The Quarantine Cookbook: Dutch baby, the breakfast of champions
As we settle in to self-isolation, we’re sharing some of our favorite delicious, easy-to-make recipes for the hungry at home.
Making a Dutch baby might sound like a sexual innuendo, but I promise it’s just a cooking term for the creation of a simple breakfast food. I grew up having it on Sunday breakfasts in Oregon, and now that I’m thousands of miles away in my South Oakland home, it’s something that reminds me of rainy winter mornings during a better time. It’s made of just four essential ingredients that (hopefully) you have in your home — flour, milk, eggs and butter. You’ll want a cast iron pan for this one, as it provides not only the high heat necessary for baking but also the rustic country aesthetic.
Total time: 40 minutes
Servings: Three or four
Ingredients:
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup milk (I use 2%, but any dairy-free substitute will work too)
- 4 eggs
- ⅓ cup unsalted butter
Directions:
- Preheat your oven to 425°F. If your oven is faulty like mine, it’ll take like an hour to get to temperature. While it’s preheating, put the butter into a 12-inch cast iron pan and place the pan in the oven to melt the butter and heat the pan.
- Beat the eggs, ideally with a blender for about a minute. If you don’t have a standing blender, use an immersion blender. If you don’t have an immersion blender, use an egg beater. If you’re living in the dark ages (or are just a college student without fancy cooking equipment), beat it by hand. You’re looking for a light yellow color as you whip air into the eggs, so if you’re going by hand, it’s gonna take a while.
- While still mixing, add in the milk slowly, then the flour. Beat for another little bit after you’re done adding the flour.
- Once the butter is melted and the pan is hot, take it out of the oven and pour in the batter. Place it back in the hot oven and cook for 20 to 25 minutes — you’re looking for some browning around the edge. Important note — do not open the oven while it’s baking as this causes the Dutch baby to deflate.
- Take it out of the oven and serve immediately out of the cast iron pan. I prefer it sweet, with some freshly squeezed lemon and powdered sugar, but feel free to add any toppings you want!
- Relish your new favorite breakfast food.
Brian Gentry is from Portland, Oregon, and is a junior mechanical engineering student with minors in mathematics and chemistry. He started as a columnist...