How To Use Vinegar For Baking Bread And Cakes?
Vinegar is most commonly known for its use in cooking and cleaning. But did you know it’s also an excellent ingredient for baking?
Let’s talk about it so you can learn how to use vinegar for baking bread or cakes in your next bake!
Vinegar can be a surprising addition to the arsenal of baking ingredients. However, it’s often found in baked goods because it reacts with baking soda.
What Is The Use Of Vinegar In Baking?
Vinegar is a mild acid that changes the pH levels of a batter.
Adding an acid to baking soda creates carbon dioxide bubbles when heated, which helps the batter rise in the oven.
It also helps break down starches and proteins in your flour.
Adding vinegar to bread dough enhances the loaf’s flavour, but it will also increase the rise and produce a moister crumb with an airy texture.
How Vinegar Improves The Rise Of Bread
Vinegar dissolves the chemical connections that hold protein threads together in a twisted state.
As the bonds dissolve, the gluten denatures, unravels and “tenderises.”
With repeated exposure, the unravelled gluten collides to create new bonds, forming the gluten matrix. These linkages coagulate the proteins and gradually re-form them into a more solid structure.
The air pockets created by the gluten matrix burst when the dough isn’t mixed and risen correctly.
Adding a little vinegar strengthens the gluten structure, making it especially helpful in short-kneaded or quickly-risen bread.
The acidity lowers the pH value of the dough, which provides a better environment for yeast fermentation. As yeast ferments faster, the proofing or rising time is accelerated.
How Vinegar Changes The Bread’s Crumb
Adding vinegar reduces oxidation in wheat flour.
Oxidation makes bread taste bitter, and the gluten to be less stretchy or extensible.
Including vinegar in bread improves the texture and feel of the crumb by enhancing the crumb structure.
When oxidation decreases, the dough can be kneaded and bulk-fermented for longer.
Developing a more extensible structure leads to better-handling qualities in the dough, a more significant rise and greater oven spring volume.
How Vinegar Improves The Flavour Of Bread
Vinegar is diluted acetic acid, an organic acid that appears naturally during yeast fermentation, which is a significant contributor to the dough fermentation process.
When bread is made quickly, a little bit of vinegar enhances the properties of the dough. The bread will appear as if a slow, more artisanal method was followed.
Acetic acid makes bread taste aromatic, produces a twangy, acidic flavour and lowers the pH value of the dough.
Does Vinegar Help Bread Stay Fresh?
A dough with added vinegar will have a better shelf life.
Lowering the pH value of the bread creates an environment that’s harder for bacteria and fungi to breed.
The acidic environment reduces the likelihood of mould developing.
Should I Add Vinegar To Bread?
Vinegar is an excellent ingredient for those wishing to make dough or bread.
A lot of vinegar kills the yeast when combined, but it’s okay to add small amounts without fear.
How much vinegar should I add to a bread recipe?
A teaspoon of vinegar per loaf is an excellent place to start. That’s around 5 grams per 500 grams of flour or 1% as a baker’s percentage.
Will Bread Taste Sour If I Add Vinegar?
Only if you add too much will the bread taste sour!
A single tablespoon of vinegar adds a mild, almost undetectable taste. It won’t wholly sour the dough.
In contrast, vinegar can create a more flavourful dough, as, like salt, it slows yeast activity.
Increased amounts of vinegar will make bread turn sour. However, most bakers prefer citric acid for this use.
Can I add vinegar to sourdough bread?
The lactic acid bacteria cultivated alongside wild yeasts in a sourdough starter can produce acetic acid. It’s, therefore, common to see vinegar added to sourdough bread sold in supermarkets.
The majority of supermarket sourdough bread contains yeast and conditioners to accelerate the rising time of the bread.
By shortening the fermentation stages, supermarket sourdough bread lacks flavour and acidity.
Vinegar is added to the recipe to compensate for the short fermentation period that properly-made sourdough typically enjoys.
What Do Baking Soda And Vinegar Do In Baking?
Adding vinegar with baking soda is ideal for raising many types of cakes. The combination creates a chemical reaction that releases carbon dioxide gas.
