Crispy Crust?

On a recent ChefSteps for fried chicken it was stated that a high gluten flour was preferable to cake flour. My experience has been the higher the starch content and the lower the gluten the crispier the crust. Sometimes I go straight cornstarch. Thoughts on this?

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Saad_94717

I don't have the answer. However, I would like to point out that in their fish & chips video, the guys coated the fish (dipped in Methyl-cellulose) with cake flour. However, (as you mentioned) in the fried chicken video Grant commented on how using cake flour would result in a soft and spongy coating.

Brandon_Byrd_40557

Yep, I found that really confusing. The good news is that the recipes work very well. The bad news is that I'm not sure how to adapt the recipes for my own purposes.

Matthew_Snyder_68770

I've used a combination of cornstarch and rice flour with good results.

fisher23

That is what I use for crispy chicken wings. Low gluten high starch.

fisher23

@Ellen_212162 Hi, any chance you could get an answer for us on this. Which flour will yield the crispier crust, pastry, AP or high gluten?

Chris_Young_80640

I tend to agree with you John, that low-gluten, high-starch will be crispier than a high-gluten flour.

Amos_Schorr_168815

In terms of pure crispiness, yes. But you also need to take into account the thickness of the crust itself. Korean-style fried chicken, for example, uses pure cornstarch, and that gives it an incredibly crispy, incredibly thin crust. But American fried chicken is different. It's meant to have a thicker, better seasoned crust.

For something like a wing or battered chicken finger, I prefer a thinner crust. But for a breast or thigh, I think we Americans do it best.

Saad_94717

Hi @Chris Young. Thank you for your response. I apologise for persisting with the question: why did @Grant Crilly recommend using bread flour for the fried chicken recipe, especially considering how the recipe on Modernist Cuisine's website also recommends using cake flour? I understand that batters and coatings don't work according to one-size-fits-all. However, if you can elaborate on batters and coatings for deep frying and detailed aspects, it will be extremely useful then. Thank you!

Ellen_212162

Hi @Saad_94717 & @John_Fisher_218893: Just had a chance to talk with Grant about this:

"The question is, do you want crispy or crunchy? If you want crispy go with the starchier option (rice flour etc.), if you want crunchy, you need high-protein (bread flour)."

Saad_94717

Hi @Ellen_212162, can you please ask @Grant_Lee_Crilly_63791 to explain why starchy coatings lead to a crisp texture and why high protein coating leads to a crunchy texture. Also, how exactly are crispy and crunch being defined here?

Hans_297727

I think it would have to do with the size of the grains. Cake flour is a finer grain, and bread a little larger. I reckon a larger grain can absorb more milk, and would allow for a thicker coating.

Also, cake flour typically is high in starch content

John_Paul_Khoury_17236

I think the higher the protein the less crispy it will be, it can be crunchy but the protein will give it more structure.

Nicklas_Poulsen_400893

I think there is a good answer to this at: https://rouxbe.com/tips-techniques/513-how-starch-affects-batters-for-frying