Maple Days: Day 4

No boiling today! It was too cold again, it only got up to about 35 or 36 degrees. (About 5 inches of sap in the tank.) That trend will likely continue for the next couple days; the forecast isn't looking as warm as it once was.

So rather than making syrup, I used some up today in good, old-fashioned, grandma-style bread. We (being me, a couple uncles, my dad and grandma) made two batches: six loaves. (Notice there's only five in the image. We ate an entire loaf in the process!)

Unfortunately, I refuse to post the recipe here. It's too good!

However, I can disclose how I substitute maple syrup for sugar in recipes.

First, maple syrup can be used in pretty much any recipe that calls for sugar and some amount of liquid. Keep in mind here, that maple has a more distinct taste than normal cane sugar, so even if it's possible to substitute sugar with maple syrup, consider the flavor of the final product. But if that maple flavor is what you're going for, make sure to use grade B -- it tends to have a stronger maple taste to it.

Next, you'll have to do a little bit of math. Maple syrup is 66.6% sugar and 33.3% water. That's 2 parts sugar to 1 part water. You'll need to adjust the quantity of sugar and liquid (usually water) in your recipe accordingly. Substitute 2/3 C sugar and 1/3 C water with 1 C maple syrup. Simple, eh?

However... there are a few snags. Cookies, for example, rarely call for any specific amounts of liquid. Butter, eggs, flour, sugar and spices and you're pretty much good to go. You can't reduce those things without potentially completely screwing up the recipe. But who said baking was a science? You can simply reduce the amount of sugar, and substitute an equal amount of maple syrup. If your recipe needs 1/4 C sugar, just nix it entirely and use 1/4 C syrup. If it calls for something like 1-1/2 C sugar, keep some of the white stuff in, otherwise your cookie dough will turn into a gooey mess. The bread we made today was easy, because it only called for 1/3 C sugar. We just substituted 1/3 C maple syrup, and it worked wonderfully.

Lastly, you'll probably want to find a good hiding spot for your concoction. It's guaranteed to go fast!