It makes the baked products rise in the oven and results in a fluffy, moist texture.
What Type of Vinegar should I use For Baking?
The most common type of vinegar for baking is plain white vinegar. It has a mild, uncomplicated flavour.
Another favourite is cider vinegar, made from fermenting apples. Cider vinegar has a slightly sweeter flavour than white vinegar.
Neither leaves an aftertaste behind when you use it in baked goods sparingly.
Balsamic vinegar adds an intense flavour that’s likely to overpower the beautiful taste of your bread. Steer clear!
For more information and vinegar choices, visit the best vinegar for baking.
Is It Necessary To Add Vinegar To Cake?
Yes! Adding vinegar to cakes can result in your cake being great!
With all the benefits that it can do to cakes, it should be necessary.
A dash of vinegar will make your cake moister.
Acidic ingredients cut through sweetness to leave a fresh, refreshing flavour.
What Can I Use If I Don’t Have Vinegar?
Lemon juice contains citric acid, which can be substituted for vinegar when baking.
If your recipe calls for one teaspoon of white vinegar, use ¾’s of freshly squeezed lemon juice. This ratio can retain your desired consistency.
Buttermilk can also be used in baking. As buttermilk is acidic, it reacts with baking soda and baking powder to increase leavening ability.
Can I Skip Adding Vinegar To A Cake Recipe?
Skipping vinegar from your recipe is unlikely to work out well.
While the flavour of your cake will surely be similar if you skip it, the texture, lightness, and tenderness will not be present.
So, it’s best to use vinegar if the recipe says so.
How Much Vinegar Do I Substitute For An Egg?
Vinegar is a natural leaven for a cake if you don’t want to use eggs. It works well as an egg substitute in cake, cupcake, and muffin recipes.
Vinegar doesn’t contain protein or fat but will improve the structure and rise, just as an egg would.
Mix one teaspoon baking soda and one tablespoon of vinegar to replace one whole egg.
If your recipe calls for two or more eggs, adjust the amount of baking soda and vinegar with the same ratio.
If you’ve enjoyed this article and wish to treat me to a coffee, you can by following the link below – Thanks x
Comment
Leave a Reply
Hi, I’m Gareth Busby, a baking coach, senior baker and bread-baking fanatic! My aim is to use science, techniques and 15 years of baking experience to make you a better baker.
Table of Contents
- What Is The Use Of Vinegar In Baking?
- How Vinegar Improves The Rise Of Bread
- How Vinegar Changes The Bread’s Crumb
- How Vinegar Improves The Flavour Of Bread
- Does Vinegar Help Bread Stay Fresh?
- Should I Add Vinegar To Bread?
- How much vinegar should I add to a bread recipe?
- Will Bread Taste Sour If I Add Vinegar?
- Can I add vinegar to sourdough bread?
- What Do Baking Soda And Vinegar Do In Baking?
- What Type of Vinegar should I use For Baking?
- Is It Necessary To Add Vinegar To Cake?
- What Can I Use If I Don’t Have Vinegar?
- Can I Skip Adding Vinegar To A Cake Recipe?
- How Much Vinegar Do I Substitute For An Egg?
How many days can the vinegar increase the shelf life of a bread?
I haven’t got the data on that I’m afraid. I notice an increase of a couple of days.
Iam making 100% coarse whole wheat flour for my bread, can I add vinegar in it, if so how much vinegar should I add. Thanks in advance if u could reply.
Start with a teaspoon. Increase if you wish, but it’ll start turning twangy!!
I am starting to make sourdough bread; looking at recipes.. never have I seen vinegar listed for any bread . Is this a trade secret? I have been baking bread for many years!
It’s a common ingredient in sliced bread in the UK. I wouldn’t add it to sourdough bread, you could, but it’s acidic enough
Can I also add vinegar in brioche?
Yes, but during the time spent chilling the dough to become cold enough to shape, fermentation activity will produce ethanol and acetic acid (vinegar) naturally. There isn’t really any point, and I’d rather allow the brioche dough to ferment a bit longer for better flavour. The only situation I would consider adding vinegar to brioche is when doing a quick-dough and using the freezer to drop the temperature right down after mixing.
