The food lab better home cooking through science ( PDFDrive ) 1083

buttermilk.Notonlydidthechickencomeoutjustasmoist
aswithwaterbrine,itwasactuallysignificantlymoretender
aswell,duetothetenderizingeffectsofbuttermilkonfood
(soaking it for more than one night led to chicken that was
so tender that it bordered on mush). Finally, hitting the
buttermilk with spices helped build flavor right into the
surfaceofthebird.Iplayedaroundabitwiththemixbefore
arrivingatablendofcayennepepperandpaprika(fortheir
heat and peppery flavor), garlic powder¶, a bit of dried
oregano,andahealthyslugoffreshlygroundblackpepper.
The Colonel may use eleven secret herbs and spices in his
chickenrecipe,butfivewasquiteenoughforme(andboth
mywifeandmydoormanheartilyconcurred).
CrustLust
Nextup:addsomeextracrunchtothatcrust.Ireasonedthat
there were a few ways to do this. First off, I wanted to
increase the crust’s thickness. I tried double-dipping my
chicken—that is, dredging the brined chicken in flour
(seasonedwiththesamespiceblendasmybrine),dippingit
back into thebuttermilk,andthendredgingitoncemorein
flour before frying, a method chefThomas Keller uses for
hisjustifiablyfamousfriedchickenatAdHoc.Thisworked
marginally better—that second coat definitely developed
more crags than the first coat did. But it also made for an
extremelythickbreadingthathadatendencytofalloffthe
breastbecauseofitsheft.**


Adoublecoatingofflourcreatesathickcrustthatfallsoff
thechicken.
Much better was to simply add a bit of extra structure to

the breading in the form of an egg mixed into the
buttermilk.
My crust was certainly thick enough now, but I ran into
another problem: rather than crisp and crunchy, it was
borderingontough,almostrock-likeinitsdensity.Knowing
that gluten—the network of proteins formed when flour
meetswater—wasthemostlikelyculprit,Isoughtoutways
to minimize its formation. First and foremost: cut the
protein-rich wheat flour with cornstarch, a pure starch that
addsmoisture-absorbingcapabilitiestothebreadingwithout
adding excess protein. Replacing a quarter of the flour
workedwell.Addingacoupleteaspoonsofbakingpowder
to the mix helped bring a bit of air to the mix, forming a