You are on page 1of 16

BASIC INGREDIENTS

1. FLOUR- is the basic ingredients in cakes, pastries, breads and scores of other baked
products. It provides the structure or framework of the food.
Three types of flour
a. Bread Flour - composed of a protein content of 11-13%, this flour is used for breads
and other baked products that require high quality gluten formation. It is said that
gluten formation contributes to t he chewiness of a cookie.
b. Cake Flour- one of the most delicate kinds of flour. It is used for delicate cakes like
chiffon. Its low protein content 7-8% prevents too much gluten formation, which
results to a softer baked product. It is also used in making waffles and pancakes.
c. All Purpose Flour - the most popular kind of flour. Contains a neutral protein
percentage of 9.5-11.5% which makes it the most widely used flour in the pantry. In
can be used for all baked products with moderation in mixing.
2. SALT- an essential ingredient to any baked product. It acts as a binder to all ingredients
and a seasoning as well.
3. SUGAR- a sweet substance widely used in baking. It gives moisture to cakes, chewiness
to cookies, life to the yeast and sweetness to desserts.
Types
a. White/granulated/refined sugar - it is the most widely used sugar in the pantry.
b. Brown sugar- refined sugar that has been mixed with molasses. Best for quick breads
and heavy cakes. Molasses contributes color and moisture to any baked products.
c. Powdered/Confectioners' sugar - refined sugar that has been ground with aa small
amount of cornstarch to form a powdery substance. Used to make icings and
decorative items

4. FAT - is also needed for baking because it makes the baked products tender, moist and
rich. Butter or margarine are usually preferred because of their flavor and for additional
color. Shortening is also often used while others specify oil.
5. LEAVENING AGENTS - make cakes rise. These produce carbon dioxide largely
responsible for the rising of the cake or its volume. They also make the cake light and
porous. Examples are : baking powder, baking sode and instant dry yeast.
6. Liquid - hold the batter or dough together and to blend all the ingredients . liquid can be
in the form of water, milk or juice.
For additional structure, richness and nutrition eggs are added - either whole, just egg
yolks, or just egg whites.
Prepared by:

Miss Sarah Jane Lingbaoan


COOKIES

The term cookie is derived from the Dutch word koekje meaning small cake. And it was what the
very first cookies were. Drops of the cake batter were used to test the heat of the oven. Cookies
come in different shapes, sizes and textures.

 are most commonly baked until crisp or just long enough that they remain soft, but
some kinds of cookies are not baked at all. Cookies are made in a wide variety of
styles, using an array of ingredients including sugars, spices, chocolate, butter,
peanut butter, nuts or dried fruits..

TYPES OF COOKIES

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.

Drop cookies are the easiest individual cookies to make.


Balls of dough are dropped from a spoon onto a cookie sheet.

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.

Prepared by:

Miss Sarah Jane Lingbaoan


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 prepare-ahead-of-time dough because
it can also be frozen.

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.

BAKING TIPS

1. Drop cookies leaving about 2" in between to allow for spreading.


2. Make cookies of the same size and thickness so they will bake at the same time.
3. For uniformity in size and shape, drop cookies can be made using a small ice cream
scoop or for molded cookies the dough can be weighed.
4. If you only have 1 or 2 baking sheets you can use it repeatedly for one batch of cookies
but make sure you cool it first. Otherwise, the cookie dough will start melting before it
reaches the oven and it will spread too much.
5. Remove cookies from the baking sheet while hot, don't wait for them to cool and become
crisp in the pan.
6. To prevent overspreading of drop cookies, chill the dough for a few minutes.

STORING COOKIES
Prepared by:

Miss Sarah Jane Lingbaoan


1. Crisp, thin cookies should be cooled then stored in containers with a loose cover. If they
become soft, you can reheat them in a 300 F oven for about 5 minutes until crisp again.
2. Soft cookies must be cooled then kept in tightly covered containers to preserve their
moistness.
3. Bar type cookies may be kept covered with plastic wrap in the pan.
Uncooked refrigerator cookie dough must be well - wrapped then stored either in the
refrigerator or freezer.

