JC Home Ec - Home baking

Baking at home

Home baking refers to baking bread and cakes at home rather than buying baked products from shop

Advantages of home baking

-Better flavour
-More attractive appearance
-Usually cheaper
-No artificial preservatives
-Control over the ingredients used
-No packaging

Basic ingredients for baking

-Flour
-Fat
-Sugar
-Eggs
-Fruit
-Nuts + seeds
-Liquid

Basic ingredients: Flour

Usually wheat flour as it contains gluten

Basic ingredients: Fat

-Butter, oil or margarine
-The fat helps bread + cakes stay fresh for longer

Basic ingredients: Sugar

-Granulated sugar
-Caster sugar
-Brown sugar
-Icing sugar for decoration

Basic ingredients: Eggs

They help trap air, resulting in a lighter product

Basic ingredients: Fruit

-Dried fruit, such as sultanas, currants + raisins
-Fresh fruit such as apples + rhubarb

Basic ingredients: Nuts + seeds

-Walnuts
-Pine nuts
-Sesame seeds
-Pumpkin seeds

Basic ingredients: Liquid

-Milk
-Water
-Egg

Flour

-Flour can be made from rice, maize, rye, oats or wheat
-Wheat grains are milled (ground down) to produce flour
-To produce white flour you remove the bran + germ

Types of flour

-Wholegrain flour
-White flour
-Self raising flour
-Strong flour
-Gluten free flour

Wholegrain flour

Contains the whole grain

White flour

Contains only the endosperm

Self raising flour

White flour to which baking powder has been added

Strong flour

Contains extra gluten (used in yeast cooking)

Gluten free flour

Gluten removed from flour, suitable for coeliacs

Raising agents are used to

-Make bread + cakes rise
-Make baking mixtures light + spongy
-Make what you are baking nicer to eat

Types of raising agents

-Natural
-Chemical
-Biological

Natural raising agents

Air

Chemical raising agents

-Baking powder
-Bread soda

Biological raising agents

Yeast

4 types of raising agents

-Air
-Baking powder
-Bread soda
-Yeast

How raising agents work?

-Raising agent produces a gas within the mixture
-When heated, the gas expands + rises, pushing up the mixture
-The heat of the oven sets the surface

Air

Important to introduce as much air as possible
To introduce air:
-Sieve flour
-Raises the ingredients when rubbing fat into the flour
-Cream the sugar + fat together
-Whisk the eggs + sugar

Baking powder

-Baking powder contains both an acid + an alkali
-When mixed + moistened a gas (CO2) is produced
-When heated it expands + rises

Baking powder reactions

Acid + alkali + liquid \= CO2

Baking powder + milk \=CO2

Bread soda

-Alkali
-Must be combined with an acid + moistened to produce CO2
-Buttermilk is an acidic liquid used with bread soda to produce CO2
-When CO2 is heated it expands + rises causing mixtures to rise

Bread soda reactions

Alkali + acid + liquid \= CO2

Bread soda + buttermilk \= CO2

When using bread soda if buttermilk is unavailable...

-If buttermilk is unavailable a little lemon juice or vinegar may be added to fresh milk
-Cream of tartar may also be used

Yeast

-Tiny living organism that produces CO2 in the mixture
-It is usually sold dried in airtight sachets
-The heat of the oven kills the yeast

Oven temperatures

-Oven temperature is important when you bake
-The oven must be fully preheated before putting in the bread or cake
-If oven is under-heated, the gas will escape through the top of the mixture before it has had time to set. This will result in a heavy cake that has not risen
-Too high a temperature will burn the outside + undercook the inside

Guidelines for home baking

-Prepare the tins
-Arrange the oven shelves
-Preheat the oven to the required temperature
-Use fresh ingredients
-Weigh accurately + follow the recipe
-Sieve flour + raising agent + mix thoroughly
-Add liquid carefully to prevent over moistening
-Put into the oven as quickly as possible
-Time accurately
-Avoid opening the oven door unnecessarily
-Test to see if cooked
-Remove from the tin + cool on a wire tray

