Baking Article

There are so many ways to mix up cake batter. Maybe you’ve always wondered why the many methods; maybe you never thought about it until now. But each technique is based on specific ingredients, and results in a different final product: from a light as air cake, to one that’s sturdy enough to hold up in wedding tiers.Common ways you might see cake mixing methods written in a recipe:1. “Cream the butter and sugar together.”2. “Combine dry ingredients. Add butter and mix until it resembles sand.”3. “Put all of the ingredients in a bowl and stir together.”Which way is “best”?Cake mixing methodsWe’ve recently baked cakes using six of the top mixing methods. Read on to see just how different cake results can be, depending on the steps in which the batter is blended. 1) BlendedCakes made with this method: Very moist; a great candidate for adding mix-ins.Basically stir together and go, the blended method is the easiest of all cake-prep types. Blended cakes are typically made with oil rather than butter, since oil is much more easily incorporated with the rest of the ingredients. Blended cake batter tends to be more liquid than most; oftentimes the recipe will call to “pour” the batter into the pans, rather than scoop. 2) CreamingExample: Lemon Bliss Cake Cakes made with this method: Sturdy, yet soft textured. Easy to slice and stack in layers; also ideal for Bundt pans. This cake mixing method is a classic, and the most common. The creaming method starts with beating the butter and sugar together until they’re lightened in color and fluffy. Eggs are beaten in one at a time.The creaming method then adds the dry and liquid ingredients alternately to the butter mixture. The usual method is a third of the flour, half the milk, a third of the flour, the remaining milk, and finally the remaining flour; it’s helpful to scrape the bowl midway through this process.Adding flour and liquids alternately ensures all the liquid (usually milk) will be thoroughly absorbed into the batter. If there’s a high amount of butter or other fat in the batter, it’s hard to get the liquid totally mixed in; the alternating technique helps reduce the percentage of fat overall (by adding some flour first). It also facilitates the formation of gluten, which binds the batter together. 3) FoamExample: Angel Food CakeCakes made with this method: Extremely light and airy. This high-rising, somewhat “resilient” cake slices best with a serrated knife or pronged angel food cutter. The leanest cake in the bunch, foam cakes contain little to no fat: i.e. no butter or shortening, and no egg yolks. Like some sponge cakes, foam cakes contain no leavening, depending on air whipped into the egg whites for structure. The whites are whipped into stiff peaks, usually with cream of tartar added to help with stability and volume. Flour is carefully folded in, leaving as much air in the batter as possible. Most choose to fold in the flour with a spatula, but we’ve found that using the whisk attachment (the one that just moments before whipped up those whites) incorporates it easily and gently. 4) Paste (also called reverse creamed)Example: Golden Vanilla CakeCakes made with this method: Tighter textured, though still moist. A great candidate for tiers. The most sturdy of the cakes; slices with minimal crumbs. This moist and tender (yet sturdy) cake is an American favorite. Its slightly denser crumb makes it perfect for frosting as a layer cake. Making a cake using the paste method (also sometimes called “reverse creaming”) sounds complicated, but it’s actually one of the most simple techniques of the bunch. Soft butter and room-temperature liquids are beaten into the dry ingredients until the texture is “sandy.” The butter-coated flour slows the formation of gluten (which starts once flour comes in contact with liquid), and results in a slightly more sturdy cake that still offers soft texture. Once the batter reaches that crumbly, sand-like consistency, milk and any flavors are added. Then eggs are mixed in one by one. The batter, though pourable, is often thicker than other cake batters.5) SpongeExample: Chef Zeb’s Hot Milk CakeCakes made with this method: Light and airy, with soft texture. Tend to compress slightly when stacked over two layers high. Mildly sweet, sponge cakes are high-rising and light as air, with the perfect degree of moistness.Sponge cakes can be made different ways. One way is beating egg yolks and sugar (or whole eggs and sugar) until a very thick foam-like batter is created. The batter is pale yellow in color, and falls off the beater in ribbons. Flour is then gently folded in. Another way is to whip the egg whites separately from the yolks until soft peaks form. The yolk/sugar mixture is beaten until light, flour is mixed in, and then egg whites are gently folded into that mixture. Either way the eggs are prepared, they provide leavening and loft for the sponge cake. This method dates back to before the widespread use of baking soda or powder, when trapped air was a cake’s only leavening.The batter for sponge cake is very light, airy, and almost soup-like in consistency. Though it may be alarming, this is totally normal. It will bake up into the moist, delicious cake that we know as sponge. 6) Gluten-freeExample: Strawberry Almond Flour CakeGluten-free cakes can be made any number of ways and with great success, much like their wheat-y counterparts. As with all recipes, be sure to read the directions carefully before starting. All puns intended, these methods really take the cake. Each one will create a totally different finished baked good – all equally delicious. Tell us, which of these cake-mixing methods do you usually use?Want to take a deeper dive into cake baking? See our complete guide to cake and cupcakes.

