It's easy to substitute honey for sugar when baking, but it does change the flavor of your baked goods and you'll need to adjust baking time and temperature, as well as some other ingredients. Both sugar and honey are simple carbohydrates that your body can easily convert to energy. Both elevate glucose levels. The color and flavor of honey will depend on the bee's diet -- clover honey is lighter and sweeter than buckwheat honey, and lavender and orange blossom honeys also have distinct flavors.
Step 1
Use 3/4 cup of honey for every 1 cup of sugar. Because honey is more acidic than sugar, add 1/4 tsp of baking soda to neutralize the acidity, unless your recipe already calls for baking soda or contains buttermilk.
Step 2
Remove 2 tbsp. of another liquid, perhaps water or milk, from the recipe to compensate for the extra moisture, substituting the liquid honey for the dry ingredient sugar.
Step 3
Lower the baking temperature by 25 degrees -- honey browns faster than sugar and you don't want to overbrown your baked goods.
Tips and Warnings
- Choose a type of honey that complements the flavors in your recipe. Usually the lighter the color of the honey, the milder the flavor.
- Honey is not recommended for babies under 1 year old because of the possibility of infant botulism.
Things You'll Need
- 3/4 cup honey
- 1/4 tsp. baking soda
Member Comments