When I make streusel using butter, flour, sugar (brown or white) and cinnamon it never comes out like the streusel I get on cakes and buns from the bakery. Mine gets a bit crisp while the bakery streusel is nice and soft and is formed in little round clumps rather than loose and granular like mine. Is there a specific technique or what am I doing wrong?
Can you show us your recipe?
On Thu 14 Jul 2005 05:00:46p, Ceil Wallace wrote in rec.food.baking:
The bakery is probably using vegetable shortening which gives a less crisp texture than butter. They may also be using less sugar.
You also need to learn when to stop cutting the fat into the flour/sugar mixture. It is at this stage when the size and shape of the crumbs/clumps are formed. Too much cutting in can result in a texture more like sand.
What ratio of flour, sugar, butter are you using?
I use 2:2:1, but I do use butter because I don't mind a certain amount crispness. I stop cutting in the butter when the particles are no smaller than large peas with some that are larger. There will always be some small crumbs.
HTH
For my "Streuselkuchen" (baked on a sheet) I take 400g flour, 250g butter or margarine, 200g sugar 2 tsp of vanilla sugar, 1/2 tsp cinnamon. I mix all together with an electric mixer till the streusel is like granular. Then I take a hand full and press the streusel a bit. Then you can cut away clumps and put them onto your cake.
Jens
It's the same no matter what recipe I've tried and, besides, they're all basically the same.
Thanks for the rest of you for suggesting leaving the clumps larger, that and the shortening suggestions worked!
Not really......There are streusels that had higher ratio of sugar and very little flour and it exhibits the defect you mentioned.
Therefore whenever someone will query me on the same problem I have to look at their recipe first.and how he did it. It; si not preferable (IMO)t use giving hints....the proportions and the method used by the individual baker counts! I think That is the best way.... to sort such problem.
Have you also tested various temperatures and times for baking? I am wondering whether having your oven temperature just slightly lower might help.
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