Frosting a cake can be intimidating, but if you break it down step-by-step, there’s nothing to fear. The right tools and techniques will guide you, taking you from naked layers to a frosted beauty without breaking a sweat. The key is to take your time and embrace imperfection. You’ve got this. Patience makes perfect. Take the time to chill or freeze your baked layers before assembling the cake. The layers will be less fragile, and you’ll have more control and better results with frosting. While they’re chilling, line your serving plate with 2″ to 3″ wide strips of parchment paper. Trim any dome from the top of the first layer so the cake is flat, then flip it over and place it on your serving plate cut side down. Pipe a rope of frosting around the outside edge of the cake layer. Refrigerate for 15 minutes so it will become firm. This “dam” keeps frosting or filling from bulging out the side of the finished cake. After the dam sets, fill the top of the layer. Trim the next layer and place it cut side down over the first. Chill the cake again, if it isn’t cool to the touch. Smear a very thin coat of frosting on the sides and top of the cake.  This is called the crumb coat. It’s fine if it looks messy, and crumbs are showing through. Refrigerate the cake until you can touch the crumb coat without leaving a fingerprint, 20 to 30 minutes. Once the crumb coat is firm, cover the top and sides of the cake with a finish coat of frosting. Gently remove the parchment paper strips. Decorate and embellish to your heart’s content.

“I want to make a recipe that calls for cake flour, but all I have is all-purpose flour. Can I substitute all-purpose for cake flour?”If you’ve ever asked this question — to yourself or a friend — you’re not alone. Sometimes we just don’t have the flour a recipe calls for (and can’t bear another trip to the store), or maybe the store was out of stock. So how much does flour choice affect your baking? The difference between cake flour and all-purpose flourFirst, it helps to understand the difference between cake flour and all-purpose flour.It all comes down to protein content. Every type of flour has a protein percentage, which reflects how much gluten-forming protein it contains. Because protein level correlates with gluten-forming potential, it’s helpful to think of it this way: the higher the protein content, the “stronger” the flour.When making baked goods like bread, using a strong flour with high protein makes sense. The robust glutinous web that develops when the flour is combined with liquid results in bread with chewy, bouncy texture. But when making a cake, it’s the opposite: We want something with a soft, fine, and tender crumb. In order to get it, we want to discourage gluten development, and one way to do that is to choose a flour with a lower protein content (the other is to avoid overmixing, which further develops gluten, even if you are using cake flour).Our unbleached cake flour has a protein content of 10%, while all-purpose flour has a protein content of 11.7%. The lower protein content in cake flour means it has less gluten-forming potential, making it better suited to cakes.(And it’s not just for cake! Our Test Kitchen uses lower-protein cake flour to achieve a melt-in-your-mouth texture in cookies like these Fiori Thumbprint Meltaway Cookies, while these Lemon Sugar Crunch Buns include cake flour for a delicate crumb.) How to substitute for cake flourYou can make your own cake flour substitute by combining all-purpose flour with a little bit of cornstarch. The cornstarch adds tenderness and lowers the overall protein content of the mixture to mimic that of cake flour.How to make cake flour : Whisk together 3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons (105g) all-purpose flour and 2 tablespoons (14g) cornstarch. Use in place of cake flour in a recipe, substituting by equal weight or volume.Can I substitute cake flour for all-purpose flour?While it’s usually fine to substitute all-purpose flour for cake flour, the opposite isn’t true. “For those bakers out there thinking ‘flour is flour’ — no, it’s really not!” says Molly. She explains, “Subbing cake flour 1:1 into a recipe that was developed for all-purpose flour might result in sunken cake or bars, or cookies that are too delicate or simply fall apart.” That’s because the lower protein content in cake flour may not develop enough gluten or structure to support a baked good meant to be made with all-purpose flour. To live up to its name, Tender White Cake is made with cake flour.Start baking with cake flourReady to bake great cake? Pick up a box of cake flour and make some of our favorite cake flour recipes:1.Tender White Cake2. Cookies and Cream Cupcakes3. Almond Tres Leches Cake4. Coconut Cake5. Ultra-Vanilla Cupcakes with Easy Vanilla Frosting

Bulk fermentation (also called the first rise or primary fermentation) is one of the most important steps of yeast bread baking. It begins right when mixing ends and lasts until the dough is divided and preshaped. The name signifies exactly what it is: the step when the dough is fermenting in a large, single mass.During this time, fermentation creates organic acids and carbon dioxide gases, each of which plays an important part in dough development. Organic acids are primarily what give the dough flavor and strength (acids help condition the gluten network) and carbon dioxide gives the dough volume and lightness.While our friendly yeast and bacteria are doing most of this work, the dough still benefits from a periodic check-in by the baker. We help regulate dough temperature and strength through a series of folds, and these check-ins also give us an opportunity to assess how the dough is progressing. Why stretch and fold?Folding helps add strength to bread dough through a very simple series of actions: stretch the dough out and over itself. This act of stretching and folding, which takes just a few moments, helps develop the gluten network in the dough. Each fold has a significant impact on dough strength.Through folding, we’re also helping to regulate dough temperature throughout the entire bulk mass. This ensures the dough’s temperature is relatively even throughout — no cool or warm spots at the top or bottom.And finally, at each set, we have a chance to handle the dough and gain a firsthand assessment on how it’s