Ed Bechtel wrote:
> Jeff, buttermilk is like a single acting baking powder. I don't know
> why. In the old days, they didn't have baking powder. One would keep a
> jar of clabbored milk (sp) on the back of the stove which was just
> fresh milk that sat around and soured. Or one would use buttermilk. Or
> one would use milk with a little vinegar added. In either case things
> like biscuits, pancakes, or quickbreads would use the sour milk and
> maybe a pinch of baking soda (not powder) to achieve the rise. Sounds
> like your yeast breads work so quickly that the buttermilk rise is
> still active and giving some assist.
>
> By the way. Biscuits or muffins made with just buttermilk and no baking
> powder are the best - you should try them.

I'm a bit confused. Are you saying that buttermilk causes rise all by
itself, or only in conjunction with baking soda? If the latter, why do
you say you don't know why? Do you mean you don't know the chemical
reason? (It's the same thing that happens when you make little volcanos
out of vinegar, baking soda, and red food coloring)

In the case of bread, where baking soda isn't usually included, would
buttermilk help rise without the soda? If it does, does it help less,
the same as, or more than plain milk?

I'm not implying that plain milk or buttermilk helps rise, I have no
evidence of that or against it, I'm just asking follow up questions.