MAKES 8

It is important to work the dough as little as possible—work quickly and knead and fold the dough only the number of times called for. The butter should be frozen solid before grating. In hot or humid environments, chill the flour mixture and workbowls before use. While the recipe calls for 2 whole sticks of butter, only 10 tablespoons are actually used (see step 1). If fresh berries are unavailable, an equal amount of frozen berries (do not defrost) can be substituted. An equal amount of raspberries, blackberries, or strawberries can be used in place of the blueberries. Cut larger berries into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces before incorporating. Refrigerate or freeze leftover scones, wrapped in foil, in an airtight container. To serve, remove foil and place scones on a baking sheet in a 375-degree oven. Heat until warmed through and recrisped, 8 to 10 minutes if refrigerated, 16 to 20 minutes if frozen. See final step for information on making the scone dough in advance.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
For our ultimate blueberry scone recipe, we wanted to bring together the sweetness of a coffeehouse confection, the moist freshness of a muffin, the richness of clotted cream and jam, and the super-flaky crumb of a good biscuit. Increasing the amount of butter and adding enough sugar gave the scones sweetness without making them cloying; cutting frozen butter into the flour and giving the dough a few folds helped the scones rise; and rolling out the dough before pressing the berries into it and rolling it up like a jellyroll before flattening it and cutting out the scones all contributed to making this our ideal scone recipe.

http://www.americastestkitchenfeed.com/cooking-science/2013/01/we-prove-it-why-dough-leavened-with-baking-powder-freezes-so-well/

Makes about 15 (4-inch) pancakes

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
Getting the height and lightness of traditional pancakes with the more robust flavor and texture of cornmeal pancakes is tougher than it seems. Coarsely ground cornmeal can be sandy, and lacks the gluten necessary to support a fluffy internal structure. We found that we could use more cornmeal without getting too much grit by heating it with some of the buttermilk to soften it. Soaking the cornmeal also thickened the batter, helping it ride higher in the pan instead of spreading out. Letting the batter sit for a few minutes before griddling the cakes allowed the buttermilk to react with the baking soda, making the batter foamy, which resulted in fluffier, airier pancakes.

[Lemon-Cornmeal Blueberry Pancakes:
When fresh blueberries are not in season, frozen blueberries are a good alternative. To make sure that frozen berries do not bleed, rinse them under cool water in a mesh strainer until the water runs clear, then spread them on a paper towel-lined plate to dry. If you have buttermilk on hand, use 2 cups instead of the milk and lemon juice.]

MAKES 9-10 SCONES

Work the dough quickly, don’t overmix, and put the dough rounds into the heated oven as soon as possible. The process—from mixing to pulling the finished scones out of the oven—shouldn’t take more than twenty minutes. Scones are best served warm and fresh, split open and topped with thick homemade strawberry or raspberry jam and clotted cream (or crème fraîche, marscarpone, or whipped cream). If your currants are old and dry, plump them in 1/4 cup sweet sherry or sweet marsala for 10 minutes, then drain. Brush dough tops with a beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar, if desired. This recipe can be doubled.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
During testing, we discovered two secrets to an authentic scone recipe, one that produced light and fluffy scones with a delicate texture: working the dough quickly and lightly and then baking it immediately in a preheated oven. Speed is of the essence to keep the dough from becoming tough; it is also important when using homemade single-acting baking powder for leavener, as this scone recipe does, because you want the powder to do its work in the oven, not before baking. The whole process shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes, from mixing the ingredients together to pulling the finished scones out of the oven.

MAKES 8-9 SCONES

Work the dough quickly, don’t overmix, and put the dough rounds into the heated oven as soon as possible. The process—from mixing to pulling the finished scones out of the oven—shouldn’t take more than twenty minutes. Scones are best served warm and fresh, split open and topped with thick homemade strawberry or raspberry jam and clotted cream (or crème fraîche, marscarpone, or whipped cream). This recipe can be doubled.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
During testing, we discovered two secrets to an authentic scone recipe, one that produced light and fluffy scones with a delicate texture: working the dough quickly and lightly and then baking it immediately in a preheated oven. Speed is of the essence to keep the dough from becoming tough; it is also important when using homemade single-acting baking powder for leavener, as this scone recipe does, because you want the powder to do its work in the oven, not before baking. The whole process shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes, from mixing the ingredients together to pulling the finished scones out of the oven.

This recipe can compete with any classic version, pound for pound.

