The Buttermilk Dilemma

So, I already had a recipe that I have been using for a while from Allrecipes, but there was something about it that just wasn't 'perfect' for me. I couldn't put my finger on it, so I started reviewing other recipes available for muffins and ran across one that mentioned buttermilk and another that mentioned sour cream. I am beginning to understand why people use these two ingredients occasionally in baked recipes. These fermented dairy products tend to add a little bit of a tangy flavor and they increase the fluffyness and texture of the baked good.

Last week I made a whipped cream that included sourcream, it was made the same as traditional whipped cream. The Difference: the sour cream increased the ability of the whipping to stand for multiple days without falling flat, that makes sense right, I mean, sour cream is a dense dairy product that doesn't flatten out over time, but whole cream is a liquid so even whipped, once the air fluffing it up is gone, it's back to it's liquid state. SO, the whipped cream I made 5 days ago is still good, still full of body and just as tasty if not more tasty than regular whipped cream.

This morning as I began debating what do change about my muffin recipe, I decided to do some quick internet research on the matter of substituting the buttermilk for the milk. Well, it looks like there's a debate on the internet community about this. Not one site seemed to be able to confirm wether or not buttermilk can replace milk in a recipe, there was a lot of talk about cream of tartar and baking soda (the recipe already calls for 2 tsp of baking soda), and calls for people not to change recipes. Ha, I decided then that I was going to do it, buttermilk is a decidedly southern ingredient and I figured adding it would only make it better, and if it ruined my batch of muffins, well at least I knew that this exchange of buttermilk to milk could not take place. So, here are some things I read about online, buttermilk added to pancakes and waffles makes them fluffy, buttermilk adds a flavor that cannot quite be described but as subtly tangy, and it is a fermented product so there is a little salt in it meaning you might need to add a little sugar cause it might not be sweet enough for you if you have a sweet tooth.

Well, the buttermilk helped, my muffins came out looking beautiful, they rose beautifully and actually they rose better than with the milk in the original recipe but they didn't overflow onto the edge of the cups, they had perfectly rounded tops. I did not change the baking soda content as I thought more than 2 tsp would start to alter the flavor of the muffins. The muffins stick together better with buttermilk, they are not as crumbly, and the texture and flavor is decidedly southern as had been mentioned elsewhere on the internet. They are perfect muffins, especially if you are going to grab one in the morning walking out the door because they don't fall apart like many muffins, and the coloring is a lovely whitish with kissed hints of brown on the muffin top, but not brown everywhere so they just look incredible.

Maybe its my southern roots, but from now on if a baked recipes seems a little off, my first inclination is to try it with buttermilk.

My altered recipe:

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup buttermilk
1 cup fresh blueberries
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.

Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top.

Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done. Just as the tops begin to lightly brown.

As always, I would recommend fresh coffee and fresh fruit, my preference is strawberries, with these muffins.