Buttermilk is a fermented dairy drink . Traditionally, it was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cultured cream . As most modern butter in Western countries is not made with cultured cream but uncultured sweet cream, most modern buttermilk in Western countries is cultured separately. It is common in warm climates where unrefrigerated milk sours quickly.
30-457: Buttermilk can be drunk straight, and it can also be used in cooking. In making soda bread , the acid in buttermilk reacts with the raising agent, sodium bicarbonate , to produce carbon dioxide which acts as the leavening agent . Buttermilk is also used in marination , especially of chicken and pork . Originally, buttermilk referred to the thin liquid left over from churning butter from cultured or fermented cream . Traditionally, before
60-455: A bowl and the wet ingredients are heated sauces in a saucepan off-heat and cooled. During the chemical leavening process, agents (one or more food-grade chemicals—usually a weak acid and a weak base ) are added into the dough during mixing. These agents undergo a chemical reaction to produce carbon dioxide , which increases the baked good's volume and produces a porous structure and lighter texture. Yeast breads often take hours to rise, and
90-599: A cross cut in the top to allow the bread to expand. The griddle cake or farl is a more flattened type of bread. It is cooked on a griddle , allowing it to take a more flat shape, and it is split into four sections. The soda farl is one of the distinguishing elements of the Ulster fry , where it is served alongside potato bread , also in farl form. In Scotland , varieties of soda breads and griddle sodas include bannocks and farls (Scots: fardel , "a fourth"), "soda scones", or "soda farls", using baking powder or baking soda as
120-611: A leavening agent (the forerunner to baking soda) in quick breads . By 1824, The Virginia Housewife by Mary Randolph was published containing a recipe for Soda Cake. In 1846, two American bakers, John Dwight and Austin Church, established the first factory in the United States to produce baking soda from sodium carbonate and carbon dioxide. Modern American versions of Irish soda bread often include raisins or currants, and caraway seeds. Quick bread Quick bread
150-404: A leavening agent giving the food a light and airy texture. Bannocks are flat cakes of barley or oatmeal dough formed into a round or oval shape, then cooked on a griddle (Scots: girdle ). The most authentic versions are unleavened, but from the early 19th century bannocks have been made using baking powder, or a combination of baking soda and buttermilk or clabbered milk . Before
180-450: A weak acid , such as cream of tartar , lemon juice, or cultured buttermilk, to create an acid–base reaction that releases carbon dioxide . (Quick bread leavened specifically with baking soda is often called " soda bread ".) Baking powder contains both an acid and a base in dry powdered form, and simply needs a liquid medium in which to react. Other alternative leavening agents are egg whites mechanically beaten to form stiff peaks, as in
210-586: Is a variety of quick bread made in many cuisines in which sodium bicarbonate (otherwise known as "baking soda", or in Ireland, "bread soda") is used as a leavening agent instead of yeast . The basic ingredients of soda bread are flour , baking soda , salt , and buttermilk . The buttermilk contains lactic acid , which reacts with the baking soda to form bubbles of carbon dioxide . Other ingredients can be added, such as butter, egg, raisins, or nuts. Quick breads can be prepared quickly and reliably, without requiring
240-566: Is any bread leavened with a chemical leavening agent rather than a biological one like yeast or sourdough starter . An advantage of quick breads is their ability to be prepared quickly and reliably, without requiring the time-consuming skilled labor and the climate control needed for traditional yeast breads. Quick breads include many cakes , brownies and cookies —as well as banana bread , pumpkin bread , beer bread , biscuits , cornbread , muffins , pancakes , scones , and soda bread . The term "quick bread" most likely originated in
270-476: Is consumed during iftar and suhur . Commercially available cultured buttermilk is milk that has been pasteurized and homogenized , and then inoculated with a culture of Lactococcus lactis or Lactobacillus bulgaricus plus Leuconostoc citrovorum to simulate the naturally occurring bacteria in the old-fashioned product. The tartness of cultured buttermilk is primarily due to lactic acid produced by lactic acid bacteria while fermenting lactose ,
