Why Some Baked Goods Call For Buttermilk Instead Of Regular Milk

Kitchen

Baking

Why Some Baked Goods Call For Buttermilk Instead Of Regular Milk By Dylan Murray Oct. 24, 2025 7:39 pm EST

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Most who have spent time in the kitchen are likely well aware of the many forms that dairy can take in a recipe. While the difference between using cheese and skim milk — which surprisingly can be used to make ice cream — in a recipe is self-explanatory, the discrepancies between different forms of cream and milk can lead to some understandable confusion. This is especially the case for buttermilk and regular milk, which each have their own specific set of uses that are necessary in the kitchen.

Buttermilk, named due to its origin as merely the leftover liquid from churning butter, is fermented milk that has gained a thicker