Room Temperature
Have you heard of emulsifiers in baking? An emulsifier is a scientific word for an ingredient or substance that brings together other ingredients of different qualities. In baking, emulsifiers help ingredients with water and fat content bind together.
One of the quickest baking lessons I learned is the importance of room temperature butter when baking! A vast number, if not a majority of baking recipes call for butter creamed with sugar, the creaming method. It’s a common first step for many cookie recipes to get the creamy texture needed.
Because eggs and butter are so versatile, always check the recipe first to see if it calls for room temperature eggs, butter or even other dairy products like milk, sour cream or cream cheese.
Well, think of it like this. Emulsion creates air pockets and creaminess, while cold ingredients cause curdling. Curdling would then leave small lumps of butter and other fats in the dough, which reacts to heat in all of its original glory.
Now that you know more about the importance of choosing the right temperature of ingredients, go ahead and make yourself a cheat sheet on types of bakes.