Brown butter is the talk of the town in baking right now. Brown butter cookies, brown butter brownies, brown butter cakes – the lineup is endless. And while it may seem like a “new trend”, brown butter has been an integral part of baking for a long, long time. And if you’re a serious baker, it’s a technique you need to have up your sleeve; not just because it’s trending, but because it can elevate the flavor of simple bakes from good to great.
In this guide, we will learn everything you need to know about brown butter – what it means, the technique, uses, and more, so that you can become a brown butter expert in no time.
What is Brown Butter
First things first, what exactly is brown butter? Many people confuse it with regular melted butter, but it’s so much more than that. In simple terms, brown butter is like a toasted version of butter. Toasted bread has a lot more flavor than regular bread. In the same way, browning butter makes it a lot more delicious and adds more flavor to any dessert.
But to properly understand what brown butter is, we need to understand the anatomy of butter.
Anatomy of Butter
Butter is composed of three components: fat, water, and milk solids.
Butter is primarily made of fat. In fact, the minimum percentage of fat required in butter for it to actually qualify as butter is 80 percent; any less than that, and it cannot legally be counted as butter.
The higher the fat percentage, the better the quality of butter, because fat gives butter its signature richness and flavor. So next time, if you are confused about which butter to buy, just check the fat percentage per 100 grams; you want to aim for at least 82%.
The remaining part of butter is made of milk solids and water. Since butter is made from dairy (cow’s milk), it has a dairy component in it, which comes in the form of milk solids.
When butter is cooked, the milk solids get toasted and browned, just like nuts or seeds brown when cooked on heat. The process, in scientific terms, is called the Maillard reaction (which is a chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars to create melanoidins, the compounds that give browned food its distinctive flavor).
When the milk solids get caramelized while cooking, they give the butter a deeper, more nutty taste, which elevates the flavor of the butter significantly, just like plain vs toasted bread, or toasted vs not toasted nuts.
How to Make Brown Butter
Step 1 – Melting the butter
As we discussed earlier, the main goal of this process is to toast the milk solids in the butter. When the butter is cold and in a block, the milk solids are trapped in the fat, so the first step is to expose them by melting the butter.
Start with a saucepan on medium-low heat, making sure it’s not too hot, or the butter may sizzle or burn on impact. We want the browning process to be slow and steady, so keep the heat at medium-low at all times, reducing it further if needed at any step.
Slice the butter into smaller pieces for more even melting, then place it in the saucepan and let it melt completely. Once the fat in the butter melts, you will notice the milk solids floating on the surface as white bits. Now, they will get exposed to direct heat so that the browning process can begin.
Keep mixing the butter often to ensure even cooking; this will allow the final result to be more consistent.
Step 2 – Evaporating the water
In a few minutes, the butter will start to bubble. This means that the water in the butter is evaporating. This is an important step before browning, as the milk solids will not toast until the water is completely evaporated.
Keep mixing often as it bubbles away, and eventually, the milk solids will sink to the bottom of the pan, and the butter will start to resemble dish soap mixed with water – yellow and slightly frothy.
This is an indication that the water is almost completely evaporated and the browning process is about to begin.
Step 3 – Browning
Immediately after the evaporation, the butter will start foaming at the surface. This means that the browning process has begun, and it’s important that you do not take your eyes off it for even a second, as it can go from perfectly toasted to burnt in seconds.
Keep mixing the butter continuously at this stage, and in a matter of seconds, it will start changing color from a light yellow to a darker shade, and eventually turn brown.
You will also be able to see that the milk solids at the bottom have changed color from white to brown, and the butter will start to give a nutty aroma. This means that the butter has browned.
But milk solids can burn very, very quickly, so as soon as you see these signs, take the butter off the heat and immediately transfer it to a heat-proof bowl to stop the cooking process.
Looking for more baking tips? You might find these helpful!
Brown Butter vs Regular Butter
Brown butter is different from regular butter in two ways.
- The milk solids in regular butter are not toasted, and the milk solids in brown butter are toasted, giving it a deeper, nuttier flavor.
