Baking success starts with correct temps

Last update: January 23, 2008 - 6:06 PM

Q Why is it important to bring certain ingredients such as eggs and butter to room temperature before baking? Some recipes call for that and others don't. How does it make a difference?

A Depending on what you're trying to make, the temperature of your ingredients can play a huge part. For piecrusts, you want your butter to be cold, since cold butter makes the flakiest crusts -- but if you're making a cake, you want your butter at room temperature, since room-temperature butter makes the tenderest cakes. Similarly, eggs will whip up highest if they're at room temperature.

If you don't have time to wait for your butter or eggs to come to room temperature, there are fixes. Submerging whole eggs in hot water for 5 to 10 minutes should do the trick, as should judicious use of the microwave for your butter. For perfect piecrust butter, try putting it in the freezer for 10 to 15 minutes, then use a cheese grater to grate it into your flour so it spends as little time as possible in contact with your fingers.

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