Baking Basic Info
E. Perry
Baking Basic
Information Guide
Baking Basic Info
E. Perry
There are three ways commonly used for mixing batters and doughs. They are the
“muffing method”, the “cake method”, and the “biscuit method”. Many variations of these
three ways are possible but the following procedures are simple and satisfactory.
The Muffin Method – This one may be used for either thick or thin batters.
1. Measure the dry ingredients; sift them together in a mixing bowl, and make a well.
2. Prepare the liquid ingredients as follows
Measure the milk. Beat the eggs until light. Measure and melt the fat.
3. Mix the liquid ingredients together
4. Pour the liquids all at once into the dry ingredients. Mix lightly until all the dry
materials are moistened. The batter will have a lumpy appearance
You know a muffin is baked when it pulls away from the pan slightly, when the colour is golden
and a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the centre of the pan.
You will know that a muffin has been made correctly when it is golden in colour, slightly curved
on top but not peaked and the muffin has small air bubbles throughout the muffin. There
should be no tunnels in the muffin. Texture should be soft and chewy but not though.
Tips for Amazing muffins!
Do not over mix your muffins! If you do you will end up with tunnels (think of a worm hole in
the earth) in your muffins and they taste rubbery.
You can easily trade brown flour for white flour when making muffins, you probably will not
even notice a taste difference.
How to grease your pan:
Only grease the bottom of the pan. Do not grease up the sides, the muffin batter had to cling
and crawl up the sides of the tin.
Baking Basic Info
E. Perry
The Biscuit Method – This one may be used for either soft or stiff doughs.
1. Measure the dry ingredients and sift together into a mixing bowl.
2. Measure the fat, and add it to the dry ingredients.
3. Cut the fat into the dry ingredients, using two knives, scissors fashion by hand, or with a
pastry blender.
4. Measure the liquid and add gradually to the flour and fat mixture.
5. Mix the dough until it is the proper consistency.
6. Remove the dough to a floured board and knead about ten times. Prepare for baking.
You will know a biscuit is baked when it has become golden brown on top and has risen
approximately twice its pre-baked height. The bottom of the biscuit should also be golden in
colour.
You will know a biscuit has been baked properly as it will look golden brown in colour on the
top and bottom and have straight sides. When you open it, the biscuit should appear flakey.
The biscuit should taste creamy and should feel tended in your mouth.
Tips to making great biscuits:
Don’t over knead, you wouldn’t want to chew a hockey puck would you?
Make sure your baking sheet is as light in colour as possible. If you use a black pan your biscuits
will burn on the bottom even if they have only been in the oven for a short amount of time.
Make sure your oven is HOT between 425 and 475 degrees. This melts the fat and gives you the
flakey texture that everyone loves in a biscuit.
Add some other ingredients, cheese, spices, herbs, dried fruit and nuts are great additions to
add to increase nutritional value and great flavour to your baked goods. Make sure you add it
before your liquid goes in so you do not over mix.
How to prepare the pan
-you don’t! There is enough fat in your biscuits that they will not stick to the pan. Make sure the
pan is light in colour and not black or darkened from use.
Baking Basic Info
E. Perry
The Cake Method - This one is the most commonly used for cakes make with fat.
1. Measure and cream the fat by hand or machine.
2. Measure the sugar and add to the fat, a little at a time, continue creaming until the
mixture is light and smooth.
3. Add the eggs, beating well after each is added.
4. Measure and mix the dry ingredients together. Sift several times.
5. Measure the liquid,
6. Beginning with dry ingredients, add the dry ingredients and the liquid alternatively to
the creamed mixture.
7. Mix well after each addition. The batter should be a smooth and light.
One Bowl Cake Method
The one bowl or quick method produces a cake which is very moist, dense, with a fine and
velvety texture. As the name implies, this method is faster and easier than the creaming
method as the creaming step of the butter and sugar is eliminated.
1.
2.
3.
4.
All the dry ingredients are first put into a mixing bowl, and
Then soft butter and a little liquid are added.
This is thoroughly beaten together
Add in the eggs, flavoring, and remaining liquid are added.
Since the liquid is added after the butter and flour are combined, it reduces the gluten
formation in the flour because the fat has had a chance to coat all the flour before the
toughening action from the liquid can take place. This is why this method produces a melt-inyour-mouth cake (less gluten is formed). However, using the one bowl method does not
produce a cake with as much volume as the creaming method. This is because the butter tends
to melt into the batter, so it doesn't form as many air bubbles needed for maximum volume as
in the creaming method. The temperature of the ingredients plus the mixing speed are very
important with this method so be sure to follow your recipe's instructions.
