Many recipes call for ingredients to be at “room temperature” but what temperature is that? None of my thermometers or thermostats have a marking for room temperature. In my current house, room temperature in the summer is around 78 degrees Fahrenheit (25.6 Celsius), in the winter most of the day it is 62F (16.7 C). Growing up my house had no air conditioning in the summer so room temperature was pretty much whatever the outside temperature was. That could be well into the 90’s F (>32 C).
My mother, who somehow could effectively cream butter by hand (no mixer just a big spoon), would take the butter out and put it on the counter until she was ready for it. It might be childhood fairy tale memory but it didn’t seem to matter what time of year it was but her cookies always came out pretty much the same way each time and we loved them.
As I started to bake regularly, I noticed that in the summer time it was easier to mix things that used butter but at the same time cookies might spread more or not be as airy. No great mystery that butter being softer made it easier to mix. At the time I thought the softer the better.
In my reading I discovered that butter and other dairy ingredients create an emulsion that traps air. This trapped air expands while baking to give us airy/fluffy baked goods. If the butter isn’t at the right temperature its ability to do this is compromised. And butter loses this ability if you exceed its optimal temperature. If butter gets too soft cooling it down to room temperature won’t do any good
So, what is “room temperature”? Many recipes say you should be able to press your finger into the butter and make an indent easily without any sliding around. Not many of us have calibrated fingers or have the same strength so easy for you might be hard for me and vice versa.
The finger test might work for butter but it doesn’t work for eggs and other ingredients such as milk.
Based on my research 63 to 68F (17 – 20C) is the range that many consider to be “room temperature”. I have good results using 65F (18C) as “room temperature” for butter and works well for most ingredients. I have seen some mention that the brand of butter you use might cause this number to be higher or lower which makes sense based on the fat content in butter will vary from brand to brand. I use Land-O-Lake unsalted butter.
For some ingredients it isn’t that critical as they don’t lose their ability to be creamed/mixed properly. There are a few ingredients that it helps if they are warmer than 65F (18C). I have found mixing cheesecakes benefit from having the cream cheese warmer than 65F (18C)
How to bring ingredients to room temperature.
Most articles indicate taking the ingredients out 1-2 hours before you plan to bake will get things where you need them. As long as your kitchen isn’t too far away from 65 degrees most recipes will work out fine.
If you have forgotten to take the butter out, the best solution I have found is fill a glass/ceramic bowl with hot tap water, let it rest for a bit, empty the bowl. Then place the bowl upside down over the butter for a few minutes. Unless you are really good at it, I highly discourage trying to use the microwave. Main reason is a few seconds too long and you have melted butter and you will have lost the ability to properly cream the butter.
My 78F (25.6C) summer kitchen is a bit too far away from the ideal temperature for butter that I lose the ability to cream it properly. Same for my 62F (16.7C) winter kitchen.
So, to achieve a consistent 65F (18C) I started searching for a solution. In my next posting I’ll explain how I solved it so I get butter and other ingredients to 65F (18C) plus/minus 1-degree F each and every time. I’ll include directions if you want to do the same.