300-525: Is normally sweetened, while the term "soda bread" is restricted to the white savoury form. In the southern provinces of Ireland, the wholemeal variety is usually known as brown bread and is almost identical to the Ulster wheaten. In some parts of Fermanagh , the white flour form of the bread is described as fadge . The "griddle cakes", "griddle bread" (or soda farls in Ulster) take a more rounded shape and have
330-404: Is still common in many Arab , Indian , Nepalese , Pakistani , Finnish , Polish , Dutch , German , Danish , and Austrian households, but rarely found in other Western countries. It is a common drink in many Indian and Nepalese homes, and often served with roasted maize . In Arab culture, buttermilk is commonly sold ice cold with other dairy products. It is popular during Ramadan , when it
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#1732855270530360-496: The Industrial Revolution accelerated, the marketing of mass-produced prepackaged foods was eased by the use of chemical leaveners, which could produce consistent products regardless of variations in source ingredients, time of year, geographical location, weather conditions, and many other factors that could cause problems with environmentally sensitive, temperamental yeast formulations. These factors were traded off against
390-489: The United States at the end of the eighteenth century. However, the similar bannock was well known in Ireland, Scotland and northern England centuries earlier. Before the creation of quick bread, baked goods were leavened either with yeast or by mixing dough with eggs . "Fast bread" is an alternate name. The discovery or rediscovery of chemical leavening agents and their widespread military, commercial, and home use in
420-596: The food industry . Liquid buttermilk is used primarily in the commercial preparation of baked goods and cheese . Buttermilk solids are used in ice cream manufacturing, as well as being added to pancake mixes to make buttermilk pancakes . Acidified buttermilk is a substitute made by adding a food-grade acid, such as white vinegar or lemon juice, to milk. It can be produced by mixing 1 tablespoon (0.5 US fluid ounces, 15 ml) of acid with 1 cup (8 US fluid ounces, 240 ml) of milk and letting it sit until it curdles after about 10 minutes. Any level of fat content for
450-413: The potato scone (Scots: tattie scone ). In Serbian tradition, soda bread is prepared by various rules and rituals. A coin is often put into the dough during the kneading; other small objects may also be inserted. At the beginning of Christmas dinner, the česnica is rotated three times counter-clockwise, before being broken among the family members. The person who finds the coin in their piece of
480-403: The 19th century, bannocks were cooked on a bannock stone (Scots: stane ), a large, flat, rounded piece of sandstone , placed directly onto a fire, then used as a cooking surface. Several varieties of bannock include Selkirk bannocks, beremeal bannocks, Michaelmas bannock, Yetholm bannock, and Yule bannock. The traditional soda farl is used in the full Scottish breakfast along with
510-709: The United States dates back to 1846 with the introduction of commercial baking soda in New York, by Church and Dwight of " Arm & Hammer " fame. This development was extended in 1856 by the introduction of commercial baking powder in Massachusetts, although perhaps the best known form of baking powder is " Calumet ", first introduced in Hammond, Indiana and West Hammond, Illinois (later Calumet City, Illinois ) in 1889. Both forms of food-grade chemical leaveners are still being produced under their original names, although not within
540-488: The advent of homogenization , the milk was left to sit for a period of time to allow the cream and milk to separate. During this time, naturally occurring lactic acid -producing bacteria in the milk fermented it. This facilitates the butter churning process, since fat from cream with a lower pH coalesces more readily than that of fresh cream. The acidic environment also helps prevent potentially harmful microorganisms from growing, increasing shelf life. Traditional buttermilk
570-452: The bread will supposedly be exceptionally lucky in the coming year. Before baking, the upper surface of the loaf may be inscribed with various symbols, such as a Christogram , or stars, circles, and impressions of keys or combs. During the early years of European settlement of the Americas, settlers used soda or pearl ash , more commonly known as potash (pot ash) or potassium carbonate , as
600-567: The case of many waffle recipes, or steam, in the case of cream puffs . Nevertheless, in a commercial process, designated chemical leavening acids and bases are used to make gas production consistent and controlled. Examples of acid—base combinations include: Almost all quick breads have the same basic ingredients: flour, leavening, eggs, fat (butter, margarine, shortening, or oil), and liquid such as milk. Ingredients beyond these basic constituents are added for variations in flavor and texture. The type of bread produced varies based predominantly on
