Bakery Equipment Flashcards
What is Absolute Humidity?
The amount or degree of moisture in the air
What is Relative Humidity?
The amount of moisture in the air as compared with the amount that the air could contain at the same temperature, expressed as a percentage.
What 2 things affect Relative humidity?
- Temperature
2. Atmospheric Pressure
What happens to a product if the amount of moisture in the air is too low?
The product could dry out or form a skin
What does it mean when air is fully saturated?
When air is fully saturated, it cannot hold any more water, and therefore will not dry out products.
What happens to the air when temperature goes up?
Air will be able to hold more water as the temperature goes up
What happens to the air when temperature goes down?
Air will be able to hold less water as the temperature goes down
Why do we cover doughs with plastic?
To prevent moisture from moving from the dough into the air
Why do we not need to cover a dough that is in the proofer?
In the proofer, instead of covering the doughs, we inject steam to raise the moisture content of the air just a little below saturation. Thus, the air will not extract moisture from the doughs.
What does the oven steam do to the surface of the dough?
The steam in the oven dissolves the dextrin on the surface of the dough, which improves the gloss and sheen in the baked loaf.
Why do glasses fog up in the proofer?
Cold glasses + moist air = moisture condenses out of the air onto the glasses.
