White Egg Muffins

This is a batter bread leavened entirely by beaten egg white and steam, with no soda, baking powder or yeast. That fact governs everything about how it is mixed and baked.

• The hinge: fold, don't stirThe whites are the only leavening, so they have to be folded into the batter in two or three additions with a light hand. A batter beaten smooth after the whites go in will bake into a dense, damp puck.
• A pint of flourMeasured by volume, a pint is 2 cups, roughly 8 to 9 oz of all-purpose flour. Southern books of this period generally drew on soft winter wheat, and a soft winter-wheat flour gives the tenderest result, but ordinary all-purpose works.
• "Thin batter" is ambiguousThe milk is genuinely unspecified. Bear in mind the eight whites already contribute roughly a cup of liquid, so judge the milk by consistency -- a batter that pours in a steady ribbon rather than dropping in lumps -- and not by a number.
• Eight whitesThe whites of eight modern large eggs come to about 1 cup. Eggs of the period were not graded and likely ran smaller on average, so measuring to a cup is a fair way to approximate the original intent rather than counting shells.
• The pansThe recipe names no pan. In a book of this date "muffins" would most likely mean batter baked in iron gem pans or in muffin rings, not the sweet cupcake-shaped thing. Grease the pans well and heat them before filling; the initial blast of heat is what makes the batter climb.
• OvenThe recipe gives no oven direction. A hot oven, in the region of 425F for about 20 to 25 minutes until well risen and set, suits a batter raised by egg alone. Opening the door early will collapse them, as with popovers.
• Yield and servingRoughly a dozen. They are meant to come to the table straight from the oven with butter; they deflate and toughen within minutes of cooling.
• The eight yolksEight yolks are left over, and it is worth having a use for them ready before you start: custard, a boiled dressing, or a yolk-rich cake.