Making your own Buttermilk — Cook27

[rottiedogs]

Making your own Buttermilk - my original post..
Cook27
Seems to be a very popular topic and worth repeating. Glad so many are using my method.
"I seldom buy buttermilk. I move it to a glass bottle. When the bottle gets down to about one-third left, add milk to fill to the top. I leave it out on the counter until it warms a bit, probably a couple of hours. That's when the buttermilk culture starts to work and converts to a full container of buttermilk.
I have not bought buttermilk in almost 6 months. Occasionally, I forget to top it up and I have none left to use as a starter and need to purchase a new litre.
Powdered buttermilk does not seem to work the same."
With our bitterly cold Canadian weather over the past week, I have had enjoyed staying at home and doing what I like best.. baking.
Enjoy your new found source of "perpetual buttermilk".
badge posted by: Cook27 on January 30, 2013 at 12:49 pm in General discussions
tags: making buttermilk
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reply by: swirth on November 27, 2013 at 2:28 pm
swirth
For most of my baking life, I've used buttermilk for any water, milk or juice (any liquids called for except oil) in recipes and I've read that you can add 1/4 tsp.baking soda if you want for the buttermilk. Usually, I don't do that because so many of these recipes have baking powder and baking powder is part baking soda, hence there is enough baking soda in the baking powder to suffice for the buttermilk. You can always just add the 1/4 tsp. baking soda if it makes you feel better about doing so.
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reply by: dachshundlady on November 27, 2013 at 2:16 pm
dachshundlady
But if you sub buttermilk in quick breads, do you have to put in some baking soda?
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reply by: HerBoudoir on November 27, 2013 at 8:26 am
HerBoudoir
If you don't want to leave the buttermilk out, you can just put it right back in the fridge after you top it off - just give it extra time in the fridge to do it's thing. I topped mine off on Monday, put it straight back in the fridge and it's fine to use today. If I knew I'd wanted to use it within 24 hours, I'd leave it out for a few hours. The bacteria will go to work when chilled - they're just slower at their jobs 🙂
As far as what to use it for....yep, just about everything. My standard white bread recipe is a buttermilk honey bread, and I make that at least once a week with either a cup + a tablespoon or 1 1/2 cups of buttermilk, depending on how large a loaf I want to make. Just about any baking recipe that calls for water or milk gets subbed for buttermilk - it's fantastic in any kind of cake or bread.
The other bonus of using buttermilk in baked goods is that it seems to increase the shelf life for a couple days. I'm making bread today so that when we come back with leftover turkey and pork roast on Friday, we can make sandwiches - I know that bread will be absolutely fine through the weekend. If it were a water-based bread, I wouldn't trust it to be fresh that long.
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reply by: kaf-sub-rius on November 27, 2013 at 8:15 am
kaf-sub-rius
Thanks for the details. We're going to start one up tonight. This will save us a few dollars every week!
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reply by: Joan~Ga girl on November 26, 2013 at 2:55 pm
Joan~Ga girl
Yes refrigerate it after you let it set out a little .
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reply by: kaf-sub-rius on November 26, 2013 at 10:10 am
kaf-sub-rius
This is a great idea. I'm sure it will save us some money. One question. After the milk/buttermilk is out for a few hours do you put it back into the fridge to store it?
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reply by: Joan~Ga girl on November 26, 2013 at 9:38 am
Joan~Ga girl
Thank you for the tip on making the buttermilk.I use buttermilk a lot with biscuits,pancakes,corn bread,etc.I have made buttermilk in a pinch before with vinegar but this is so much better.I will definitely keep my buttermilk topped off when it gets low.Thanks again,I was weary about it but it works like a charm.Thanks,Joan
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reply by: Joan~Ga girl on November 26, 2013 at 9:38 am
Joan~Ga girl
Thank you for the tip on making the buttermilk.I use buttermilk a lot with biscuits,pancakes,corn bread,etc.I have made buttermilk in a pinch before with vinegar but this is so much better.I will definitely keep my buttermilk topped off when it gets low.Thanks again,I was weary about it but it works like a charm.Thanks,Joan
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reply by: Joan~Ga girl on November 26, 2013 at 9:38 am
Joan~Ga girl
Thank you for the tip on making the buttermilk.I use buttermilk a lot with biscuits,pancakes,corn bread,etc.I have made buttermilk in a pinch before with vinegar but this is so much better.I will definitely keep my buttermilk topped off when it gets low.Thanks again,I was weary about it but it works like a charm.Thanks,Joan
REPLY TO THIS COMMENT
reply by: Joan~Ga girl on November 26, 2013 at 9:38 am
Joan~Ga girl
Thank you for the tip on making the buttermilk.I use buttermilk a lot with biscuits,pancakes,corn bread,etc.I have made buttermilk in a pinch before with vinegar but this is so much better.I will definitely keep my buttermilk topped off when it gets low.Thanks again,I was weary about it but it works like a charm.Thanks,Joan
