Made-from-scratch brown sugar is not a brand new thought by any stretch, however prior to now, it wasn’t one thing I ever cared about. Partly, I used to be skeptical {that a} “selfmade” mixture of refined white sugar and mass-produced molasses might by some means style any higher than “actual” brown sugar…a mixture of refined white sugar and mass-produced molasses.

My logic was that, until you bothered to begin with a jar of significantly scrumptious small-batch molasses, there have been no actual positive aspects available—a logic that fell aside the second a pal of mine known as in a panic as a result of she was out of brown sugar for her favourite dessert, with visitors all however on her doorstep. Guiding her by means of the method of creating the swap was simple, she did not need to drop all the pieces to drive to the shop, her bourbon pecan layer cake turned out lovely, and I discovered the actual worth of selfmade brown sugar: expedience.

When you ever run out of brown sugar, falling again on a jar of molasses to whip up an emergency batch is a superb plan B—as long as you go about it the suitable method. In the beginning, meaning utilizing true molasses and never blackstrap, which ought to by no means be utilized in any recipe until it is known as for by title (full report on that subject right here). The second half of the equation is definitely understanding the equation. See, store-bought brown sugar is about 10% molasses by weight, however that does not imply you’ll be able to simply multiply a given weight of white sugar by 0.1 to find out how a lot molasses is required. At first blush, that calculation makes good sense (and that is the system you may see bandied about most frequently on-line), however it winds up making the brown sugar too gentle. Even lighter than gentle brown sugar, which is what most recipes take note of.*

Until a recipe calls particularly for “darkish brown sugar,” it is protected to imagine gentle brown sugar is what the creator meant. Making darkish brown sugar is about including not simply extra molasses but in addition darker molasses, and, for the aim of this submit, that is a bit extra sophisticated a subject than I am ready to unpack.

For a cup of white sugar (seven ounces), 10% is about one tablespoon (3/4 ounce), which is fairly handy for people measuring by quantity. However as soon as the white sugar and molasses are combined collectively, you have obtained 7 3/4 ounces complete, making that molasses simply 9% of the overall weight. Now, it’s possible you’ll be considering, “Shut sufficient,” however within the realm of baking, that may be a harmful factor. With no full 10% molasses content material, selfmade variations will behave extra like white sugar than brown, which might have a big effect on cookies specifically, altering how they unfold, rise, and brown. You may try a full breakdown of these variations right here.

With a purpose to precisely mix your individual gentle brown sugar at residence, it is vital to do not forget that for nonetheless a lot molasses you add, that a lot white sugar wants to return out. Going again to my earlier instance, seven ounces of sugar needs to be diminished to six 1/4 ounces, in order that 3/4 ounce molasses will likely be 10% of the overall weight. Spelling it out sounds sophisticated, however do not overthink it. All you’ll want to bear in mind is that 6 1/4 ounces of white sugar plus 3/4 ounce molasses equals seven ounces of brown sugar.

You can also make up an enormous batch that may hold for a couple of month, however when you’ve got a scale, you’ll be able to calculate precisely how a lot white sugar and molasses you may want to exchange any given amount of brown sugar. Simply multiply the burden of the brown sugar by 10% to learn how a lot molasses you may want, then subtract that quantity from the entire to find out the burden of the white sugar you may want. When you occur to have any flippantly toasted sugar readily available, maybe left over from blind-baking a pie, it may be used like white sugar so as to add some caramel notes that may give selfmade brown sugar a extra nuanced sweetness.

The precise coloration of the outcomes will rely in your particular model of molasses and whether or not or not the sugar is toasted, however you’ll be able to usually anticipate it to have a considerably redder undertone than conventional brown sugar (seemingly because of the deeper brown shades discovered in additional concentrated types of molasses). Ounce for ounce, selfmade brown sugar is extra voluminous than what you discover on the retailer, just because it hasn’t had an opportunity to compact over time. However, as long as it is measured precisely, in each preparation and use, it is going to behave in a lot the identical method.

On the left, we’ve samples from a batch of my favourite One-Bowl Oatmeal Cookies made with business brown sugar, and, on the suitable, cookies made with DIY brown sugar. Whereas they unfold a bit of extra irregularly general, the latter cookies nonetheless averaged about three inches throughout. If I all of the sudden found I used to be 86’d on brown sugar, I might gladly take that discrepancy over the choice of getting no cookies in any respect.

I will seemingly all the time desire the comfort of economic brown sugar, which is each inexpensive, dependable, and engaging. However when push involves shove, realizing the best way to make a comparable brown sugar from scratch is a trick all bakers ought to sustain their sleeves.

February 2017