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Oven-baked Rice
1/2 cup raw rice 2 cups boiling water 1/2 teaspoon salt Add washed rice and salt to boiling water. Pour into a casserole or baking dish, bake in oven till flakes of rice are tender and water absorbed. Use cover on dish.
A skeleton recipe that leaves out the oven temperature and the time, both of which matter more than anything else here. The proportions are also generous with water by current standards.
- Oven temperatureNo heat is given, and the recipe names no oven term to work from. A moderate oven, around 350F, suits covered rice; expect somewhere in the region of 45 minutes to an hour, judged by the rice rather than the clock.
- The water ratioFour parts water to one of rice is far more than the 2:1 most modern long-grain rice wants; some of it is presumably allowance for evaporation during a long bake. With a tight lid and current rice, the result may be wet unless you cut the water to about 1 1/4 cups.
- The lidThe instruction to cover is the hinge. Uncovered, the water evaporates instead of being absorbed and the top layer bakes hard. A close-fitting lid, or foil crimped over the rim, keeps the steam in.
- "Casserole"The word here means simply a covered baking dish, not the composed baked dish the term now suggests. Any lidded ovenproof dish of a quart or so will do.
- Washing the riceRinsing until the water runs clear removes surface starch and keeps the grains separate, which may be what the phrase "flakes of rice" points to. Skip it if you want the grains to cling.
- Judging donenessTest by tasting a grain from the centre rather than by looking. If liquid remains but the rice is tender, uncover and give it five minutes to dry off.
- YieldHalf a cup of raw rice gives about 1 1/2 cups cooked: a side for three, or the base of a one-dish meal for two once meat, cheese or vegetables are added.