One of the food trends taking over social networks in recent weeks is cloud bread — a dreamy, fluffy mass produced from gently baked egg whites.
Frothy and colourful, the bread is characterised by how, when split in half, a rainbow is revealed.
Soft and cottony, the recipe has been making rounds on the internet, garnering significant hype for its unique texture and aesthetic. Between “cloud bread” and your regular bread, however, is much more than one step. The key difference being that cloud bread is flourless.
With a near-nonexistent crust, and no yeast or leavening agent used whatsoever, it’s a rather remarkable food. Here’s how to make it.
Cloud Bread: The Recipe
This ultralight recipe is actually made using egg whites, whipped into a froth, to which sugar and cornstarch are added. Some opt to add baking soda to make the whites more airy and, above all, more firm.
The preparation itself, however, is nothing new. Apart from the addition of cornstarch, the process is the same trick that is used for a meringue, which pastry chefs prepare as a base for chocolate mousse, or to make ladyfingers (used in trifles, charlottes, and tiramisu).
The difference here comes down to two points. Firstly, this meringue is placed in a dome shape on baking paper before being baked at 150°C for 20 minutes. Secondly, the influencers looking to bake up the perfect cloud bread pour food colouring into the meringue (as is done for macarons, for example) to enclose a rainbow of colour within this “bread.” And it is this “wow effect” that inspires those on the web to share and like the resulting images and videos. Such avalanches of bright colours have already been responsible for the fame of other recipes such as “rainbow bagels” and “rainbow cakes.”
The basis of this recipe had already circulated in the past, in particular by Weight Watchers, which classified it as a new way of eating gluten-free and, above all, lower-calorie “bread.” Some versions included cream cheese and baking powder. It can also be flavoured with herbs, spices, or sweet ingredients such as honey or cocoa.
(Main Image: Courtesy of IG @159cm_omochi)
This story was first published via AFP Relaxnews.
