Tutorial Tuesday: Baking with Honey

Love honey? Want to substitute other sweeteners with honey? We’ve got you covered for anything you need to know about baking with honey.

Of all the sweeteners, honey can be one of the most natural. So if you’re trying to get away from processed sugar and sweeteners honey is a great alternative. In this tutorial Tuesday we’ve got some great tips and tricks on baking with honey so you have don’t have any mishaps in the kitchen.

Substituting sugar with honey

Remember these simple rules when substituting sugar for honey.

Balance liquid and dry ingredients:
You’ll want to reduce the liquids in the recipe by ¼ of a cup for every cup of honey. For recipes with no liquids or just eggs, add 2 tablespoons of flour for every cup of honey.

Sweetness:
As honey can be sweeter tasting then sugar you might want to reduce the honey to ½ a cup – ¾ of a cup per 1 cup of sugar. All really depends on how much of a sweet tooth you have.

Baking soda:
For each cup of sugar replaced add ¼ teaspoon. It can help with the bitter taste honey can sometimes have when baking.

Expensive honey vs. cheap honey:
If you don’t want to loose the benefits of honey (raw is best) use it more as an accompaniment to your baked goods like drizzling / sauces. Of all the beneficial qualities raw honey carries, heat will destroy them. Its best to use a less expensive pasteurized honey for baking.

Tip:
Add oil to your cup before measuring out honey. No sticky mess!

If you’re vegan, maple syrup makes a great substitute with a few of the same baking rules as above.

Interesting facts? Honey has actually been found in the tombs of Egypt dating over 3000 years old and was still edible! Not too sure I’d be willing to try 3000 year old honey though. Would you?

In the 1800’s honey vendors actually would sport bee beards. Bee beards are made by placing an enclosed queen bee under your chin and allowing the bees to form a cluster. Apparently they are still quite fashionable today as there is a competition held in Ontario, Canada, each year to create the most impressive beard.