- Regular butter has a percentage of water in it, but brown butter has no water in it as it evaporates during the cooking process. This is important when you want to substitute regular butter for brown butter.
How to Substitute Brown Butter for Regular Butter
If a recipe calls for brown butter, you can measure and use it as it is. But can you substitute brown butter for regular butter in a recipe that calls for regular butter? Well, yes, but with a little addition.
As we discussed earlier, regular butter has a percentage of water in it, but brown butter does not, as it evaporates during the cooking process.
Why does this matter?
It’s important to note this water loss, as a recipe that uses regular butter accounts for the hydration/moisture that comes from the water in butter for the overall result. If you use brown butter instead, you are removing that moisture from the recipe, which may affect the final result.
Less water/moisture in a recipe can lead to dry cakes or cookies, or just mess with the overall texture.
To ensure that this does not happen, you have to add back the amount of hydration/water that was lost during the cooking process back in the recipe. This can be done just by adding more water or increasing other ingredients like milk or cream that add hydration to the recipe.
Here are the steps for substituting brown butter for regular butter.
- Measure the plain butter before cooking it. (for example – 150 grams)
- Measure the browned butter after cooking it. (for example – 120 grams)
- Note the amount lost (150-120=30 grams), then add the same amount of water or milk into the brown butter.
Usually, butter loses about 20% mass in the form of water during the cooking process, but it’s best to measure before and after for an accurate measurement.
If you prefer browning a larger portion of butter and storing it for continuous use, I recommend adding 20% extra hydration to a recipe when substituting it for regular butter.
Here are some dessert recipes to try with brown butter.
- Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Cinnamon Brown Butter Blondies With Caramel Sauce
- Cinnamon Brown Butter Cookies Recipe
Tips for making Brown Butter
- Use high-quality butter.
Since browning highlights flavor, start with good butter—ideally 82% fat or higher. Better fat content = richer, more aromatic brown butter.
- Slice the butter before heating.
Cutting the block into smaller pieces helps it melt evenly and prevents hot spots that may burn the milk solids too early.
- Choose the right pan.
A light-coloured or stainless-steel saucepan makes it easier to see the color changes, especially when the milk solids start to brown.
- Keep the heat low and steady.
Medium-low heat is your best friend. Too high, and the milk solids will scorch before the water has a chance to evaporate.
- Stir often, then stir continuously.
During melting and bubbling, stir regularly. Once the butter begins to foam, switch to constant stirring to prevent burning and ensure even browning.
- Watch for visual markers.
Frothy surface? Water has evaporated.
Milk solids on the bottom turning golden? Browning has begun.
Deep nutty aroma? You’re seconds away from being done.
- Remove from heat immediately.
Brown butter can go from perfect to burnt in a flash. As soon as it turns golden brown and smells nutty, pull it off the heat and transfer it to a heatproof bowl to stop the cooking.
- Measure before and after if substituting.
Brown butter loses about 20% of its weight as water. If you’re swapping it into a recipe that uses regular butter, replace the lost hydration by adding back the same amount of water, milk, or cream.
- Make extra and store it.
Brown butter stores beautifully in an airtight container in the fridge or freezer. If you’re using a pre-made batch, simply add 20% extra hydration to your recipe to account for water loss.
- Don’t walk away, ever.
The entire browning stage happens in under a minute. Stay close, stay attentive.
Difference between Brown Butter and Ghee
A lot of people also confuse brown butter with ghee, which is clarified butter, but they are two very different things.
The process is very similar, but for making ghee, the milk solids are removed from the butter to make it purely fat. Which is why it’s called clarified butter.
So we follow the same process as making brown butter, but we skim the milk solids off when they float on the surface, and once the butter reaches the browned stage, it’s strained to remove the milk solids.
Ghee also has a higher smoking point and reduced lactose than butter, as the milk solids have been removed from it. These differences affect the overall flavor, texture, and aroma of ghee and will give different results if used in a baking recipe instead of brown butter.
