Benedict eggs

Rosa, author of Pemberley Cup&Cakes , brings us a typical American recipe. These are the classic eggs Benedict, accompanied by their English muffins, some muffins that you will enjoy making at home and which you will get a lot out of, because you can combine them with a thousand and one ingredients. Go for the recipe!

Today's recipe, these famous eggs Benedict , is an icon of the increasingly revered American brunch that today is only gaining fans outside its borders. And it is not surprising, because it is an irresistible solution for those mornings in which the alarm clock gives us a break and we feel like enjoying a good breakfast without rushing, savoring each bite without losing track of time.

One of the fundamental keys to eggs Benedict are the English muffins , which have nothing to do with the popular sweets with which they share their name and which have so many similarities with our muffins: the American muffins . In this case, however, we are referring to a kind of non-sweet rolls made with a slightly enriched leavened dough, which are initially toasted over the fire to finish cooking completely in the oven.

To get authentic eggs Benedict, we will have to add to the equation, in addition, an essential slice of bacon (originally Canadian, although any other type is equally valid), a poached or poached egg and its essential dose of Hollandaise sauce. Come on, a practically irresistible combination to delight the most demanding palate.

In short, this is a truly special snack for which we will have to dedicate, yes, a little time and attention. But don't all the really special things deserve it?

Chemex coffee maker , Tellier egg cup , Le Creuset smooth square grill , Tellier egg poacher , T&G acacia wood cutting board , Le Creuset stoneware milk jug , Le Creuset jam jar and Le Creuset butter dish .

Ingredients (for 4 people)

For the English Muffins:

• 100-125ml of lukewarm milk
• 60ml of lukewarm water
• 7g of fresh baker's yeast
• 200g of strong flour
• 6g of white sugar
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 10g unsalted butter
• Cornmeal (not Maizena), for dusting
• Sunflower oil for greasing

For the hollandaise sauce:

• 2 free range egg yolks
• ½ tablespoon (7.5ml) lemon juice
• 75g unsalted butter, melted
• Salt and ground black pepper
• Ground nutmeg or ground cayenne, according to personal preference

For the poached eggs and company:

• 4 free range eggs
• 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice
• Salt and ground black pepper
• 4 thin slices of grilled smoked bacon or cooked ham, according to personal preference
• butter spread
• chives to decorate
• Wild asparagus to accompany (optional)

Elaboration

From the English Muffins

1. In the bowl of our mixer , equipped with the hook accessory (or in a large bowl with the help of a wooden spoon ), add 100ml of warm milk and water (never hot! Approximately 45ºC), Dissolve the yeast and stir until combined.
2. Then add the flour, sugar and salt, in this order, and mix gently until everything is more or less integrated. If we see that after mixing there are still some remains of flour that have not been incorporated into the dough, we can add the remaining 25ml of milk progressively while we continue mixing.
3. Next, add the butter and knead until everything is perfectly integrated for about 6-7 minutes (somewhat more if you knead by hand) and we obtain an elastic and smooth dough that easily detaches from the bowl or from our hands. Then cover with a clean cloth and let it rest for about 5 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, we grease the inside of a large bowl (we can reuse the previous one, well washed and dried) with a thin film of sunflower oil. We shape the dough into a ball and place it inside the bowl, making sure that it is well impregnated all over the surface. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place away from drafts for 1 - 1½ hours or until doubled in volume.
5. After this time, degas the dough by pricking it with a finger until it touches the base of the bowl and let it relax for about 5 minutes before transferring it to the work surface.
6. Meanwhile, prepare a large tray by covering it with parchment paper and dusting the entire surface with cornmeal.
7. Next, we divide the dough into 4 equal portions with the help of a large and sharp knife (we will never break the dough with our hands) and form a ball with each of the portions. It is very useful to have a kitchen scale here so that all our muffins end up having the same dimensions.
8. Next, we placed the balls of dough on the tray that we had prepared and sprinkled a little more cornmeal on them again. Cover with transparent film, taking care not to oppress the dough (the film must be loose so that the muffins have room to grow) and let rise for 1 more hour under the same conditions as during the first rise.
9. Shortly before the end of this time, we preheat the oven (electric and airless) to 200ºC and place the rack at medium height.
10. Likewise, we heat a griddle over medium heat until it is very hot. I have used this one from Le Creuset because, in addition to always giving impeccable results, you can also put it in the oven, which will be our next step.
11. We toast our muffins on the griddle for about 5-7 minutes on each side until they are golden brown but without burning.
12. Next, we put the pan with the muffins in the oven and bake for another 10-12 minutes so that they finish cooking well on the inside.
13. Remove from the oven and let them cool on a wire rack for at least 30 minutes before filling or consuming.

