Nifty Tidbit – “outta honey, honey?”

Hey, cool!

No, I haven’t abandoned this blog, just didn’t bake much this week, and haven’t blogged the bread that I did make:  a perfect (yes, perfect!) no-knead potato bread!

But here’s a nifty frugal / emergency baking tip while you’re waiting.  When you’ve run out of honey, and don’t want to run out to the store, here’s how you make a substitutable equivalent:

  • 1-1/4 cups granulated sugar
  • 1/4 cup water

    • That’s it!  It’s easy!  I did this for my challah this week and then (doh!) forgot to buy honey in the meantime, so I had to sub it in again this week.

    The reason straight sugar won’t work well is because it’s dry and so you need to add in a bit of water.  This ratio (5:1) gives a texture very much like a heavily-crystalled honey that will ensure your recipe gets the moisture that it needs.

    Caveats:

    • Sugar tastes sweeter than honey, so you may want to cut down a bit for breads or the final product may be noticeably sweeter.  I didn’t mind it in challah last week.
    • Of course, it won’t have that wonderful TASTE of honey… but you knew that, right?
    • This makes a bit more than a cup of “honey” substitute, so be sure to measure before subbing into recipes where precise quantity makes a difference.

    Enjoy!

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