Used to think buttermilk substitutes were fine until I tried the real thing on a coffee cake

I saw a baking science breakdown on Serious Eats that explained how the acid in real buttermilk actually changes the gluten structure differently than milk plus vinegar. Tried it on a blueberry coffee cake last Sunday and the texture was way more tender than any of my 10 prior attempts. Has anyone else noticed a big difference swapping in real buttermilk?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_william19d ago

Wait, you're saying ten attempts before you got real buttermilk? That's crazy, I would have given up after the second try. I did the exact same thing with a lemon poppy seed cake and the difference was night and day, the fake stuff always gave me a rubbery edge. Real buttermilk made the crumb so soft it almost fell apart on my fork. Now I just buy a quart and freeze what I don't use in ice cube trays so I always have it on hand for recipes like that.

leo_carr1319d ago

Man that ice cube tray trick is genius, I never thought of that. I went through a whole phase with cornbread where it kept coming out dense and dry, tried the vinegar milk method like five times before I just broke down and bought the real stuff. Night and day difference for sure, the real buttermilk gave it that tangy moisture that cuts through the richness. I ended up just getting a small carton every week and making pancakes on sundays to use it up.