Hi everyone,

 What a wonderful blog.

There was an entry which said, I think, that kosher cake would not have butter.  I think this is inaccurate;  I have several kosher recipes which include butter--also butter substitutes, if the cake is to be eaten at a non-dairy meal (meat).

Tulip1

The only butter I can find is salted.  Now what?  I've got a scales and now to figure.  I've seen some recipes that one "stick" of butter is 1/2 cup and that sometimes 1/4 teaspoon salt can be eliminated if salted butter is used.  I'm getting nervous...I would really appreciate some help. 

Q:  What is 1/2 cup of Butter in grams?  (Directly off the package, please)

Q:  And how many grams of salt are mentioned on the package for the test amount?  (usually 100g)

I thought I had a kilo of rye with me also but alas, I'm headed for withdrawal.  My baking world is stalling....help...

Mini off Oven 

In using the no knead slow rise recipes (Baggett, etc.) the recipes call for oiling the cooking vessel, say a cast iron Dutch oven. Vegetable oil imparts a taste my wife doesn't like. OK, how about oiling with butter? Will it handle to 400 -450 degree pre-heating OK?

Does vegetable oil work as a substitute for butter in baking yeast breads? I use it (or applesauce) in baking other stuff. I don't have access to butter or shortening.

Hi. I've just purchased Dan Lepard's The Handmade Loaf and am dying to try his leaven recipe. However he uses yoghurt and we can't have dairy in my house (alas), so I was wondering if anyone could recommend a substitution.

Also, a lot of his recipes include milk or buttermilk as well as butter. Any suggestions how to handle this?

Thanks!

Bettina

I made two simple loaves (flour, salt, yeast, both W/ 8% suger), but I experiemented with vegetable oil versus butter.  One loaf with 8% oil, and the other with 8% unsalted Butter.  2 hour rise, then shape, then 1 hour proof.  Oven at 450, baked till centers were 200 degrees. 

1st one had VERY distinctive vegetable oil taste and smell compared to the one with butter.  Side by side, you would taste both, and want to through the one with Vegetable oil away to the birds. 

Hi,

 Thanks for your help on this topic.  I searched all over the web, and nobody even on this impressive site had the recipe I was looking for.  Fortunately, a family member found an old copy of this spectacular, no-knead, crusty bread.  Always a hit w. my people on special occasions.  Anyone who would like to substitute more specific measurements (like 'stick of butter'), please do!

 Monkey Bread (so-called by the friend of my mother who gave her the recipe circa '68)

HI,

 This is my first post, and I really hope somebody can help me out.  My mom's recipe for holiday buttery egg bread is lost.  Consists of flour, eggs, yeast (little sugar for the bugs to eat), butter and milk.  Makes a batter-like dough, which rises in the fridge, punched down and left overnight.  Next day, dropped by spoonfuls, spongy into loaf pans coated with melted butter.  Forms a crunchy crust.  I need proportions and timings, etc.

 Sound familiar to anybody?  Thanks in advance.

Hi,

 This is my first post, and hope you can help.  My mother's buttery egg bread recipe has disappeared, and I need it for next week.  It consists of flour, eggs, milk, yeast, and salt.  Makes a batter like dough, which rises in the fridge, with one punch down, then left overnight.  It's dropped, soft and spongy, into loaf pans coated with melted butter, resulting in a crunchy crust.  So, I know the outline, just need to recoup the details and proportions.

 Sound familiar?  The troops are hungry!

 Thanks, Paul,

This post is a bit off topic as it's really about nutritional quality of the ingredients rather than baking quality. 

A recent post on trans fats got me thinking about good ole lard.  I've never cooked or baked with it, but I understand it is available for purchase in many places now.  My addled brain says that it is in fact less of a health problem than the hydrogenated vegetable shortening which replaced it.

I cook and bake with butter - OK, sometimes way too much butter. From a nutrition standpoint is lard really any different?