I'm looking for the best way to butter bread for toasting. I am looking for the technique which will allow:
1.) complete coverage of bread, inclouding pore surfaces 2.) with the least amount of real butter being used and 3.) the least amount of butter being wasted.
I've used butter-flavor sprays for hamburger rolls and then top-browned them in the toaster oven, and that's fine, but the sprays don't taste as good as butter for things like garlic toast.
What I'm going for is that very thin, buttery crispy layer on top of still-soft bread underneath with as few butter-calories added as possible.
I'm assuming melting the butter is necessary, but I can't get the same coverage using as little butter as the spray adds, even with a brush. I've used the dunk the surface of the roll in melted butter method, which is tasty but not calorie friendly.
Any ideas?
Posted by ElJay (Member # 6358) on :
Use solid but room temperature butter, not refrigerated.
Toast the bread first, to slightly under your desired level of toastiness.
Use a knife to butter the toast with the slightly soft butter. . . just slide it over the top. The warm toast will cause the butter to melt and leave just a skim of butter on the bread.
Return toast to toaster and finish toasting, which will melt the butter into the pores and give you that last bit of crispiness with the butter on the bread.
This is mostly a guess, since I never butter my bread before toasting. Buttering afterwards allows for better coverage using less butter, but if you like something about the toasted-with-butter-on method I think this will work for you. I would never use melted butter and a brush, uses more butter than hot bread and soft butter with a knife. Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
You can mix your softened butter 1:1 with corn or canola oil. Then keep this in the refrigerator. It is softer than pure butter, so a little bit spreads beautifully, but still has the delicious butter flavor.
Posted by MandyM (Member # 8375) on :
Melt butter with a little garlic added. Then use a new paintbrush or a pastry brush to brush it on the bread. Toast. Voila!
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
Toasting with the butter on allows for some nice flavor to develop during browning.
All 3 ideas sound like they are worth trying, though I've had trouble with my brushing technique. I'll check them out. Thanks!
Hmmm. I wonder if I could spray melted butter.
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
I would think that the spray mechanism in the spray bottle would get very hard to clean and the butter remains could become rancid, no?
Posted by Irregardless (Member # 8529) on :
I agree with ElJay. BTW, there are containers out there called 'butter bells' which use a small amount of water to form an airtight seal, allowing you to keep butter at room temperature (i.e., soft) for a few weeks.
Posted by Elizabeth (Member # 5218) on :
This all goes back to a Truth.
Butter should always remain OUTSIDE of the refrigerator.
Posted by Coccinelle (Member # 5832) on :
I've used a spray bottle with melted butter. Works well. I highly recommend it. I don't keep it in the fridge, and just nuke it for 5 seconds when I need to use it. Dishwasher cleans the container when I need to clean it.
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
Do you clarify the butter first, Coccinelle?
Posted by Tante Shvester (Member # 8202) on :
Hey! breyerchic asked for a clarification.
Posted by Coccinelle (Member # 5832) on :
It's better, since it's shelf stable if you do.
Posted by Theaca (Member # 8325) on :
But I don't get it--she says it has a lot less flavor that way and that it is good for cooking. Why not just use oil or pam spray for cooking, then? And if it is tasteless it doesn't sound that good for toast.
I recently switched from margarine to butter and the hardness was driving me crazy so I just took it out. It's much easier to use, now. My plan is to leave it out and see how long it stays edible.
Posted by Coccinelle (Member # 5832) on :
I used to clarified butter on a regular basis, and I have to disagree with her about the tastelessness of it. It maintains the butter flavor. It is much better for cooking, since it doesn't burn like regular butter.
Since my cooking time has decreased in the past few years, I don't usually bother to clarify butter unless it's absolutely necessary.
You could use oil, but for certain sauces the texture and flavor wouldn't be right.
Posted by breyerchic04 (Member # 6423) on :
It's not tasteless, it tastes more like unsalted butter, salt is one of the main things you lose. My mom was originally a Family and Consumer Arts education major, and I did 8 years of 4-H baking.
Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
Butter, when left out, goes moldy and... strange if not consumed fast enough. I'm one of those who evidently doesn't consume it fast enough.
When I had butter kicking around, I'd usually chop off a block equivalent to 1/4 cup and leave that at room temperature - that much I could consume quick enough to not go bad. Any more, and all bets were off.
Clarified butter can be had here by the litre jar on the same shelf with the oils. It's used in a lot of cooking, but not by us. It's used more for special occasions. And yeah, I agree, not tasteless.
Posted by Dagonee (Member # 5818) on :
I'm going to try all of these suggestions, including the clarified butter. If salt is lost, I can fix that easily enough. A spray bottle of butter sounds so yummy.
quote:Engineering-minded people should NOT be allowed to cook
What about engineering-minded lawyers? Posted by quidscribis (Member # 5124) on :
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