Makes one 8-inch loaf

This recipe will also make four miniature pound cakes; use four 2-cup mini loaf pans and reduce the baking time to 40 minutes.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: After some extensive testing, we found the answers to a fussy batter: hot, melted (rather than softened) butter and the food processor. The fast-moving blade of the processor plus the hot butter emulsifies the liquid ingredients quickly before they have a chance to curdle.

http://www.americastestkitchenfeed.com/bake-it-better/2012/09/secrets-to-perfect-pound-cake/

Serves 8

The filling may look wet when you remove the quiche from the oven, but the water will disappear as the quiche cools.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
By using the thicker texture (but lower fat and calories) of buttermilk to replace the cream traditionally used in quiche, we were able to significantly reduce the fat and calories. A press-in-the-pan crust that used bacon fat and a little Parmesan cheese added great flavor.

Traditional quiche Lorraine contains 460 calories, 42 grams of fat, and 20 grams of saturated fat. Our Reduced-Fat Quiche Lorraine contains 290 calories, 17 grams of fat, and 5 grams of saturated fat.

SERVES 6

In order for the eggs to cook properly, it is critical to add them to the hot filling–lined ramekins quickly. Prepare by cracking eggs into separate bowls or teacups while the filled ramekins are heating. If a yolk breaks during cracking, set aside for another use and proceed with a new egg. We developed this recipe using a glass baking dish, if using a metal baking pan, reduce the oven temperature to 425 degrees. This recipe can be doubled. If doubling, bake the ramekins in two 13 by 9-inch pans and increase the baking times in step 3 and 4 by 1 minute.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
Our recipe achieves the ideal combination of runny yolks nestled in fully set yet tender whites by turning up the oven to 500 degrees. Adding the raw eggs to preheated ramekins ensured that the heat transfer was rapid and that the egg whites cooked before the centered yolks had a chance to catch up. Lining each ramekin with an impermeable roux-thickened sauce protected the edges of the whites from blistering or turning rubbery. Pulling the baked eggs from the oven when the whites had just turned opaque but still jiggled accounted for carryover cooking. In those final 10 minutes the heat of the ramekins finished cooking and setting the whites.

MAKES 2

Because making omelets is such a quick process, make sure to have all your ingredients and equipment at the ready. If you don’t have skewers or chopsticks to stir the eggs in step 3, use the handle of a wooden spoon. Warm the plates in a 200-degree oven.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
Our perfect French omelet recipe had to give us unblemished golden-yellow eggs with an ultra-creamy texture. Preheating a nonstick skillet over low heat for 10 minutes eliminated the pan’s hot spots, so our eggs wouldn’t be splotchy. Adding cold diced butter to the beaten eggs gave the omelet a creamy texture when cooked. We turned off the heat in our omelet recipe when the eggs were still runny, then smoothed the top with a spatula and covered the pan, letting residual heat do the rest of the cooking without toughening the eggs.

http://www.americastestkitchenfeed.com/cooking-science/2012/10/we-prove-it-fat-makes-eggs-tender/

Serves 4

Serve this breakfast classic with ketchup.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
Not happy with the pasty, tinny flavored stuff from a can, we wanted to develop a homemade corned beef hash recipe from scratch. For the best flavor and texture, we used thick slabs of corned beef from the deli counter. To prevent the potatoes from getting too mushy, we cooked them partially before adding them to the hash. Adding a little heavy cream kept our Corned Beef Hash moist and rich tasting. We also found that it was detrimental to stir our Corned Beef Hash too often. This meant allowing the hash to develop a browned crust before inverting it and browning the unbrowned side.

Serves 4 to 6

Don’t let the boiled potatoes sit in water or they will become mushy. Drying them in step 1 makes for a deeply golden crust. Start checking the potatoes early in step 4. You can use a rimless cookie sheet in place of the inverted baking sheet.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
We tested three potato varieties for our Steakhouse Hash Browns recipe: russets, Yukon Golds, and red potatoes. Tasters much preferred the fluffy russets, partly because their starchy texture helped the hash browns cohere and facilitated browning. For a creamy interior, butter proved far superior to heavy cream, half-and-half, milk, buttermilk, and sour cream, all of which made the interior too wet to crisp. No matter how many spatulas we used or how delicately we tried to flip our Steakhouse Hash Browns, we just couldn’t do it without the potatoes falling apart. Gently sliding them onto a baking sheet (browned side down) and broiling the hash browns in the oven guaranteed a crisp, evenly browned exterior.