Randi's Leek and Bacon Flan very good. A question about the water bath, please.

A

anna_x

Well-known member
I doubled the batch and divided half into a quiche dish and the second half among different size dishes to see how they would come out. The small dishes lifted like a souffle.

They look so simple and are deceptively tasty. Thank you for insisting on our trying it. I'm going to eat another one now for my lunch.

My question is how important is it to put the dishes in a water bath. The water steamed and then condensed both inside and outside of my oven. I put a towel on the floor to catch the drips!

 
it sounds like you had too much water in there Anna. i use 1/3 cup or 1/2 cup ramkins and

put them into a a rectangular pyrex dish. then I add hot water to come halfway up the sides. if you want to put it a pie shell, quiche style, then you wouldn't need the water at all.

maybe the next time I make it, I'll put some in a water bath and bake a couple without to see how much of a difference it makes. I do know the water bath will keep the sides of it from browing in the oven.

I'm glad you tried it, you're so right, it is deceptively tasty for dang sure. smileys/smile.gif

 
I think the water bath is very important for the texture; flans can be curdled if baked dry.....

One trick is to use a muffin pan and put a ramekin in each cup, adding water to each. There only needs to be a little water between the ramekin and the direct heat of the oven.

 
It's more than just the texture that can suffer, Joe,

although what you say is true.

Flans, puddings, and custards all benefit from a water bath because it stabalizes the heat, thus keeping the bottom and sides from browning and burning.

Most ovens have their heat source on the bottom. So, without the water bath, the bottom of the flan container actally heats up faster than the top. With a water bath you create a jacket of uniform heat, and the whole thing then cooks evenly.

 
you like it.... you REALLY like it! tear in eye, clutching the coveted

T&T gold measuring cup award.....

OK, after all the jumping up and down about this recipe, I couldn't resist... "-)))

thanks Joe, I added it to T&T

alas, poor Sally Field, she'll be stuck with that one forever!

 
sally field??? did you know that she owns a chinese stir-fry restaurant?

yup.

the frying nun.

 
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