I’m jealous you get to binge-watch. Use this all-purpose batter to coat and fry fish, chicken or batter with egg halloumi.

Whisk together to incorporate the salt. Add the water and whisk until the batter is completely smooth and the flour is fully combined. Take the oil and pour into a large, sturdy saucepan with high sides. Heat over a high heat until it reaches 200C. To fry your ingredients, dip them in the batter, allowing any excess to run off, and carefully place into the hot oil.

Fry until the batter is a rich, golden brown and crisp. The fried ingredients will likely float on top of the oil when cooked, too. This website is published by Immediate Media Company Limited under licence from BBC Studios Distribution. Bread expert Elizabeth Yetter has been baking bread for more than 20 years, bringing her Pennsylvania Dutch Country experiences to life through recipes. A mixture of flour, egg, and milk or water that is thin enough to be poured or dropped from a spoon. A coating, often of flour and egg though sometimes with bread, which is applied to food that is meant to be fried.

For instance, deep-fried fish is often battered. With these two definitions, we can clearly see that the difference between batter and dough is that batter is thin while dough is quite thick. This plays into the techniques used to mix each type of baking mixture. The consistency of a batter is why you can—the majority of the time—beat it with an electric mixer.

This makes quick work of the process because the liquid to solid ratio is balanced to create a lighter mix that almost any mixer can handle. The only exception to using a mixer for a batter is when you add solid ingredients like chocolate chips. Any baker who has attempted to ‘beat in’ chips knows that this is often too much for the average mixer. On the other hand, a dough is designed to be thick and has nowhere near the amount of liquid found in the average batter. This is the primary reason why bread dough is often mixed by hand with a wooden spoon. Once enough flour is added and the dough becomes too stiff to stir, kneading finishes up the mixing process.