REPLY TO THIS COMMENT
reply by: Joan~Ga girl on November 26, 2013 at 9:38 am
Joan~Ga girl
Thank you for the tip on making the buttermilk.I use buttermilk a lot with biscuits,pancakes,corn bread,etc.I have made buttermilk in a pinch before with vinegar but this is so much better.I will definitely keep my buttermilk topped off when it gets low.Thanks again,I was weary about it but it works like a charm.Thanks,Joan
REPLY TO THIS COMMENT
reply by: Joan~Ga girl on November 26, 2013 at 9:38 am
Joan~Ga girl
Thank you for the tip on making the buttermilk.I use buttermilk a lot with biscuits,pancakes,corn bread,etc.I have made buttermilk in a pinch before with vinegar but this is so much better.I will definitely keep my buttermilk topped off when it gets low.Thanks again,I was weary about it but it works like a charm.Thanks,Joan
REPLY TO THIS COMMENT
reply by: Joan~Ga girl on November 26, 2013 at 9:38 am
Joan~Ga girl
Thank you for the tip on making the buttermilk.I use buttermilk a lot with biscuits,pancakes,corn bread,etc.I have made buttermilk in a pinch before with vinegar but this is so much better.I will definitely keep my buttermilk topped off when it gets low.Thanks again,I was weary about it but it works like a charm.Thanks,Joan
REPLY TO THIS COMMENT
reply by: Cook27 on February 01, 2013 at 1:36 am
Cook27
I use buttermilk in all my cakes, biscuits, cobblers when the recipe uses a biscuit or cake type batter over the fruit. It makes the cake so tender and moist.
I live in a small town between Toronto and Ottawa and fifteen minutes north of the Bay of Quinte which is part of Lake Ontario.
I believe there are many Canadians on the site but guess we're shy about "speaking up."
Let's hear from members from Canada and particularly Ontario.
Good luck...you'll soon be using buttermilk regularly.
By the way, a Weight Watcher told me buttermilk is made with skim milk...bonus!
I have a sister who lives in Gananoque in The Thousand Islands and she need to have an answer to a baking question. I suggested she call KAF Bakers. She was overwhelmed with their friendliness and she said they provided her with the info. she needed and as a bonus she spent some time discussing several topics. There are very few companies with a reputation for being very helpful. Service seems to be a forgotten skill.
Keep up the good work!
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reply by: Mrs Cindy on January 31, 2013 at 9:38 pm
Mrs Cindy
Keri, quite some time ago swirth posted that she uses buttermilk in everything. After some questioning, it turns out she does exactly that! Every baked goodie she makes, she subs buttermilk for the liquid, be it milk or water. She said she found it made the baked goods moist in the beginning and stay moist for longer.
So, trusting swirth, I started doing the same thing. She was right. There is a wonderful, subtle, flavor change. It deepens the flavor, but it is the moistness that is the biggest difference. Everything I bake, now, has real buttermilk. The buttermilk powder doesn't do the same thing. When I look through a new recipe, the first thing I do is look to where I'm going to change the liquids to buttermilk.
And now with cook27's tip about making your own buttermilk, I never run out and never have to ditch a recipe because I don't have any buttermilk.
Try it. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.
~Cindy
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reply by: Antilope on January 31, 2013 at 3:43 pm
Antilope
The first time I tried to make buttermilk, I put it in my yogurt maker. It turns out this is too hot for buttermilk and it curdled and separated. Now I make buttermilk at room temperature.
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reply by: KAF_Keri on January 31, 2013 at 3:39 pm
KAF_Keri
I love this tip. What kind of food do you use buttermilk in? I've bought it a few times for very specific recipes but when it comes to baking or cooking in general it's not something that comes right to mind. Do you substitute regular milk for buttermilk often?
Are you in Ontario? I grew up near Montreal. Nice to see another Canadian on here! 🙂
~Keri @ KAF
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reply by: Cook27 on January 31, 2013 at 3:03 pm
Cook27
You're welcome! That' what "friends" are for!
Love this site...nothing like King Arthur in Canada so I make a trip to Watertown occasionally and stock up on flour. Ordering by mail is far too costly!
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reply by: Mrs Cindy on January 30, 2013 at 4:00 pm
Mrs Cindy
Cook27, I can't thank you enough for this utterly brilliant time and money saving tip. Since swirth converted me to using buttermilk in all my baked goods, it was becoming a chore to always have buttermilk available. You have ridden in on a white horse and saved the day!
I found a pair of old fashioned glass milk bottles at Home Goods. One even said Buttermilk on the side. I use an upside-down cupcake liner for a cover (secured with a rubberband) and I always have perfectly fresh buttermilk.
This, along with Zen's Pie Crust Mix, are my most favorite tips of 2012! They made my year!!
Thank you, thank you, thank you!
~Cindy
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reply by: cwcdesign on January 30, 2013 at 3:08 pm
cwcdesign
Bookmarking to add to my page

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[S_Wirth]

Here is another good buttermilk thread from the oldBC.

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