What’s the best buttermilksubstitute?Acidified Milk. The reason a lot of baking recipes use buttermilk has to do with the chemical reaction between baking soda and lactic acids. The light texture of a buttermilk pancake is dependent upon this acid-base reaction. Pancakes made with low-ranking buttermilksubstitutes may be dense and spongy... How to use your buttermilksubstitute. Once the buttermilk and vinegar (or lemon juice) mixture has rested for 5 minutes, the milk will have thickened and curdled slightly. Buttermilk adds a creamy, slightly tangy flavor to both sweet and savory recipes. But if you don’t have buttermilk on hand, you cannot substitute regular milk instead... What to substitute for buttermilk via @kingarthurflour. First, let’s clarify what buttermilk is, exactly. Traditional buttermilk is the thin, watery liquid left over after cream is churned into butter. Yogurt works best when substituted for buttermilk in a 1-to-1 ratio. That is, if a recipe calls for 1 cup buttermilk, you can simply replace it with 1 cup of plain yogurt. How to Make ButtermilkSubstitutes. Each buttermilksubstitute recipe below combines regular milk with an acidic ingredient like lemon juice or yogurt. Don’t worry if you’re short on buttermilk – it’s super-simple to make your own version at home, and we've shared some of the best substitutes that you can use too, from lemon juice and... Vegan ButtermilkSubstitute. Yes, you can make a dairy-free alternative to use in any recipe calling for regular buttermilk. To make a buttermilksubstitute, use 1 3/4 teaspoon (5 grams) of cream of tartar per 1 cup (240 mL) of milk. Cream of tartar tends to clump when stirred directly into milk.