Butter is a key ingredient in most recipes and is mostly used in preparing baked goods. Most baking recipes call for softened butter, as it mixes well with other ingredients and of course, tastes heavenly. When heated, butter develops a nice nutty flavour. When it is used in cooking, like sautéing vegetables or making baked goods like cake, muffins, et al, it helps enhance the flavours, making these foods taste heavenly. For preparing baked goods, you need to soften the butter. While the traditional way involves letting the butter stay at room temperature until it is softened, there are times when we forget to take the butter out of the refrigerator. It takes ages to soften; but did you know there are other simpler and quicker ways to soften butter? We outline some amazing ways to make your baking job easy.
How to soften butter?
1 Soften the butter using a warm glass
Cut the amount of butter you'd need to you use and put it on a plate. Take a glass and fill it with hot water. Let it rest till the outside part of the glass is warm. Now, quickly discard the water out of the glass, dry it and invert it over the piece of butter. It will take less than a minute for the butter to soften. Voila! Your chunk of butter is softened and ready to use.
2 Heat the butter
One of the simplest ways is to heat the butter. Take a saucepan and fill some water in it and bring it to a boil. Now take a container and put the butter in it. Place the container on the top of the saucepan such that it doesn't touch the water. The steam in the saucepan will warm the bowl, causing the butter to soften. You will need to keep a close eye to ensure the butter doesn't melt.
3 Grate the butter
Take a chunk of butter and grate it directly into the mixing bowl. Make sure you use the side of the grater will the largest holes. You should wrap the butter with its packaging, as it will prevent you from getting butter all over your hands. Moreover, the warmth of your hands will only cause the butter to melt.
4 Use a whisk to soften butter
Cut the big chunk of butter into bite-sized pieces; remember, smaller the pieces, the faster the butter will soften. Now whisk the butter with a hand-held mixer. Use low speed and increase it eventually till you see the butter softening. Use the softened butter in your recipe.
5 Microwave the butterAdd the butter in a microwave-friendly container and place in the microwave. Defrost it for not more than five seconds as it will start to melt. It should ideally be soft enough to mix with other ingredients.
6 Soften butter at room temperature
The best and quick way to soften butter at room temperature is to cut it into small chunks or slices and let it rest till it softens. Smaller pieces tend to soften quicker than the larger chunks.
7 Use a rolling pin to soften the butter
Place the wrapped chunk of butter between two pieces of parchment papers and pound it several times on each side using a rolling pin in order to soften it quickly.