developing: is the dough sluggish because it’s cool in the kitchen? This means we might need to extend bulk fermentation. Is it strong enough for preshaping or does it need another set of folds? By interacting with the dough in this way, we have an opportunity to answer these questions and adjust course as necessary.When should I stretch and fold?This process works best when you perform a quick series of folds and then let the dough rest. In the left-hand image below, you can see the dough bunched tightly in the center after performing a set of stretches and folds. In the right image, you can see it relaxed after a 30-minute rest, ready for another set of folds.If you try to perform another set too soon, you’ll find the dough is too tight. It’ll be hard to stretch and may even tear. For most doughs, I find spacing out each set by 30 minutes (with the first set happening 30 minutes after the beginning of bulk fermentation) to be just right. How to fold bread doughThere are many ways to fold bread dough, but my preference is to perform them directly in the bowl. First, get a small bowl filled with water and place it next to your bulk container. Dip your hands in the water before folding to prevent excessive sticking.You will perform the same up-and-over motion four times, turning the bowl after each fold. As shown above, use two wet hands and grab the side of the dough farthest from you, then lift it up and over to the side nearest your body. Next, rotate your container 180°, wet your hands again if necessary, and perform the same stretch and fold. Next, rotate your container 90°. Grab the side of the dough farthest from you; once again stretch it up and over to the side of the container nearest your body. Rotate your bowl 180° and perform the same fold one final time.To finish the set, I like to gently pick the dough up in the center and let the ends fold under just a little. This helps keep the dough tidy in the middle. When to end bulk fermentation?Finding the exact point when to end bulk fermentation takes practice. With time, you’ll learn to read the signs of sufficient fermentation: dough strength, elasticity, smoothness, volume gain, and bubbly appearance.But making this call can be difficult. Cutting bulk fermentation short might mean your dough won’t be sufficiently fermented and you’ll head toward an under-proofed result. On the other hand, if you push bulk fermentation too far, your dough will be hard to handle and on the verge of over-proofing. There’s a balance to be found.Upper left: dough at the beginning of bulk fermentation. Upper right: dough before first stretch and fold. Lower left: dough before second stretch and fold. Lower right: dough at the end of bulk fermentation.In the image above, see how it initially starts as a shaggy mass, but eventually rises significantly and becomes smooth, strong, and bubbly?At the end of bulk fermentation, I look for a dough that’s risen significantly and is much smoother than when bulk started. If you tug on the dough a little with a wet hand, you’ll feel resistance and elasticity.Additionally, look for liveliness. Gently shake the bowl and it’ll jiggle, letting you know there’s plenty of aeration in the dough. These are all great signs that the dough has fermented sufficiently and is strong enough to be divided.Strong fermentation, sufficient dough strength, ending bulk fermentation at the right time, and a full proof – these are all steps required for a wonderful loaf of bread. And as you develop a sense for how to execute on each of these, you’ll taste the difference in every bite.

If you learn one skill to bake better, it should be how to measure flour — the right way. It’s arguably one of the biggest keys to baking success. That’s because a little too much flour can be the difference between a good bake and a not-so-good bake. And if you’re measuring your flour by volume (i.e., with measuring cups), then it’s very likely you’re adding too much flour.That’s because measuring flour by volume is wildly inconsistent: It all depends on how densely the flour is packed into the cup. If the flour is more condensed, a cup can hold up to 160 grams of all-purpose flour. If you fluff, scoop, and level, as we recommend, a cup will hold around 120 grams. But if you weigh your flour with a scale? You’ll always get exactly 120 grams of all-purpose flour per cup, precisely as our Test Kitchen (or whoever developed your recipe) intends.If you succeed in correctly measuring your flour, your baked goods are more likely to be successful, too. And while we recommend always using a scale, using measuring cups works too if you do it the right way. However you choose to measure your flour, here’s how to get it right. With a scale, your measurements are always accurate.How to measure flour with a kitchen scaleHit the “Tare” button to make sure your scale is set to 0 grams. (All of our recipes include gram and volume measurements.) Set your measuring bowl, or a separate empty bowl, measuring cup, or other vessel (whatever you’ll be pouring your flour into) onto the scale, then press “Tare” again to set the scale to 0 grams. Scoop your flour into the vessel on the scale — if you’re measuring 1 cup of all-purpose flour, keep scooping until the scale totals 120 grams. Or measure out however much flour the recipe calls for. (Wondering about the weight of other flours and ingredients? Check out our handy ingredient weight chart.)Generally, you can stay within 5 grams over or under the written amount (for instance, if the recipe calls for 240 grams of flour and you measured out 245 grams), and it won’t affect your recipe. With that said, we recommend being as accurate as possible when measuring flour and all other ingredients.How to measure flour with measuring cupsIf you don’t have a scale and need to measure flour by volume, it’s important to use the correct technique. Using our “Fluff, Sprinkle, and Scrape” technique is the best way to make sure you do not add too much flour to your recipes.Begin by fluffing your flour in its bag or container using a spoon or scoop. The goal here is to lighten and aerate the flour. Spoon the fluffed flour into your measuring cup until it’s overflowing. Use a straight edge (like the back of a butter knife or a bench knife) to evenly level off the top so the flour is even with the top of the measuring cup.

