May 29, 2009 - 2:55pm
Whey instead of water
I make a lot of cheese (mostly hard cheeses), and the whey just seems like a terrible thing to waste, even after I've extracted as much fat from it as possible, by making natural (no acid added) ricotta. I've used it in soups, but don't have soup everyday. I also make alot of breads - mostly 7 grain, sour dough, other artisan types.
Does anyone have experience and/or advice concerning the efficacy of using whey in place of water, in various breads? Would there be any effect on the crust or crumb, say, in a ciabatta or a baguette? The only kind I've tried it in so far is the 7 grain, and I couldn't tell much difference in the taste or the texture.
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I make my own yogurt and yogurt cheese. I always save the whey from yogurt cheese to make sourdough sandwich bread. I just substitute one cup of whey for one cup of water. The flavor is much nicer than using water alone and the crumb is usually softer too. I love it.
I did a bread baking class yesterday and the baker recommended using whey in place or water, or even the brine/water that mozzarella comes in. He said that whey was often used many years ago by peasants in bread baking. I would say go for it!