My two sons LOVE breakfast. My daughter, however, not so much! Anyway, I have made thousands of pancakes and waffles throughout my adult life and have usually used regular milk. This was due to two reasons: 1. I always have regular milk in my refrigerator and 2. Buttermilk is more expensive than regular milk so I didn’t purchase it.
Well, let me tell you, if you are not making pancakes with cultured buttermilk, you are missing out! They rise higher, taste better….just amazing. Why is this?
- Buttermilk is acidic. This helps baked goods in two ways.
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- It invigorates leavening agents (yeast, baking soda, and baking powder)
- It helps a gorgeous browning of your goods
- Buttermilk’s acidity also helps marinades tenderize meats and give marinades a tangy flavor
- Buttermilk’s cultures are what make it thick and creamy and may give some of the same health benefits as yogurt cultures. These also improve texture and aroma of baked goods while also extending their shelf life
Now, remember how I said I didn’t purchase buttermilk because it was expensive. That is no longer the case when you make your own. Here’s how!
Homemade Cultured Buttermilk
Ingredients:
1 Cup cultured buttermilk
1 1/3 Cup Instant Milk and 3 Cups Hot Water
Directions:
Measure out 1 cup cultured buttermilk. In another measuring cup, measure 3 cups hot water. To the hot water, add 1 1/3 cups instant milk and stir until completely dissolved.
In a quart jar, combine the buttermilk and your reconstituted milk. Stir.
Cover with a paper towel and place in a warm place for 24-48 hours until thickened/clabbered.
Your buttermilk will be thickened and will leave a film on a spoon. When this happens, it’s done! Put a lid on this and place it in your refrigerator. It will last a minimum of 2 weeks.
Notes:
- You can substitute 3 cups of skim, 1%, 2% or whole milk for the dry milk/water mixture. The higher the fat content the thicker your buttermilk will be.
- Keep 1 cup of your buttermilk as starter for your next batch.
- The 1 to 3 ratio (1 cup buttermilk/3 cups milk) is what is important. So if you only have 1/2 cup of buttermilk, then just add 1 1/2 cups of milk.
Check here to see how to make your own yogurt, sour cream, butter, mozzarella, ricotta, and yogurt cheese.
4you
Newest follower! #200! Thanks for visiting my blog – hope you’ll come back and share your recipes at my Scrumptious Sunday link party!
Wow – I am going to have to give this a go. Love your blog! http://therewasacrookedhouse.wordpress.com/
Awesome find! So glad you shared. Thanks so much.
Can you freeze the cup for your starter if you let the batch go more than 2 or 3 weeks?
plepoma@aol.com
Oh neat! I already make my own yogurt, now I can try buttermilk too! Thanks!
Great idea. I love the flavor buttermilk adds to recipes.
Great idea! Thanks for sharing at Beautify it Monday! We hope to see you back next week!
This is such a great recipe! We loved having you link up to our “Strut Your Stuff Saturday.” We hope to see you again soon! -The Sisters
I just used buttermilk for some pancakes last week and they WERE so much better! Thanks fir the tips
xo
Kim
I love this series of yours!! I have always substituted regular for buttermilk in a recipe, and sometimes I add lemon juice with the milk. But you are probably right, buttermilk is much better.
Thanks for this recipe. I’ll definitely have to try it! I’m pinning this. Thanks for linking up at Romance on a Dime!!
That is awesome!! Thanks so much for showing me how to make my own dairy products! Thanks for sharing with us at Thursday’s Temptation.
Jill