Hi CC family!

I have 2 questions:

1. I live in delaware county PA and I can only buy buttermilk in quarts. Is there anywhere I can purchase buttermilk in larger quantities?

2. I use buttermilk in most of my cupcake recipies, if I substitute with regular milk, will it affect moistness or consistancy? Right now my cakes are super moist with a good fluffy consistancy.

I dont want to compromise my perfect cupcakes I worked so hard and long on. Any information would be super helpful!

I am near Hagerstown, MD. There is a dairy farm in PA that supplies my farmers' markets and the local PA Dutch Market. Their products are second to none, but expensive. I can tell the difference. I love their heavy cream. You have to shake it to get it out of the bottle. Give them a call. They obviously wholesale, and that may bring down the price.

Trickling Springs Creamery
2330 Molly Pitcher Hwy
Chambersburg, PA 17202
717.709.0711

I use buttermilk too, and wonder the same thing. I'm in Mass.
When I can't find buttermilk I substitute 1 tbs. white vinegar plus enough buttermilk to equal 1 cup. ( I put the tablespoon of vinegar in the measuring cup first, then poor in the milk). I haven't noticed a big difference in the outcome.

So you add vinegar to the buttermilk? or you make your own buttermilk? What does adding the vinegar do?

scp1127, thanks for the number!

Has anyone substituted with the powdered buttermilk? How does that work and can you tell a difference?

I keep the powdered buttermilk in my fridge. I use it according to the directions on the package and mix the powder with my dry ingredients and add just water when it calls for the buttermilk. It works great and I can't tell the difference. A canister of of the dried (It's in the baking section of my supermarket) goes a long way.

I used powdered a long time ago once. This was just for my family. I didn't feel I got the richness from it and never used it again. I do freeze mine if the expiration gets close. I put twelve 1/4 c (standard) silicone cupcake holders on a cookie sheet. I fill to the top and it uses the whole quart. I then thaw what I need. Whenit thaws, it gets a little separated, but there is no change in the baking. I studied it on the internet before I started doing it because I'm like you... I won't compromise the quality.

I'm going to do some experiments on my vanilla cupcakes. Some with regular milk and some with powered buttermilk. i NEVER have any left close to the experation date so that won't be a problem

I know these are pricey, but they're great for freezing buttermilk in small quantities, with a cover.

http://www.williams-sonoma.com/products/beaba-multiportion-baby-food-freezer-tray/?pkey=e%7Cbaby%7C19%7Cbest%7C0%7C1%7C24%7C%7C8&cm_src=PRODUCTSEARCH||NoFacet-_-NoFacet-_-Feature_Recipe_Rule-_-

Sorry, I meant regular milk with vinegar.
It sours the milk. Buttermilk I think is created by a fermentation process to 'sour' it.

Many of my recipes use buttermilk. I used to purchase fresh buttermilk, then switched to powdered, but now I, too, make my own. For every cup of milk I add one tablespoon vinegar and let it sit for a few minutes. There's very little difference in taste or texture. I do notice it in side-by-side taste tests, but the difference is minimal. I once asked customers to participate in this taste-test but no one could pick out what was different. (Responses ranged from "more salt in this one" to "no eggs, very obvious" to "tastes exactly the same.")

You can actually take a quart of buttermilk and put it in a gallon container, fill it up the rest of the way with whole milk and leave it someplace warm for a while, and then you have a gallon of buttermilk. Like that friendship bread people pass around. Make sure it is real cultured buttermilk, and not the fake stuff with cornflour in it. It has active cultures in it that grow and separate, and grow and separate, like a virus. YUM! lol

You can get better instructions for it if you search the web.

Good morning!

Well, I tried switching over to regular milk in my recipies changing the leavener to BP instead of BS and here were the results. My choco cupcake did not rise at all. Later to find out you still need BS b/c of the cocoa. My vanilla cupcakes were super dense, like pound cake. I NEED to use the buttermilk. My next batch i will try making my own to see how it will come out. i did try the concoction but it never got thick so i was nervous to use it. It did sour though. I thought the thickness of the buttermilk made the batter rich. I'm also going to try the buttermilk powder but nervous to put only water in my liquid. I would think you would mix the water in the powder first and use it as a liquid.

Thanks for all of your suggestions. They will be tested this week!

I use powdered buttermilk all the time. I'm just a hobby baker so I'm not usually baking several cakes a week. Therefore, I end up wasting whatever amount is left after a recipe. I suppose I can freeze the remaining, but haven't so far.

I mix the powder according to directions before I begin making the recipe. But I like the idea of just adding the powder to my dry ingredients and then using water. Seems like less steps than mixing it beforehand. I don't see how it would make a difference in the recipe. You're still mixing it with water regardless.

I have tried the sour milk with lemon and I don't get the same richness in my cupcakes. Next I'm trying the powdered buttermilk but like the OP I'm almost sure the water will again not give the same richness. I was thinking about mixing it with milk. Buttermilk is nowadays made with a culture, like yogurt. It's not like before when it was the liquid left from churning butter. So I guess old times buttermilk was totally liquid, like water.

The recipe someone gave you before about making it with yogurt and milk makes sense.

And about that, I have a book from David Lebovitz that has a banana cake on it. I just made that banana cake and it was deliciously soft and fluffy. It had buttermilk on it and I didn't have any on hand, but it listed as options yogurt or sourcream. I have been advised to substitute buttermilk with yogurt before by chefs so I really think yogurt is the closest. But I made my banana cake with sour cream so that's another idea.

I wish I had the time to try the three things at the same time!

I don't have a bottle right now, but I think the farmers' market buttermilk is the real deal. Every time I use their products, I can tell a difference.

Just tried making my own buttermilk and it wasn't bad but not the same rich flavor that I love to taste in my cupcakes. This is what makes me stand out above the rest in my market. I'm going to call the farmers market. I just might need to up the cost of the cupcakes. I think msot people won't mind paying more for great taste. Oh boy, we'll see.

My cost reflects it. Baking is becoming a boutique industry. The public is going to demand a superior product. There are more businesses opening every day and as pricey as these products are, those that rise above the others in taste are definitely going to have the advantage. Especially when the market gets more saturated. You are not going to be happy with anything but what you have been using or something better.

Here is a link to what I was talking about. http://mamasnuthouse.blogspot.com/2007/09/make-your-own-cultured-buttermilk.html
There is a lot of text here, but it is actually very simple. She uses some microwave thermometer with a probe, but even a clean, sanitized digital thermometer designated for food use only would work.

scp1127, you are so right. I know plenty of moms who would pay a fortune for their kids birthday cakes and cupcakes if they taste great and look amazing! The world of baking is changing for sure. Good thing for us!

Thanks annabakescakes! I will check that website out as soon as i get back home!

And don't forget to market to adults. There are many working women who don't have the time, but definitely have the money to serve great desserts at parties and to bring to functions.

Oh yes, you're right! I want to market to everyone. I just mentioned moms b/c I have babies and would pay anything to have the best cupcakes at their party

But I also want to tap into the corporate market and anyone else who would need cupcakes for parties and events.

There is so much to do to start out. SO many opportunities to get business. I'm just practicing and perfecting decorating. Once I feel more comfortable with that and have a starting menu of about 10 flavors and figure out pricing, I will be ready to take orders! I'm super excited.

I hope you get the opportunity to try that dairy farm's products. You wll love them.

I'm going for it! I will let you know how it turns out! Thanks again! Much appreciated!

I put it in a zip lock bag.

Great! Thanks!