Why Learn to Bake?

Prepared by:

Sharon Davis

Family & Consumer Sciences Education

Kansas Wheat Commission www.kswheat.com

No Food Skills

= Fewer Resources

• Expand culinary skills, employability

• Working parents need food prep partners to

make meals and celebrations at home happen

• Communities are richer from having local bakers

Baking is… Science

• Ingredient knowledge is power

Flour is Just Flour…NOT

water, milk, sugars, fats, salt

• Leavening—chemical, air, yeast, egg

• Temperature effects

liquids, dough, baking, staling

• Techniques and Timing

• Substitution Success

• Problem solving

More at www.ksu.edu/grainscience

Baking is…

Hands On History

• Wheat, corn, oats, rye, soy history

• 5,000 years of world bread history

personal, family bread traditions

Kansas kolaches, houska, povitica

U.S.—hoe cakes,“thirds bread” sourdough

• Bread Events

Famine/bread wars

Shrove Tuesday Pancake Race (right)

Kansas Festival of Breads, www.kswheat.com

Pillsbury Bake-Off

Bread Bakers Guild of America

Coupe de Monde, Paris, www.bbga.org

Baking is… Math

• Determine temperatures for liquids, batters, doneness of products, storage

• Weigh and measure ingredients, dough, batter

• Calculate yield, net weight, nutrition facts label

• Product cost/price point

• Time use

• Consumer product acceptance surveys

Baking is… Art

• Artisan shapes

• Effective ads/labels

• Adding value

• Food styling

• Egg wash, decorating

• Connect with baking

pros and spokespersons

at www.kswheat.com

BAKING INGREDIENTS

Flour

Fats

Sugars

Eggs

Liquids

Leavening agents

Chocolate & flavorings

Salt

Flours

White wheat flour

1. Contains 7% to 15% gluten (protein)

2. High gluten flour (strong flour) makes chewy products

3. Low gluten flour (weak flour) makes tender products

4. Gluten is developed by mixing a dough – the more a dough is mixed the more gluten will develop and the product will be firmer and chewier.

Flours

Whole Wheat flour

1. The entire kernel of wheat is ground, including the bran (outer covering) and the germ

2. The ground bran has sharp edges and cuts gluten strands. The germ contains oil which also shortens the gluten strands. This is why whole wheat products cannot be as firm or chewy as white flour products.

Flours

Rye flour

1. Does not contain gluten and so cannot make a crisp or chewy product. Usually some wheat flour must be added.

Fats

Fats coat the strands of gluten and prevent them from holding together, thus fats shorten the strands and help create a tender product.

Solid fats are called shortening.

Fats tenderize baked goods, create moisture and richness, add flavor and increase keeping qualities.

In some cases they act as a leavening agent…

Shortening

1. Usually vegetable based, although butter or lard may be used.

2. Regular shortenings have a tough, waxy texture and hold together in particles within a dough or batter.

3. Emulsified shortenings are soft and spread easily and are used to make cake batters. They are used when there is more sugar than flour in a formula and are sometimes called high ratio shortenings.

4. Puff pastry shortening is very firm and is used for making rolled-in doughs when it is important that the fat stay in distinct layers between the layers of dough.

Oils Little used in baking except in some muffins & cakes.

Lard Used less and less today, however it is excellent for pastry.

Butter

1. The best flavor for most baked goods.

2. Melts at a low temperature so it “melts in your mouth”, unlike some fats. Its low melting point can make it hard to work with.

Sugars

Sugars create sweetness

Sugars also create tenderness because they weaken gluten

They add color to the crust when they bake

Sugars improve keeping qualities because sugar is hydroscopic, meaning it absorbs water.

Sugars act as a creaming agent with fats…

…SugarsRefined sugar

1. Granulated sugar is the most commonly used.

2. Very fine sugars are used in cakes and cookies.

3. Coarse sugars are called sanding sugars, for topping baked goods

4. Icing sugar is very fine and is used in icings or for dusting finished products.

Molasses and brown sugar

1. Molasses is concentrated sugar cane syrup with the sugar removed.

2. Brown sugar is simple white sugar with some of the molasses left in. You can make it by mixing molasses with sugar.

…Sugars

Corn syrup

A liquid sweetener containing natural sugars called fructose.

Honey

A natural sweetener containing fructose and glucose.

Liquids

Liquids are essential in the baking process because gluten cannot

develop without the presence of some liquid

Water

The basic liquid used in baking

LiquidsMilk and cream

1. Add texture, flavor, nutritional value and color to baked goods

2. Whole milk and cream contain fat, which must be accounted for as part of the shortening in baking formulas

3. Buttermilk is slightly acidic and is often used in quickbreads

4. Cream is more often used in fillings & puddings than in doughs

5. Powdered dry milk is often used because of low cost and convenience

Eggs

Available whole, frozen or dried

Add structure because the proteins in eggs coagulate when baked. This is important for baked goods with a high ratio of fat which weakens the gluten structure.

Emulsification of fats-egg yolks help make smooth batters.

Leavening-beaten eggs contain air bubbles which expand when baked.

The fat in egg yolks help shorten gluten strands, making a tender product.

Eggs also add moisture, flavor, nutritional value and color to baked goods.

Leavening agents

Leavening is the production of gases in baked goods which increases their volume.

For example, bread dough rises when proofed because of the gas CO2.

Leavening agentsYeast

1. A microscopic plant

2. Yeast ferments, which means it converts carbohydrates into CO2 and alcohol when it gets warmth and moisture.

Below 6 to 7 degrees C yeast is inactive

At 15 to 20 degrees C yeast grows slowly

20 to 32 C yeast grows best (proofing temperature)

Yeast dies at 60C or 140F

Yeast is available as compressed yeast, which must be refrigerated, or as active dry yeast, which must be dissolved in warm water before use.

