Cocoa butter with added liquid is superior to coconut oil texture wise. And definitely taste. Won’t last more than 24 hours unless you refrigerate and steam as needed. 5 days in that case.
Great information. After learning about baker’s math and dough hydration I’ve wondered why low hydration enriched breads yield such light texture and excellent flavor.
I’m hoping for a future write up on lean bread. Why is my Fougasse consistently great and my baguette flavorless? (Fougasse is from ATK, baguette isn’t but I’m reluctant to try again)
these posts are all so good, and i'm waiting by the phone for your vegan brioche! (was just just scrolling through brioche feuilletée recipes this morning and thinking, "if i just had a good vegan brioche..."
Do you have any thoughts about the effects on final texture of using a solid fat vs. using a liquid one? It seems to me that challah (which is made with oil) often has a more fluffy and stretchy texture than brioche (made with butter) which can sometimes have a harder, more crumbly texture. I've even considered (but not systematically experimented with) using a mixture of butter and oil in brioche to get the flavor of butter, but a softer texture.
Allen - that makes sense, as the butterfat is going to be more firm at room temperature than oil. You won't get that melt-in-your-mouth texture with oil, but yes, it should produce a more light and fluffy texture.
When talking about replacing oil with butter, I suspect you meant to say to increase the amount of fat by 25% (instead of 20%, note that 0.8*1.25 = 1). Probably doesn't make a difference, but the seeming mathematical inconsistency bothered me enough to ask. Thanks for the awesome post!
Cocoa butter with added liquid is superior to coconut oil texture wise. And definitely taste. Won’t last more than 24 hours unless you refrigerate and steam as needed. 5 days in that case.
Not sure the downsides outweigh the upsides, Ken!
Great information. After learning about baker’s math and dough hydration I’ve wondered why low hydration enriched breads yield such light texture and excellent flavor.
I’m hoping for a future write up on lean bread. Why is my Fougasse consistently great and my baguette flavorless? (Fougasse is from ATK, baguette isn’t but I’m reluctant to try again)
these posts are all so good, and i'm waiting by the phone for your vegan brioche! (was just just scrolling through brioche feuilletée recipes this morning and thinking, "if i just had a good vegan brioche..."
Do you have any thoughts about the effects on final texture of using a solid fat vs. using a liquid one? It seems to me that challah (which is made with oil) often has a more fluffy and stretchy texture than brioche (made with butter) which can sometimes have a harder, more crumbly texture. I've even considered (but not systematically experimented with) using a mixture of butter and oil in brioche to get the flavor of butter, but a softer texture.
Thanks!
Allen - that makes sense, as the butterfat is going to be more firm at room temperature than oil. You won't get that melt-in-your-mouth texture with oil, but yes, it should produce a more light and fluffy texture.
When talking about replacing oil with butter, I suspect you meant to say to increase the amount of fat by 25% (instead of 20%, note that 0.8*1.25 = 1). Probably doesn't make a difference, but the seeming mathematical inconsistency bothered me enough to ask. Thanks for the awesome post!