long the batter warms.
- The overnight restChilling lets the flour hydrate fully and the batter smooth out. The instruction not to stir it in the morning is worth keeping — pour it straight from the bowl.
- Yield and servingAbout a dozen small gems. They are best within minutes of coming out of the pan; once cool they turn leathery, though they reheat passably in a hot oven.