Melted butter or soft butter? Here's what changes in gluten-free doughs
When preparing dough, especially for brioches, every detail can make the difference. The choice between melted butter and soft butter can greatly affect the final result. If we talk about gluten-free dough, the rules become even more important. Let's find out together what happens when you use melted butter versus soft butter and how this affects the consistency of gluten-free brioches.
The magic of the soft donkey
Soft butter is essential to obtain a light and fluffy brioche. It is slowly incorporated into the dough, allowing the air to remain trapped, promoting homogeneous leavening. During cooking, this trapped air gives a soft and light crumb.
In gluten-free doughs, where the gluten network is missing, soft butter becomes a crucial ally. It helps maintain elasticity and malleability, important characteristics in gluten-free doughs, which tend to be more fragile and difficult to work with. To get a light and fluffy gluten-free brioche, using soft butter is key.
Melted butter: simple, but with some cons
The use of melted butter is certainly faster and more practical, but it has consequences on the texture. Unlike soft butter, melted butter does not trap air, so the dough will be denser. In a gluten-free brioche, this results in a less airy texture, more similar to that of a dense cake.
Furthermore, melted butter can make the dough more moist and unstable, a factor that does not help gluten-free doughs, which are already less elastic and more fragile. The result can be a brioche that loses its shape during baking, with a denser consistency.
Question of structure and consistency
Soft butter allows for an even distribution of fat in the dough, creating a soft and layered crumb, essential for obtaining a light brioche. In gluten-free doughs, where the structure is more difficult to manage, soft butter helps maintain a pleasant consistency.
With melted butter, however, the dough is moister and less airy, which is not ideal for those looking for a soft and light gluten-free brioche.
So, which one to choose?
If you have little time or are experimenting with denser doughs, melted butter can work. However, for a soft and well-risen gluten-free brioche, soft butter is the best choice. It adds stability and lightness, improving the texture and final result.
To get a truly perfect gluten-free brioche, taking the time to incorporate the soft butter will make the difference, making your brioche a masterpiece of lightness and flavour.
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