We recently published an article about adding coffee to enhance the flavor of baked beans. This brought to mind the whole issue of which herbs, spices, and other ingredients to add to recipes to get optimal results. In regard to using our favorite beverage when preparing dishes in the kitchen, there are a few tricks to baking with coffee that are useful to know. It turns out that it does make a difference which method you use to brew coffee and what kind of coffee you use based on what dishes you are going to add it to.

What Kinds of Coffee Can You Bake With?

In our baked beans recipe we used brewed coffee. However, you can use brewed coffee from a French press for optimal fats and oils, a cold brew coffee, or a percolator with a paper filter to reduce fats and oils. When you cook with brewed coffee you are commonly using coffee to replace water, milk or other wet ingredients as well as using its flavor. When adding coffee to bread recipes it is usually wise to use a dark roast as it goes well with a well-baked crust. No matter whether you use a light or dark roast for your coffee when adding to bread dough for doughnuts, bread, or cinnamon rolls, the acid in the coffee commonly makes the dough easier to work with and results in better rising and bitter notes to a nicely browned crust. For recipes for brownies replace a forth or half of the water with brewed coffee and your coffee with enhance the chocolate while the chocolate and sweetness with bring out subtle coffee flavors.

Using Instant Coffee When You Bake

When you want the taste, aroma, and subtle notes of coffee but not any moisture, try using instant coffee. Espresso powder, instant coffee, or very finely ground roasted coffee beans all work for adding coffee flavor without extra water to a recipe. Rather than adding a dusting of coffee, add your espresso powder or instant coffee to a liqueur or vanilla extract. Use this trick for frostings or for adding to dough. As an example, shortbreads get their moisture from butter and do not need extra water. Adding coffee via a liqueur route is an ideal solution.

Coffee Flavor in Your Banking Without the Beans

A way to get coffee flavor without adding to your recipe is to steep the beans in your liquid of choice along with sugar and other flavorings. This works well for flan, ice cream, or panna cotta. Add roasted beans to cold milk or cream and allow to set in the refrigerator overnight. Your cream or milk to have a coffee flavor but no coffee color. Do this with a thick sugar solution for a coffee-flavored glaze for your favorite cake.

What Flavor to Pair Coffee With

Folks are generally familiar with how red wine goes best with meats while white wines go best with poultry or sea food. The same principles of food pairing work with coffee as well. The bitterness and floral aromas of coffee go well with chocolate, savory herb rubs, crust treatments for baked bread, warming spices, and sugary treats. As a note of caution, coffee can also overpower other flavors so there are times when coffee is best used in moderation when baking. Coffee is commonly added to chocolate but you can use it to enhance caraway, cumin, fennel, cardamon or something citrus like an orange zest.