Bake Shop Basics

BAKER’S INGREDIENTS

• Strengtners-Flour
• Fats/shortenings: butter and oils

• Sweeteners: sugars and syrups

• Chemical, organic, and physical leaveners:

baking powder, baking soda, yeast, steam

• Thickeners: cornstarch, starch, eggs,gelating

• Flavorings: extracts and spices

• Liquids: water, milk, cream, eggs, honey,

molasses, butter

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Objective: Understand Bake

Shop Basics and The

importance of Each ingredient

3

Protein content affects the flour’s ability to perform certain tasks...

BAKER’S INGREDIENTS

Strengtheners:
• Stability

• Main strengthener used

• Check gluten content—nutrition label

• Higher protein = higher gluten

• Gluten—protein in flour

• Too much mixing, working, kneading = elastic and stretchy

TYPES OF WHEAT FLOUR

• Between pastry and

bread flour

• Cookies, biscuits,

general production work

• Gluten content

10%–12%

• Strong flour

• Bread, hard rolls

• Gluten content

12.5%–13.5%

• Soft, smooth texture

• Pure white color

• Cake and delicate baked

goods

• Gluten content 7%–9%

All-purpose flour

Bread flour

Cake flour

TYPES OF WHEAT FLOUR

• Hard wheat flour

• Breads

• Gluten content

13.5%–14%

• Cookies, pie pastry,

sweet yeast doughs,
biscuits, muffins

• Feels like cake flour

• Creamy color of bread

flour

• Gluten content 9%–10%

• Type of durum flour

• Coarsely ground

• Fine texture

• Pastas and Italian

pastries

• Gluten content 13.5% or

more

Durum flour

Pastry flour

Semolina flour

Flour Uses

Dependent on the amount of protein found in the flour

Increase protein content of weaker
flours for bread-making
High-Gluten

Type of Flour

Uses

Cake

Tender Cakes

Pastry

Biscuits, Pie Crust

All-Purpose

General Baking

Bread

Yeast Breads

Whole-Wheat

Breads

% Protein

7-9.5%

7.5-12%

10-13%

12-15%

13-14%

41-42%

BAKER’S INGREDIENTS

Fats/shortenings:
• Moist

• Add flavor

• Stays fresh longer

• Thoroughly mixed—impact overall texture

• Rubbed, cut, or rolled—flaky texture

• Creamed—smooth, soft, cake-like

BAKER’S INGREDIENTS

Sweeteners:
• Refined sugars, sugar syrups, molasses, brown sugar, corn syrup, honey, malt syrup

• Add flavor and color

• Blend shortening with other ingredients

• Product soft and tender

• Caramelization—heat causes sugar to brown

• Artificial sweeteners and sugar substitutes do not caramelize

BAKER’S INGREDIENTS

Leaveners:
• Dough or batter rises
• Measure carefully
• Chemical, organic, and physical

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TYPES OF LEAVENERS

Baking powder:
• Chemical leavener
• Produces carbon dioxide gas
• Batter rises
• Baking soda and acid with inactive ingredient
• Heat and liquid—leavening occurs

TYPES OF LEAVENERS

Baking soda:
• Chemical leavener
• Sodium bicarbonate
• Produces carbon dioxide gas—liquid and acid
• Batter rises—heat not necessary
• Bake immediately

TYPES OF LEAVENERS

Physical leavener:
• Introduce air into batter
• Air expands during baking
• Creaming method

oFat and sugar

oCakes and cookies

• Foaming method

oEggs with or without sugar

• Whole egg foams—sponge cakes
• Egg-white foams—angle food cake, meringue,

soufflé

• Steam—cream puffs and pie crusts

TYPES OF LEAVENERS

Yeast:
• Organic leavener
• Microscopic fungus
• Fresh or dry
• Ferment—yeast and carbohydrates
• Release carbon dioxide gas—dough rises

BAKER’S INGREDIENTS

Thickeners:
• Gelatin, flour, arrowroot, cornstarch, eggs
• Determine consistency of finished product

BAKER’S INGREDIENTS

Flavorings:
• Cocoa, spices, salt, nuts, extracts
• Taste and color
• Spices—cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, gloves, ginger, caraway, cardamom, allspice,

anise, poppy seed

• Salt

oEnhances flavor

oImproves texture

oControls yeast fermentation

• Extracts

oFlavorful oils

oVanilla bean, lemon, almond

oMeasure accurately

BAKER’S INGREDIENTS

Liquids:
• Water, milk, cream, molasses, honey, vegetable oils, butter
• Provides moisture
• Gluten develops properly
• Water—common and basic
• Milk—flavor, nutritional value, texture