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Frequently
asked questions for Buttermilk Blend continued:
Question: What is the shelf life of
SACO Buttermilk Blend?
Answer: Unopened cans of the Buttermilk Blend stay
fresh indefinitely. After opening, if kept refrigerated, as
we recommend on the package, it will stay fresh for a minimum
of one year, usually several years. As long as the product
is in a powdery condition, it is fine to use. If just kept
in a cupboard after opening, go by how it looks. If it becomes
solid in the can, it's time to get a new one.
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Question: I have a recipe that tells
me to soak my baking soda in my buttermilk prior to making
the recipe. How do I do that when using the Buttermilk Blend?
Answer: The method of soaking your soda in the buttermilk
is found in many older recipes and originated from the days
when baking soda came in blocks and needed to be dissolved.
Actually, it is better not to do this with today's powdered
baking soda. Soaking the baking soda ahead of time allows
the Carbon Dioxide in the soda to be released, which is the
agent that allows the leavening to occur. When the Carbon
Dioxide is released from the baking soda ahead of time, basically
it "loses steam" by the time you put your recipe
together and does not provide full leavening. The baking soda
should be added in with your other dry ingredients, along
with the Buttermilk Blend, and the water used in place of
the liquid buttermilk should be added when the recipe calls
for the liquid, as usual.
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Question: Can I use your Buttermilk
Blend in my recipes that call for regular dry milk or liquid
sweet milk?
Answer: Buttermilk contains an acid level that sweet milk
does not, which needs to be taken into consideration when
using the Buttermilk Blend in place of dry or liquid sweet
milk. This acid level will affect the leavening. In cakes
and sweet breads, for each cup of liquid called for in the
recipe you need to decrease the baking powder by 2 tsp. and
add 1/2 tsp. baking soda when making this substitution. In
yeast breads, the yeast will probably have to be adjusted,
and to get the exact substitution, the recipe would have to
be worked with. There's no general substitution for yeast
breads because these recipes can be much more sensitive than
quick breads and cakes, and will depend on the other ingredients
called for as well. This is especially true when using bread
machines, since they can be more touchy than the conventional
oven.
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Question: What is the best temperature
of the water used when making yeast bread?
Answer: It depends. If making a yeast bread in a bread
machine, the ideal temperature, for the best yeast activity,
is about 80° F. Since your body temperature is about
98.6° F, which is warmer than 80° F, this
will feel cool, but not cold, to you.
If using your conventional oven to make the yeast bread, the
ideal temperature of the water added, for best yeast activity,
is 110-115° F, which will feel warm to you.
The temperature at which yeast does its best work is about
110° F. Since the bread machine has a higher friction
heat, which will raise the temperature of the water to 110
degrees, you should only add 80 degree water. Since the oven
produces a lower friction heat, the water temperature should
be at the ideal level of 110° F when added.
If the yeast does not reach 110° F, it will inhibit
the yeast from working properly, as will overheating of the
yeast.
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