Can I use Distilled White Vinegar instead of regular vinegar and get the same results?
Yes, but use less as it is purer.
Thank you! I have an allergy to yeast and yeast proteins. So I can only use distilled vinegar. What ratio do you recommend? Or should I dilute I dilute it with water first?
Ah, I see! I’ve looked into this for you and there are a lot of contrasting views as to which is more potent (and by how much). It seems that distilled vinegar is usually less potent than white vinegar, but they can be the same! Start with a teaspoon per loaf and see how you get on. What products are you baking?
It’s been 4 years since I’ve had a sandwich! LOL. I really want to make a loaf of bread so I can make a sandwich and/or toast. I tried with 00 flour and it didn’t turn out good at all. So I want to try with King Arthur’s Whole Wheat All Purpose unenriched flour (because B vitamins are made with yeast). I use buttermilk as a raising agent along with baking powder and baking soda. But it doesn’t turn out good at all! So I came across your article with hopes that vinegar would act as a good raising agent and to make a good yeast free loaf for myself 🙂
Crikey that’s a challenge! I’m not sure if vinegar alone will do the job, but worth a try! I’d consider using lots of foaming agents, binding agents and aeration agents in your dough. Eggs might be a good option, alongside vinegar and baking powder. There are lots of things that will give a little lift that you could combine!!
0.005555556 is the percentage us in figuring the amount of vinegar to use in my 7 different loaves of bread.
Example
3,883 grams of flour X .00555556 = 12 grams of vinegar.
Hi Gareth, i am starting a small home business doing with cakes, in future I will be packing this tipes cakes but the area where i am in Mozambique they not Saling preservatives so i have to mack plan, help me with this vinegar option, lats how many tea spoons i need to add to the each cake, or which way i have to use
Hi
My wife has prediabetes. Vinegar with a meal is said to reduce the peak in blood sugar after a meal. I’ve been adding apple cider vinegar to my seeded bread for that reason. It seems to help with blood sugar control.
Hi Roger, that’s great and another vinegar bonus, thank you for sharing. You might like to look at sourdough as well for good blood sugar control.
Thank you so much..I will just do so Gareth.
Hi Gareth…I’m on a Daniel fast and I want to bake bread. We cannot use any raising agents, no salt, no butter as well, and no animal products.. I’m glad to know that I can substitute vinegar for raising agent. Can I use wheat flour, olive oil, almond milk, almond nuts to make this bread work… I’m not sure right now what to do..
Hi Michelle! If you are planning to use vinegar as your raising agent are you sure you are allowed to use it? I mean vinegar gives the bread a bit of a boost when it rises, but it’s not going to produce light and fluffy bread without a levain to work alongside. I think you are expecting too much. Maybe make a savoury pancake batter or dough with the suggested ingredients (with or without the vinegar) and fry some healthy pancakes or flat breads?
I am a baker, I mix and mould my bread and bake it the next day morning, can I add vinegar to it without any cause?
Can’t see why it would cause any issues. Give it a go and let us know 🙂
I can’t wait to try the vinegar. My basic recipe uses 4 c flour, 16 oz water two eggs, a tbls dark sugar,1/4 c ground flax seed, 1/4 c sesame seed and dialstatic acid 2 tsp, and yeast of course. I bake this in a Dutch oven. Always great results. I am baking now so I will use the vinegar in four days. I will let you know.
Interesting, recipe. I’ve never heard of Dialstatic acid. I’m trying to learn about it, is it similar to amylase, or activated malt? Where do you get it from?
Yes, keep me updated I’m interested to know how you find it!
Thank you so much Gareth . For this and I will try it.
Awesome, enjoy!
Hi Gareth,
I tried a flourless Keto bread recipe that uses almond flour, golden flaxseed meal and psyllium husk powder instead of wheat flour. Also uses baking powder instead of soda, salt, cream of tarter and dry beef gelatin powder. It used yeast, honey and water which foamed beautifully. The wet ingredients were eggs, butter and yogurt with 1 TBSP VINEGAR. The bread rose about 25%, looked great with browned top and moist texture but tasted awful! Very vinegary. Should I cut the vinegar in half?
