Our new flock has settled in comfortably to life in our city garden. The older chickens are still separated from the younger ones, but that will soon end as we combine the two flocks into one. The young gals are about four months old now, except for the bantam who was fully grown when we got her.
Mix of eggs from standard and bantam chickens
The bantam is officially the most productive layer on the homestead right now. We just got a new oven arrived right as the egg bowl was overflowing with tasty, teeny, adorable eggs. After some experimenting, I’ve adapted to cooking and baking with these little jewels.
Generally, use two bantam eggs per one large egg
In general, substitute two bantam eggs for one large egg in recipes to err on the side of caution. One large egg equals about 1/4 cup. Two bantam chicken eggs seem to fit that quantity pretty consistently. After experimenting, that rule of thumb holds up well for cookies, pastry crusts and muffins.
Cakes, muffins & breads usually work with 3 bantams eggs per 1 large egg
When I can get away with it, though, I usually throw in about three bantam eggs per one large egg in recipes for cakes and breads. I tested this ratio out when I was baking a chocolate stout cake based on Katie Quinn Davies’ recipe. We never have a shortage of eggs and many recipes and these richer recipes seem just as delicious with a little more egg.
Rich cake batter loaded up with fresh bantam eggs
The cake turned out delicious using the Black Bear XX Stout from Alameda Brewing, a local Portland brewery. The beer helped make the cake moist, but I couldn’t really taste any beer flavor. Hard for other tastes to compete with rich chocolate, which can usually dominate a dish pretty easily. The cake did pair nicely with the rest of the stout though!
Chocolate stout cake
Adding a bantam chicken to our backyard flock has really been a hoot. She fits in great – bossing the other girls around and being super friendly with Juniper. And we are enjoying the tiny egg gifts she is giving us every morning!
