Wednesday, Apr 16: More Baking Chatter
In Alton Brown’s book, I’m Just Here for More Food, he explains that in baking the “devil is in the details.” He says, “Baking is all about sweating the small stuff.” I agree, cooking is more forgiving than baking. It is more about personal taste, and we can add and subtract without danger of failure---a little of this, a little more of that! Baking just requires more precision than cooking.
Flour, eggs, liquids (milk, water), sugar, fats (butter, shortening, oil) and leavening, (baking powder, baking soda, eggs, air, steam) are the staples for baking. I believe that knowing what function these play in the baked good is a big step toward becoming a better baker.
If I could just pick one or two words that best remind me of their function, I would have to say flour is the backbone or structure in baked goods, and wheat flour is required to supply the glutin; eggs are there for many functions but for sure their proteins help the structure and they emulsify give help leaven. Milk is a big contributor but can be relpace with water or juice in most cases, but what milk actually brings to the table is flavor, browning, nutrition, and preservative. As for leavening agens, they well, make the product rise--or at least the steam and CO2 make it happen. Fats play a big role in making something satisfying in the mouth, especially butter that adds browning and richness and tenderizes. And of course sugar makes stuff sweet but also browns and tenderizes.
So, just getting a little lesson in the contribution that these ingredients make in baked products, may help us to understand that we are truly putting in action some of the chemistry we learned in high school. Baking simply requires a little respect, I think. It is important to believe in the formula, and of course, use good technique in measuring those ingredients.
Unlike in cooking, exact measured amounts of ingredients is required in baking. Compactable ingredients like flour, one cup of which varies in weight at least 3-6 ounces depending on the humidity, must be spooned lightly into a dry ingredient volume measuring device. Oh, and level it off to be accurate. Don’t tap, scoop or compact it in anyway. Scooping using the measuring cup is a good way to add way too much ingredient, so avoid packing, except for brown sugar.
After all ingredients are measured accurately, pans are prepared and oven set, it is time to mix. Here is another crucial place to understand the consequences of your actions. In cooking if you happen to put the onions in after the tomato sauce your spaghetti sauce will still work. But in baking, combining in the order dictated and with the proper tool, the right speed and timing is critical.
By now you have much to assimilate so I will end this home ec lesson, only to pick it up another day with the critical points for mixing that make a big difference in everything from biscuits and muffins to pancakes. Basically the recipes are usually good---the failures are usually in our execution. Our knowledge can be good but our experience is a better indicator of how successful we are. Practice makes perfect, afteall.
Check out these 101 recipes to sharpen your baking technique.
Flour, eggs, liquids (milk, water), sugar, fats (butter, shortening, oil) and leavening, (baking powder, baking soda, eggs, air, steam) are the staples for baking. I believe that knowing what function these play in the baked good is a big step toward becoming a better baker.
If I could just pick one or two words that best remind me of their function, I would have to say flour is the backbone or structure in baked goods, and wheat flour is required to supply the glutin; eggs are there for many functions but for sure their proteins help the structure and they emulsify give help leaven. Milk is a big contributor but can be relpace with water or juice in most cases, but what milk actually brings to the table is flavor, browning, nutrition, and preservative. As for leavening agens, they well, make the product rise--or at least the steam and CO2 make it happen. Fats play a big role in making something satisfying in the mouth, especially butter that adds browning and richness and tenderizes. And of course sugar makes stuff sweet but also browns and tenderizes.
So, just getting a little lesson in the contribution that these ingredients make in baked products, may help us to understand that we are truly putting in action some of the chemistry we learned in high school. Baking simply requires a little respect, I think. It is important to believe in the formula, and of course, use good technique in measuring those ingredients.
Unlike in cooking, exact measured amounts of ingredients is required in baking. Compactable ingredients like flour, one cup of which varies in weight at least 3-6 ounces depending on the humidity, must be spooned lightly into a dry ingredient volume measuring device. Oh, and level it off to be accurate. Don’t tap, scoop or compact it in anyway. Scooping using the measuring cup is a good way to add way too much ingredient, so avoid packing, except for brown sugar.
After all ingredients are measured accurately, pans are prepared and oven set, it is time to mix. Here is another crucial place to understand the consequences of your actions. In cooking if you happen to put the onions in after the tomato sauce your spaghetti sauce will still work. But in baking, combining in the order dictated and with the proper tool, the right speed and timing is critical.
By now you have much to assimilate so I will end this home ec lesson, only to pick it up another day with the critical points for mixing that make a big difference in everything from biscuits and muffins to pancakes. Basically the recipes are usually good---the failures are usually in our execution. Our knowledge can be good but our experience is a better indicator of how successful we are. Practice makes perfect, afteall.
Check out these 101 recipes to sharpen your baking technique.