Different types of baking trays / tins

-Baking trays
-Cupcake tin
-Cake / loaf tin
-Sponge cakes

Preparing a baking tray

Brush with oil or line with baking parchment. Sprinkle with flour for bread

Preparing a muffin / cupcake tin

Brush with oil or use paper cases

Preparing a loaf / cake tin

Grease the tin + line the base with baking parchment

Sponge cakes

Grease the tin, then sprinkle lightly with equal amounts of flour + caster sugar

How to check if bread is cooked

Hollow sound when tapped underneath

How to check if sponge is cooked

Surface springs back when pressed gently with a finger

How to check if cake is cooked

Skewer remains dry after being inserted into the cake

Different methods of baking

-Rub in method
-Creaming method
-All in one method
-Whisking method
-Melting method

Rub in method

Fat is rubbed into flour
Uses
-Scones
-Yeast bread
-Pastry

Creaming method

Fat + sugar creamed together at the start
Uses
-Cupcakes
-Madeira cakes
-Fruit cakes

All in one method

All ingredients are placed in a bowl together + beaten
Uses
-Madeira
-Queen cakes

Whisking method

Eggs + sugar are whisked together
Uses
-Sponges
-Flans
-Meringues

Melting method

Fat + sugar are melted together in a saucepan or in a microwave oven
Uses
-Muffins
-Gingerbread
-Boiled fruit cake

Baking mixes

-Cake mixtures consist of a mixture of flour, fat, sugar, raising agent, salt + other additives
-The ingrediants are first sieved, blended + aerated
-The are sealed in packaging
-When buying cake mixes check the expiry date + that the pack is sealed
-Store them in a cool dry cupboard
-Follow the instructions on the pack

Advantages of baking mixes

-Time + labour saving
-Gives confidence to beginner cooks
-Useful in emergencies + complicated dishes
-Wide selection available

Disadvantages of baking mixes

-May be expensive
-May contain additives
-Many lack fibre as they usually contain white flour
-Often high in sugar + salt

Pastry

-A mixture of flour, fat + water
-Add eggs, sugar + extra fat to make richer pastries

Types of pastry

-Shortcrust pastry
-Choux pastry
-Rough puff pastry
-Filo pastry
-Flaky pastry

Shortcrust pastry

Pie crust

Filo pastry

Spring rolls

Choux pastry

Eclairs

Flaky pastry

Sausage rolls

Rough puff pastry

Croissants

Note about pastry

-Shortcrust pastry involves half the amount of fat to flour
-If a recipe says 250g of pastry they are referring to the amount of flour

Basic ingredients in pastry

-Flour
-Fat
-Water
-Raising agent

Pastry: flour

Plain flour is used in pastry making

Pastry: fat

Most fats such as butter + lard are suitable for pastry making

Pastry: water

The water should be cold. Add a spoonful at a time

Pastry: raising agent

Air

Guidelines for making pastry

-Weigh ingredients accurately
-Keep ingredients + utensils cool
-Introduce air to make the pastry light + crisp
-Avoid over handling
-Use a knife for mixing
-Add the water carefully
-Knead + roll the pastry mixture lightly
-To reduce the possibility of shrinkage, allow the pastry to relax in a cool place for 15 minutes before baking
-Avoid stretching the pastry by rolling lightly
-Bake in a hot oven, reduce after 10 minutes to allow the filling to cook
-A hot oven should be used, so the starch grains swell + burst to absorb the melting fat

Baking blind

Baking a pastry case without any filling
Technique for baking blind
-Prod the base with a fork
-Place a sheet of greaseproof paper on the base + cover with a layer of baking beans
-Bake at 15 minutes at 200C
-Remove the paper + baking beans for a further 5 minutes