Steamed Easy-Peel Eggs

I know just about everyone has felt the frustration of trying to peel hard cooked eggs, and the fresher they are, the harder they are to peel.  The shell sticks like crazy glue and you're left with an unsightly egg that resembles the cratered surface of the moon.  Not very appetizing.  

In the past, the only surefire way I'd found to guaranteed a shell would released cleanly and easily was to start by cooking eggs that were several weeks old, but we go through eggs so quickly at our house that we don't often have older eggs to cook.  

But recently I read about a technique for cooking and peeling farm-fresh eggs on the blog The Prairie Homestead and I couldn't wait to try it.  The technique worked beautifully and I'm so happy to be able to share it with you today.  Happy peeling! 

UPDATE:  If you have an electric pressure cooker, I've learned a new technique that works maybe just a tad better.  You can check it out here.

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Start by finding a metal colander or steam basket that will fit down inside a stockpot, leaving enough room for the lid to fit on top.  Place your fresh eggs in the basket and add enough water to cover the bottom of the pan, but not touch the eggs. 

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Place the pan over high heat and bring the water to a boil.   As soon as the water start to boil, cover the pan and reduce the heat to medium-low.  The steam temperature will remain the same whether the water is fully boiling or just gently boiling so lower the heat to reduce the risk of the pan boiling dry.

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Set a timer for 22 minutes - give or take a minute or two depending on the size of the eggs.  I tested this technique with my extra large store-bought eggs and they needed about 24 minutes - and yes, they peeled just as easily. 

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When the time is up, cool the eggs in cold water to stop the cooking process. 

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Your fresh eggs should now peel without any trouble.

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And here are the results.  The egg in the upper left is an extra large store-bought egg; the other two with darker yolks are fresh from the farm.  

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Happy peeling!

Traditional Hot Cross Buns

Here's a post I shared a couple of years ago.  Perhaps you'll make them this Easter.

I have one word for these - Delish!  The recipe comes from Rachel at The Traveling Spoon who spend an exorbitant amount of time searching for the traditional Hot Cross Buns of her childhood in England.  Rachel is a purist and says these are the real deal.  She also says traditional hot cross buns never have icing crosses, but rather crosses that are made of a sweetened flour paste that is piped on just before baking.  These buns are excellent warm from the oven or gently heated the next day.  I'm posting the recipe as written, but I'll share my notes for using a stand mixer in the recipe below.

Note - The only thing I'd change next time would be to use dried currants instead of raisins because currants are smaller and would distribute more evenly throughout the dough. 

Items used to make this recipe:

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• professional stand mixer https://amzn.to/3II3lxv

• commercial cake pan https://amzn.to/2JRJJNR

• oven thermometer https://amzn.to/34dozUQ

• disposable pastry bags https://amzn.to/2FEd9cX

• pastry decorating tips/tubes https://amzn.to/2FKbpQw

• my favorite plastic wrap https://amzn.to/2U7fur3

• whisks https://amzn.to/2K2d2gy

• apricot jam https://amzn.to/2WBOg8B

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Hot Cross Buns

from The Traveling Spoon via Citrus and Candy

Printable Recipe

Ingredients

Buns:

• 310ml warmed milk

• 60g granulated sugar

• 16g dried yeast (about 4 teaspoons)

• 600g all-purpose flour, sifted

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

• 1 teaspoon allspice

• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

• 2 large eggs

• 60g butter, room temperature

• 1 - 1 1/2 cups raisins (I prefer dried currants)

Crosses:

• about 60g all-purpose flour

• about 60 ml water

• 1-2 teaspoons granulated sugar

Glaze:

• 2 tablespoons fruit jam, warmed (apricot recommended).

Directions

1. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, warmed milk, and yeast until sugar has dissolved. Cover loosely and set aside for 10 minutes or until mixture becomes frothy - it should almost triple in size, so be patient!

2. Meanwhile, mix the flour, salt, cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg in a large mixing bowl. Rub the softened butter into the flour mixture with your fingers until evenly distributed (I prefer doing this in a heavy duty stand mixer fitted with a dough hook). The mixture will be crumbly. Stir in the egg, frothy yeast mixture and the raisins (or currants) until completely combined.

3. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for about 5 minutes until it comes together and becomes smooth and elastic. Add flour to your kneading surface as necessary. Lightly grease another large, clean mixing bowl (I knead in the stand mixer on speed 1 or 2 for five minutes).

4. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it several times to coat lightly with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and leave in a warm, non-drafty place for about 45 minutes, or until it has doubled in size.

5. When dough has doubled, remove the plastic wrap and punch down the dough (don't be shy - you can really thwack it). Knead briefly, on your lightly floured surface, until smooth. Separate the dough into 12 even rounds.

6. Shape each round into a bun and place in a lightly greased 9x13-inch baking pan. Cover with plastic wrap and place in a warm place to rise for about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 390°F.

7. Whisk together the 60g of all purpose flour, the sugar, and the water to create the paste for the crosses. Add flour if necessary to thicken so that the paste can be easily piped onto the buns - use a piping bag or a zip-top bag with a small hole cut in one corner. Pipe crosses onto the buns and bake for 10 minutes at 390°F. Then reduce oven temperature to 350°F and bake for another 15 minutes, or until buns are golden and sound hollow when tapped - don't worry, they will soften after baking.

8. Warm the jam for the glaze and dilute with water if necessary. Brush onto buns while still warm.

9. Buns are best eaten warm from the oven or freshly toasted on the day of baking, but they're also tasty cold and you can store any leftovers in an air-tight container for a day or two. Recipe makes 12.