630-404: The leavening action starts immediately (compared to the time taken for yeast bread to rise), bakers recommend the minimum amount of mixing of the ingredients before baking; the dough should not be kneaded. Various forms of soda bread are popular throughout Ireland. Soda breads are made using wholemeal, white flour, or both. In Ulster , the wholemeal variety is usually known as wheaten bread and
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#1732855270530660-402: The loss of traditional yeast flavor, nutrition, and texture. Preparing a quick bread generally involves two mixing containers. One contains all dry ingredients (including chemical leavening agents or agent) and one contains all wet ingredients (possibly including liquid ingredients that are slightly acidic in order to initiate the leavening process). In some variations, the dry ingredients are in
690-521: The milk ingredient may be used, but whole milk is usually used for baking. Commercially produced buttermilk is comparable to regular milk in terms of food energy and fat. One cup (237 mL) of whole milk contains 660 kilojoules (157 kilocalories) and 8.9 grams of fat. One cup of whole buttermilk contains 640 kJ (152 kcal) and 8.1 grams of total fat. Low-fat buttermilk is also available. Buttermilk contains vitamins, potassium, calcium, and traces of phosphorus. Soda bread Soda bread
720-400: The primary sugar in milk. As the bacteria produce lactic acid, the pH of the milk decreases and casein , the primary milk protein, precipitates , causing the curdling or clabbering of milk, making cultured buttermilk thicker than plain milk. While both traditional and cultured buttermilk contain lactic acid, traditional buttermilk is thinner than cultured buttermilk. Cultured buttermilk
750-399: The resulting baked good's texture can vary greatly based on external factors such as temperature and humidity. By contrast, breads made with chemical leavening agents are relatively uniform, reliable, and quick. Usually, the resulting baked good is softer and lighter than a traditional yeast bread. Chemical leavening agents include a weak base , such as baking soda ( sodium bicarbonate ) plus
780-593: The same corporate structure. During the American Civil War (1861–1865), the demand for portable and quickly-made food was high, while skilled labor for traditional breadmaking was scarce. This encouraged the adoption of bread which was rapidly made and leavened with baking soda, instead of yeast. The shortage of chemical leaveners in the American South during the Civil War contributed to a food crisis there. As
810-443: The sweetened version with caraway and raisins is rarely seen anymore. Soda bread made with raisins is colloquially called "Spotted Dog" or "Spotted Dick". In Ireland , the flour is typically made from soft wheat , so soda bread is best made with a cake or pastry flour (made from soft wheat), which has lower levels of gluten than a bread flour. In some recipes, the buttermilk is replaced by live yogurt or even stout . Because
840-501: The time and labor needed for kneaded yeast breads. Soda bread is made with coarse flour, white, whole meal, or a mix. High protein flour is not used because the preferred texture is "moist and crumbly". Other grains (such as rolled oats) may be added. Soda bread is generally not kneaded because kneading can toughen it. Buttermilk or sour milk is the usual liquid acid ingredient. Variants may add olive oil , eggs , molasses , sugar , treacle , or honey . Traditional Irish bread
870-421: Was first commercially introduced in the United States in the 1920s. It was initially popular among immigrants, and was viewed as a food that could slow aging. It reached peak annual sales of 517,000,000 kg (1.14 billion lbs.) in 1960. Buttermilk's popularity has declined since then, and annual sales in 2012 reached less than half that number. However, condensed buttermilk and dried buttermilk remain important in
900-503: Was historically cooked on a griddle as flatbread because the domestic flours did not have the properties needed to rise effectively when combined with yeast . Baking soda offered an alternative, but its popularity declined for a time when imported high-gluten flours became available. Brown soda bread (served with smoked salmon) reappeared on luxury hotel menus in the 1960s. Modern varieties can be found at Irish cafes and bakeries, some made with Guinness , treacle , walnuts , and herbs, but
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