Why you should bake with room temperature ingredients.
Mar 31, 2022
Why You Should Bake With Room Temperature Ingredients
If you bake a lot, you've probably noticed that the ingredients list in a recipe often mentions for many of the ingredients to be used at room temperature, especially when it comes to cake.
Have you ever wondered why?
Do you really need to wait the extra time so your ingredients are at room temperature?
Well the short answer is NO, however if you want your bake to be the best it can be, then the answer is always YES!
Why are ingredients better to bake with at room temperature?
In a nutshell...it's so that everything can come together in a homogenous way and the ingredients can be distributed evenly.
But if we dive a little deeper, there's a bit of baking science to consider when it comes to each ingredient.
Butter
Many recipes call for softened, room temperature butter.
If you've ever tried to cream butter that's too hard, you'll know it's a futile exercise.
If your butter isn't soft, it will never evenly disperse throughout the mixture, which can result in a dense tough bake.
Whilst soft butter is essential for creaming with other ingredients, there is also a reaction that occurs from the friction created when you beat sugar and butter together.
As the butter and sugar are creamed together, little air pockets are created, and these little air pockets result in a beautiful lightness to the finished product.
If your butter is cold, it won't allow the sugar to be fully incorporated, and the air pockets won't form evenly.
This usually results in your cookies being tougher and your cakes turning out flat and dense.
How to tell when butter is at room temperature.
It should be firm, but not cold with a matt appearance.
You should be able to press your finger into it and make an indent easily, without your finger sliding anywhere or being greasy.
Can butter be too soft? Yes indeedy!
If your butter takes on a shiny appearance, it is too soft, and will result in oily cookies that don't hold their shape, and cakes that turn out flat...and nobody want that!
📌 TIP - grate your cold butter or chop into small cubes and spread it out on a plate to help it come to room temperature more quickly.
Did you know you can make your own homemade butter in a flash in a food processor?
Cream cheese
Just like butter, cold cream cheese will react the same way when you try to beat it with other ingredients.
You'll never achieve a smooth, creamy cheese cake or cream cheese frosting if you don't let it soften first.
📌 TIP - chop into small cubes and spread out on a plate to speed up the process of it getting to room temperature.
Eggs
There are two reasons why cold eggs are a no no.
Firstly, cold eggs could re-harden the fat in the mixture, making it appear curdled or lumpy which can then affect the finished texture of your baked goods.
Secondly, cold eggs won't achieve their full volume when beating them. You're meringues and fluffy cakes like sponges etc. won't puff up or rise to their lofty heights if they start out cold.
However...
It is easier to separate egg yolks and whites whilst they are cold, so if you have a recipe that calls for your eggs to be separated, do this step first then allow them to come to room temperature for around 20 minutes.
📌 TIP - to speed up the process of bringing them to room temperature, you can float your eggs in a bowl of warm water. Obviously not too hot though or you will end up with boiled eggs!
Milk, Cream, Buttermilk or Yoghurt
Usually, if you're adding a liquid to your baking recipe, you will have first creamed some butter or sugar. If you then add cold milk, cream, buttermilk or yoghurt, the fat in the butter will seize up.
When the item bakes, the water content of the butter will turn to steam, creating little holes in your bakes. Not ideal!
📌 TIP - Warm your liquid in 10 second increments in the microwave. Keep a careful eye on it as you only want it to reach the point where it is no longer cold...you don't want it to start feeling warm at all which can cause a whole lot of other problems.
How long does it take for ingredients to come to room temperature if left out on the bench?
Once taken out of the refrigerator, it can take anywhere from 30 minutes - 1 hour for your ingredients to come to room temperature...depending on the heat and humidity in your kitchen.
Obviously if it's really cold in your kitchen it will take longer, and if it's a really hot day it will take less time.
📌 TIP - If the weather is temperate (around 24°C), I take my eggs and butter out the night before baking so they are ready to go.
How can you tell when ingredients have reached room temperature?
In the case of butter or cream cheese, it should be soft to the touch but still retain its shape.
Milk, yoghurt or eggs may feel slightly cool, but not cold to the touch.
Should I always bring my ingredients to room temperature?
For many baking recipes, room temperature ingredients are best.
However, this is not true for all bakes. Some recipes need the ingredients to be cold or hot to ensure recipe success. A good example is pie dough, which needs ice-cold water and chilled butter to create beautifully flaky layers.
So now you know why room temperature ingredients will make a difference to your baking 🎂🥯🍰
But don't worry...if you break the rules all power to you.
Sometimes life is way too busy to worry about all the details.
I'm sure the family aren't going to notice if the bickies you made them were made using cold or warm ingredients...they'll just be happy they got bickies!🥰
Happy Baking!
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