In a recent "Precise Advice" segment, Alton Brown addressed whether home cooks should spend money on fancy, higher-priced butter when baking. Brown explained that more expensive butter is often better indeed, adding that cheaper generic brands can have up to 12% more water in them, which isn't factored into most recipes.

However, contrary to Brown, King Arthur Baking stated, more water from AA unsalted butter can actually be good if you're baking croissants or biscuits, where steam from the additional moisture results in a flaky texture. But, if simple buttered bread is on the menu, a low-water, high-fat (and higher-price) European butter might be the most rich and satisfying.

Brown went on to address unsalted versus salted butter, adding that unless specified, most baking recipes are written for unsalted butter. This makes it the most convenient choice at the store, but if you only have salted butter while you're creating a recipe that calls for unsalted, just use less additional salt in the recipe.