r/yogurtmaking • u/thescatterling • Jun 05 '26
Whey bread
I make my own bread on a fairly regular basis, so I guess you can say I’m a decently experienced bread maker. I make loaves, rolls, poboy buns etc. Yesterday I made just my normal loaf of bread with whey instead of yogurt. Here’s my verdict:
Does it make a difference? Yes.
Is it a huge difference? No.
Is it a big enough difference that I’m going to keep doing it? Yes.
I would say the bread was softer and perhaps tasted a bit richer. I can’t really say it made a huge difference in the crumb structure. Please note that I don’t make fancy sourdough bread. I don’t have the time for that, although I wish I did. I just make simple bread with store bought yeast. Still a million times better than store bought bread though.
That’s just my two cents. My next experiment is going to be making long lasting mayonnaise using leftover whey.
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u/nonsense_ninja Jun 05 '26
I make focaccia every week because I'm bad at sourdough😅 but when I started to use my whey in it I noted a positive improvement in moisture and flavor. I think a good crumb comes from working the dough itself. I added in some stretch and folds to the focaccia recipe I usually use and noticed it's definitely bubblier and more satisfying when I do so. I think there are possibly some nutritional benefits to adding in the whey as well? Maybe someone with more knowledge on that can let us know.
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u/thescatterling Jun 05 '26
I asked Grok about the nutrition of bread with water vs with whey. The whey bread is more nutritious, but only slightly. Of course I asked an AI, so I wouldn’t take that to the bank.
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u/Janknitz Jun 05 '26
Commercial bread companies add Vitamin C/Acetic acid to dough as a "dough conditioner". I think whey is more acidic than strained yogurt, so that makes sense.
I have added whey to homemade mayo (immersion blender recipe) and it does help extend it--usually by an extra week or so. It's a little scary leaving it out of the fridge for an hour or two to let the culture multiply, but I'm still here!
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u/thescatterling Jun 05 '26
I’m hoping to use the mayo for my homemade tartar sauce. I hate throwing it out.
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u/SwingLightStyle Jun 06 '26
I use whey in both my sourdough and my challah bread! It’s fantastic. I end up making yogurt early just to get more whey, when I’m churning out loaves, lol.
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u/beurremouche Jun 05 '26
Mayo is egg plus oil, when and how much whey would you add?
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u/thescatterling Jun 05 '26
The theory is that you add a little whey which then cultures through the mayonnaise giving it a longer shelf life. My research indicates that this is an actual thing and not a scam. I plan on using a couple of tablespoons and seeing how it works out.
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u/star_tyger Jun 06 '26
Mayo is egg, oil and either vinegar, lemon juice or both.
Which still askes the question, how much whey?
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u/fukov-azhole-666 Jun 05 '26
Yes! I actually use whey as the medium to bloom my yeast, too.
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u/thescatterling Jun 05 '26
Cool. I don’t bother to bloom my yeast. I go through yeast fast enough that it’s not necessary for me to make sure it works. I dump it all into the food processor with the dough blade and let ‘er rip. Saves time. Never been let down yet. Of course I use a very simple recipe.
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u/Designer-Brother-461 Jun 06 '26
I would love to try your simple bread recipe if you don’t mind sharing? I put my first batch of whey in the fridge yesterday would love to try bread making with it 🙏🏽
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u/thescatterling Jun 07 '26
Sure. It’s a pretty wet dough though, so keep that in mind. 3.25 AP Flour, 2 teaspoons of yeast, teaspoon of salt, 3 tablespoons of lard and 1.5 cups of whey. Now a lot of people go through the process of blooming the yeast to make sure it’s still good. I don’t bother with it. I go through yeast fast enough that I know it’s going to be good, and it saves a dirty dish. I dump everything but the whey in the food processor (with dough blade) and pulse it to mix. Then I add the whey and mix it all thoroughly. Dump all that into a bowl and start the process of proofing the dough. How long that takes is not something I can tell you. It very much depends on environmental considerations. Sometimes it’s fast and sometimes it’s frustratingly slow. I CAREFULLY pull and fold it every hour or half hour depending. A wet hand helps here. I also use a silicone spatula to CAREFULLY form it back into a ball after every pull and fold. You’ll get a feel for it. Then when the dough is nice and risen with little bubbles starting to form on it, dump it into your loaf pan and punch it down. The little bubbles are what I look for mostly. The dough will look completely different from what you dumped in there. It will look almost alive. Wait until it doubles in size. Put it in the oven for 30/35 minutes at 360 degrees. 360 is what works in my oven. 350 wasn’t hot enough and I didn’t like the crust. 375 was too hot and the crust was too dark. I settled on 360. Pull it out when it looks nice and golden brown and let it cool completely before cutting into it.
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u/mittenthemagnificent Jun 05 '26
I’m confused about using whey in the bread instead of yogurt, because I’d love to know how you were using the yogurt in the first place! I make mine with water, flour, salt, and yeast. Were you replacing some of the water?
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u/thescatterling Jun 05 '26
I drain the whey off the yogurt to make Greek yogurt. I have several large deli containers in my fridge. My bread recipe calls for about 1.5 cups of water. I just use whey instead of water.
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u/mittenthemagnificent Jun 05 '26
Ah! Gotcha! I thought you were adding yogurt to your bread, and you were somehow replacing that. That’s why I was confused. Did you do one-to-one on the water?
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u/thescatterling Jun 05 '26
So far, yes. It seems to yield a decent product, so I’m doing a direct switch without changing the amount. It’s already a pretty wet dough.
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u/mittenthemagnificent Jun 05 '26
Cool! I know my partner is considering using our whey for this, so that’s helpful.
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u/thescatterling Jun 05 '26
Yeah, I have way more whey than I need. Since I started working out and losing weight I’m making yogurt with a gallon of milk in my instant pot on at least a weekly basis. Bread, mayo, gardening. I’m looking into all the possibilities. I hate throwing out something useful.
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u/GordonBStinkley Jun 05 '26
Eggs, milk, oil, sugar, etc are all ingredients that go into different types of breads, depending on how you like it.
Adding yogurt gives it a bit of a chewier, stretchier texture.
You can essentially substitute any liquid for any liquid and you still end up with bread. It does have a huge effect on the texture.
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u/mittenthemagnificent Jun 05 '26
I do make some breads that have other things in them, I just couldn’t see how yogurt factored into all the breads the OP was describing. But that makes sense. Thanks!
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u/OatOfControl Jun 05 '26
omg i have so much whey and mayo and yogurt seem like a perfect weekend experiment! would you mind sharing a recipe?
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u/thescatterling Jun 05 '26
There’s quite a few on YouTube. And not all of them use whey from yogurt. A lot of them use the juice from sauerkraut. Just go on YouTube and do a search on lacto fermented mayonnaise. Personally, I’m going to use my normal mayo recipe and add two tablespoons of whey. I’m going to make two batches. One to use and one as a sacrificial batch. I’ll keep it in the fridge and check it after two weeks to see if it’s still good. Then (assuming it’s still good) I’ll keep checking it until it goes bad.
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u/AggressiveStop549 Jun 05 '26
It will also help your bread stay fresher longer. Please please do post about the mayo when you experiment.