Butter brings flavor, tenderness, and richness, and in baking it’s also a leavening tool — creaming butter with sugar beats in tiny air pockets that lift cakes and cookies. The two choices that matter most are salted vs unsalted and standard vs European-style.
Salted vs unsalted
Bakers generally prefer unsalted butter because salt levels vary from brand to brand, and using unsalted lets you control seasoning precisely. If you only have salted, reduce the added salt in the recipe by about ¼ teaspoon per stick.
US stick measurements
US butter is sold in quarter-pound sticks, and the wrapper doubles as a ruler:
| Amount | Equals |
|---|---|
| 1 stick | ½ cup = 8 Tbsp = 113 g = 4 oz |
| 2 sticks | 1 cup = 227 g |
| 4 sticks | 1 lb = 2 cups |
European-style butter has a higher fat content (around 82–85% vs ~80% in standard US butter) and less water, making it richer — great for laminated pastries and anywhere butter flavor leads.
Frequently asked questions
Salted or unsalted for baking? Unsalted, for control over seasoning.
How much is a stick of butter? ½ cup, 8 tablespoons, 113 grams.
What’s European-style butter? Higher-fat (~82–85%) butter for richer results.
For most baking, butter should be “room temperature” — cool but pliable, around 65°F — so it creams properly with sugar. Too warm and it won’t trap air; melted butter changes the texture entirely. For flaky pastry the opposite is true: keep the butter cold.