CHAPTER 3: OVERVIEW OF THE BAKING PROCESS Flashcards
What three distinct stages occur in baking once ingredients are weighed?
First, ingredients are mixed into batters or doughs. Next, the batter or dough is baked, and finally it is cooled.
Why are the three distinct steps so hard to control?
Many chemical and physical changes occur in products as they pass through all three phases.
Why is proper weighing of ingredients important?
Successful formulas are carefully balanced mixtures of structure builders (tougheners), tenderizers, moisteners and driers.
What are structure builders?
Ingredients that hold the volume and shape of baked goods.
Name this method: All ingredients are mixed until dough is smooth and well developed. Examples?
Straight dough method; yeast-raised breads.
Name this method: Liquid, yeast, part of flour, part of sugar mixed into batter or dough (called a sponge or preferment) and allowed to ferment; added to remaining ingredients and mixed until dough is smooth and well developed. Examples?
Sponge and dough method; yeast raised breads made with poolish (liquid sponge), biga (Italian sponge, usually stiff), leaving (naturally fermented sponge), or other sponge or preferment.
Name this method: Shortening and sugar creamed; eggs added, then liquids (if any) added alternately with sifted dry ingredients at low speed. Examples?
Creaming or conventional method; shortened cakes and coffee cakes, cookies, cake-like muffins.
Name this method: Sifted dry ingredients blended on low speed; softened fat cut in with paddle; liquids added slowly to blend in two stages (eggs added in second stage), then beaten to aerate. Examples?
Two-stage or blending method; high-ratio cakes.
Name this method: All ingredients blended on low speed, then whipped on high, and finally medium speed to aerate. Examples?
Liquid shortening method; High-ratio liquid shortening cakes.
Name this method: Warmed whole eggs (or yolks) and sugar whipped until very light and thick; liquids added, sifted dry ingredients gently folded in, followed by melted butter (if required) or whipped whites (if separated). Examples?
Sponge or whipping method; Sponge cake (biscuit), genoise, lady fingers, madeleins.
Name this method: Egg whites and sugar whipped until soft peaks form; sifted dry ingredients gently folded in. Examples?
Angel food method; Angel food cake.
Name this method: Sifted dry ingredients stirred or blended on low speed; oil and other liquid ingredients added and lightly blended until smooth; egg whites and sugar whipped until soft peaks form and folded into flour-oil mixture. Examples?
Chiffon method; Chiffon cake.
Name this method: Sifted dry ingredients stirred or blended on low speed; liquid fat and other liquid ingredients added in one stage and lightly blended just until moistened. Examples?
Muffin or one-stage method; muffins, quick breads, quick coffee cakes.
Name this method: Sifted dry ingredients stirred or blended on low speed; solid fat rubbed or cut in by hand or with paddle; liquids stirred in gently. Examples?
Biscuit or pastry method; biscuits, scones, pie pastry, blitz puff pastry.
What are the opposite of structure builders? What do they do?
Tenderizers are ingredients in baked goods that interfere with the formation of structure.
Why is a certain amount of tenderizing necessary in all baked goods?
So that they are easy to bite into and pleasant to eat.
What happens when too much tenderizer is added?
Causes products to crumble and fall apart.
Examples of tenderizers.
Sugars and syrups, fats and oils, and leavening agents.
Moisteners include what?
Water and ingredients that contain water, such as milk, eggs, cream, and syrups. Moisteners also include liquid fat ingredients, such as oil.
What happens when you add too many structure builders?
It causes toughening.
Examples of structure builders.
Flour, eggs, cocoa powder and starch.
What specific components in flour make it a structure builder?
Gluten protein molecules and starch molecules.
What specific component of eggs makes them structure builders?
The egg protein molecules.
What are the opposite of moisteners? What do they do to moisteners?
Driers are ingredients that absorb moisteners.
Examples of driers.
Flour, cornstarch, dry milk solids, and cocoa powder.
Is oil both a tenderizer and moistener?
Yes
Is flour a structure builder and drier?
Yes
Two methods used to make muffins.
Muffin method and creaming method.
Obvious reason to mix ingredients.
Mixing distributes ingredients evenly throughout batters and doughs.
What do batters and doughs do to air while mixing?
Trap it.
What do air cells eventually form in baked goods?
The crumb.
The many pockets or air and other gases in batters and doughs.
Air cells
The air cells are surround by cell walls which consist or what?
A continuous network of egg and gluten proteins embedded within starch and other particles.
Because of the ability of batters and dough to trap air and gas cells they are sometimes referred to as what?
Foams
When is a baked good considered a sponge? Why?
Once cell walls set into a porous crumb during baking because air is no longer trapped inside.
Is the term “sponge” used only for certain textures?
No, it’s used whether the product has a springy, spongy texture or not.
What is meant by the “crumb” or “grain?”
The soft inside of a baked good.
What is air composed of? Percentages?
A mixture of gases: 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 1% argon, .04% carbon dioxide.
Most important gas in air? Why?
Oxygen because it is required for life and many chemical reactions important to the baker.
What does oxygen do for gluten and flour?
Strengthens gluten and whitens flour.
