For most bakers, milk is the crème de la crème. Why? Because, like the other ubiquitous baking ingredients of butter, sugar, and flour, milk makes everything better. Cow’s milk has a unique macronutrient makeup that makes it an ideal ingredient for baking cakes and enriching breads, adding color and flavor, stabilizing batters, and preventing staling. Historically, there’s been a great amount of time and energy devoted to milk, and for good reason. From avoiding spoilage via fermentation and creating butter, yogurt, and cheese to making advances in refrigeration and extending shelf life through pasteurization, canning, and dehydration, humans have been optimizing ways to consume this perishable liquid for thousands of years. We explore this choice baking ingredient in all of its glorious forms.
First, let’s delve into the skinny on…
