BAKING
Ingredients and Techniques
for Baking
Ingredient Basics
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Flour
Liquid
Leavening Agents
Fat
Sweeteners
Eggs
Flavoring
Flour
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Proteins and starch you find in nearly
every baked product
The protein in flour is called gluten
What is Gluten: Protein that affects the
texture of baked products. This gives a
baked product it’s structure
Types of Flour
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All-Purpose Flour
Bread Flour
Cake Flour
Self-Rising Flour
Bread Flour
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Strong gluten level
Used for making
breads, hard rolls,
or any product that
requires high
gluten
Cake Flour
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Low gluten
Pure white color
Used for cakes and
other delicate
baked goods
All Purpose Flour
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Seen mostly in retail stores
Most popular in American Kitchen
Formulated to be weaker than bread flour
so it can be used for pastries
Liquid
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Plays role of physical
& chemical changes
Gluten can not be
formed without liquid
Milk and Water are
most commonly used
Leavening Agents
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This triggers a chemical reaction causing a
baked product to rise
Common Leavening Agents
 Air
 Steam
 Yeast
 Baking Soda
 Baking Powder
Yeast
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Microorganism that
produces carbon
dioxide gas as it
grows
It needs food in
order to grow
(flour, sugar, liquid,
and a warm
temperature)
Baking Soda
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Produces carbon dioxide gas when liquid
is added
Note: recipe must include an acidic
product (buttermilk, honey, chocolate)
Keep out of a moist atmosphere, loses
leavening power after it gets wet
Remember Volcanoes?
Baking Powder
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Making powder + powdered acid
(Example: cream of tarter)
Require mixing and heating to
become active and create carbon
dioxide
Q. If you bake a Cake and it doesn’t
rise what may have happened?
Fat
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Adds richness, flavor, and tenderness to
baked products. They can be solid or
liquid
Types of fat
 Shortening
 Butter or Margarine
 Oils
 Lard
Sweeteners
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Helps make products tender, adds
sweetness and flavor, and helps crust
brown. (Sugar is most commonly used)
Types
 Granulated white sugar
 Brown sugar
 Honey
 Corn syrup
 Powder Sugar
 Molasses
Eggs
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Add flavor, nutrients, richness, color, and
structure to baked products.
When beaten eggs add air to mixture
To reduce fat add 2 egg whites in place of
1 whole egg
Flavoring
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Fruits, vegetables,
and nuts add
nutrients to baked
goods
Extracts are
flavorings in liquid
form (Vanilla and
Almond are common)
Combining Ingredients
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The amount of liquid in relation to the
amount of flour determines whether a mixture
is a dough or batter.
Pour VS. Drop
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Pour Batters are thin enough to pour
Example: cakes, waffles, and pancakes)
Drop Batters are thick and usually spooned
into pans
Example: muffins and cookies
Soft Dough VS. Stiff Dough
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Soft Doughs are soft and sticky but can be
touched and handled
(Examples: rolled biscuits, yeast breads and
rolls)
Soft Dough VS. Stiff Dough
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Stiff Dough is firm to touch easy to work with
and cut
(Examples: pie crust and some cookies