Oxygen causes certain destructive reactions such as what?
Rancidity of fats and oils.
Why are nuts often vacuum-packed?
To avoid rancidity from exposure to oxygen.
Amount of water in strawberries.
92%
Amount of water in lemon juice.
91%
Amount of water in orange juice.
88%
Amount of water in whole milk.
88%
Amount of water in whole eggs.
75%
Amount of water in bananas.
74%
Amount of water in sour cream.
71%
Amount of water in cream cheese.
54%
Amount of water in jellies and jams.
30%
Amount of water in butter.
18%
Amount of water in honey.
17%
Amount of water in raisins.
15%
Do most air cells and gas bubbles start fairly large?
Yes
What happens to air cells with continued mixing?
They break into smaller ones.
Why do gases and air cells become important during baking?
While more gases are generated during baking, no new air cells form. This means if baked good are to have proper structure they must be mixed properly.
Throughout the mixing process, what breaks up large particles?
The friction of the mixer on the batter or dough.
What does breaking up large particles help accomplish?
Allows them to dissolve or hydrate faster in water.
What happens as particles hydrate?
Water becomes less able to move freely and the batter or dough becomes thicker.
What is the universal solvent?
Water
Is the ability of water to dissolve or hydrate particles an important part of mixing?
Yes
How does water play a part in mixing even when it is not an ingredient in the formula?
Because many ingredients are significant sources of water.
What happens until molecules either dissolve or are hydrated in water?
They do not act as expected.
Undissolved sugar crystals aren’t able to do what?
Moisten or tenderize cakes, to stabilize whipped egg whites or to taste sweet.
Undissolved salt is unable to do what?
Slow yeast fermentation or preserve food.
Undissolved baking powder doesn’t produce what?
Carbon dioxide for leavening.
Do many large molecules such as proteins and starches dissolve?
No, they hydrate.
When does hydration occur?
When large molecules attract and bond to water.
Layers of water form what around hydrated molecules?
Liquid shells that suspend them.
Why does flour need to hydrate?
To form the flexible web called gluten.
Why is gluten important for what in baking?
Proper volume and crumb structure.
What else does water do for yeast?
It activates yeast and allows fermentation to occur. Without sufficient water, yeast cells remain dormant or die.
What is dough autolysis?
Refers to a rest period that follows a brief, slow mixing of the flour and water that is used in yeast dough.
How long is the rest period for autolysis?
About 30 minutes.
What happens during the autolysis rest period?
Water hydrates proteins and starches, improving extensibility, or stretchiness, of doughs.
Does autolysis reduce total mixing time of dough? What does this accomplish?
Yes, which reduces the dough’s exposure to oxygen in air.
What is good and bad about oxygen in dough?
Some exposure is desirable for dough development but some bakers believe that too much oxygen causes the flavor of bread to deteriorate and the color to bleach excessively.
Two-step process for pie pastry dough.
Solid fat is first mixed or rubbed into flour before water is added.
Why is it important to rub plenty of fat into the flour for pie dough?
Flour particles coated with fat will not easily absorb water. This limits the ability of structure building gluten to form, and makes for a more tender pie pastry.
Why are pie pastries made by rubbing fat thoroughly into flour considered short or mealy?
Because they are so tender that they crumble into short or corn-meal size pieces
Mealy pie pastry is less likely to do what?
Absorb pie juices and toughen.
More often, what type of pie pastry is considered more desirable?
Flakey over mealy.
What is required of fat chunks for flakiness?
The solid fat remains in chunks; the larger and more solid the chunks, the flakier the pie pastry.
Explain the process for flakey pastry dough.
Solid fat is rubbed into flour just until it is the size of hazelnuts of lima beans. Then, the dough is rolled to flatten the lumps of fat and distribute them evenly throughout.
Why are flakiness and tenderness usually at odds?
For flakiness, fat is kept as large chunks; for tenderness and mealiness, fat is thoroughly rubbed into flour.
Why must ice cold water be used for flaky pastry?
The fat must remain in solid chunks. If it melts from water that is too warm, the pastry will be mealy.
Which is more at risk to become tough, flaky or mealy pastry? Why?
Flakey pie pastry is particularly at risk for toughening because flour particles in flaky pastry are not well coated with fat; water can penetrate more easily.
What is done to allow moisture absorption of pastry dough without excessive mixing?
The dough is chilled for several hours or overnight before continuing. This allows moisture absorption and keeps fat from smearing into dough.
How do you create a pie pastry that is flaky and tender?
Limit the extent of mixing, both before and after water is added, and chill the dough before rolling and baking.
What ingredient is a convenient means for adjusting the temperature of batters and doughs?
Water
Why is water a convenient means for adjusting the temperature of pastry pie dough?
Cold water helps regulate the temperature of fat and ensures a flakier crust.
Why is water a convenient means for adjusting the temperature of bread-making?
Carefully controlling water temperature in bread-making ensures that mixed dough is at the proper temperature for fermentation. A small amount of frictional heat is acceptable, even desirable, but too much warms yeast doughs above the ideal temperature for proper fermentation.
Does the amount of water in batters and doughs affect their viscosity or consistency?
Yes
