How to Brown Butter
Learn how to make brown butter from a professional pastry chef! This easy-to-make, one-ingredient liquid gold will completely elevate your baking.
Equipment
- light-colored pan
Instructions
- Before you start. Grab a light-colored pan or skillet, a rubber spatula or whisk, and a heatproof bowl.
- Place the butter in a light-colored pan over medium heat. Cooking the butter low and slow is key to success, don't be tempted to increase the heat!
- Stirring constantly, allow the butter to melt in the pan. As it gets heated past its melting point the butter will sizzle, pop, and bubble vigorously. Stand by and keep stirring it so that it cooks evenly. After a few minutes, it will start to turn golden brown and the top will get very foamy. When the noise starts to quiet, the milk solids at the bottom of the pan will turn golden brown and it will smell intensely nutty and buttery.
- Immediately take it off the heat and pour it into the heatproof bowl to stop it from cooking. Use as desired!
Video
Notes
Doubling the recipe: I don't recommend browning more than 1 cup of butter at a time unless you have a large pan.
Make-ahead: Brown butter can be made up to 5 days in advance and stored in the fridge until ready to use.
Reheating: Most recipes will call for liquid brown butter. Gently warm the butter in the microwave or on the stove until just melted.
Storage & Freezing: Store leftover browned butter in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days. It can also be frozen for up to 1 month.
While the recipe calls for unsalted butter, you can use salted butter in substitution. Generally, most recipes will call for unsalted butter to have more control of the salt content. You can also use either cold or room-temperature butter. Cold butter will take a few minutes longer to brown!
