"Scott" > wrote in message
...
>I picked up a copy of Baking 9-1-1 by Sarah Phillips,
> <http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...id=1126808676/
> sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/002-8697222-1580023?v=glance&s=books>
>
> and came across a statement that piqued my interest. In her recipe for
> sugar cookies, she writes "most cookies use baking powder for leavening;
> I chose to use baking soda. It causes the cookies to spread rather than
> puff, perfect for a crispy cookie, and have a wonderful buttery flavor
> you can't get with baking powder."
>
> The ingredients a unbleached AP flour, baking soda (1/2 tsp), baking
> powder (1/4 tsp), salt, unsalted butter, sugar, an egg, vanilla extract,
> and an optional 1/2 tsp lemon extract.


Butter is acidic.

Buttermaking involves converting cream, an emulsion of butterfat-in-serum, into
butter, an emulsion of serum in butterfat. The cream has about 40% butterfat and
finished butter has about 80%. Ingredients include water, curd and salt. Raw
milk pH levels are between 6.5 and 6.8. Measuring the pH detects the presence of
lactic acid that can lower the pH and affect the flavor. Sometimes depressed pH
in milk or cream can be corrected by neutralizing with sodium carbonate and
sodium hydroxide. The raw milk is then separated into cream and skim milk and
the cream is pasteurized. The cream must cool before churning. A byproduct of
churning is buttermilk, which is drained before the water and salt are mixed in.
The butter is then packaged. The final pH value should be near 5 for maximum
flavor.

Dimitri