…Leavening agents

Baking soda

1. A chemical leavener

2. When moisture and an acid are added to baking soda it releases CO2

3. Baking soda releases CO2 as soon as moisture and acid are added and thus must be baked immediately after mixing. It needs no proofing, unlike yeastbreads.

…Leavening agents

Baking powder

1. Also a chemical leavener

2. Baking powder is actually just baking soda with the acid already added.

3. Single-action baking powder releases CO2 as soon as water is added to it.

4. Double-action baking powder releases CO2 when water is added to it and again when it is heated.

5. Adding too much baking powder or baking soda gives an undesireable taste.

…Leavening agents

Baking ammonia

1. A chemical leavener

2. Usually used only in large-scale commercial cookie baking.

3. The ammonia evaporates when the cookies bake.

Air

1. Creaming is the process of beating fats and sugar together to incorporate air into the mixture.

2. Usually used in cake and cookie baking.

3. Air beaten into the mixture during creaming may be the only leavening agent.

Steam

1. When water is heated and turns to steam it expands to 1600 times its original volume, thus moisture is an important leavening agent in baking.

2. Pie crusts, cream puffs and puff pastry are all leavened by the action of water flashing to steam when heated.

Chocolate and Cocoa Chocolate and cocoa are made from cocoa or cacao

beans

The beans are roasted and ground to make a paste called chocolate liquor

The fat content of this is called cocoa butter

Cocoa is the dry powder left after cocoa butter is separated from chocolate liquor

Unsweetened chocolate (bitter chocolate) is just hardened chocolate liquor. Popular in Europe.

Sweet chocolate is bitter chocolate with sugar added

Milk chocolate is sweet chocolate with milk solids added. Popular in North America.

White chocolate is cocoa butter with milk solids and sugar added. It can be dyed with food coloring.

Salt

Salt strengthens gluten and makes it more stretchable in bread doughs

Salt helps control yeast growth in doughsbecause it acts against the yeast

Salt enhances the flavor of most foods, even sweet foods because it turbocharges your taste buds

Spices

Spices add flavor and interest to baked goods

The most commonly used are cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, cloves and ginger

Most spices are made from the bark, nuts, seeds or roots of tropical plants

Indonesia was originally known as “The Spice Islands” and European countries fought wars for control of them

Extracts and emulsions Extracts are oils dissolved in alcohol

1. Vanilla extract is a common example

2. Vanilla beans are processed to extract the oils from them and this is dissolved in alcohol. True vanilla extract and vanilla beans are quite expensive, partly because of the current popularity of novelty items such as vanilla flavored soft drinks and vanilla scented cosmetics and soaps

Emulsions are oils mixed with water

1. Lemon and orange emulsions are the most common

2. Lemon or orange oil is extracted from the skin, where most of the flavor is and mixed with water. You can zest or grate lemon or orange skins yourself to add to baked goods for the same flavor

Review

Most baked goods are made from only a very few ingredients.

A good understanding of ingredients is necessary so you can produce the

type of baked goods you want

…Flour

Flour forms the basis of most baked goods

Wheat flour contains proteins called gluten

A strong flour contains a high percentage of gluten and will make crisp, chewy products like baguettes or bagels

A weak flour contains less gluten and will make tender products, like cakes or pastry

Whole wheat flour includes the bran and the germ. It is weaker than white flour

Rye flour contains no gluten and will not form a strong structure unless some white wheat flour is added

…Fats

Fats coat the strands of gluten and prevent them from holding together, thus fats shorten the strands and help create a tender product.

Solid fats are called shortening.

Fats tenderize baked goods, create moisture and richness, add flavor and increase keeping qualities.

In some cases they act as a leavening agent

Fats include vegetable shortening, butter and lard

…Sugars

Sugars create sweetness

Sugars also create tenderness because they weaken gluten structure

They add color to the crust when they bake

Sugars improve keeping qualities because sugar is hydroscopic, meaning it absorbs water.

Sugars include white granulated sugar, icing sugar, brown sugars, corn syrup and honey

…Liquids

Liquids are essential in the baking process because gluten cannot develop without some liquid

Water is the basic liquid used in baking

Milk or cream may be used for flavor, to develop color or to add nutritional value

Buttermilk is slightly acidic and is often used in quickbreads

Cream is most often used in custards and fillings

…Eggs

Eggs add structure because they contain proteins

Eggs contain fats and make a product tender because they shorten gluten strands

Eggs add flavor and nutritional value

Beaten eggs contain air bubbles which expand when baked and thus leaven some baked goods

…Leavening agents

Leavening is the production of gases in baked goods which increases volume

Yeast is a microscopic plant which produces CO2 when it gets warmth and moisture

Baking soda also produces CO2 when moisture and an acid are added to it

Baking powder produces CO2 when it gets warmth and moisture

Water in baked goods leavens because it expands to 1600 times its original volume when it flashes to steam

Yeast, baking powder, baking soda and water all leaven baked goods and increase their volume

…Chocolate and cocoa

Chocolate is made from roasted cocoa or cacao beans. The beans are ground to make chocolate liquour.

Hardened chocolate liquour is just bitter chocolate

The addition of sugar makes it into sweet chocolate and milk solids make it into milk chocolate

Chocolate liquor can be separated into cocoa powder and cocoa butter. Cocoa butter becomes white chocolate with the addition of sugar and milk solids

…SaltSalt strengthens gluten and weakens yeast

growth. Most importantly it turbocharges your taste buds to bring out flavors

…SpicesSpices such as nutmeg, cloves, ginger, mace

and cinnamon add flavor and interest

…Extracts and emulsions

Extracts are flavorful oils, such as vanilla, dissolved in alcohol

Emulsions are oils like lemon or orange oil mixed with water