Home Baking
© PDST Home Economics
Advantages of Home Baking
 Better flavour
 Attractive appearance
 Cheaper
 No preservatives
 You can control ingredients
Ingredients for baking
 Flour: usually wheat flour
because it contains gluten
 Fat:
keeps bread fresh,
butter has the best flavour,
margarine is economical
Ingredients for baking
 Sugar:
granulated or castor
sugar can be used for
sweetness,
brown sugar adds a
spicy flavour,
icing sugar is used for
decorating
 Eggs:
should be fresh and at
room temperature used
to trap air
Ingredients for baking
 Fruit: fresh or
dried used to add
flavour
 Liquid: water,
milk, egg used to
make dough
Ingredients for baking
 Raising agent:
makes product
light and spongy,
can be natural,
chemical or
biological
Raising Agents
 Raising agents make bread and cakes rise in the oven
so that they have a spongy texture
 Raising agents put a gas (air and/or CO2) in the
mixture
 In the oven the heat makes the gas expand which
pushes up the mixture
 The mixture is able to stretch because of the gluten
in the flour
 After a while the heat in the oven sets the gluten so
that the mixture keeps the risen shape
Natural raising agent: Air
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Used alone in sponge cakes and
pastry or with another raising
agent in other baked goods.
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Air is put into mixtures by
Sieving
Rubbing fat into flour
Creaming sugar and fat
Whisking eggs with sugar
(a)
(b)
(c)
(d)
Chemical Raising Agents
 These depend on a chemical reaction to make the gas
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in the dough.
An alkali and an acid react to make a gas called
carbon dioxide (CO2)
Baking Powder +
Milk
= CO2
(Alkali + Acid ) + Moisture = Gas
Bread Soda +
Buttermilk
= CO2
Alkali
+
(Acid + Moisture) =
CO2
Biological Raising Agent
 Yeast
 Tiny living organisms make
CO2 in the dough
 In the oven the bubbles of
CO2 expand and pushes up
the dough, until the gluten
sets the dough
 The heat also kills the cells
Oven temperature
 Pre-heat oven to correct temperature
 Too hot – outside burns inside still raw
 Too cool – gas escapes – bread doesn’t rise
Rules for Home Baking
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Prepare tins and oven shelves in advance.
Pre-heat oven.
Use fresh ingredients.
Weigh and follow recipe carefully.
Sieve to add air.
Add liquid carefully.
Handle as little as possible, knead lightly.
Once wet put in oven a.s.a.p.
Time carefully, avoid opening door.
Test for doneness.
Cool on wire tray.
Methods of baking
Method
The rub-in method.
Used for
Scones,
Fat rubbed into flour.
yeast bread,
pastry
The creaming method.
Queen cakes
Fat and sugar creamed.
Madeira cakes
The all-in-one method.
Madeira cakes
All ingredients mixed together at once
Queen cakes
The whisking method
The melting method
Sponge cake
Meringue
Oatmeal biscuits
Ginger bread
Cake Mixes
 Mixture of flour, fat, sugar, raising agent, salt and
additives sieved blended and packed.
 When buying check expiry date and that its sealed,
store in cool place.
 When using follow instructions when adding the liquid.
 Advantages: Saves time & labour,
simple to use,
quick in emergencies.
 Disadvantages: Expensive, contain additives, lack fibre,
too much salt & sugar
Cake Mixes
Pastry
 Mixture of flour, fat and water.
 Richer pastry may have egg or sugar added.
 Many types, used for sweet or savoury dishes.
Shortcrust and Rich Shortcrust
Flaky and Puff pastry
Suet pastry and choux pastry
Filo pastry
Pastry ingredients
 Flour: plain flour only, self-raising flour makes pastry
soft.
 Fat: Butter gives good flavour, hard margarine is
economical and lard makes pastry light and crispy. A
mixture of margarine and lard can be used.
 Water: should be cold and added a little at a time to
make stiff dough.
 Air: makes pastry rise, the more air in the pastry the
better, sieving, rubbing in, rolling and folding.
Rules for making pastry
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Weigh accurately.
Keep ingredients and equipment cool.
Introduce air.
Avoid over-handling.
Use knife to mix.
Add water carefully.
Knead & roll lightly.
Relax pastry in fridge before baking.
Avoid stretching pastry.
Bake in hot oven so burst starch grains can soak up
melting fat.
Baking Blind
 Baking a pastry case
without a filling e.g. for
quiche or a fruit flan.
 The base of the case is
marked with a fork
 Grease proof paper is
spread over the base and
weighted down with dried
beans.