When it comes to baking, you probably just follow a recipe without giving much thought to what each ingredient adds to the process. Milk and its more acidic cousin, buttermilk, are present in many common baked goods to add both structure and a moist quality. Because of its thickness, liquidity and sweetness, milk is essential in bringing a specific texture and tenderness to baked goods.
Ingredients Work Together in Baking
Baking is a science and the ingredients work together to transform wet dough or batter into a loaf of bread or a cake. Each basic baking ingredient has a function that is essential for the baking process to occur correctly. If you skip a key ingredient or add too much or too little, you may end up with a baking disaster. Some ingredients, such as butter, egg yolks and sugar, tenderize the final baked good, while others, like egg whites, water and flour, act together to give the baked item structure. Milk falls into the latter category and is considered a strengthening ingredient, but because it is a liquid, it also gives baked goods a moist and fluffy texture.
Milk's Function
Milk acts as a strengthener because of the way it reacts when mixed with flour. The milk helps with the formation of gluten, which gives a baked item structure and heft. When milk is added to baking, the resulting product will be more moist and tender than doughs and batters mixed with water because the lactose in the milk acts as a sugar and limits the amount of gluten that is formed. The liquid quality of milk also thins out a batter, which also adds to the moist quality of a baked product. The addition of milk can also affects a baked good's flavor and mouth feel and can extend the shelf life of a cake.
Buttermilk's Function
Buttermilk is the leftover liquid that is left after butter has been churned and it is more acidic than regular milk. If adding milk rather than water tenderizes baked goods, buttermilk offers an even more tender product because it further hinders the formation of toughening glutens. This results in fluffy textures and, in the case of quick breads, like muffins and biscuits, can make for a greater rise. Because of its acidic nature, buttermilk also offers a distinctive taste to baked goods, different from that of ordinary milk.
Milk Substitutions
Because milk has special properties when it comes to baking, it cannot be substituted with water if you are looking for a vegan dish or simply don't have milk available. There are some tricks you can try if you need to omit milk from a recipe. Nondairy milk products, such as rice milk, soy milk and almond milk, work in many baking recipes, though some products work better for certain kinds of baking. Buttermilk can be substituted with 1 cup of regular milk mixed with 1 tablespoon of distilled white vinegar or, for a nondairy substitute, by adding apple cider vinegar or lemon juice to a nondairy milk product.
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