Anyone Ever Use Splenda for Baking?

OldGuy43

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I'm going to try my hand at sourdough bread baking. My starter will be ready Monday. Here's the recipe I plan on using:

http://baking.food.com/recipe/rustic-country-sourdough-bread-157517

At first I considered substituting sugar for the Splenda, but realized that with that much yeast sugar was probably not a good idea. Bought a small box of it and decided to try it in my ice tea. :sick Yuck! I usually use Sweet 'n Low, and this stuff tastes terrible. Any suggestions? I really like the sound of this recipe.
 

Chickie'sMomaInNH

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Splenda does have an off taste that takes some time to get used to. i have an old bag of the baking Splenda on the shelf but i opt for the real stuff most times. the baking Splenda is supposed to measure cup for cup, so if you're going to use that stuff use that particular one for baking. i've tried using it for making jam and it just didn't work well with most recipes except the blueberry. i haven't tried it since then. :/
 

so lucky

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I think the yeast feeds off the sugar somehow, so you may not want to substitute with a totally non-caloric substitute. How about using honey? I make a killer sprouted whole wheat bread that calls for honey. The amount could probably be cut down some. I find Splenda's taste to be unnatural, as well as stevia, especially if too much is used.
And in other baking, I think the sugar does more than sweeten; it helps the texture and consistency of baked items. It is hard to find a good alternative.
 

wsmoak

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Read "Sweet Deception" and see if you ever want to use artificial sweeteners (or trust the FDA...) again.

My favorite sourdough bread recipe is King Arthur's Rustic Sourdough -- http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/rustic-sourdough-bread-recipe

Be careful with KA recipes: they use a 4.25 ounce "cup" of flour which is *very* light. Normally if you scoop and level, a cup will be more like 5 ounces (which is how Cook's Illustrated recipes are written.)

If you don't weigh your ingredients, you may be way off with the hydration (flour to water ratio) and it won't turn out right.

Good luck!

-Wendy
 

897tgigvib

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Why don't they use standardized measurements?

Coffee maker machines call 4 ounces a cup. Sheesh! That's a cup of coffee for an elf!

My measuring cup says 8 ounces is a cup, and that's how we learned it was in 2nd grade.

Now I see some recipes call 5 ounces a cup, some 4 ounces, and some 4.5 ounces.
 

OldGuy43

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wsmoak said:
Read "Sweet Deception" and see if you ever want to use artificial sweeteners (or trust the FDA...) again.

My favorite sourdough bread recipe is King Arthur's Rustic Sourdough -- http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/rustic-sourdough-bread-recipe

Be careful with KA recipes: they use a 4.25 ounce "cup" of flour which is *very* light. Normally if you scoop and level, a cup will be more like 5 ounces (which is how Cook's Illustrated recipes are written.)

If you don't weigh your ingredients, you may be way off with the hydration (flour to water ratio) and it won't turn out right.

Good luck!

-Wendy
Wow! :ep Did not know that! That probably explains why it was way too sweet.

marshallsmyth said:
Why don't they use standardized measurements?

Coffee maker machines call 4 ounces a cup. Sheesh! That's a cup of coffee for an elf!

My measuring cup says 8 ounces is a cup, and that's how we learned it was in 2nd grade.

Now I see some recipes call 5 ounces a cup, some 4 ounces, and some 4.5 ounces.
Well, now I feel better about OldGal and I going through a 12 cup pot a day. I always thought measurements were "standardized" too. :rant
 

897tgigvib

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Does OldGal ever post in here too OldGuy?

12 so called cups of coffee is really 6 cups, and divided by 2, (OldGal and OldGuy), that makes 3 real cups each if you both have the same amount.

When Ponce de Leon was traipsing around looking for the fountain of youth, he did not realize that every coffee plant he passed was actually the fountain of youth camouflaged as a plant!
 
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