Serves 4
The oatmeal will continue to thicken as it cools. If you prefer a looser consistency, thin the oatmeal with boiling water. Customize your oatmeal with toppings such as brown sugar, toasted nuts, maple syrup, or dried fruit.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
Most oatmeal fans agree that the steel-cut version of the grain offers the best flavor and texture, but many balk at the 40-minute cooking time. In this recipe, we decrease the cooking time to only 10 minutes by stirring steel-cut oats into boiling water the night before. This enables the grains to hydrate and soften overnight. In the morning, more water (or fruit juice or milk) is added and the mixture is simmered for four to six minutes, until thick and creamy. A brief resting period off the heat ensures that the porridge achieves the perfect consistency.

Serves 6
In order for the eggs to cook properly, it is critical to add them to the hot filling–lined ramekins quickly. Use 6-ounce ramekins with 3 1⁄4-inch diameters, measured from the inner lip. It is imperative to remove the eggs from the oven just after the whites have turned opaque but are still jiggly—carryover cooking will finish the job. We developed this recipe using a glass baking dish; if using a metal baking pan, reduce the oven temperature to 425 degrees. This recipe can be doubled. If doubling, bake the ramekins in two 13 by 9-inch dishes and increase the baking times in steps 3 and 4 by 1 minute.

MAKES 2 LOAVES
To achieve the proper dough consistency, make sure to weigh your ingredients. The dough will appear very wet and sticky until the final few minutes of kneading; do not be tempted to add supplemental flour.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
This American classic frequently disappoints due to either precious little cinnamon flavor or, just as bad, a gloppy, oozing filling reminiscent of sticky buns. The bread itself is often an afterthought of pedestrian white bread, or else it’s a cakey, dense affair. We swapped in an airy, cottony Japanese white bread called shokupan and struck a balanced filling with a mixture of cinnamon, confectioners’ sugar, and vanilla. To ensure that our filling stayed put and could be tasted with every bite, we traded the traditional swirl shape for a simple yet elegant Russian braid.

Makes about 6 cups of mix, enough for 3 batches of 8 pancakes each

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
All-purpose flour made for tough pancakes. Replacing half the all-purpose flour with cake flour yielded sturdy yet tender cakes. To give pancakes made from our Better-than-the-Box Pancake Mix complexity and depth, we added an unusual ingredient: malted milk powder. It imparted a sweet, nutty flavor that tasters loved. Tasters also preferred the flavor of butter to vegetable shortening. For higher-rising pancakes, we used fresh buttermilk instead of milk when mixing up the batter. The acid of the buttermilk reacted with the baking soda, causing the batter to bubble.

MAKES NINE 5-INCH TURNOVERS

If at any point during rolling the dough becomes sticky and difficult to work with, transfer it to a cookie sheet or cutting board, wrap it in plastic, and chill until it becomes workable. The dough can be made through step 4, then wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and kept for up to 5 days in the refrigerator or 2 months in the freezer. Defrost frozen dough in the refrigerator 1 day before you plan to use it.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
For an apple turnover recipe that wouldn’t require a day in the kitchen, we used quick food processor puff pastry and added a quick extra step for more flakiness—the classic technique fraisage, in which the dough is pressed, one handful at a time, against the work surface so the butter is forced into thin sheets. Instead of using chunks or slices in our apple turnover recipe, we grated the apples for maximum flavor, then seasoned them with lemon juice, sugar, and just a pinch of salt, saving the cinnamon for dusting the surface of the turnovers.

http://www.americastestkitchenfeed.com/bake-it-better/2013/02/secrets-to-apple-turnovers/

Makes 12

This recipe is a simple muffin base into which flavorings should be added; see the variations for our favorite flavors.