You will know the cake is done when the cake stars to pull away from the pan sides. The cake
will be golden in colour. When a tooth pick is inserted into the centre of the cake it will come
out clean.
You will have made a great cake if it, is golden in colour, is tender, sweet and creamy in taste
and texture. The cake should not be tough and should come out of the pan easily.
Baking Basic Info
E. Perry
Tips for a great cake:
Make sure that your butter and sugar is well mixed before adding the other ingredients.
Make sure you sift the flour and dry ingredients before adding them; this will give you a lighter
cake.
If you are making a themed cake, think about using food colouring to add to the visual appeal of
the cake. Usually 15ml’s does the trick, less if it is a paste colour.
Make sure you use a spatula and wipe down the sides in between adding the wet and dry
ingredients. It will help you make sure your ingredients are all incorporated and prevent that
‘powder pocket’ effect.
Make sure you wait 5-10 minutes from the time the cake come out of the oven to the time you
take it out of the pan. If you do it too soon your cake will fall apart.
How to prepare your pan:
Grease the pan completely. If you are making a vanilla cake make sure to ‘flour’ your cake pan.
You flour your pan by sprinkling some flour around the pan after greasing it to prevent the cake
from sticking. If you are making a chocolate cake think about using coco powder to ‘flour’ your
cake pan.
You can also grease the pan and then add some parchment paper in the bottom of the pan to
help get the cake out in one piece.
Baking Basic Info
E. Perry
Cookie Types
Bar Cookies are prepared by putting the dough in a rectangular pan. They are baked and then
cut into squares. Most drop cookie recipes can be converted to this type of cookie. These are
the easiest cookies to make, because several batches are baked at once. Recipe:
Drop cookies are the easiest individual cookies to make. Balls of dough are dropped from a
spoon onto a cookie sheet. Recipe:
Molded Cookies dough is formed by the hands into shapes such as: wreaths, crescents, canes,
or balls. Balls are sometimes flattened with the bottom of a glass. Recipe:
Pressed Cookies are made by pressing the dough through a cookie press or pastry tube to form
different shapes. Recipe:
Refrigerator or Icebox Cookies are prepared by shaping the dough into long rolls and then
refrigerating them. Once cold, the dough can be sliced and baked. This is a great prepareahead-of-time dough because it can also be frozen. Recipe:
Rolled Cookies take a little more preparation. With a rolling pin, chilled dough is rolled out. The
dough is cut into shapes by using a knife, pastry wheel or cookie cutter. Recipe:
Baking Basic Info
E. Perry
Classification Of Flour Mixtures
Definitions:
Batters: flour mixture of a consistency to be poured or dropped on to the baking pan
Dough: is too thick to be beaten – It requires handling or kneading in order for the ingredients to be
proper
Classification
Liquids
Flour
Examples
Pancakes
Thin or pour batter
1 part
1 part
Waffles
250mL
250mL
Popovers
Muffins
Thick or drop batter
1 part
2 parts
Cakes
250mL
500mL
Gingerbread loaf
Biscuits
Soft Dough
1 part
3 parts
Bread
250mL
750mL
Dumplings
Pastry
Stiff Dough
1part
4 parts
Rolled
250mL
1000mL
Cookies
Some examples of liquid ingredients are:
Milk, water, juice, melted fat, oil, and egg
Baking Basic Info
E. Perry
FYI: Quick Breads – Biscuits
o
What are the basic ingredients in biscuit dough? Flour, salt, fat, milk, baking powder
o
If sour milk or buttermilk were used in biscuit dough, which leavening agent would be used to
produce carbon dioxide? Baking Soda
o
Five characteristics of a good biscuit are: Straight sides, delicate golden brown top with lighter
sides, well shaped, light weight in relation to sides, tender moist crust, delicate flavour
o
Which step in making biscuits characterizes the “biscuit method”? “Cutting in” of fat
o
What utensil(s) can be used to cut in fat? Pastry blender
o
How many strokes are recommended for kneading biscuit dough?
o
After biscuits have been cut out of the dough, what is done with the scraps? Re-rolled and cut
o
Why is space allowed between biscuits on the baking sheet? 2cm between to allow for heat
circulation
o
How does one produce biscuits with soft sides? Placing them close together
o
What steps are taken to make biscuit dough into a drop batter? The milk is increased
o
Why should the baking pan for rolled biscuits have low sides? So oven heat can move evenly
around biscuit
o
Why is the baking temperature for biscuits high? This ensured biscuits will rise quickly forming
layers which are characteristic of a good product
10-15 strokes
Using the information you have just learnt, create a flour mixture recipe of your own.
(Note: you will be expected to cook it later this year so make sure it’s good).