CAKES

A cake is always a special treat whether there is a celebration or not. Cakes range from simple,
unadorned loaves to elegant creations made from layers of feather-light cake filled and frosted
with a variety of sweet things.

Types of cakes:

Shortened Cake or Butter Cake -


cake made of butter, sugar, eggs, flour, leavening
agents and liquid. The volume of the cake is largely
due to the leaveners. The butter is creamed together
with the sugar then the eggs are added one at a time.
The dry and liquid ingredients are then alternatively
added.

Prepared by:

Miss Sarah Jane Lingbaoan


Chiffon Cake - cake made from a lot of eggs,
flour, liquid, sugar, baking powder and oil.
The volume and lightness of the cake is due to
the whisked eggwhites. The dry ingredients
are mixed with eggyolks, liquid and oil. The
eggwhites are beaten with sugar until stiff.
The two mixtures are folded in to complete
the batter.

Sponge Cake- cake similar in ingredients to the


chiffon cake except for the oil. This cake does
not use oil although sometimes the recipe calls
for melted butter. The eggs separately beaten
until thick then folded together. The flour is
added last.

Prepared by:

Miss Sarah Jane Lingbaoan


Angel Food Cake- cake made from eggwhites,
flour and sugar. It does not contain any fat. A meringue is
made from the eggwhites and sugar then the flour is folded
in.

ERRORS IN CAKE MAKING.

1. Sticking to Pan insufficient greasing of pan, Underbaking


2. Poor Volume wrong baking temperature, not
enough leavening agents, too much liquid or fat, wrong pan
size, undermixing, (for chiffon and sponge cake) - insufficient
beating of eggs, overfolding, underbaking
3. Cracked or peaked top oven too hot, too much flour
4. Sunken top too much sugar or fat, too much liquid, underbaking
5. Coarse, dry crumb too much leavening agent, too much
flour, too little liquid or sugar, overbaking
6. Tough texture overmixing, too little fat or sugar, overbaking
7. Crumbly cake too much fat or sugar, undermixing
8. Large holes or tunnels overbeating, too much leavening agent

Prepared by:

Miss Sarah Jane Lingbaoan


A word on Frostings

A frosting is a mixture that is used to cover a cake decoratively to enhance its presentation.
There are various kinds of frostings either cooked or uncooked.

1. Butter icing - butter is creamed until fluffy then


a cold mixture of milk and sugar is gradually beaten in.

2. Fluffy frosting- butter is creamed


with confectioner's sugar until fluffy.

Prepared by:

Miss Sarah Jane Lingbaoan


3. Boiled white frosting - a syrup is made from sugar and water then poured while boiling
hot into beaten eggwhites.

4. Royal icing - eggwhites are beaten with


confectioner's sugar until smooth and thick.

5. Chocolate Fudge Frosting - chocolates is


melted and cooked with either condensed milk or
milk thickened with eggyolk or cornstarch and
cookes until of spreading consistency.

6. Whipped cream- cream is whipped until thick and


fluffy then sweetened with confectioner's sugar.

Prepared by:

Miss Sarah Jane Lingbaoan


7. Buttercream- a syrup is made from sugar
and water then beaten into eggyolks. The mixture is
cooled then later on beaten into creamed butter.

Cake is a form of sweet dessert that is typically baked. In its oldest forms, cakes were
modifications of breads, but cakes now cover a wide range of preparations that can be simple or
elaborate, and that share features with other desserts such as pastries, meringues, custards, and
pies.

Typical cake ingredients are flour, sugar, eggs, butter or oil, a liquid, and leavening agents, such
as baking soda and/or baking powder. Common additional ingredients and flavourings include
dried, candied, or fresh fruit, nuts, cocoa, and extracts such as vanilla, with numerous
substitutions for the primary ingredients. Cakes can also be filled with fruit preserves or dessert
sauces (like pastry cream), iced with buttercream or other icings, and decorated with marzipan,
piped borders, or candied fruit.

