Softened butter vs over softened butter
Many baking recipes call for “softened” butter. What is meant by term "over softened", as in many places it is written that " over softening causes flat cookies or hard dough" etc. Isn't softening mean to put the cold butter in the microwave for 10 to 20 seconds. If so, then what do the recipe mean when it says that we have over softened butter? I am confused between these two terms as I was going through some baking recipes, and ways to trouble shoot baking issues. I now am confused. Am I mixing these two terms or "over softening" refers to melting butter.
Best Answer
"Softened" butter will flex if you try to bend the unwrapped stick. You can actually get the ends to 90 degrees to each other when you have it just right.
"Over softened" is when you can't even pick it up to try to flex it. This actually happens before it fully melts.
The problem is that you need the butter to be at the right consistency when you're creaming in the sugar. "Creaming" is really about cutting little holes into the butter to get air into it. If it's too stiff, the butter just stays as a lump or maybe crumbles into pieces, but the butter never really gets any air into it. If it's too soft, the bubbles won't stay in the butter after the sugar cuts it in.
Microwaving doesn't really help as you end up with an over-softened outside, while the middle is too firm. You really have to leave it out at room temperature for a few hours, but if you're in a rush, you can slice it up so there's more surface area so it warms up more quickly. (but there's the problem that "room temperature" is a cultural thing, and seasonal, so one area's "room temperature" might be too warm or too cold either all year or for some part of the year)
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Quick Answer about "Softened butter vs over softened butter"
You can actually get the ends to 90 degrees to each other when you have it just right. "Over softened" is when you can't even pick it up to try to flex it. This actually happens before it fully melts. The problem is that you need the butter to be at the right consistency when you're creaming in the sugar.What happens if you use melted butter instead of softened?
Adding melted butter to your recipe will change your cookies' and cakes' structure, density, and texture: Adding melted butter instead of the traditional softened butter will result in a chewier cookie. Softened butter in cookie dough will give you a more cake-like cookie.Is there a difference between melted butter and softened butter?
In a Pinch: Microwave butterSoftened butter and melted butter are not the same. Using melted butter will change the texture of whatever you're baking. If you only want the butter to soften for spreading, microwave it on the Defrost setting (30%) in 5-second increments until it's softened as desired.What happens if you over Soften butter?
Over-softened butter is where the butter begins to melt. Butter doesn't have one specific melting point because its composition varies with different percentages of butterfats and liquids, so instead it has a range of temperatures in which it can turn from a solid to a liquid. This is roughly 85-95F.What is the difference between softened butter and room temperature butter?
If it's warmer, the butterfat starts to melt, leading to a collapse of the air bubbles you're trying to create by creaming. So if you keep your house warmer than 68\xb0F, you really want butter that's a few degrees cooler than room temperature\u2014it should be pliable but still slightly firm, not soft and squishy.More answers regarding softened butter vs over softened butter
Answer 2
" over softening causes flat cookies or hard dough" - this is also what happens if you substitute oil for butter. So I agree with you that over-softening probably refers to letting the butter totally melt. You want the butter to soften just enough to be a soft solid so that it mixes properly with the flour and other ingredients to make a soft dough.
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