Our basic muffin recipe can be endlessly varied depending on what you have in your pantry or freezer.

http://www.americastestkitchenfeed.com/bake-it-better/2012/01/no-muffin-left-behind/

MAKES 8

It is important to work the dough as little as possible—work quickly and knead and fold the dough only the number of times called for. The butter should be frozen solid before grating. In hot or humid environments, chill the flour mixture and workbowls before use. While the recipe calls for 2 whole sticks of butter, only 10 tablespoons are actually used (see step 1). If fresh berries are unavailable, an equal amount of frozen berries (do not defrost) can be substituted. An equal amount of raspberries, blackberries, or strawberries can be used in place of the blueberries. Cut larger berries into 1/4- to 1/2-inch pieces before incorporating. Refrigerate or freeze leftover scones, wrapped in foil, in an airtight container. To serve, remove foil and place scones on a baking sheet in a 375-degree oven. Heat until warmed through and recrisped, 8 to 10 minutes if refrigerated, 16 to 20 minutes if frozen. See final step for information on making the scone dough in advance.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
For our ultimate blueberry scone recipe, we wanted to bring together the sweetness of a coffeehouse confection, the moist freshness of a muffin, the richness of clotted cream and jam, and the super-flaky crumb of a good biscuit. Increasing the amount of butter and adding enough sugar gave the scones sweetness without making them cloying; cutting frozen butter into the flour and giving the dough a few folds helped the scones rise; and rolling out the dough before pressing the berries into it and rolling it up like a jellyroll before flattening it and cutting out the scones all contributed to making this our ideal scone recipe.

http://www.americastestkitchenfeed.com/cooking-science/2013/01/we-prove-it-why-dough-leavened-with-baking-powder-freezes-so-well/

Makes about 15 (4-inch) pancakes

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
Getting the height and lightness of traditional pancakes with the more robust flavor and texture of cornmeal pancakes is tougher than it seems. Coarsely ground cornmeal can be sandy, and lacks the gluten necessary to support a fluffy internal structure. We found that we could use more cornmeal without getting too much grit by heating it with some of the buttermilk to soften it. Soaking the cornmeal also thickened the batter, helping it ride higher in the pan instead of spreading out. Letting the batter sit for a few minutes before griddling the cakes allowed the buttermilk to react with the baking soda, making the batter foamy, which resulted in fluffier, airier pancakes.

[Lemon-Cornmeal Blueberry Pancakes:
When fresh blueberries are not in season, frozen blueberries are a good alternative. To make sure that frozen berries do not bleed, rinse them under cool water in a mesh strainer until the water runs clear, then spread them on a paper towel-lined plate to dry. If you have buttermilk on hand, use 2 cups instead of the milk and lemon juice.]

MAKES 9-10 SCONES

Work the dough quickly, don’t overmix, and put the dough rounds into the heated oven as soon as possible. The process—from mixing to pulling the finished scones out of the oven—shouldn’t take more than twenty minutes. Scones are best served warm and fresh, split open and topped with thick homemade strawberry or raspberry jam and clotted cream (or crème fraîche, marscarpone, or whipped cream). If your currants are old and dry, plump them in 1/4 cup sweet sherry or sweet marsala for 10 minutes, then drain. Brush dough tops with a beaten egg and sprinkle with sugar, if desired. This recipe can be doubled.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
During testing, we discovered two secrets to an authentic scone recipe, one that produced light and fluffy scones with a delicate texture: working the dough quickly and lightly and then baking it immediately in a preheated oven. Speed is of the essence to keep the dough from becoming tough; it is also important when using homemade single-acting baking powder for leavener, as this scone recipe does, because you want the powder to do its work in the oven, not before baking. The whole process shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes, from mixing the ingredients together to pulling the finished scones out of the oven.

MAKES 8-9 SCONES

Work the dough quickly, don’t overmix, and put the dough rounds into the heated oven as soon as possible. The process—from mixing to pulling the finished scones out of the oven—shouldn’t take more than twenty minutes. Scones are best served warm and fresh, split open and topped with thick homemade strawberry or raspberry jam and clotted cream (or crème fraîche, marscarpone, or whipped cream). This recipe can be doubled.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS:
During testing, we discovered two secrets to an authentic scone recipe, one that produced light and fluffy scones with a delicate texture: working the dough quickly and lightly and then baking it immediately in a preheated oven. Speed is of the essence to keep the dough from becoming tough; it is also important when using homemade single-acting baking powder for leavener, as this scone recipe does, because you want the powder to do its work in the oven, not before baking. The whole process shouldn’t take more than 20 minutes, from mixing the ingredients together to pulling the finished scones out of the oven.