For best long-term storage, dry itSourdough baking is endlessly fascinating, isn’t it?First-time sourdough bakers, excited by the starter they’ve created, happily explore the huge realm of possibilities for its use. More seasoned sourdough aficionados, having mastered the basics, work at fine-tuning techniques, learning to use fermentation temperatures to bring out (or tone down) certain flavors in sourdough’s rich, multilayered profile.But one thing most of us have in common: at some point, we need to put our sourdough baking on hold. Maybe we’re going on vacation; perhaps the schedule is just too crowded at the moment for the ritual feeding/discarding/feeding/baking process.Whatever the reason, there comes a time when we need to put our sourdough starter to bed for awhile.What’s the best way to keep your starter happy, healthy, and vibrant, when you know you won’t be using it for an extended period?Refrigerate it and hope? Freeze it and forget it?Neither of the above. The best way to preserve your starter – for a couple of weeks, a month, or even years – is to dry it.Let’s see how the process works. 1. Ready your sourdough starter for storage.First, feed your starter as though you were going to bake with it. If it’s been stored in the fridge, take it out, and feed it with equal parts unbleached all-purpose flour and lukewarm water. Let it rest, covered, until it becomes very bubbly and healthy looking. 2. Spread it out to dry.Next, spread it – all of it* – onto two pieces of parchment. It helps to set each piece of parchment on a baking sheet, simply for ease of transportation.*Don’t want to dry all of it? See the end of this post for advice.The starter should be spread as thinly as possible; use a spatula, an offset spatula, or a bowl scraper to help the process along. 3. Dry the starter completely, until it’s brittle.Let the starter dry at room temperature until it’s completely and utterly dry. This will take a day (if you live, say, in Arizona, in a house without air conditioning); or up to three, four, five days – it totally depends on the weather. In Seattle, in winter? Count on a long dry.If you live somewhere humid, can you dry your starter in the oven? Yes; but be careful. Rather than turning the oven on to warm it, I’d advise using only your oven’s electric light, which will produce very gentle, even heat. You don’t want to risk turning the oven on and accidentally making it too hot, which would kill your starter. (See step #8, below.)Completely dry starter should peel easily off the parchment; when you pick a piece up, it will be brittle and easily snap between your fingers. If you have a scale, weigh it; if you started with 4 ounces starter on your parchment, it should weigh 2 ounces (or very close) when it’s completely dry.4. Break it into pieces.Break the starter into small chips with your hands; or place it in a plastic bag and pulverize it with something heavy.Can you run it through a food processor? Yes, but it’s not necessary; just break it into chips as best you can. 5. Store it airtight.Store the starter airtight, preferably in a glass container. You want something totally inert, with an airtight cover; a glass jar is perfect. Date the jar and label it; you don’t want someone throwing it away during the course of some pantry spring cleaning.Keep the jar of dried starter in a cool, dark place, if possible. Not cool as in refrigerator; just not sitting in the hot sun, or over your woodstove. Be sensible.6. Bring your sourdough starter back to life.When you’re ready to revive the starter, measure out 1 ounce (or about 1/8 of it, if you’d been following a regular feeding pattern and had about 8 ounces starter on hand at the beginning of the drying process).Don’t have a scale? Well, depending on the size of your chips, this will be between 1/4 and 1/3 cup. 7. Mix the starter with lukewarm water.Place the dried starter chips in a large (at least 1-pint) container. Add 2 ounces (1/4 cup) of lukewarm water. The water should barely cover the chips; tamp them down, if necessary. Stir the chips/water occasionally; it’ll take 3 hours or so, with infrequent attention, to dissolve the chips. 8. Feed it with flour.Once the mixture is fairly smooth/liquid, with perhaps just a couple of small undissolved chips, feed it with 1 ounce (about 1/4 cup) of unbleached all-purpose flour. Cover it lightly (a shower cap works well here), and place it somewhere warm. I like to use my electric oven with the light turned on. Even without ever turning on the heat, it holds a constant temperature between 85°F and 90°F.You can certainly keep your starter out of the oven, at room temperature; just understand that this whole process, as I’ll describe it, will take longer. The cooler the room, the longer it takes sourdough starter to work. 9. Let it rest somewhere warm until it bubbles.Let the starter work for 24 hours. At the end of that time, you should see some bubbles starting to form. Remember, this is at about 85°F; if your temperature is lower, this will take longer.How much longer? Totally depends on temperature. Once you do this process once – in your kitchen, in your climate, accounting for your weather – you’ll have a better idea.Sourdough isn’t one of those things you can be all engineering about. Forget your timer; just wait until your starter looks like the picture above.10. Feed the starter again.WITHOUT DISCARDING ANY OF THE STARTER, feed it with 1 ounce of lukewarm water, and 1 ounce of flour. Cover, and put back in its warm spot. After “X” hours (depends on your kitchen), you should see some serious bubbling; mine took eight hours to become nice and bubbly.11. And again.Feed the starter again – 1 ounce of lukewarm water, 1 ounce of flour – cover, and wait. Again, you’re not discarding any at this point. Here’s my starter 12 hours later. It’s exhibiting a host of tiny bubbles, and has expanded. You may also notice, from the side of the container, that it’s risen, and then fallen; this is completely natural. 12. Put the starter back on its regular feeding schedule.Your starter is ready to return to its former life – and its regular schedule. DISCARD all but 4 ounces (about 1/2 cup). Feed it again, this time with 4 ounces each lukewarm water and flour. (That’s 1/2 cup of water, and 1 cup of flour, for those of you without a scale. Tell me again why you don’t have a scale?) This time, it should really expand quickly. In my 85°F oven, it took just 4 hours for it to triple in size. Your starter is now revived and healthy.13. At last – you’re ready to bake!To ready the starter for baking (while saving enough for another day), feed it again. Discard all but 4 ounces; and feed the remainder with 4 ounces each lukewarm water and flour. Let it become bubbly – and let the baking begin! Finally, because I know you’ll ask –Q. Do you have to dry all of your starter?A. No. Store half in the fridge, if you like. Just don’t store any in the freezer; freezing will kill your starter (more on that in a future post).Q. If you dried all of your starter, and you only revive 1 ounce of it – what do you do with the rest?A. Give some to a friend (with a link to this blog post, of course). Or just save the rest for sometime in the future.Q. How long will dried starter stay good?A. Not sure, but we’ve heard cases of dried starter remaining viable for over a decade. Thorough drying should preserve your starter indefinitely – just ask King Tut! Finally, I couldn’t possibly end this post without showing you what happened to my dried, revived, fed, and baked-with starter. This Extra-Tangy Sourdough Bread has NO commercial yeast; it was entirely leavened with my reconstituted starter. Success!