Cake is often served as a celebratory dish on ceremonial occasions, such as weddings,


anniversaries, and birthdays. There are countless cake recipes; some are bread-like, some are rich
and elaborate, and many are centuries old. Cake making is no longer a complicated procedure;
while at one time considerable labor went into cake making (particularly the whisking of egg
foams), baking equipment and directions have been simplified so that even the most amateur
cook may bake a cake.

History

The term "cake" has a long history. The word itself is of Viking origin, from the Old Norse word
"kaka".

Although clear examples of the difference between cake and bread are easy to find, the precise
classification has always been elusive.[3] For example, banana bread may be properly considered
either a quick bread or a cake.

The Greeks invented beer as a leavener, frying fritters in olive oil, and cheesecakes using goat's milk.[4] In
ancient Rome, basic bread dough was sometimes enriched with butter, eggs, and honey, which
produced a sweet and cake-like baked good. Latin poet Ovid refers his and his brother's birthday
party and cake in his first book of exile, Tristia.

Early cakes in England were also essentially bread: the most obvious differences between a
"cake" and "bread" were the round, flat shape of the cakes, and the cooking method, which
turned cakes over once while cooking, while bread was left upright throughout the baking
process.
Prepared by:

Miss Sarah Jane Lingbaoan


Sponge cakes, leavened with beaten eggs, originated during the Renaissance, possibly in Spain.

Varieties
Cakes are broadly divided into several categories, based primarily on ingredients and mixing
techniques.

 Butter cakes are made from creamed butter, sugar, eggs, and flour. They rely on the
combination of butter and sugar beaten for an extended time to incorporate air into the
batter.[10] A classic pound cake is made with a pound each of butter, sugar, eggs, and
flour. Baking powder is in many butter cakes, such as Victoria sponge. The ingredients
are sometimes mixed without creaming the butter, using recipes for simple and quick
cakes.

 Sponge cakes (or foam cakes) are made from whipped eggs, sugar, and flour. They rely
primarily on trapped air in a protein matrix (generally of beaten eggs) to provide
leavening, sometimes with a bit of baking powder or other chemical leaven added as
insurance. Sponge cakes are thought to be the oldest cakes made without yeast. An angel
food cake is a white sponge cake that uses only the whites of the eggs and is traditionally
baked in a tube pan. The French Génoise is a sponge cake that includes clarified butter.
Highly decorated sponge cakes with lavish toppings are sometimes called gateau; the
French word for cake.

 Chiffon cakes are sponge cakes with vegetable oil, which adds moistness.

 Chocolate cakes are butter cakes, sponge cakes, or other cakes flavored with melted
chocolate or cocoa powder. German chocolate cake is a variety of chocolate cake. Fudge
cakes are chocolate cakes that contains fudge.

 Coffee cake is generally thought of as a cake to serve with coffee or tea at breakfast or at
a coffee break. Some types use yeast as a leavening agent while others use baking soda
and/or baking powder. These cakes often have a crumb topping called streusel and/or a
light glaze drizzle.

 Baked flourless cakes include baked cheesecakes and flourless chocolate cakes.
Cheesecakes, despite their name, aren't really cakes at all. Cheesecakes are in fact custard
pies, with a filling made mostly of some form of cheese (often cream cheese,
mascarpone, ricotta, or the like), and have very little flour added, although a flour-based
or graham cracker crust may be used. Cheesecakes are also very old, with evidence of
honey-sweetened cakes dating back to ancient Greece.

Prepared by:

Miss Sarah Jane Lingbaoan


 Butter or oil layer cakes include most of the traditional cakes used as birthday cakes, etc.,
and those sold as packaged cakes. Baking powder or bicarbonate of soda are used to
provide both lift and a moist texture. Many flavorings and ingredients may be added;
examples include devil's food cake, carrot cake, and banana bread.

