Flour Mixtures: Quick breads, Cakes & Cookies

Question 1

What are quick breads

Answer 1

Bread leavened quickly by air, steam or chemicals (compared to yeast)

Question 2

What are the 5 basic ingredients of quick breads?

Answer 2

Flour
Liquid
Salt
Leavening Agent
Others (Fat, eggs, sugar)

Question 3

What does flour provides for quick breads?

Answer 3

Not so much gluten formation because low protein & high water ratio
Structure provided by gelatinization of starch

Question 4

What does the liquid provides in quick breads?

Answer 4

Provides a dispersion medium allowing to mix ingredients (baking soda in contact with acid)
Hydrates starch into granules

Question 5

Why do some recipes includes both baking soda and baking powder

Answer 5

The baking powder can provide an extra lift

The baking soda can neutralize the extra acid

Question 6

What does fat do in quick breads? (3)

Answer 6

Tenderizes (interferes with gluten development)
Improves the volume (stabilizes air bubbles)
Delays starch retrogradation

Question 7

What is the effect of sugars in quick breads? (2)

Answer 7

Tenderizes and moistens (hygroscopic)

Caramelizes with heat

Question 8

What do eggs do in quick breads?

Answer 8

Provide structural integrity as they coagulate during baking

Distributes the fat (emulsifier)

Question 9

What are the 3 flour mixtures possible for quick breads? (3)

Answer 9

Soft dough

Drop & Pour batter

Question 10

What happens when the quick bread mixture is heated?

Answer 10

Gasses expand
Starch gelatinizes
Proteins (egg, milk) coagulates
(all of which makes the structure set)
Outer surface browns (Maillard + caramelization)

Question 11

What is the muffin method preparation for quick breads?

Answer 11

Dry ingredients are sifted together
Moist ingredients combined together
Stir dry & moist until moistened

Question 12

What are 4 poor batter products and how do they differ?

Answer 12

Pancakes (muffin preparation method)
Crepes (no chemical leavening agent)
Waffles (more fat than pancakes, beaten egg holds air)
Popovers (a lot of egg, leavened by steam)

Question 13

What happens when drop batters are over/under-mixed

Answer 13

Over: High gluten formation (form gluten tunnels –> loss of CO2)
Under: leavening agent not mixed nor moistened (lower volume and more crumbly)

Question 14

What happens when whole wheat flour or bran is added for drop batters?

Answer 14

Denser product due to inhibited gluten formation (bran cuts the gluten)

Question 15

What are the 3 types of cakes and how do they differ?

Answer 15

Shortened (solid fat + creaming/whipping) = Birthday cake
Unshortened (without fat + beating/folding) = Angel food cake
Chiffon (hybrid: veg oil & separated eggs + beating/folding) = light and airy but richer than unshortened

Question 16

Place in order of gluten content: cake flour, rye, pastry flour, barley, bread flour, all purpose flour

Answer 16

from low to high
Barley
Rye
Cake Flour
Pastry Flour
All-Purpose Flour
Bread Flour

Question 17

What are the 6 basic ingredients in cakes?

Answer 17

Cake Flour = low protein and more acidic for greater volume
Sugar (hygroscopic –> moisture + delays gluten)
Fat (traps air and delays gluten)
Eggs (emulsify and strengthen)
Milk (hydrates, provides acid)
Leavening agents (allows control pH = color)

Question 18

What are some changes to commercial cake mixes compared to homemade? (4)

Answer 18

Antioxidants (retards oxidation)
Emulsifiers = mono-di-glycerides (fat more finely dispersed, retards staling)
Slow dissolving baking powder

Question 19

What is the main difference between cookies and cakes?

Answer 19

Cookies have a lower water content and higher fat & sugar content

Question 20

What are the 6 cookie categories?

Answer 20

Dropped (will not spread too much)
Bar (poured in shallow pan
Pressed (viscous enough to be forced out)
Molded (heavy enough to be shaped before cooking)
Rolled (heavier than molded so can cut shapes into)
Icebox (same as rolled)