Flour CategoriesFlour comes in four categories to cover a variety of bakery products. The Flour classification refers to its protein level. The protein content is determined by the wheat strain planted by the farmer and the subsequent climatic conditions during growing. Wholemeal FlourProtein average: 12% – 14% Suitable for Bread, Buns, Pastry, Cakes and Cookies. It can be used alone but mainly in conjunction with other flour types as a percentage of the total flour. High Protein Bread FlourProtein average: 12% – 14% Suitable for all types of Bread, Buns and some Pastry. Medium Protein Plain FlourProtein average: 10% – 12% Suitable for Bread, Pastry, Cakes and Cookies. Low Protein Cake FlourProtein average: 7% – 9% Suitable for all types of Cakes, Sponges Cookies and Muffins. Cake flour can be chlorinated
(It denatures protein and increases absorption) or straight-stream unchlorinated cake flour. Rye FlourProtein average: 8% – 15%Types: Dark Rye, Light Rye Suitable for bread making on its own or blended with white flour. The protein differs from wheat flour, containing only Gliadin, resulting in smaller, more compact breads. Specialty FlourProtein average: 12% – 14% Spelt, Einkorn, Kamut and Buckwheat are known as ancient grains. They can be used individually to make bread but are challenging to handle as doughs are sticky. You will blend these with white flour to make bread. Some speciality flours have a gluten-free label. Flour Type and AvailabilityThe protein content of the harvested wheat will finally determine its category and use. Flour is the base ingredient in a recipe, with each grade playing different roles across product ranges. A specific name often identifies flour types, e.g. all-purpose flour from the medium protein range; and self-rising flour, a medium protein flour containing baking powder.
Country generic names such as Hong Kong Flour are identified with certain dim sum products and are low protein flour. European Flours, very popular with Artisan bakers, use a different system which identifies the flour by its extraction rate, e.g., T45 (like plain flour), T55 (like bread flour), and T65 (high- end bread flour)
The extraction rate relates to the flour obtained from the milling process. Flour with a high number after the T means the flour has a high bran content (minerals) from the milling process.

BEST BAKESBBuy a set of digital scales that measure in 1g units. Start your baking journey methodically!EExamine and understand the nature of each stage of the process before undertaking it. Check critical details.SSpecifically weigh all the liquids in the recipe.TTemperature management of ingredients and maintaining process control temperatures are vital elements in your success.BBaking times and baking temperatures will vary from oven range to oven range. Develop suitable oven settings from your actual experience with that oven.AAeration in its many forms, is the key to all baking. Achieving optimum aeration requires adherence to critical stages of the process and a proper understanding of mixing speeds and times.KKeep records of what you have done to identify success when the product is out of the oven. Photos are a good idea.EEnjoy each baking experience and be patient with yourself. You might have many failures as you travel along the baking journey. However, family and friends will have the opportunity to enjoy your attempts with gusto.SStudy the recipe and ingredients thoroughly before attempting to make it!

IntroductionUnderstanding the role of Flour, Water, Dough Development and Temperature control are the keys to successful bread making. Understanding the relationship between the four elements and their interdependence enables you to practice mastering the initial art of baking bread.Floor QualityPart One of this handbook listed the flour types, their protein content and their uses. On average, flour with 12 – 14% protein content will give the best result for bread making. The flour requires its ability to form a strong gluten matrix, whether mixed by hand or machine.The retail supermarket’s flours will produce a satisfactory result, provided you follow the correct processes.My advice for a beginner is to start with the flour available in the local supermarket and observe the results you achieve with the dough you make from it. Remember, it will require you to prepare many doughs to acquire proficiency with any flour. Resist the temptation to try different brands until you are happy with the process and the supermarket flour results. Once you are satisfied with the handling, processing, baking, etc., look for other flours that may provide different volumes, aromas, etc.Quote: “Good flour is not cheap and cheap flour is not good “. The secrets are in the process, not the flour! The protein content will guide the amount of water the flour will hold.Water AbsorptionThe water content can vary from 58% to 100%, depending on your product and process.Starting with water at 60% to 75% based on the flour weight of the recipe is an excellent range. I advise having a tight dough (62% – 65%) as you will be more able to handle this. Once you have mastered the process, increase the water gradually and determine what amount suits you best. Water used in the dough also controls the dough temperature and the fermentation rate.Dough DevelopmentWhen mixed, the ingredients for the dough of flour, salt, yeast, and water will develop the gluten matrix, which becomes the structure for the bread.The gluten matrix holds the Carbon Dioxide CO2 produced through fermentation, causing the dough to rise. Hand development is satisfactory but a tedious process that requires time and technique to master.Using a mixing machine will save time and generally develop better doughs. Some home bakers use their bread machine to mix the dough, remove it once mixed, and continue the bread making process. Reaching the optimum requires understanding the importance of developing the flour protein.Gluten Matrix is the optimum development of the gluten proteins: Glutenin (elasticity – ability to resume shape after being stretched) and Gliadin (extensibility – the capacity to stretch). To test the dough development, you do the gluten stretch test. Take a dough ball and stretch it out by pulling it from the sides. A well-developed dough will be extensible, stretching and not breaking.MUST KNOWDough development through building a solid gluten matrix that will hold in the gas CO2 the yeast produces during fermentation is crucial and will require lots of practice to achieve consistency. Temperature Control The dough’s water temperature depends on the environment, machinery, time taken for fermentation, and the style of dough you are making. Home bakers prefer chilled water in Singapore or warmer climates. Place the dough water in a chiller (4°C) overnight, ready for use the next day. The chilled water will assist with the finished dough temperature (after mixing) and the amount added will help control the yeast’s growth.The water temperature where the climate is seasonable will require adjustments to maintain yeast activity. Observing the performance of the dough at different times of the year will help you better understand how the yeast performs.What is the optimum temperature for yeast activity? Yeast works best at temperatures of 36 to 40°C. The objective when making bread is to be able to control this activity until the dough is in the final proofing stage. In a warm climate keeping the dough cool is the objective.In contrast, a warmer dough is necessary for consistent fermentation growth when it is frigid in winter in a temperate environment. Hence the use of chilled or tempered water depends on the climate and dough-making style used.Room temperature refers to the ambient temperature of the room where the doughs are mixed, which will vary due to climatic conditions. An ideal room temperature will be between 22°C to24°C.The pH of Yeast DoughThe acidity level of the bread is the result of the fermentation process. During the dough fermentation stage, alcohol and carbon dioxide (CO2) react with the organic acids that produce flavour. The yeast growth activity is related to the ambient temperature, water and fermentation time. In typical bread, the pH ranges between5.3– 5.8, depending on the processing style. In sourdough bread, the pH is lower and ranges from3.8 – 4.6, giving the bread its characteristic flavour.

