How to Bake with Honey

We are constantly telling you to substitute honey for sugar in your recipes, but some of you may not be familiar with how to substitute out sugar and substitute in honey. We put together some simple rules that should make it much easier for you to use either our Manuka or Blue Borage honey in all of your recipes.

Why bake with honey?

First, it is healthier than using processed sugar. That alone should be a big enough reason to lose the sugar! Second, it will add a distinctive flavor to your dishes as well as making them a bit moister. It really is a win/win situation all the way around

Tip 1 – Honey can crystallize, so loosen it up.

Over time, honey can crystallize. As we discussed in our last post, this does not mean the honey has spoiled by any means. It is a natural process because of the heavy concentration of sugars in honey. If you prefer a stronger honey flavor, you can actually use the crystallized honey, but we recommend warming up the container in hot water and stirring it every five minutes or so until it is combined again.

 Tip 2 – Oil your measuring cup.

With honey being so sticky, you want to be sure you get every bit of it into the pan. The simplest way we know how to do this is to give your measuring cup or spoon a quick spray with oil to make sure the honey comes right out, leaving none behind. Grab yourself a can of non-stick coconut oil if you plan on using honey on a regular basis in your cooking.

Tip 3 – Adjusting the recipe for honey.

Baking is a science that requires a balance of wet and dry ingredients. Since honey is a liquid and you are substituting it for a dry ingredient, you will need to reduce all of the other liquids in the recipe. A good rule of thumb is to reduce other liquid ingredients by ¼ cup for every cup of honey. If there are no other wet ingredients or the only other wet ingredient is eggs, add 2T of flour for every cup of honey. You should also add ½ teaspoon of baking soda for every cup of honey. Finally, because honey is sweeter than sugar, you may find the recipe is coming out much sweeter than usual. If that is the case, back off by ¼ cup at a time in the recipe until you dial in on the flavor you want.

Tip 4 – Using honey can make your recipe “brown” much quicker.

You will need lower the heat on the recipe to ensure it still turns out the way it does when you use sugar. We recommend reducing the temperature by 25 degrees Fahrenheit.

Tip 5 – Experiment with different flavors.

Raw honey comes in may different flavors, so play around with the recipe to see how each type of honey influences the dish.

If you are ready to start cooking with honey, we recommend trying ourBlue Borage honey. To get your order started, click here.

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