Bakery Fats

Fats and Oils
Fats and oils or collectively called as shortenings lubricate the structure of baked
foods. They are important in most types of bakery products to shorten or
make flour proteins tender. Fats and oils in the mixture hold large number of air cells
incorporated during creaming and make the products smooth and creamy.
Generally fats that are liquid at room temperature are oils and those that are solids
are fats. Solid fats such as butter, margarine, lard and liquid fats i.e., oils are
tenderizing agents.
The fats most useful in baking are butter, vanaspati (hydrogenated fat), margarine and
cooking oils. Bakery fats and oils are derived from animal (butter, lard and tallow) or plant
sources (peanut, coconut, sesame, rice bran, soy, safflower, cotton seed, sunflower, etc).
Fat used in cake making should be smooth as it can incorporate and hold air cells.
Granular fats do not fulfill this function and therefore such fat should be avoided.
Fats and oils should be stored at a temperature of 70-80°F. At low temperature they
become hard and brittle and difficult to work and at high temperature they become
excessively soft and show impaired creaming quality. Shortening should not be stored
near odourous material because fats are more prone to absorb many foreign odors which
are undesirable. Emulsifiers are widely used along with fats to bring about most
acceptable texture.
 Properties of fats and oils used in bakery

They should be
• Bland in flavour
• White in appearance
• Possess good plasticity to handle
• Stable to flavour and oxidative changes
Function of fats and oils in bakery products

• Fats act as enriching agents, add calorie value to baked foods

• Develop flakiness in product
• Lubricate the gluten for development of dough raised by yeasts
• Fats act as shortening agents prevent the development of toughness of
gluten, according to the method and the amount and hence, are
shortening agents
• Fats enhance flavor and sensory properties
• Provide aeration
• Promote a desirable grain and texture
• Act as emulsifiers for holding of liquids
• Fats act as air retainers hold air incorporated in the creaming process along
with eggs
• Animal fats: Butter is different from
other fats obtained from animal tissues such as pork,
beef and mutton dripping. Pork dripping is softer than
beef, mutton dripping is hard. The fats differ in
physical properties because of variation in their
chemical composition.
• Butter: It is considered to be the best of all baking
shortenings. Butter has low melting point glycerides
components and has unique flavor and hence, is considered
to be one of the best fats for preparing cakes and pastry.
Butter is made by churning ripened milk fat. Ripening
develops lactic acid which breaks the emulsion. The distinct
flavor of butter is due to butyric acid. Fresh butter that has
delicate and pleasing aroma, which is free from off odors,
oiliness, rancidity gives good sensory appeal in the products.
A strong odor indi­cates the beginning of rancidity. It should
be firm and plastic in texture. Creaming should be easy and
hold maximum egg without curdling. Butter should be
stored in a cool, dark place to prevent the onset of rancidity.
Cake made with butter is generally lower in volume and has
coarser grain.
• Lard: It is the fat rendered from fresh, clean, sound,
fatty tissues from pigs in good health at the time of
slaughter. Lard has distinctive natural flavour and
odour, which is considered desirable in certain baked
products primarily bread, crackers and pie crusts. The
best quality lard is white, granular, with an agreeable
flavour, low melting point and is firm. It is most widely
used shortenings for bread, pies, soda crackers and
find extensive use in pan greasing and in cookie
dough.
• Beef tallow or oleo: This is obtained from oxen and is
more familiar as suet. In its natural form its only use
in the bakery is for mincemeat and some puddings.
The best suet comes from the region of the kidneys.

• Mutton tallow: It is hard solid fat obtained from

sheep. In its raw condition it is suet and can be used
by the baker for mince­meat and some puddings. It
has a higher melting-point than beef suet and is less
pleasant in flavour.
• Whale oil: Apart from lard oil, the only animal oil that can
be used in bakery shortening is whale oil, which is a marine
oil obtained from the blubber of whales. It is deodorized,
and changed from oil to a fat by hydrogenation. It can be
used in the manufacture of margarine and shortening.
• Vegetable fats and oils: They are processed from palm,
coconut, corn, peanut, sesame, rice bran, soy, safflower,
cotton seed, sunflower, etc. These types of fats always stay
liquid and never set into a solid form. Lubrication is a
function of oil. The liquid oils coat
the flour and sugar particles allowing for smooth dough for
easy mixing at short time. The coating although retards
gluten development it is not as effective as solid,
plastic fats. Oil does not aerate when creamed
with sugar so it does not have air holding properties. The
vegetable oils are hydrogenated and converted to
solid fats of suitable firmness and pliability.
• Margarine: Margarine is an intimate mixture of a blend of
hardened and liquid oils that may be either of animal or
vegetable origin. The oils are mixed with ripened milk and other
additives and processed to form the very stable water in oil
emulsion known as margarine. Margarine is made from
vegetable oils, chiefly groundnut, cottonseed, soy and palm oils.
Various types of margarine are in use such as
the pastry margarine which is tough margarine enabled to
withstand the manipulation followed in the manufacture of
puff pastry.

• Shortenings: It is substitutes for lard. It is used for many

purposes. It must possess good creaming properties, soft,
resistant to rancidity over a fairly long period and be free from
any tendency to foam when used for frying. Shortening acts as
a lubricant in the dough, making the dough more pliable and
prevents stickiness. When shortening is used, the dough
expands more easily and smoothly. It makes the crust more
tender, improves keeping quality and produces a crumb that is
soft and chewy.