Four critical ingredients and a few key techniques.Do you suffer from pie crust phobia? If so, you’re not alone; plenty of otherwise confident bakers find themselves furtively hustling a ready-made crust out of the supermarket freezer case into their shopping cart. But life doesn’t have to be that way; you can make the best pie crust ever by following these simple steps:1. Choose a good recipe2. Start with the right ingredients3. Learn a few basic techniquesWhat I want to emphasize here is the importance of your ingredients: specifically flour, salt, fat, and liquid. Choosing those four ingredients wisely will lead to consistently great pie crust.1. Flour: It’s all about proteinWhat kind of flour makes the best pie crust? Well, not high-protein bread flour! Use that for your chewy bagels. What you want for pie is flour that yields a tender, flaky crust, which means medium-protein all-purpose flour or low-protein pastry flour.What does protein have to do with it?When you add water to flour some of its protein turns into gluten, an elastic substance that gives baked goods the structure they need to hold together (and to rise when appropriate). The higher the protein level, the stronger the structure.Strong structure in yeast bread translates to high-rising; but in pie crust, strong structure can be perceived as tough — the last attribute you want applied to your apple pie. So stick to flour with a medium-to-low percentage of protein, which means all-purpose flour (11.7% protein), pastry flour blend (10.3%), or pastry flour (8.0%).Does the flour with the lowest protein make the best pie crust?Not necessarily. Yes, you can make tender, flaky pie crust with pastry flour. But it can be a bit of a challenge, particularly for those uncertain of their pie crust skills. Pastry flour pie crust is harder to roll without cracking, and it can split apart at the seams while the pie is baking.That’s why I choose all-purpose flour for my pie crust. The dough is easier to roll out and move around and, despite its slightly higher protein, the crust is wonderfully flaky. In my book, the ease of an all-purpose flour crust trumps the marginal added tenderness of a pastry flour crust. 2. Salt: Critical for flavourSalt adds flavor to pie crust. Leave out the salt and, unless you’re used to following a salt-free diet, the crust will taste like cardboard.I find that when using unsalted butter and/or shortening in your crust, about 1/2 teaspoon salt per cup of flour is just perfect. If you’re using salted butter, reduce the amount of added salt in your crust by 1/4 teaspoon for each 8 tablespoons (1/2 cup) of butter in the recipe.Since pie crust dough has very little liquid, choose table salt or fine salt. Their finer crystals will disperse more evenly throughout the dough despite the lack of water to dissolve them.3. Fat: Choose your favouriteSome people love lard in pie crust. Others use liquid vegetable oil. There are those who swear by their grandma’s Crisco crust — and other bakers who eschew solid vegetable shortening for health reasons. Many people love an all-butter crust. And then there’s coconut oil … So many choices!Butter is a major flavor enhancer, but its low melting point can be an issue. Shortening, with its higher melting point, adds stability to a baking pie crust.If you have trouble with your crust slipping down the sides of the pan, or if your carefully fashioned crimp around the edge melts and puddles, blame butter. A combination of butter and shortening yields the best qualities of each: flavor and baking stability. 4. Liquid: The ultimate key to textureAs mentioned before, liquid + the protein in flour = gluten. And once that gluten forms, working it — by mixing the pie crust dough, then rolling it out — increases gluten’s strength and decreases the resulting crust’s tenderness.The best pie crust is a perfect balance between fat, flour, and liquid. Too much fat and the crust may taste greasy and crumble as it bakes. Too much liquid can create extra gluten, leading to tough, chewy crust.But strike just the right balance — sufficient fat for tenderness without greasiness, and just enough liquid to hold everything together — and you’ve struck pie crust gold.Water, milk … vodka?Some bakers use milk or buttermilk in their pie crust. Thanks to their milk solids, both will help crust brown and add a bit of tenderness. But the classic liquid in pie crust is water — ice water, to be precise.Why ice water? Ice water keeps the bits of fat in the dough cold and intact (rather than melted and dispersed). This creates little pockets of fat that, as the pie bakes, gradually melt and form tiny caverns in the crust — which we describe as flakiness.Vodka in pie crust has been a popular substitute for ice water in recent years. Why? It’s said that its lower percentage of water (alcohol is part water, part ethanol) means less gluten development, yielding a more tender crust.In my experience this is partially true; using vodka in pie crust makes a soft, silky dough that’s lovely to roll out. But the resulting crust isn’t any more tender or flaky than an ice-water crust.And crust whose liquid is 100% vodka can border on being too tender, since less of its gluten has been activated. An all-vodka crust (especially one made with higher-proof vodka) can occasionally fall apart as you move it from countertop to pie pan. “Add just enough liquid.” What’s just enough?Less is more: The less liquid you add to pie crust dough (within reason), the more tender it will be.When the vodka is thoroughly dispersed, I dribble in ice water just until the dough starts to come together. And I mean just enough water. Watch carefully as you stir; when the dough starts to clump, and you grab a handful and squeeze it and it doesn’t crumble into pieces, stop adding water.Gather the dough into a ball. Divide it in half, and flatten each half into a hockey puck-like disk. That’s it. You’re done. You’ve just made the best pie crust for Cranberry Hand Pies, Gluten-Free Crustless Pumpkin Pie, Easy Fall Mini Pies.How to make the best pie crust: your takeaways1. Use a reliable recipe.2. Choose all-purpose flour or pastry flour.3. Don’t skip or reduce the salt; it’s critical for flavor.4. Various types of fat work well; choose your favorite.5. Add just enough liquid to hold the dough together.

