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Room temperature ingredients

Ingredients such as butter and eggs warmed from fridge-cold before baking; King Arthur Baking puts room-temperature butter at about 68°F to 72°F.

What It Means

Room temperature ingredients are the butter, eggs and other cold staples a baking recipe wants warmed up from the refrigerator before you mix. King Arthur Baking puts room-temperature butter at roughly 68°F to 72°F, soft enough to work but still holding its shape. In a creamed cake batter, butter and eggs at that temperature hold more air, which gives a higher rise and a finer crumb.

Try It: Check Your Butter and Eggs Before Baking

Slide to your butter's temperature, and enter how long the eggs have been out of the refrigerator.

Butter62

Still cold and firm. Slice it or set the wrapped stick in warm water.

Minutes left within USDA's 2 hours90

Within the 2 hours USDA gives for refrigerated eggs left out.

How It Sounds at Home

  • "Take the butter out now so it's soft by the time we bake."
  • "The recipe says room temperature eggs, can I skip that?"
  • "Put the eggs in warm water for a few minutes."

The Breakdown

How to bring ingredients to room temperature

  1. Read the recipe first and note which ingredients say room temperature or softened.
  2. Take the butter out early. To speed it up, King Arthur Baking suggests slicing it to expose more surface, or setting the wrapped stick in warm water.
  3. For eggs, fill a bowl with warm water, about the warmth of a relaxing bath and never scalding, and set the eggs in it. King Arthur Baking says they reach about 70°F in roughly 1010,000 stepsA popular daily step goal that began as the name of a 1960s Japanese pedometer; later studies find health benefits begin well below it. See more minutes.
  4. Check the butter. At 68°F to 72°F it has softened a little but still holds its shape.
  5. Mix within USDA's limit: refrigerated eggs shouldn't be left out for more than 2 hours.

Short version to try today. Before your next cake, put the eggs in a bowl of warm water while you measure everything else.

Why it matters, per King Arthur Baking

IngredientWhat King Arthur Baking says
Butter at 68°F to 72°FSoftened a little but holding its shape, the state bakers call plastic and the easiest to work with
Butter warmer than thatMelts and lets cookies spread in the oven before they set
Cold eggsStiffen the butter and sugar you've just beaten air into
Eggs at room temperatureTrap air better, giving more volume in the batter and a fluffier cake

Good to Know

USDA's Food Safety and Inspection Service says refrigerated eggs shouldn't be left out more than 2 hours. A cold egg left on the counter can sweat, which helps bacteria move into the egg, and any Salmonella in or on it multiplies at room temperature. The warm-water bath gets eggs ready in minutes, which keeps you well inside that window.

FAQ

What temperature is room temperature butter?

About 68°F to 72°F, according to King Arthur Baking. At that point it's soft enough to cream but still holds its shape.

Do eggs really need to be at room temperature for baking?

For creamed cakes, King Arthur Baking says it helps. Cold eggs stiffen the butter you've just beaten air into, while warmer eggs trap air better, so the cake rises higher.

How long can eggs sit out at room temperature?

No more than 2 hours for refrigerated eggs, according to USDA FSIS. To warm them faster, set them in a bowl of warm water for about 10 minutes.

Do It in Buhata

Meals and Shopping

On a baking day in Meals in Buhata, add a first step that says "butter and eggs out," and keep butter and eggs on the Shopping list so you have enough.

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Related Terms and Categories

  • Baking powder vs baking soda

    Baking soda is a base that needs an acid in the recipe to make it rise; baking powder is baking soda already mixed with its own acid.

  • Egg substitute

    (1) A carton product made from egg whites, sold in place of whole eggs; (2) any ingredient, like flax meal and water, used instead of egg in a recipe.

  • Recipe scaling

    Changing how much a recipe makes by multiplying every ingredient by one conversion factor: the yield you want divided by the yield it makes.

  • Proofing dough

    Letting yeast dough rise until it's puffy and ready to bake; King Arthur Baking's poke test tells you when it's there.

Meal planning, groceries and kitchen

Sources

King Arthur Baking, "Do eggs used in baking really need to be at room temperature?"; King Arthur Baking, "Baking trials: How to soften butter quickly"; King Arthur Baking, "Why does butter temperature matter in pastry?"; King Arthur Baking, "Why are my cookies spreading?"; USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service, "Shell Eggs from Farm to Table"

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