Baking With Whey: Soft and Buttery Ensaymadas

Baking With Whey

I have mentioned several times that I started making my own cream cheese from yogurt. The process is pretty easy - you just need to strain the yogurt and voila, you have cream cheese. The first time I did this process, I threw away the liquid that was strained off. Big mistake.

Whey is the yellowish liquid that is strained off from the above process. It is basically one of the two proteins in milk (casein and whey). So you can imagine, I was throwing out a nutritious, protein-rich liquid. Apart from the health benefits of whey, I found out that whey is also great for baking.

_{Whey extracted from yogurt.}

Before getting whey from yogurt, I have already started using yogurt in baking, especially muffins. The muffins really turn out a lot more softer than my previous recipe, hence this became my muffin base recipe ever since.

Basically, whey can be used to replace milk or water in a cake or bread recipe. Apart from muffins, I've tried using whey in pancakes and crepe too. The pancakes are a lot fluffier and softer, which ix nice however, I find that it makes the crepe too soft that it breaks when I flip it.

Yesterday I decided to make another batch of ensaymadas but instead of milk, I used liquid whey.

Immediately after proofing, I noticed that the dough is stickier than usual but nothing that oiled hands and extra floured kneading surface can't handle.

_{Whey and eggs.}

Everything else in the process and ingredients stay the same but the result is clearly softer and fluffier too.

For the cream on top, I run out of butter already and instead I made a custardy cream, sprinkled some granulated sugar, then added shredded cheddar cheese. I kid you not, this batch is gone in a snap. Maybe I should make 2 batches next time.

Here's my original post sharing the ensaymada recipe: Cheesy Ensaymada : Really Easy and Yummy Recipe

My Recent Food Blogs

The "Best Chef" Award Goes To...
Easy Dessert : No Bake Cream Cheese Tiramisu