The Best Way to Soften Butter for Baking, Toast or Anything Else
Every time I eat something with oil, I am a little amazed at what an incredible product it is. Butter tastes so good and the only problem it gives me is that it’s too cold (like my ex) or too hard (like… not my ex).
Recipes that call for melted butter are simple; these are the ones that need softened butter or room temperature butter, which can ruin you and delay your baking projects. Here are three easy ways to soften butter, and when you should use each.
Peel or grate cold butter for toast
The beauty of toast is that it is hot enough to melt a thin sheet or a finely grated mound of butter. I like to take a vegetable peeler with me and peel the top layer off the cold block. Then I put it on toast and watch it melt.
If you don’t have a vegetable peeler, a grater will do. Just take a piece of butter and grate until you have “enough”, then put small pieces on the toast and spread it. You can also use grated butter in baked goods where softened butter is needed – just chop up the required amount and toss it in.
Whisk cold butter into serving
For some baking projects, just softened but still cold butter is sufficient. As A. A. Newton explained , it depends on what you add to:
But adding cold butter to softer, more viscous things like bun dough, cream cheese, or meringue doesn’t work at all. You end up with tiny balls of solid butter that will not dissolve with any stirring.
A basic rule of thumb: if the recipe starts with butter and sugar, cold is fine – just be sure to beat the butter a bit to warm it up. If you are adding oil to anything else, it must be at room temperature. However, this should not interfere with your baking schedule.
If you’re starting by beating butter and sugar, simply beat it with a stand mixer, hand mixer, or rolling pin and plastic bag .
Give him some heat or time
Here’s the thing: assuming your kitchen isn’t completely frozen, cut a piece of butter into small pieces and place it on the counter for half an hour. If you really can’t wait 30 minutes, consider microwaving it for five seconds at a time, flipping to the next side after each burst, until it’s soft and room temperature.
I don’t care about this glass trick
There is a popular way to soften butter , which involves filling a glass with hot water, then draining the water, drying the glass, and inverting the glass over the oil. It works, but it’s no better or faster than a microwave, especially if the tap water doesn’t get as hot. To use this hack, I had to boil some water first, and it took a full seven minutes for the hot glass to soften the stick, which is way longer than it takes to put it in the microwave as described above.
What to do if you’ve gone too far
Softening the butter can cause it to melt quickly, especially if you are not familiar with the microwave oven or its power settings. Trying to use melted butter in a recipe that calls for softening will result in a greasy porridge, but don’t worry, you can “fix” your butter with a simple ice bath :
The advice is actually quite simple: just take a small bowl, add a few ice cubes, and add the butter soup right on top of the ice. Stir a little, and the immediate cold will solidify the butter to the point where you can use a spoon or spatula to scoop it out of the bowl, all before the ice has melted (and water has been added to the mixture). The ATK team noted that the butter was just as good when used for baking, so the next time you leave the butter out for too long or decide to microwave it for just a few seconds , this tip could save the day.