10/30 of my macs on this tray came out cracked like this. The rest normal. I’m doing French method. Baking one tray at a time. 300 degrees F (I have a thermometer in my oven to be sure) at 19 minutes. Seems like whenever I bake less time than that they stick to the mat and are undercooked. The other two trays I baked (same batch) only had one or two cracked shells. I rest them before baking for at least 45 minutes, probably closer to an hour though. Help? Thanks in advance!
by SloughWitch
4 Comments
looks like the cracked ones are all in the middle of your tray, the outer shells will always dry faster but inside ones need longer drying time
Not to make light of this, but sometimes it just happens. Sometimes they’re lopsided, sometimes they get no feet, sometimes it’s a few and sometimes it’s all of them – even when you’ve been making them for years. You just have to make another batch and keep on keeping on.
This happened to me yesterday. First tray all cracked, 2nd and 3rd came out perfectly. I realized even though the first tray wasn’t “tacky” to the touch, I could slide my finger across 2nd and 3rd tray. I didn’t let the first tray rest enough to form a good skin is what I concluded.
I would try a few things:
1) like previous poster mentioned, maybe let them dry slightly longer so that your middle macs are dry to the touch
2) Wipe down your mats with vinegar or lemon juice before starting. Could be a (slightly) dirty mat or something
3) Slow down your macronage. I’ve found that if I macronage too quickly I can get the right consistency but not consistently (lol). Meaning, It might flow correctly on average, but I have uneven flow throughout my batter.
4) My other thought is to make sure you are piping the same way consistently. If you are swirling some, dolloping others, maybe the batter spreads more on one plop vs another, it could create sticking issues on the mat.
5) Check your pans and invest in new ones if they are discolored or beat up. Maybe hot spots on the pan itself are contributing.
These are all very specific, and none of them may be the answer. Sometimes Macs are just gonna Mac. Hope you figure it out, though!