25 votes

The hunt for dark breakfast

9 comments

  1. NaraVara
    Link
    Join the descent into madness.

    Join the descent into madness.

    I was days into my research before I finally found a clue. In an obscure document on the website of the International House of Pancakes Corporation there was a hint that the dark breakfast had been made. IHOP omelettes include pancake batter. While I cannot place IHOP omelettes exactly on the map, by interpolating between pancakes and omelettes, we can bound where they must occur, and confirm that the manifold possibilities do indeed pass through the Dark Breakfast Abyss.

    10 votes
  2. [7]
    patience_limited
    Link
    The "Dark Breakfast" proportions are fairly close to some of the custard batters used in making French Toast.

    The "Dark Breakfast" proportions are fairly close to some of the custard batters used in making French Toast.

    6 votes
    1. NaraVara
      Link Parent
      Yeah he mentions in the piece that he’s sort of cheating by excluding sliced breads since they don’t go in the stand mixer. If he did I think french toast or bread pudding will end up falling in...

      Yeah he mentions in the piece that he’s sort of cheating by excluding sliced breads since they don’t go in the stand mixer. If he did I think french toast or bread pudding will end up falling in that center quadrant.

      But even with that limitation I think you start to approach pudding territory with those proportions, which we don’t really do here in the States but I think a Brit would recognize Yorkshire pudding there, or even a Southern spoon bread if we’re willing to grant cornmeal as “flour.”

      9 votes
    2. [5]
      Habituallytired
      Link Parent
      I was also thinking it could also be close-ish to a very thin crepe.

      I was also thinking it could also be close-ish to a very thin crepe.

      5 votes
      1. [4]
        patience_limited
        Link Parent
        I don't think the "Dark Breakfast" recipe's proportions include enough flour to provide a crepe's structural integrity, which depends on gluten. You could concevably get it to set like a custard...

        I don't think the "Dark Breakfast" recipe's proportions include enough flour to provide a crepe's structural integrity, which depends on gluten.

        You could concevably get it to set like a custard if you cooked it in a water bath. There are French toast and bread pudding custard recipes that don't include any flour at all, so the bread has to do the heavy lifting of giving the dish its form.

        3 votes
        1. [3]
          fnulare
          Link Parent
          Ha?! I always thought "real" crepes where made with buckwheat flour which is naturally glutenfree. I'm probably misinformed or maybe you're thinking about thin pancakes?

          Ha?! I always thought "real" crepes where made with buckwheat flour which is naturally glutenfree.

          I'm probably misinformed or maybe you're thinking about thin pancakes?

          4 votes
          1. patience_limited
            Link Parent
            I'll defer to Daniel Gritzer on this one: all-buckwheat crepes are notoriously hard to handle.

            I'll defer to Daniel Gritzer on this one: all-buckwheat crepes are notoriously hard to handle.

            2 votes
          2. R3qn65
            Link Parent
            That's just a Brittany thing and is more commonly called a galette. In e.g. Paris white flour is the standard for a sweet crêpe.

            That's just a Brittany thing and is more commonly called a galette. In e.g. Paris white flour is the standard for a sweet crêpe.

            2 votes
  3. Wulfsta
    Link
    This feels like you could engineer a recipe to fit here with a little work - maybe use some whipped egg whites and flour to lean in the direction of a souffle pancake (something spongy), then make...

    This feels like you could engineer a recipe to fit here with a little work - maybe use some whipped egg whites and flour to lean in the direction of a souffle pancake (something spongy), then make a creme anglaise with more eggs and some milk to soak the pancake in, and cook it again to set the custard?

    3 votes