 Yeast cakes are the oldest and are very similar to yeast breads. Such cakes are often very
traditional in form, and include such pastries as babka and stollen.

Food and techniques

A terracotta baking mould for pastry or bread, representing goats and a lion attacking a cow.
Early 2nd millennium BC, Royal palace at Mari, Syria
All types of food can be baked but some require special care and protection from direct heat.
Various techniques have been developed to provide this protection.
In addition to bread, baking is used to prepare cakes, pastries, pies, tarts, quiches, cookies,
scones, crackers, pretzels, and more. These popular items are known collectively as "baked
goods," and are often sold at a bakery, which is a store that carries only baked goods, or at
markets, grocery stores, or through other venues.
Meat, including cured meats, such as ham can also be baked, but baking is usually reserved for
meatloaf, smaller cuts of whole meats, or whole meats that contain stuffing or coating such as
bread crumbs or buttermilk batter. Some foods are surrounded with moisture during baking by
placing a small amount of liquid (such as water or broth) in the bottom of a closed pan, and
letting it steam up around the food, a method commonly known as braising or slow baking.
Larger cuts prepared without stuffing or coating are more often roasted, which is a similar
process, using higher temperatures and shorter cooking times. Roasting, however, is only
suitable for finer cuts of meat, so other methods have been developed to make tougher meat cuts
palatable after baking. One of these is the method known asen croûte (French for "in a crust"),
which protects the food from direct heat and seals the natural juices inside. Meat, poultry, game,
fish or vegetables can be prepared by baking en croûte. Well-known examples include Beef
Wellington, where the beef is encased in pastrybefore baking; pâté en croûte, where the terrine is
encased in pastry before baking; and the Vietnamese variant, a meat-filled pastry called pâté
chaud. The en croûte method also allows meat to be baked by burying it in the embers of a fire -
a favourite method of cooking venison. In this case, the protective casing (or crust) is made from
Prepared by:

Miss Sarah Jane Lingbaoan


a paste of flour and water and is discarded before eating. Salt can also be used to make a
protective crust that is not eaten. Another method of protecting food from the heat while it is
baking, is to cook it en papillote (French for "in parchment"). In this method, the food is covered
by baking paper (or aluminium foil) to protect it while it is being baked. The cooked parcel of
food is sometimes served unopened, allowing diners to discover the contents for themselves
which adds an element of surprise.
Eggs can also be used in baking to produce savoury or sweet dishes. In combination with dairy
products especially cheese, they are often prepared as a dessert. For example, although a baked
custard can be made using starch (in the form of flour, cornflour, arrowroot, or potato flour), the
flavour of the dish is much more delicate if eggs are used as the thickening agent. Baked
custards, such as crème caramel, are among the items that need protection from an oven's direct
heat, and the bain-marie method serves this purpose. The cooking container is half submerged in
water in another, larger one, so that the heat in the oven is more gently applied during the baking
process. Baking a successful soufflé requires that the baking process be carefully controlled. The
oven temperature must be absolutely even and the oven space not shared with another dish.
These factors, along with the theatrical effect of an air-filled dessert, have given this baked food
a reputation for being a culinary achievement. Similarly, a good baking technique (and a good
oven) are also needed to create a baked Alaska because of the difficulty of baking hot meringue
and cold ice cream at the same time.
Baking can also be used to prepare various other foods such as pizzas, baked potatoes, baked
apples, baked beans, some casseroles and pasta dishes such as lasagne.