Could any of the other ingredients
be causing that sour taste?
Sorry for long message but wanted you to have all the facts.
There is a lot of acid in that recipe. Baking powder, yoghurt, vinegar and cream of tarter are all acidic. It will be in some way to counteract the alkaline in the almond flour. It’s quite a complicated recipe which could be expertly balanced to make the bread rise in perfect harmony, but if the flavour is too vinegary (acidic) I would consider using less of those ingredients. So yes, I’d skip the vinegar and see how it goes. Maybe add a bit more yeast or replace the baking powder with soda to speed up the rise if you feel the dough needs it.
How many tablespoons of vinegar can I add to 500grm of flour with 9eggs?
Start with one, and see how you get on.
Thanks Gareth! I added the vinegar(apple cider) 1tbsp for my bread recipes on my bagel s and brotchen and I can say it really made my artisan bread great! Guys, add the vinegar together with your liquid ingredients. Try an experimental batch first. Before contemplating to add it in your existing recipes. It works for me, I’m sure it will work with yours.
That’s awesome. Thanks for the tip Marc!
Thanks, Gareth.
I will definitely try it.
Hi Irene, That’s awesome! I would add a little bit on top of the rest of the ingredients. You should only add a small amount so you shouldn’t need to decrease the water in the recipe. Having the oven warm enough to bake the loaf in under 35 minutes, plus a dough that contains fat will make a big difference too.
Hi Gareth,
I am new in baking bread, really love to have home made fresh bread vs buying from supermarket.
I have been trying a few recipes, but always faced the problem that my bread turns dry and hard the next day. I am going to try and add vinegar, hope that will keep my bread moist and soft.
The question I have is do I add vinegar on top of the all the ingredients on a recipe? or I substitute it by reducing other liquid ingredient?
Thanks
What amazes me Garth and I am truly amazed. I have spent a couple hours researching “when” do you add the vinegar to the bread making process and literally every site including yours don’t give a straight answer. Is it in the beginning yeast is being activated (proofed)Is when the sugar, oil and salt is added? Is when the dough is kneaded? Is it before the first rise? Is it after the first rise? You don’t know either?
Ahh Jams, guessing you’re having a bad day! The time to add vinegar to the dough is when the water is added to the flour.
I make bread with gluten free flour what it help to add vinegar to it? When to we add it and what s the proportion for 2 cup measure flour?
Sure! Start with a teaspoon per two cups of flour and adjust if you wish.
Thank you. I’ll definitely try it–I also make a moist chocolate cake that I developed, and I put in a 1/4 tsp baking soda and have been tempted to add 1 tsp apple cider vinegar, but a little gremlin keeps saying why fix what ain’t broke–it took me years to develop this cake to the point where I was really happy with it. I guess I’m worried that the vinegar may unbalance the flavor–do you think it will? The lodge is way off the beaten track. People come from long distances and specifically ask for this cake, so imagine if it tasted different–I’d end up with a red face and a, “well, I tried something different.”
It shouldn’t do, it should help extend its life. I’d try a small batch to test.
Sounds like an interesting idea.
I bake bread for a lodge and always try new things, especially things that improve bread’s shelf-life. However, I work with strict weights so a recipe would be good. For example if I have 900 gm bread flour and 600 gm water, 1 TBSP olive oil, 16 gm salt and about 5 gm instant yeast, unless it’s I use a starter. How much vinegar would I need? I usually have a 24 hour fermentation period in a fridge because it makes the bread taste better. Could I still do this?
Thank you! Start with a teaspoon (approx 5 grams). 24 hours -That’s my sort of bread! Vinegars use is more widespread in shorter breads, but you should still see some improvements. Let me know how it works!
Can I use vinegar for pound cake in a tube pan? I have not been able to duplicate the crumb texture of my grandmother’s pound cake. I know she used vinegar in her bread making.
Absolutely!
Hi sir please I want to know to Quantity of vinegar to add to a bread dough of 25kg of flour am from Ghana
1% is a good place to start, so 250 grams for 25kg. Adjust to suit your requirements.