Butter in baking: Kind of big deal

Butter plays a lot of roles in baking including enhancing flavor, texture, structure, moisture, and can even act as a leavening agent.  This post will address a couple of basics that you might encounter as a new baker.

Flavor

For starters, not all butter is created equal. I think it’s best to skip the synthetics and eat the real thing. I met a baker recently and we were bonding over our love of Kerrygold. When it comes to the flavor in butter, he said, “If it’s white, it ain’t right.”  Although there are probably 50 shades of yellow when it comes to butter, when cows eat what they eat in the wild, namely grass, the color tends to be richer.

Butter adds fat to your baked goods, and fat = flavor.

Salted vs Unsalted

The main difference between the two is… you guessed it, salt. Choosing which butter to use comes down to what a recipe calls for, but it’s ultimately a matter of preference.

Unsalted butter does not contain added salt, giving the baker more control over how much salt goes in the recipe and the taste of the final product.

Salted butter has added salt to enhance the overall flavor and give it a little kick.

Having both types of butter on hand is a good idea but if you’re an everyday baker and you find yourself not having the preferred type, just use what you have. I know, I know, some bakers just clutched their pearls. If you only have unsalted, simply taste your batter and adjust it by adding some salt to the mix.

Temperature

Recipes call for butter at different temperatures, cold, room temperature (softened), or melted. Follow the recipe. But if it doesn’t specify, my general rule of thumb is to stick with room temperature.

If you change the temperature of the butter, you change the structure of the butter and in turn change the structure of the baked good.

Cold Butter: think flaky, like a pastry

Room Temperature Butter: think tender, like cakes and some cookies

Melted Butter: think dense or chewy, like a brownie

One thing I do if I know I’m going to bake, is pull the butter I need out either the night before or the morning of, so it’ll be ready by the time I start mixing up the ingredients.

I hope this helped get you started using butter in baking. My favorite recipe where butter is a key player is this Honey Beer Bread.

Happy Baking!

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What is baking soda?

Baking soda is a single ingredient, sodium bicarbonate. When it’s combined with a liquid acidic ingredient, it creates a carbon dioxide gas that expands your baked goods causing them to rise.

What is baking powder?

Baking powder is made up of baking soda, two acids and cornstarch. It does the same as baking soda, creates carbon dioxide gas that expands your baked goods causing them to rise. However, most baking powder is double acting, meaning it reacts twice. First when it combines with a liquid and second when it hits the heat.

Can I substitute one for the other?

You can substitute baking powder for baking soda but not the other way around. You would use three times the amount of baking powder. So if a recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of baking soda, you would use 3 teaspoons of baking powder.

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