Baking in ancient times

The first evidence of baking occurred when humans took wild grass grains, soaked them in
water, and mixed everything together, mashing it into a kind of broth-like paste. [4] The paste was
cooked by pouring it onto a flat, hot rock, resulting in a bread-like substance. Later, when
humans mastered fire, the paste was roasted on hot embers, which made bread-making easier, as
it could now be made any time fire was created. The world's oldest oven Aga cooker was
discovered in Croatia in 2014 dating back 6500 years ago. [5] TheAncient Egyptians baked bread
using yeast, which they had previously been using to brew beer. [6] Bread baking began in Ancient
Greecearound 600 BC, leading to the invention of enclosed ovens.[6] "Ovens and worktables have
been discovered in archaeological digs from Turkey (Hacilar) to Palestine (Jericho) and date
back to 5600 BCE."[7]
Baking flourished during the Roman Empire. Beginning around 300 BC, the pastry cook became
an occupation for Romans (known as the pastillarium) and became a respected profession
because pastries were considered decadent, and Romans loved festivity and celebration. Thus,
pastries were often cooked especially for large banquets, and any pastry cook who could invent
new types of tasty treats was highly prized. Around 1 AD, there were more than three hundred
pastry chefs in Rome, and Cato wrote about how they created all sorts of diverse foods and
flourished professionally and socially because of their creations. Cato speaks of an enormous
number of breads including; libum (sacrificial cakes made with flour), placenta (groats and
cress), spira (our modern day flour pretzels), scibilata (tortes), savaillum (sweet cake), and
globus apherica (fritters). A great selection of these, with many different variations, different

Prepared by:

Miss Sarah Jane Lingbaoan


ingredients, and varied patterns, were often found at banquets and dining halls. The Romans
baked bread in an oven with its own chimney, and had mills to grind grain into flour. A bakers'
guild was established in 168 BC in Rome.[6]

Commercial baking

Vincent van Gogh - The Bakery in Noordstraat (1882)


Eventually, the Roman art of baking became known throughout Europe and eventually spread to
eastern parts of Asia. By the 13th century in London, commercial trading, including baking, had
many regulations attached. In the case of food, they were designed to create a system "so there
was little possibility of false measures, adulterated food or shoddy manufactures." There were by
that time twenty regulations applying to bakers alone, including that every baker had to have "the
impression of his seal" upon each loaf of bread.[8]
Beginning in the 19th century, alternative leavening agents became more common, such as
baking soda.[6] Bakers often baked goods at home and then sold them in the streets. This scene
was so common that Rembrandt, among others, painted a pastry chef selling pancakes in the
streets of Germany, with children clamoring for a sample. In London, pastry chefs sold their
goods from handcarts. This developed into a delivery system of baked goods to households and
greatly increased demand as a result. In Paris, the first open-air café of baked goods was
developed, and baking became an established art throughout the entire world.

Schulze Baking Company Factory (1914-15)


Every family used to prepare the bread for its own consumption, the trade of baking, not having
yet taken shape.
Mrs Beeton (1861)[9]
Baking eventually developed into a commercial industry using automated machinery which
enabled more goods to be produced for widespread distribution. In the United States, the baking
industry "was built on marketing methods used during feudal times and production techniques
developed by the Romans."[10] Some makers of snacks such as potato chips or crisps have
produced baked versions of their snack products as an alternative to the usual cooking method of
deep-frying in an attempt to reduce their calorie or fat content. Baking has opened up doors to
businesses such as cake shops and factories where the baking process is done with larger
amounts in large, open furnaces.
The aroma and texture of baked goods as they come out of the oven are strongly appealing but is
a quality that is quickly lost. Since the flavour and appeal largely depend on freshness,
commercial producers have to compensate by using food additives as well as imaginative
labeling. As more and more baked goods are purchased from commercial suppliers, producers
try to capture that original appeal by adding the label "home-baked." Such attempts seek to make
an emotional link to the remembered freshness of baked goods as well as to attach positive
associations the purchaser has with the idea of "home" to the bought product. Freshness is such
an important quality that restaurants, although they are commercial (and not domestic) preparers
Prepared by:

Miss Sarah Jane Lingbaoan


of food, bake their own products. For example, scones at The Ritz London Hotel"are not baked
until early afternoon on the day they are to be served, to make sure they are as fresh as
possible."[11]

