Baking Ingredients

Function, Measuring, & Mixing

Flour, sugar, eggs, milk, butter, and flavorings..these are the basic
ingredients you need to create endless different baked goods

But theres a catch

Theres a reason baking is sometimes called The Chemisty of
Cooking. All ingredients must be accurately measured. Recipes for
baking are not really recipes but rather formulas. These formulas
give us a ratio of how much of each ingredient must be in our
finished product in order to get what we are looking for.

The ingredients in baking all play an very important role.


Flour
Wheat flour is the only flour that is capable of producing gluten. Gluten is the tough, rubbery
substance created when wheat flour is mixed with water. Gluten forms strands and is both
plastic (Changing shape under pressure), and elastic (Returning to original shape when pressure
is removed). Gluten is what is responsible for the texture, appearance and volume of your
finished baking goods. It helps provide structure and helps contain gasses within the dough
given off by leavening agents. If there was no gluten, you would not have raised breads.




Types of Flour:
Wheat, oats, rice, barley, buckewheat, millet











White flours are made from just the endosperm portion of the wheat kernel:
All-purpose flour is suitable for most baked products.
Bread flour has a higher gluten content and is good for the stronger structure required by
breads.
Cake and pastry flour has less gluten and creates the tender structure favoured in cakes,
pies, and delicate desserts

Whole-grain flours are made from all three edible layers of the grain kernel and contain
carbohydrates and proteins plus B vitamins, iron, and fibre
Measure flour in a dry measure.
Do not dip your measuring cup into the flour, as doing so packs down the
flour.
For accuracy, spoon the flour into the measuring cup, and then level it with a
straight-edged spatula.
Sifting is recommended to add air to flour in order to create a lighter product.
Sift white or unbleached flours in a sifter or sieve, or use pre-sifted flours.
Whole-grain flours are too coarse to sift; add air to them by stirring lightly.
Measuring and Mixing Flour
Leavening Agents

Leavening agents trap little air pockets in baked goods. The air pockets create a lighter, softer
texture in the finished product. During baking, leavening agents produce air, steam, and gas
bubbles that cause bread and other baked goods to rise. Leavening can result from chemical
reactions or from mechanically trapping air in batter or dough.

Types of Leaveners:
Chemical: baking soda, baking powder
Steam
Mechanical: sifting flour, creaming fat and sugar, vigorously beating egg whites
Measuring and Mixing Leavening Agents

Baking powder, baking soda, and yeast are required in small amounts, so use small
measuring spoons.
Add air to batters by creaming fat and sugars with a wooden spoon or electric mixer. Leave
the wire whisk for more delicate ingredients.
Beat air into eggs and whipping cream using an electric mixer, egg beater, or whisk
Eggs

Protein and fat are the two main nutrients that eggs provide to flour mixtures. Like other fats,
eggs contribute to the richness, flavour, and colour of baked goods. The protein in eggs
contributes to a products structure. Beating eggs traps air to leaven and increase volume in a
finished product. Eggs also help bind the other ingredients together in flour mixtures. Most
recipes, unless otherwise stated, are referring to standard large eggs when they call for eggs.

Measuring and Mixing Eggs

A large egg contains approximately 50 mL of liquid.
To measure half an egg, whisk the egg white and yolk together, and then measure 25 mL.
When beating egg whites, it is crucial that the bowl and beaters be free of all fat. Egg
whites will not beat properly if any fat is present, even a drop of egg yolk. If you have
trouble beating egg whites to an increased volume, you may have to rewash your bowl
and beaters and start over to ensure success. If you are using a plastic bowl, switch to one
made of glass or metal. Plastic bowls may retain oil residue from previous use.
Crack eggs into a small bowl that is separate from your other ingredients to prevent shells
from dropping into the other ingredients.
To separate an egg, crack it over a small, flat plate. Use a glass to help isolate the yolk and
then you can easily pour the white into another container. This method ensures that no
shell gets into your product and that the egg white and yolk are cleanly separated.
Fats

Fat functions as both a nutrient and an ingredient. As a baking ingredient, fat has several
important functions that impact the characteristics of a final product. Fat shortens the gluten
strands in flour mixtures, a process that contributes to the tenderness and volume of the
product. Fat also lengthens the shelf life of baked goods, holding moisture in longer. Fat adds
richness and flavour to baked products, and the type of fat influences browning.

Types of Fat
Solid: butter, margarine, shortening
Liquid: cooking oils
Measuring and Mixing Fats

Measure vegetable oils and melted fats using a liquid measuring cup.
Pack room-temperature solid fats into dry measures to ensure accuracy.
Measure solid fats that need to be cold for use in biscuits and pastry by water displacement
in a liquid measuring cup.
Cut fat into flour mixtures using a pastry blender or two knives. This method causes slivers of
fat to be rolled into the dough to melt during baking and produce flakiness.
Cream fat with sugar using an electric mixer to trap air and improve the volume of a finished
product.

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Liquids

The liquid in a recipe moistens the flour to help form the structure of a baked good. Once liquid
is added to a flour mixture, several changes occur. The gluten strands start to develop, the salt
and sugar dissolve, and the leavening agent releases carbon dioxide to make the product rise.
Steam released from the liquid during baking also contributes to leavening.

Types of Liquids
Water
Fruit Juice
Dairy products: milk, buttermilk, yogurt, sour cream
Measuring and Mixing Liquids

Measure liquids in liquid measuring cups designed with a handle and a spout for pouring.
Place measures on a level surface and read at eye level for accuracy
Remember, as soon as you add liquid to a flour mixture, the gluten starts to develop. Follow
recipes carefully to know when to add liquids and how much to mix, so you can avoid over-
or under-mixing.


Sweeteners

Flavour is probably the most familiar function of sugars and other sweeteners because they
provide a sweet taste. Sugar also affects the colour and texture of baked goods. Sugar
caramelizes during baking, which causes browning of the crust. Products with less sugar, like
biscuits, have a paler appearance than do cakes, which contain a lot of sugar.
Sugar also tenderizes baked goods by increasing baking times and allowing more time for
leavening. The result is a product with a lighter texture

Types of Sweeteners
Sugars: brown sugar, granulated white sugar, icing sugar(aka: confectioners sugar,
powdered sugar, icing sugar)
Liquid sweeteners: honey, syrups, molasses
Artificial and plant based sweeteners: stevia

Measuring and Mixing Sweeteners

Keep these tips in mind:
Brown sugar is moist, so it must be packed into a dry measuring cup for accurate measuring.
Spoon white sugars into a dry measure and level them with a straight-edged spatula.
Sifting is sometimes required to remove lumps from powdered sugar.
Honey, syrups, and molasses will stick to a liquid measuring cup. To improve accuracy, grease
the inside of the cup or rinse it with hot water prior to measuring.
If you discover that your brown sugar has hardened, place a piece of bread or cut apple in
the container. In a few hours, the sugar will be moist again. (You can also purchase a special
clay disc to keep brown sugar moist.)

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Salt

Recipes for baked goods usually call for a pinch of salt because it helps conceal bitter tastes. But
the mineral also plays a key role in gluten formation . he reason you add salt to dough is to make
dough more elastic. As for sugary treats, a bit of salt added to batters and doughs helps to
balance sweetness and enhance other flavors during baking.