When Recipe Calls For Shortening
The fat that is in shortening melts above room temperature and then seeps into the dough creating a physical barrier between all the gluten molecules causing them to not expand as much.
When recipe calls for shortening. It s especially popular in vegan and low fat recipes. Can these be substituted for shortening. Why recipes call for shortening over oils or fats. You can substitute one cup of shortening with only half a cup of applesauce.
1 cup butter use 1 cup shortening plus if desired tsp. Salt cup butter use cup shortening plus if desired tsp. Combining two different fats such as margarine and shortening will give a recipe some of each fat s best qualities. Since butter lard and shortening can all produce different textures and flavors in baked goods it s best to assume that the recipe will be specific about what type of fat to use.
Shortening is used in baking for short doughs ones where a stretchy dough that forms gluten is not desired. What changes will i notice in taste and texture. When shortening is creamed with sugar it traps air molecules which helps to leaven cakes and make them tender. If you want a flaky pie crust you don t want the gluten forming in the dough or the crust won t have the right texture.
If the recipe calls for shortening in a baked recipe like cake or muffins then applesauce is a wonderful healthy substitution. However conventional wisdom is that if a recipe calls for shortening it refers to hydrogenated vegetable oil. A fork slides through a slice of shortening based cake easier than one made with butter. For example by using both butter and shortening in a cookie recipe you will get the wonderful flavor of butter while the shortening will keep the cookies from spreading too flat.
If a recipe calls for. R m wyoming michigan yes butter or stick margarine can be substituted for shortening in equal proportions in cake and cookie recipes. Many of my older recipes for cakes and cookies call for shortening. Salt cup butter use cup shortening plus if desired a dash of salt.
When solid fat is called for in a recipe such as shortening for banana bread i substitute coconut oil which is solid semi solid until around 76 f and liquefies the warmer it gets past 77 f so i use it for both a solid and liquid fat. If it says butter use butter. It seems that today s recipes use mostly butter or margarine.