Soften butter is a very popular ingredient for many baking recipes - and it's also a key component in many sauces, as well as for creating types of bread dough.
If you've ever tried to learn how to soften butter only to find that you've made a mess and wasted time and energy, you're not alone! Let's walk through the steps of what the professionals do to soften butter.
What Temperature Does Butter Melt?
The melting point of butter is between 82 to 97 °F (28 to 26 °C). It depends on the amount of salt, milk fat content, and moisture.
How Long Does It Take To Soften Butter
A cold stick of butter straight from the refrigerator is about 40ºF (4.4 ºC) and firm in texture. The softening time depends on where you chose to place the butter. It will be approximately 1-2 hours at room temperature to soften the butter thoroughly.
How to Quickly Soften Butter
Cutting butter into cubes with a sharp knife will cut down the time spent softening the butter, making it easier to work with when mixing doughs and batters.
For faster results, cut butter into ½-inch pieces or smaller if desired. This method increases surface area and the temperature of butter by about 5 to 10 degrees /Fahrenheit, let it sit out on the counter.
Do not microwave butter when baking, as it changes the butter's molecular structure and leads to poor baking results.
Microwave Methods To Soften Butter
It is possible to soften butter in the microwave, but it's a little tricky. The key is using medium power and flipping your stick of butter every five seconds. This promotes even heat distribution. It will take about thirty-five seconds
Microwave Steaming
Put your stick of butter in a microwave-safe bowl with a cover or lid. Place it in the microwave. Heat on high for five seconds and test softness by pressing on the butter with your finger. When it's soft, you're done; if not, continue microwaving and checking softness every 5-10 second intervals until soft.
Microwave Water Bath
This is a quick and easy technique that doesn't require very much work.
- microwave water in a large bowl to create warm conditions
- place the butter in a protective plastic bag
- then into the warm water for 5 to 10 minutes
Grating The Butter
One of the easiest ways to soften butter is by using a cheese grater. All that needs to be done is to place the stick of butter on top of the grater on the widest pore size setting. Just make sure that no other ingredients get mixed into the butter while doing this.
Cream The Butter Using A Stand Mixer
Using an electric mixer creates friction from the fast-moving attachment. Make sure to help the stand mixer by cutting the butter into smaller pieces.
Allow the mixer to run until you see the change in the texture of the butter. This speeds up the process. Once the butter has begun to soften after whipping, let the butter sit in the mixer for another 5 to 10 minutes. Good time to measure out the other ingredients for your recipe.
Filling the stand mixer with hot water before mixing will speed up results. Then pour the hot water out before mixing. If you have very hot water available, reduce the water temperature.
Pounding It Out
Place a stick of butter between plastic or wax paper and pound it out thin with a rolling pin. Pound the whole thing flat with a rolling pin until the butter has softened to your desired consistency.
Butter Faqs
To make butter, cream/fat is first separated from milk/whey by turning it into curdled milk with the aid of bacterial culture or an acid. The curds are then pressed and washed to remove the excess liquid. Salt is added, and after that, churning can begin. The cream is turned into butter through persistent stirring which aligns the fat globules until they stick together.
Culture refers to the process of taking bacteria and allowing them to grow inside a nutrient solution until they reach the desired levels. Bacteria in cultured milk products are used in order to bring out certain flavors not found when milk is pasteurized.
Lactococcus lactis, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, and Lactobacillus bulgaricus are the three main types of bacteria used in making cultured butter products. They use the lactic acid produced during fermentation to preserve the food and give it a distinct taste.
Churning refers to a process for making whipped cream or butter. It involves rapidly agitating cream/fat to form butter.
Fermentation is a process in which sugars are made available to microorganisms by hydrolysis, releasing carbon dioxide gas in the process. There are 3 types of fermentation: alcoholic fermentation, lactic acid fermentation, and mixed acid fermentation. In mixed acid fermentation.
Bonus: How To Make Cultured Butter
You might be thinking that butter and cultured buttermilk are two different things. They're not! The difference between them means the enzymes have been partially destroyed by ultra pasteurization, which isn't bad in itself - most kinds of milk you'll find at your local grocery store have been ultra-pasteurized.
Learn How To Make Homemade Cultured Butter
How To Soften Butter
Ingredients
- Butter (4oz of Butter) 1 stick
Instructions
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE TO SOFTEN BUTTER
- A cold stick of butter straight from the refrigerator is about 40ºF (4.4 ºC) and firm in texture. The softening time depends on where you chose to place your pastry dish or pot but will be approximately 1-2 hours at room temperature to soften the butter.
HOW TO QUICKLY SOFTEN BUTTER
- Cut butter into cubes with a sharp knife to cut down the time spent softening the butter, making it easier to work with when mixing doughs and batters. For faster results, cut butter into ½-inch pieces or smaller if desired. This method increases the temperature of butter by about 5 to 10 degrees Fahrenheit, so let it sit on the counter.Do not microwave butter when baking, as it changes butter's molecular structure and leads to poor baking results.
MICROWAVE METHODS
- It is possible to soften butter in the microwave, but it's a little tricky. The key is using medium power and flipping your stick every five seconds so that even heat distribution can be achieved with this method. It will take about thirty-five seconds.
MICROWAVE STEAMING
- Put your stick of butter in a microwave-safe bowl or cup and place in the microwave. Heat on high for five seconds and test softness by pressing on the butter with your finger. If it's soft, you're done; if not, continue microwaving and checking softness every 5-10 second intervals until soft.
MICROWAVE WATER BATH
- This is a quick and easy technique that doesn't require very much work. Simply microwave some water to create warm conditions in which you can then place your butter in a protective bag in the warm water for 5 to 10 minutes.
GRATING THE BUTTER
- One of the easiest ways to soften butter is by using a cheese grater. All that needs to be done is to place the stick of butter on top of the grater on the widest pore size setting. Just make sure that no other ingredients get mixed into the butter while doing this.
CREAM THE BUTTER USING A STAND MIXER
- Using an electric mixer creates friction from the fast-moving whipping attachment. Help the mixer by cutting the butter into smaller pieces.Allow the mixer to run until you see the change in the texture of the butter. This speeds up the process. Once the butter has begun to soften after whipping, let the butter sit in the mixer for another 5 to 10 minutes. Good time to measure out the other ingredients in your recipe.Filling the stand mixer with hot water before mixing will speed up results. Then pour the hot water out before mixing. If you have very hot water reduce the water temperature.
POUNDING OUT THE BUTTER
- Place a stick of butter between plastic or wax paper and pound it with a rolling pin. Pound the whole thing flat with a rolling pin until it has softened to your desired consistency.
Notes
How To Make Cultured Butter At Home 3 Different Ways
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