of the hollandaise sauce

1. We place a medium saucepan with water over a low heat to have the bain-marie ready at the moment we are going to place the mixture of yolks.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium heat-resistant bowl , preferably glass, vigorously beat the egg yolks with the lemon juice until they double their initial volume and acquire a visibly paler color.
3. Next, and without stopping stirring, we place the bowl with the yolks in a bain-marie, making sure that the base of the bowl never comes into contact with the water, and we continue stirring for a few more minutes until the mixture begins to heat up. .
4. Next, we begin to add the melted butter gradually, stirring with some speed and at all times throughout the process, until the mixture emulsifies and begins to thicken. If it ends up being too thick, we can always add some of the water from the bain-marie, teaspoon by teaspoon, until the desired consistency is obtained, that is, if we dip a spoon in the sauce and pass the fingertip along the back, the signal should be well marked.
5. We then remove the heat, season to taste and combine again.
6. Finally, we place our hollandaise sauce in a separate bowl and immediately cover with cling film, making sure it is fully in contact with the surface of the sauce to prevent a dry film from forming on the surface while we continue with the rest of the recipe. . We reserve at room temperature.

of the poached eggs

1. Fill a medium-sized casserole or saucepan with water to about 10 cm, add a pinch of salt and bring to a gentle boil (that is, without the water bubbling).
2. Grease the egg poacher with a little olive oil and the help of a kitchen brush and place the egg (without shell) directly into its cavity.
3. Then add the vinegar or lemon juice to the water (this will help the egg white to set better), submerge the egg poacher with the egg and let it poach without touching it for about 3 ½ - 4 minutes, as you prefer. the bud point.
4. We extract the poacher and, with the help of a soup spoon, first carefully separate the egg from the container. Later we remove it with the help of a second spoon and place it in a bowl until it is used.

Assembling the Eggs Benedict

1. Open the English Muffins in half*, lightly toast them on the cut side and brush generously with butter.
2. Next, we first place a slice of bacon (or cooked ham) on 4 of the halves, followed by a poached egg, which we will add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Finally, we drop a good helping of hollandaise sauce over the egg, season with a pinch of ground nutmeg or cayenne and finish garnishing with some chopped chives.

According to tradition, there is nothing like a handful of grilled wild asparagus with a touch of salt to accompany this delicious dish. Even so, although the combination could not be more successful, I leave this last detail up to your personal choice.

Chemex coffee maker , Tellier egg poacher , T&G acacia wood board , Le Creuset mug , Le Creuset jam jar and Le Creuset butter dish .

Grades

• *To maintain the spongy texture of our English muffins , it is preferable to open them with a fork, piercing its contour instead of using a knife, in this way the little holes and craters in the crumb are kept open and the butter will penetrate well.
• In addition to being used as a base for Eggs Benedict, English muffins can be eaten accompanied by an endless number of options and combinations, both savory and sweet, each one more irresistible: butter and jam , lemon curd , cream cheese and smoked salmon, ham and cheese, spinach, feta cheese and dried tomatoes and a long etcetera.
• To turn your Benedict eggs into another of the brunch delights, something less popular but no less exquisite such as Florentine eggs, you just have to replace the bacon or ham with sautéed spinach with a little chopped onion. Incredible anyway, don't you think?
• In the case of poaching or poaching the eggs in the traditional way (without the egg poacher ), the procedure is exactly the same, except that, in order to make the egg as compact as possible, we will stir the water with a spoon until it is smooth. form a kind of swirl in the center, just where we will drop the egg as carefully as possible. Once it has curdled to the desired point, we will remove it with a scraper spatula .

Perhaps you have sensed that this is one of those recipes for which I feel a real weakness, which usually happens from the moment you try it for the first time. I'm sure I'm not and won't be the only one...

A hug,

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