Powdered buttermilk (Recipe: apple spice bread)

When most people think of Rhode Island, they think of Newport mansions and the America's Cup.

Jazz festivals.

Clambakes on the beach.

Rhode Island Red chickens. (Okay, not everyone thinks of chickens....)

Until I moved here, I was one of those people. If you'd told me I was moving to apple country — that, in fact, I'd be buying my Macouns at an orchard named Apple Land — I would have said "hah!".

But here I am, smack dab in apple land, where I can buy Jonagolds and Cortlands, Mutsu and Macintosh, from August until March.

The thing about apple land is that it's miles from here to anything like a grocery store. So I always keep powdered buttermilk, an essential ingredient in my favorite apple spice bread and other baked goodies, in my pantry.

What is buttermilk? And what makes it cultured? 

First thing to know: real buttermilk contains no butter, and it's not so much milk as the liquid left behind after butter is churned. Commercial (cultured) buttermilk, however, is made by adding a lactic acid bacterial culture to skim milk, which is then left to ferment for 12-14 hours at approximately 69°F. The milk sours and thickens.

For some reason, cultured buttermilk is sold only in a quart size, which is fine if you're planning to drink it, but most recipes for baked goods call for much smaller quantities, and the opened quart container festers in the back of the fridge, turning into a science experiment. Using powdered buttermilk eliminates the "buy a quart, use a cup" dilemma.

Fresh buttermilk makes a great tenderizer for chicken and lamb; when baking, add powdered buttermilk to offset the chemical reaction of foods like blueberries that turn batters a dingy blue.

According to Irish folklore, drinking a glass of buttermilk will offset a hangover. Adding a clove of garlic to it will offset just about anything else that comes your way.

Apple spice bread

I stumbled across this recipe in the New York Times Bread & Soup Cookbook by Yvonne Young Tarr at least a decade ago, and I've been making it ever since. It's definitely more cake than bread, and I always serve it as a dessert. The combination of apples and spices just screams "Fall is here!", and the arrival of apples at my local farmstand this week makes it irresistible. Makes 1 loaf.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose unbleached flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup tart apples (Granny Smith, Macoun, or a mix -- approx. 3 large apples), grated
1/2 cup buttermilk (made from powdered buttermilk)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Sift together first 6 ingredients. Stir in whole wheat flour. Set aside. In a large bowl, or stand mixer, cream the shortening and sugar. Add vanilla and eggs, and stir to combine. Then, alternating a little bit at a time, add dry ingredients, buttermilk and apples to the egg mixture. Spray a bread pan with PAM and pour in the mixture. Bake for 1 hour. Let cool for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a rack and let cool to desired serving temperature. Serve slightly warm with fresh whipped cream or vanilla ice cream, or serve cold. (Can be frozen.)

[Printer-friendly recipe.]

Comments

I have found this to a be real lifesaver when baking. It has worked just as well as regular buttermilk for me in a number of cake recipes. I have found that different markets put it in different places - sometimes with the baking stuff and sometimes with the powdered milk and creamers. So be sure to ask your grocer if you are having trouble locating it.

Jessica, thanks for the tip; I always look for this in the baking section, but it's not always there. Also, sometimes I'll find it in a canister instead of the packets.

Now that it's blueberry season, does anyone have a great blueberry/buttermilk recipe to share?

I didn't know about powdered buttermilk. I hope it's come to the West Coast. The last time I looked for something considered "exotic" in our supermarkets, I had no luck, and it was something as simple as polenta. I'll look for it. Thanks for broadening our kitchen knowledge

I just finished making a light wheat bread in my bread machine that calls for 4 tbsps of dry buttermilk powder. The bread rose high enough to reach the "peek-a-boo" window. It is also delicious.

I adpted this from a recipe I found in Gourmet:

Blueberry-Buttermilk Bundt Cake

3 cups all purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 2/3 cups sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 large eggs
1 tablespoon grated orange or lemon peel
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3/4 cup buttermilk*
2 cups frozen blueberries
Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour 10-inch-diameter Bundt pan. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat 1 2/3 cups sugar and butter in large bowl until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Beat in orange peel and vanilla. Beat in dry ingredients in 3 additions alternately with buttermilk in 2 additions. Fold in blueberries. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake until tester inserted near center of cake comes out clean, about 1 hour.
Cool cake in pan on rack 10 minutes. Turn cake out onto rack and cool completely. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Wrap in plastic and store at room temperature.) Transfer cake to plate, sift powdered sugar over, and serve.

*When using powdered buttermilk mix the powdered buttermilk (the amount corresponding to ¾ of a cup) into the flour. Then I add ¾ of a cup of regular milk or water as is directed when it calls for the regular buttermilk. So far – both liquids have worked just fine.

Sounds great! I'm a big fan of the powdered buttermilk, too.

Jennifer, welcome to The Perfect Pantry. You're such a wonderful baker -- what do you make with powdered buttermilk? Can we entice you to share a recipe or a link to one on your blog?

Powdered buttermilk is just one of many lifesavers on the Perfect Pantry list. We live in the sticks (not close to any markets) and having the right thing in the pantry is the difference between "dinner" and scrambled eggs again. The Perfect pantry list has expanded our horizons is indispensable for feeding great meals to last-minute guests !

I love your apple story and the info you provided about buttermilk; it is a favorite of
mine to use in baked goods. I'm definitely
going to make going to make the Apple Spice
Bread. Thanks for sharing!