You are the boss of that dough.
…Julia Child, American chef, author, and TV personality.
Bakery can extend into past years of history. Romans first came with the art of baking and due to globalization it spread worldwide. Baked foods are healthy, tasty, and flavorful. They are in demand on special occasions such as weddings, parties, and social feasts.
Baking is a manner of cooking food by exposing it to direct heat or heated stones for long time under controlled temperature. Baking is not just limited to cakes, breads and biscuits but practically a wide range of sweet and savory foods such as pies, cookies, tarts, Baati (Indian baked bread consumed in North-West region), Rodgaa (Indian baked bread consumed in east Maharashtra region of India), and snacks can be baked. Baked food often comes up with aromatic food.
There are five basic ingredients required for baking −
Given below are some food commodities used in baking −
Some typical equipment required in baking are −
Bread fabrication is a complex process. Once started, it cannot be interrupted, as timing is very important for bread making.
There are 12 important stages of baking a bread.
During this stage, the chef assembles all the required ingredients and weigh them properly to ensure a good quality final product.
The chef selects an appropriate flour and sieves it. The chef also prepares yeast mixture by adding right amount of water of right temperature into the dry yeast.
Mixing the ingredients is not as simple as it sounds. There are various factors that need consideration such as room temperature, flour temperature, speed of machine, the timings of adding various ingredients like margarine, sugar, yeast etc.
During bulk fermentation, the yeast acts on sugar in the flour and releases carbon dioxide and alcohol while it respires. The gas makes the flour dough rise and the alcohol brings flavor to the bread. The longer the fermentation, the more intense the aroma.
Folding a dough is superior to simply punching it down. Folding involves gently kneading the dough into parts and new rolls. Degassing is a very important piece of the bread jigsaw. It removes some of the carbon dioxide and redistribute the food for yeast so that the yeast can resume to their meal.
A large dough is divided into several smaller portions to make loaves or buns.
At this stage, the dough is kept for a while so that the gluten can rest and shaping becomes easy. This time is not more than a few minutes.
At this stage, the baker shapes the bread for various looks such as loaves, buns, begels, baguette, rolls, sticks, and other various shapes. Shaping affects the physical form of the bread.
Once the dough is made into a desired shape, the baker keeps it for the final fermentation before it enters the oven. Proofing affects the chemical form of the bread.
The baker preheats the oven and keeps the doughs into it under a controlled temperature.
In this stage, the baker takes out the bread and sets on the racks for exposing it to the air for cooling. Some breads such as baguette are eaten at room temperature.
The bread is thus ready to be consumed.
Cakes are named according to the way they are prepared.
Type & Preparations
1Butter cakes
They contain fat such as butter. It starts with beating sugar and butter together until the sugar dissolves partially and then adding dry and wet ingredients alternatively. The resulting cake is light and rich with moisture. For example, Pound cake made with a pound each of butter, sugar, eggs, and flour.
2Layer Cakes
They also contain butter and can be made by arranging layers of different butter cakes. For example, Golden cake, Birthday cake.
3Sponge cake
They do not contain fat or leavener such as baking powder. The preparation starts with whipping eggs or egg whites such that it becomes fluffy with air. Dry ingredients are sifted and folded in gently. During baking, the air expands to rise the cake on its own. It gives extremely light and spongy but less moist cake.
4Angel Food Cake
It contains egg whites and no egg yolks. Preparation starts with beating egg whites until they are firm and adding dry ingredients gently. This cake is very white and delicate. It is often paired with addition of fruits. It is cooled by inverting it on the cooking rack.
5Genoise
It is a kind of sponge cake made with whole eggs. In the preparation, eggs and sugar are combined and whipped in the pan kept over simmering water. They are sliced into thin horizontal layers and stacked with alternate layers of cream/frosting and slices to create layered cake. For example, Swiss roll.
6Flourless Baked Cake
It does not contain flour. All ingredients are folded gently and poured into a pan that is kept in a larger pan which is partially filled with water. This water bath is arranged to reduce effect of strong heat from oven to this delicate cake. For example, cheese cake.
7Flourless Unbaked Cake
They are chilled instead of baking. The bottom is often crusted with a layer of cake and on the top of it whipped cream and egg white is added. For example, Chocolate mousse.