homemade buttermilk vs store bought
I always have a jar of homemade buttermilk in my fridge to use for smoothies but I often use it for baking to. I've noticed though that it is much thicker than the buttermilk I can buy in the store. So for biscuits and other baked goods, do I need to thin it out before using to make it more like the store bought version?
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Your homemade buttermilk is thicker than the regular commercial stuff because it has a higher percentage of butter. That butter will melt at normal baking temperatures, thus your baked goods should be richer.
Depending on the specific item you are making, you may want to adjust the recipe based on how you perceive the richness of the final product.
Remember that buttermilk used to be more like the stuff you are making at home. If the recipe you are using is very old, it was intended to be executed with ingredients that were readily available at the time of that recipe's authoring, not today's iterations.
Diners' tastes have changed over time as well, and many of the rich, fattier dishes of old are far less appreciated and made today. Even if you look at an old warhorse cookbook like Fannie Farmer, the recipes have evolved over the years as both ingredients and people's tastes have evolved.
In summary, make the recipe as written then modify based on your personal tastes. After all, you're the one who is going to eat it, not us.
Good luck.
There is also cultured buttermilk which encourages bacteria to convert lactose (milk sugar) into lactic acid, a process that also curdles the milk and thickens the end product.
It would be interesting to hear how ktr makes her buttermilk, but in the end, it really is up to her to decide how to adjust her recipes' instructions based on the ingredients that she chooses to use and how she perceives the final result.
If I recall correctly, she has frequently noted her disagreement in taste with other members of her household as well as close relatives, so she will have to find her own resolution in terms of balancing her personal taste preferences to those whom she shares her table.
And yes, I do disagree of food preferences with the rest of my family. But that has improved now that I'm not pregnant and the thought of sweet foods no longer completely turns me off!
Since you say you haven't had any problems using your homemade buttermilk in other recipes until your first-time biscuit attempt, I'd say that the problem isn't your buttermilk.
Biscuits shouldn't be dry. You may want to adjust your ingredient levels or find a different recipe. I think the best biscuits are made from self-rising flour, lard, and buttermilk.
I don't know how many times in your life you've eaten biscuits, but longtime biscuit baker has something in their mind that they like to attain (maybe a certain family member's biscuits or something they were once served). You will have to think about that yourself and strive to reach the goal.
That's really up to you to decide and again, you will need to balance your own preferences with those of the people whom you are serving.
Good luck.