Dutch Baby | Troubleshooting & Mindful Baking

A warm breakfast on a cold wintery morning gives me a shot of energy I need to jumpstart the day. A plain Dutch baby recipe from Nigella Lawson has quite the appeal. On the other hand, who doesn’t appreciate a dramatic, rumpled crepe-like pancakes for breakfast? However, a simple breakfast turns into an exercise of mindful baking over the course of several days in early January.

A Dutch baby has nothing to do with Holland. It’s derived from the German (Deutsch) pancakes from the Pennsylvania Dutch country in the US. Originally, Dutch babies are served with melted butter, sugar and lemon. Their biggest draw is the way they puff up in the oven, like that of their close cousins, the popovers.

So when the Dutch baby doesn’t puff up in my first attempt, it’s so disappointing to see a pathetic looking pancake. Well, it’s time to go back to the drawing board. In reality, I got no rise at all. As it turns out, it’s flat, literally, like a pancake. A do-over seems unavoidable. At the same time, I need to make sure none of the basic tenets of baking is missing. Say, the right amount of heat.

Most Dutch baby recipes call for preheating a cast-iron pan. Checked, I got that. The high initial oven temperature (at 425°F) should lead to the oven spring and browning necessary to achieving the tall structure quickly. Checked. What’s left? Are the ingredients (eggs, other dry ingredients and milk) at room temperature? Don’t forget, the kitchen is cold in the Northeast in January. Going forward, I should make sure all the ingredients are at room temperature, and are mixed well, before going into the hot oven. The task at hand is that the temperature requirements of 1) the ingredients, 2) the pan and 3) the oven are properly met.

Results of bake #2: the Dutch baby puffs more than the last attempt, mostly around the edges. However, the center of the pancake remains dense with minimum rise. What to do now? It’s time to double-check the list of ingredients and the process.

Bake #2: apply proper heat to room-temperature ingredients; risen edges but flat in the center

The first thing that comes to the mind of a bread baker: what’s the hydration level of the batter? For the Dutch babies to rise, there should be enough moisture in the batter for air bubbles to expand and to create the poufs.

A quick research on the baker ratios gives me the clue for the fixes. The key difference between a flat pancake and a puffy Dutch baby is the varying degree of liquid to flour in the batter. The ratio is 1:1 and 2:1 (liquid to flour in weight) for pancakes and popovers, respectively. In other words, Dutch babies, like popovers, require double the amount of milk than the regular pancakes for them to rise properly. In addition, a frothy batter tends to result in a loftier rise of the finished pancakes.

The back-of-the-envelope calculations: for a 10-inch cast-iron pan, you need 3 eggs (150 g), 1 cup (200g) of milk and 2/3 cup (100g) of flour. Accordingly, in bake #3 I increase the amount of milk by 50g (from 150g), while holding everything else constant (in Nigella’s initial recipe). Moreover, I use an immersion blender (a Vitamix would have been ideal) to ensure the final batter is airy and full of bubbles.

The adjustments for higher amount of milk and intense whisking are spot on to fix a flat or unrisen Dutch baby. The fixes result in a dutch baby which puffs up beautifully with brown edges all around. Now the basic recipe is fool-proof, you can start preparing Dutch babies with its many variations. Make them savory and cheesy. Top them with fresh fruits and berries. Load them with maple syrup and jam. Even leftovers can be made tasty again with a freshly-baked Dutch baby as the base.

Bake #3: add more milk and blend thoroughly; you get puffy rise all around

A checklist for dramatic and puffy Dutch babies:

• Keep all ingredients at room temperature.
• Heat a cast-iron pan in a preheated 425°F oven while making the batter.
• Remember the optimal milk-to-flour ratio is 2:1, two parts milk to one part flour in weight.
• Add dry ingredients io the wet ingredients. Whisk to combine.
• Mix the batter until airy and frothy — in a food processor, immersion blender, Vitamix or with a hand whisk.
• Add butter in the hot pan. Let it melt. Then pour the batter in the pan.
• Bake the Dutch baby at high temperature (425°F) until browned around the edges, about 20-25 minutes.

Print Recipe

Dutch Baby | Nigella Lawson

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• FOR THE DUTCH BABY:
• 3 (150g) large eggs
• 200g/ 1 cup whole milk
• 1 tablespoon caster sugar
• 100g/ 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1½ teaspoons vanilla paste (or extract)
• a pinch of salt
• 25g/ 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• banana, sliced (optional)
• TO SERVE:
• icing sugar
• blue and black berries
• ground cinnamon
• lemon zest (1/2 lemon)
• maple syrup

Instructions

1

Preheat the oven to 220°C/ 200°C with fan/ gas mark 7/ 425ºF.

2

Put a 10-inch cast-iron pan in the preheated 425°F oven. Heat it up while you prepare the batter.

3

Combine eggs, milk, sugar, flour, vanilla, and salt in an electric mixer, food processor or immersion blender until light and frothy. Whisk until you have a smooth but thin batter.

4

Wearing a thick oven mitt, remove the pan from the oven. Put the butter carefully into the hot pan and swirl it to melt. Then quickly pour in the batter and return it to the oven.

5

Bake until puffed and golden brown, about 20-25 minutes.

6

Serve dusted with icing sugar, cinnamon, lemon zest, and a handful of berries. Serve with maple syrup on the side.

Notes

Heavily adapted to the recipe on https://www.nigella.com/recipes/dutch-baby