Cook\'s Country - 2019-04-05

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

Krups Coff ee and Spice Grinder

Model: F

Price: $17.

Capacity: 75 g Blade Height: 6.4 mm

Comments: Our former favorite again

received top marks for its even grinding and

simple, easy-to-use design. The wide, clear

lid aff orded us a great view of the grinding

process. Its grinding chamber was roomy

and easy to load and empty. It held plenty of

beans, and its low-lying blade ensured that

no whole beans were left after grinding.

Grinding

Ease of Use

Capacity

Cleanup

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RECOMMENDED

Bodum Bistro Blade Coff ee Grinder

Model: 11160

Price: $21.

Capacity: 70 g Blade Height: 6.1 mm

Comments: Overall, this grinder is compact

and intuitive. It made quick work of grinding

smaller amounts of beans, but when it was

loaded to capacity with enough beans to

make 10 cups of coff ee, its blade could hardly

turn under the compacted beans. Its smaller

grinding chamber also made loading and

unloading coff ee messier.

Grinding

Ease of Use

Capacity

Cleanup

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RECOMMENDED WITH RESERVATIONS

Capresso Cool Grind Blade Grinder,

Black

Model: #505.

Price: $19.

Capacity: 80 g Blade Height: 14.1 mm

Comments: This roomy grinder easily accom-

modated 10 cups’ worth of coff ee beans, but

it sometimes left whole beans unprocessed

because its blade sat relatively high in the

grinding chamber. Despite this, it made quick

work of processing the beans. The domed lid

made it a bit harder to observe the grinding.

Grinding

Ease of Use

Capacity

Cleanup

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APRIL/MAY 2019 • COOK’S COUNTRY 15

FOR THE BEST cup of coff ee, we always recommend freshly grinding the

beans. Many home brewers use blade grinders, which feature rapidly spinning

blades that chop the coff ee beans into small fragments.

To fi nd the best blade grinder, we tested six models,

priced from $14.96 to $21.95, using each to grind enough

beans to make one, four, and 10 cups of coff ee. We used

the grinders to achieve fi ne, medium, and coarse grinds

with both light-roasted and dark-roasted beans. We then asked six testers to

operate each grinder and gauge its user-friendliness.

When using a blade grinder, if you simply hold down the grind button,

some beans end up overground, while others never come in contact with the

blade. Experts recommend pulsing the grind button and shaking the grinder

in between pulses to redistribute the grounds. When we adopted this pattern,

half the grinders gave us coff ee that was acceptably evenly ground; the other

half produced unacceptably uneven grinds.

We wondered if blade height mattered, so we measured the height of the

blade in each grinder. We found that the blades of the best-performing mod-

els sat low in the grinding chamber. Since the average length of a coff ee bean

is 10 millimeters, models with less than 9 millimeters between the blade and

the base of the grinding chamber gave us an even grind. Our favorite models

had blades that sat just over 6 millimeters off the base of the grinder.

We also rated the grinders on capacity (we wanted to be able to fi t enough

beans to brew a full pot of coff ee), ease of use, and cleanup. When we tallied the

scores, our previous favorite from Krups came out on top again. Web subscrib-

ers can see the full results at CooksCountry.com/may19.