Equipment
Baking needs an enclosed space for heating - typically in an oven. The fuel can be supplied by
wood, coal, gas, or electricity. Adding and removing items from an oven may be done by hand
with an oven mitt or by a peel, a long handled tool specifically used for that purpose.
Many commercial ovens are provided with two heating elements: one for baking, using
convection and thermal conduction to heat the food, and one for broiling or grilling, heating
mainly by radiation. Another piece of equipment still used for baking is the Dutch oven. "Also
called a bake kettle, bastable, bread oven, fire pan, bake oven kail pot, tin kitchen, roasting
kitchen, doufeu (French: "gentle fire") or feu de compagne (French: "country oven") [it]
originally replaced the cooking jack as the latest fireside cooking technology," combining "the
convenience of pot-oven and hangover oven."[12]

Process

Baked goods
There are eleven events that occur concurrently during baking, and some of them, such as starch
glutenization, would not occur at room temperature.[13]

1. Fats melt;

2. Gases form and expand

3. Microorganisms die

4. Sugar dissolves

5. Egg and gluten proteins coagulate

6. Starches gelatinise

7. Gases evaporate

8. Caramelization and Maillard browning occur on crust

9. Enzymes are inactivated

10.Changes occur to nutrients

Prepared by:

Miss Sarah Jane Lingbaoan


11.Pectin breaks down.[14]
The dry heat of baking changes the form of starches in the food and causes its outer surfaces to
brown, giving it an attractive appearance and taste. The browning is caused by caramelization of
sugars and the Maillard reaction. Maillard browning occurs when "sugars break down in the
presence of proteins". Because foods contain many different types of sugars and proteins,
Maillard browning contributes to the flavour of a wide range of foods, including nuts, roast beef
and baked bread."[15] The moisture is never entirely "sealed in"; over time, an item being baked
will become dry. This is often an advantage, especially in situations where drying is the desired
outcome, like drying herbs or roasting certain types of vegetables.
The baking process does not require any fat to be used to cook in an oven. When baking,
consideration must be given to the amount of fat that is contained in the food item. Higher levels
of fat such as margarine, butter, or vegetable shortening will cause an item to spread out during
the baking process.
With the passage of time, breads harden and become stale. This is not primarily due to moisture
being lost from the baked products, but more a reorganization of the way in which the water and
starch are associated over time. This process is similar to recrystallization and is promoted by
storage at cool temperatures, such as in a domestic refrigerator.

Cultural and religious significance

Benedictine Sisters of Caltanissetta producing thecrocetta of Caltanissetta


Baking, especially of bread, holds special significance for many cultures. It is such a
fundamental part of everyday food consumption that the children's nursery rhyme Pat-a-cake,
pat-a-cake, baker's man takes baking as its subject. Baked goods are normally served at all kinds
of party and special attention is given to their quality at formal events. They are also one of the
main components of a tea party, including at nursery teas and high teas, a tradition which started
in Victorian Britain, reportedly when Anna Russell, Duchess of Bedford"grew tired of the
sinking feeling which afflicted her every afternoon round 4 o'clock ... In 1840, she plucked up
courage and asked for a tray of tea, bread and butter, and cake to be brought to her room. Once
she had formed the habit she found she could not break it, so spread it among her friends instead.
As the century progressed, afternoon tea became increasingly elaborate."[16]
Benedictine Sisters of the Benedectine Monastery of Caltanissetta producing the crocette, they
used to be prepared for the Holy Crucifix festivity. This was situated next to the Church of the
Holy Cross, from which the sweets take the name.[17]
For Jews, Matzo is a baked product of considerable religious and ritual significance. Baked
matzah bread can be ground up and used in other dishes, such as Gefilte fish, and baked again.
For Christians, bread has to be baked to be used as an essential component of the sacrament of
Prepared by:

Miss Sarah Jane Lingbaoan


the Eucharist. In the Eastern Christian tradition, baked bread in the form of birds is given to
children to carry to the fields in a spring ceremony that celebrates the Forty Martyrs of Sebaste.

Prepared by:

Miss Sarah Jane Lingbaoan

You might also like