Pie crust — gotta love it, right?Flaky and tender when you nail it, tough as rawhide when you don’t, pie crust divides all of us bakers into definitive categories: those who succeed; those who fail, but keep trying; and those who buy Mrs. Smith’s.Why is pie crust so tough — often literally? Well, it’s all about the fat, the water, and the flour. Three simple ingredients that, together, can create a masterpiece — or mayhem.Butter vs. shortening in pie crust: the flourFlour does make a difference, but not as much as you might think. A lower-protein pastry flour will inherently make a more tender crust (and will also be a bit more fragile when you’re rolling it out).Truthfully, I use our all-purpose flour in my pie crust; I have to be careful not to work it too hard once the water is added (for fear of developing its gluten), but for me, it offers an ideal blend of good results and ease of handling. The liquidMake it ice water. Simple enough, right? Sure, you can use milk, add an egg, and try other types of liquid, but water produces reliably good results — so why not? Ah, now comes the ingredient that arguably makes or breaks a pie crust, and also creates the most debate: The FatYour grandma used lard. Your mom used shortening. You use butter. Are all fats created equal?I decided to find out.First thing I did was rule out lard. NOT BECAUSE IT’S NOT A PERFECTLY GOOD FAT AND CAPABLE OF MAKING WONDROUSLY TASTY PIE CRUST. After all, our ancestors made lard-crust pies for centuries and, like lard-fried doughnuts, they were delicious.I’m ruling out lard simply because good, fresh lard isn’t as universally available as shortening and butter. So if you love lard, and have a good supplier – stick with it.But if butter and vegetable shortening are your choices, read on. For years, I’ve alternated between two favorite recipes: Gluten-Free Crustless Pumpkin Pie, a crust made with both shortening and butter; and All-Butter Pie Crust.One Thanksgiving I’d go with an all-butter crust for my Cranberry Hand Pies; the next, I’d make my Easy Fall Mini Pies with the shortening/butter clone.But never had I made both crusts in tandem, and done a side-by-side comparison. Which was flakier? Which tasted better? Butter makes a lighter crustI made an amazing discovery (amazing to me; we pie geeks are easily amazed): something I’d always believed to be true was absolutely, categorically, without a doubt not true at all.I’d always told people that a shortening/butter pie crust would have better texture than an all-butter crust, due to shortening’s higher melting point. Why?Fat keeps the layers of flour/water “matrix” separated as the pie bakes; the longer fat is present in its solid form (score one for shortening, with its high melting point), the more flakes will form, the more tender/flakier the crust will be.Now, that may be true. I didn’t actually count the number of flaky layers in each crust. But one thing was abundantly clear: the all-butter crust (above left) made a lighter crust, with more defined flakes than the butter/shortening combination (above right).I was totally puzzled until it dawned on me: butter contains more water than shortening.As the crust bakes, that water is converted to steam, puffing up the crust (and its flakes) like someone blowing up a balloon.Each fat adds its own distinct flavorAnd flavor? The all-butter crust tasted — well, buttery, of course. The butter/shortening crust (which was, by the way, just as tender and flaky as the butter crust, but without its light texture) tasted a bit like butter, and a bit like pie crust — that indefinable something that tells your taste buds, yes, I’m eating a piece of pie.Both were good — just different. And one of the chief differences was looks: the butter crust produced a very ill-defined edge. My careful fluting basically went up in smoke (er, steam).So if you’re after looks, stick with the butter/shortening combination (or all shortening). If looks don’t matter to you, I’d go with the all-butter crust.What about substituting vodka for water?While I was at it, I decided to test the famous Cook’s Illustrated secret to tender, flaky pie crust: using vodka in place of half the water in the crust.The theory is that vodka, being alcohol rather than water, will develop flour’s gluten less than plain water, thus creating a more tender crust.The verdict? I couldn’t discern any difference in the flakiness/tenderness of the vodka vs. non-vodka crusts. But the vodka crust rolled out more easily; with its silken, smooth texture, it was a pleasure to work with.So would I add vodka to pie crust? Sure. I think I’ll even keep a little bottle in the fridge, so it’s handy for pie crust or a gimlet — whichever comes first!OK, I’ve given you a map. And here you stand at the crossroads, ready to make a decision on the butter vs. shortening in pie crust debate.

