Hi, I have used a pastry blender or just cut/broken up the butter into small pea sizes. Sounds like your marble size might be too big. Don’t give up and try smaller pieces. > On Aug 1, 2015, at 11:11 PM, Alex Hall via Cookinginthedark > <[email protected]> wrote: > > I certainly could be. I think I have two problems: how small should the > pieces of butter be, and how firm? By the time I'm done, the butter pieces > are about the consistency of soft modeling clay and, as I said, not quite as > big as marbles. >> On Aug 1, 2015, at 11:06 PM, Debbra Piening <[email protected]> wrote: >> >> I mix the dry ingredients, then lay the cold stick of butter on top and use >> two knives to cut the butter into the dry ingredients, checking with my >> hands from time to time until I have the right consistency. I've never had >> a problem doing it that way. I wonder if you could be handling the streusel >> a bit too much. >> >> -----Original Message----- >> From: Alex Hall via Cookinginthedark [mailto:[email protected]] >> Sent: Saturday, August 01, 2015 8:46 PM >> To: janbrown >> Cc: [[email protected]] >> Subject: Re: [CnD] I have a huge streusel problem >> >> Well, the melted butter recipe I tried today was new, so I'll stick to my >> usual one. I mix the dry ingredients together--cinnamon, flour, and brown >> sugar usually, but sometimes oats and/or other spices. I then remove a stick >> of butter from the fridge and cut it into 20 or 24 pieces--little >> cubes--which I put in the dry ingredients. Finally, I mix it all around with >> my hands, squeezing the butter into smaller lumps as it softens enough to >> allow this. I try to work as much of the dry stuff into the lumps as I can, >> without melting them. By the end of it, I usually end up with buttery lumps >> somewhat smaller than marbles, plus a ton of extra dry ingredient mixture >> that has nothing with which to combine. Plus, my lumps are rather soft, and >> even if I refrigerate the whole thing, it just never seems… right. >>> On Aug 1, 2015, at 9:36 PM, janbrown <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>> I have never had this particular and I can't fathom why you are having it. >>> The course crumbs thing is most important so you don't have isolated flour >>> pockets. >>> It is tough to know when you work it enough or too much. >>> Use your hands and allow some coolness in the butter. >>> Mix until good old course crumbs take shape. >>> It ought to work. >>> Can you describe precisely what you do? >>> >>> Sent from my iPhone >>> >>>> On Aug 1, 2015, at 4:05 PM, Alex Hall via Cookinginthedark >>>> <[email protected]> wrote: >>>> >>>> Hey all, >>>> Yet again, I tried to make a streusel topping, this time for some baked >>>> pumpkin oatmeal. My sister made this recipe last week and it was perfect. >>>> I made the same recipe, following the same instructions, and the oatmeal >>>> was perfect. My topping, though, tasted like baked flour more than the >>>> brown sugar/cinnamon/butter mix it should have. >>>> >>>> I've never once made a good streusel/crumb topping. I've tried with and >>>> without flour, I've used cold or melted butter, I've tried with and >>>> without oats, I've used different ratios… A streusel is supposed to have >>>> the consistency of gravel, with the sugars and spices surrounding small >>>> bits of butter (or clumped together with some flour, in the case of >>>> recipes using melted butter) Those small pieces then crisp up in the oven >>>> and provide a wonderful experience for the top of your oatmeal, coffee >>>> cake, muffins, whatever.. Mine is always either way too chunky; so fine >>>> that it melts in the oven; never crisps up; or (like today) tastes--and >>>> has the unpleasant texture--of flour. I don't know what else to do, and no >>>> one has been able to show me in person how to do this right. I'm to the >>>> point where i either ask someone else to make my topping, or make it >>>> myself, knowing it'll be anywhere between "tastes okay but doesn't have >>>> the texture of streusel" to "tastes like baked flour and has no spice >>>> flavor at all". It's incredibly frustrating, because other than this, I'm >>>> actually a good cook. For whatever reason, streusel-like toppings are the >>>> one thing I simply cannot master, though I've been trying for years. >>>> >>>> My question, then, is simple: how do you all do it, particularly those of >>>> you for whom streusel works out well? I know it can be done by hand, >>>> because I've never seen a streusel that comes out tasting great be >>>> prepared in any kind of machine. I just don't know the procedure, and if I >>>> do, I'm messing it up somewhere along the way. Maybe I'm mixing too long? >>>> Not long enough? Working it too much? Is my butter too big? Should the >>>> cold butter warm up enough so I can mold it or not (I've been told both >>>> yes and no on that one)?. Thanks in advance. >>>> >>>> -- >>>> Have a great day, >>>> Alex Hall >>>> [email protected] >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Cookinginthedark mailing list >>>> [email protected] >>>> http://acbradio.org/mailman/listinfo/cookinginthedark >>>> >>>> >> >> >> -- >> Have a great day, >> Alex Hall >> [email protected] >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Cookinginthedark mailing list >> [email protected] >> http://acbradio.org/mailman/listinfo/cookinginthedark >> >> > > > -- > Have a great day, > Alex Hall > [email protected] > > _______________________________________________ > Cookinginthedark mailing list > [email protected] > http://acbradio.org/mailman/listinfo/cookinginthedark > >
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