Baking Basics Chapters 44, 46 and 47

Basic Baking Ingredients Flour Liquid Leavening Ingredients Fats Sweeteners Eggs Flavorings

Balancing Structure of Cakes More sugar than flour More egg than fat More liquid than sugar Proper amount of leavening

Flour Certain proteins in flour combine with liquid to create an elastic substance called GLUTEN Gluten affects the texture and rising of baked products

Liquids & Flour Affects texture & rising ability Create batters & Dough Batters have higher portion liquid, dough has higher portion flour

Batter & Dough Pour Batter: Cakes & pancakes (= amount of liquid & flour) Drop Batter: Quick breads & cookies (2 parts flour to 1 part liquid) Soft Dough: Yeast breads & rolled biscuits (3 parts flour to 1 part liquid) Stiff Dough: Piecrusts & rolled cookies (8 parts flour to 1 part liquid)

Leavening Agents Substance that triggers a chemical reaction, making a baked product grow larger, or rise Air Steam Baking powder Baking Soda Yeast Baking powder has baking soda and an acidic substance, such as cream of tarter, and doesn’t need an extra acidic ingredient, unlike baking soda

Fats Add volume by trapping air Brown products, making more appealing look Butter adds flavor Butter Margarine Shortening (Crisco)

Sweetners Add flavor, tenderness and brown products Sugar Honey Molasses Corn Syrup Honey provides more moisture than sugar Corn syrup creates a sweet and chewy texture, most commonly used in frostings and candy

Eggs Add flavor, richness and tenderness Binding Add air & volume Set structure when heated Must be added 1 at a time to help trap air from creamed mixture

Flavorings Extracts Fruits, nuts & syrups Maple, almond or vanilla Fruits, nuts & syrups Sweetened or unsweetened chocolate

CAKES Chapter 46

Conventional 2. Cream the solid fat and sugar 1. Sift dry ingredients 2. Cream the solid fat and sugar 3. Beat eggs in (1 at a time) 4. Mix liquids in separate bowl 5. Add dry and liquid to creamed mixture alternately Shortened- Butter cakes

Examples include flour and powdered sugar Sift Combine dry ingredients and press through a screen/filter incorporating air into the ingredient. Examples include flour and powdered sugar Shortened- Butter cakes

What is the difference between cupcakes & cakes? Cupcakes usually require a lower cooking temperature, especially considering the size Smaller the size, shorter the cooking time Cupcakes bake for a shorter period of time

Keeps surface from drying out and “glues” layers together Decorating Cakes Keeps surface from drying out and “glues” layers together Compliment flavor and appearance

Buttercream Easy to spread, has a sweet flavor and soft, smooth texture Basic Ingredients: 1 c Fat 4 c Powdered Sugar 2 T Milk 1 T Meringue Powder 1 t Flavoring Add more milk to change the texture and thickness Most icing found in the supermarket in the cake mix section is basic buttercream. Meringue Powder (which is dried egg whites)

Fudge Can be as thick preferred Other flavors, such as almond, peanut butter or mint, are often added. Basic Ingredients: 1 c Butter, Shortening 3 T Cocoa (or more) 4 c Powdered Sugar 1/3 c Milk 1 t Flavoring