$QGWKH%HVW%ODGH6W\OH&RĮHH

Grinder Is... by Lauren Savoie

golden color. Another employed
warm milk to help jump-start the
yeast and thus reduce the rising
time—a great idea. And fi nally, some
recipes called for bread fl our, which
has more protein than all-purpose
fl our and thus results in chewier
baked goods, a defi nite bonus here.
In terms of streamlining the rec-
ipe, I was hoping to avoid two rises
(one before portioning the dough
and one after), but it turned out that
both rises were necessary for nicely
pocketed muffi ns that were light yet
chewy. The good news was that each
rise needed to be only 1 hour (al-
though the second one can be longer
if you refrigerate the dough).
Another trick I came up with: after
the fi rst rise, using a greased ¼-cup
measuring cup to simultaneously
scoop, portion, and shape the dough
into squat cylinders that rise into the
signature English muffi n shape.
For searing the muffi ns to give
the outsides the proper brown hue,
I landed on using a nonstick skillet
(the dough stuck to traditional steel
skillets, and it was too hard to regu-
late the temperature in cast iron).
Once they were browned, I trans-
ferred the muffi ns to a baking sheet
and baked them in a 350-degree
oven for just 10 minutes, until they
were cooked through.
After working out the details over
40 tests, I was fi nally pleased with
my easy method and fantastic results.
One word to the wise: For the best
interior texture, don’t use a knife.
Use the tines of a fork to separate
the halves before toasting.

EQUIPMENT

REVIEW

ENGLISH MUFFINS Makes 8 muffins

For the best texture, use a fork to split

the muffi ns. Don’t heat the milk higher

than 110 degrees; doing so will kill the

yeast and result in squat muffi ns.

2¾ cups (151⁄8 ounces) bread fl our

1 tablespoon instant or rapid-rise

yeast

1¼ teaspoons table salt

1 cup plus 6 tablespoons (11 ounces)

warm whole milk (110 degrees)

2 tablespoons honey

5 tablespoons cornmeal, divided

2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into

2 pieces, divided

1. Combine fl our, yeast, and salt in large
   bowl. In second bowl, whisk warm milk
   and honey together. Add milk mixture
   to fl our mixture and stir until no pockets
   of dry fl our remain. Cover bowl with
   plastic wrap and let dough rise in warm
   place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.


2. Line rimmed baking sheet with
   parchment paper and spray with
   vegetable oil spray. Sprinkle prepared
   sheet with 4 tablespoons cornmeal. Us-
   ing greased ¼-cup dry measuring cup,
   divide dough into 8 heaping ¼-cup por-
   tions. Using your lightly greased hands,
   lightly cup each portion of dough and
   shape into even 2- to 2½-inch-diameter
   round about 1 inch tall, then place on
   prepared sheet. Sprinkle tops of rounds
   with remaining 1 tablespoon cornmeal.
   Cover sheet loosely with greased plastic
   and let rounds rise in warm place until
   puff y and nearly doubled in size, about
   1 hour.


3. Adjust oven rack to middle posi-
   tion and heat oven to 350 degrees.
   Melt 1 tablespoon butter in 12-inch
   nonstick skillet over medium heat.
   Add 4 dough rounds and cook until
   deep golden brown on fi rst side, about
   2 minutes, moving rounds as needed for
   even browning. Flip muffi ns and cook
   until deep golden brown on second
   side, about 2 minutes, pressing down
   lightly with spatula if muffi ns begin to
   rise unevenly. Transfer muffi ns to clean
   baking sheet. Wipe skillet clean with
   paper towels and repeat with remain-
   ing 1 tablespoon butter and remaining
   4 dough rounds.


4. Bake muffi ns until centers register
   205 to 210 degrees, 10 to 12 minutes.
   Let muffi ns cool completely on wire
   rack. Using fork, split muffi ns. Toast
   and serve.

TO MAKE AHEAD

In step 2, let dough rounds rise in refrig-

erator for at least 12 hours, until nearly

doubled in size (you can refrigerate them

for up to 48 hours). When ready to bake,

proceed with step 3.

Fresh Muffi ns for Breakfast

Do you want to make the dough

rounds ahead so that all you have

to do when you wake up is cook

and then toast them? Here’s how.

THE NIGHT BEFORE:

Make dough, let it rise, portion and

shape dough, place on rimmed

baking sheet, cover sheet with

plastic wrap, and let rounds rise for

at least 12 hours in refrigerator.

IN THE MORNING:

Brown both sides of chilled rounds

in butter in nonstick skillet, then

fi nish cooking (about 10 minutes)

in oven. Let muffi ns cool before

toasting.

KEY Good +++ Fair ++ Poor +