Choosing the best pan for the best pie.Baking is often about choices, and sometimes those choices can help you dial in your ideal bake. From selecting a certain cocoa for your chocolate cake to finding the cupcake decoration that feels both beautiful and achievable, bakers have a lot of agency beyond the strict confines of a recipe.Can baking in a specific type of pan help you achieve a perfectly browned bottom, crispy and golden and not the least bit soggy? Let’s find out. A general overview of baking pan materialsThe biggest distinction between pans is heat transfer. Metal conducts heat the most efficiently — in other words, it gets hot the quickest and transfers heat evenly across the pan’s surface — which is why many professionals choose aluminum pans. (Another benefit: Metal pans withstand rapid temperature changes, meaning you can take your pie plate from the fridge to the oven without worrying about shattering.)Glass, on the other hand, is an insulator. Because glass slows the flow of heat between the oven’s air and your dough, it takes more time to heat up than metal — meaning your dough takes longer to heat too. But once it’s hot, it retains that heat well, and it stays hot for longer than metal. For pie, there’s one more bonus: The clear material means you can visibly check how brown your crust is getting.Ceramic pie pans are usually either stoneware or porcelain, and they can vary based on the material and how it’s made. They can also vary in thickness and thus heat transfer, so ultimate performance depends on which brand or maker you’re baking with. Overall, though, they tend to be slower to transfer heat than more efficient metal pans, though they retain heat well. Putting the pie pans to the testHow these properties affect your baking often depends on the recipe you’re making. In pie, this primarily applies to the bottom crust. The ideal is a crust that cooks quickly and completely, even in a pie with juicy or liquid fillings. Let’s see how Easy Fall Mini Pies made with All-Butter Pie Crust and baked in metal, glass, and ceramic pie plates compare.Note: Some crusts — notably those with added sugar — will naturally brown better, regardless of pan type. Again, there are always many factors to balance when baking!The biggest takeawayThough there were some slight variations among the pans (more below!), all of these pies ultimately turned out well. Their crusts mostly browned, and none were distressingly underbaked. This means that, no matter what kind of pan you currently have in your cupboard, you can still make good pie worthy of serving to friends and family. Pie made in a metal panOf the three pies, the metal pan had the most even browning across the entire bottom crust. From the outer edge to the very center, the crust was golden brown and thoroughly baked. If I had my choice of pans, I’d go with an aluminum one like this.Pie made in a ceramic panWhile the ceramic-baked* crust was far from soggy, it had the least even browning of the three pies. The center of the pie was pale and slightly underbaked, which wasn’t ideal, while the outer edge had a nice deep brown color.Pie made in a glass panThe glass pan resulted in a bottom crust that was somewhat evenly browned, though there was more variance than the metal pan: The center was paler than the outer edge of the crust. That said, the glass-baked crust was darker than the metal-baked crust, which makes sense — glass retains heat longer than metal, so the crust was able to bake further. This is where being able to check your crust color using the clear material comes in handy, especially for fruit pies like apple that can bake for a long time without the filling being adversely affected.A final trick for perfectly browned crustMore specifically, bake them on a preheated pizza stone or baking steel, which blasts the bottom with a big burst of heat to help the crust set before wet fillings can soak in and make them gummy. Using a metal pan is crucial, though, since it can withstand rapid temperature changes that glass or ceramic pans can’t.

Eager to get started on those beautiful moulded chocolates? This step-by-step breakdown will help you achieve the perfect end result.Good To Know:What should you take to heart when making moulded chocolates?Use polycarbonate moulds. These yield the best gloss and contract slower than chocolate, making unmoulding far easier. Choose a fluid chocolate: a three-drop or four-drop fluidity is ideal. Heat the moulds briefly before pouring in your chocolate. This way, you’ll avoid temperature shocks that could make your chocolate turn grey afterwards.Make sure that your filling is smooth and fluid enough to pipe easily. Also check that it isn’t warmer than 28°C, otherwise the filling will make your chocolate shells melt. Try to avoid making smudges on the rims of your chocolate moulds with the filling as they may cause leaks in your chocolate shells. Always fill each chocolate shell individually. Never fill the chocolate shells to the brim. Leave a 1.5-mm opening from the top, otherwise it would be impossible to seal your chocolates properly.Needed:1. Moulds for chocolates (pralines), preferably in polycarbonate2. A ladle3. Chocolate melter or tempering machine4. A small palette knife5. A chocolate scraper6. Sheet of paperStep 1Temper the melted chocolate.Step 2Warm your chocolate mould with a heat gun to a temperature of 26 to 27°C, but make sure it doesn’t become warmer than your tempered chocolate.Step 3Fill the mould with tempered chocolate. Hold the mould at an angle and scrape off the excess chocolate from the top and sides of the mould.Step 4Tap the mould firmly against your worktop to remove any air bubbles from the chocolate.Step 5Pour the chocolate back into the melter, but make sure that all sides and corners of the mould cavities are evenly covered with chocolate.Step 6Scrape off the excess chocolate from the top and sides of the mould again.Step 7Let the chocolate set for about 5 minutes: put the mould on a sheet of paper with is open side facing down and allow the excess chocolate to drip onto it (until the dripped out chocolate begins to set).Step 8Scrape off the excess chocolate one last time and leave the chocolate to harden in a refrigerator at 14 to 16°C for a few minutes. The chocolate shells are then ready to be filled with a ganache, praline or other filling.Which type of chocolate is best suited to create moulded chocolates?For a medium thick chocolate shell:All chocolate types with a basic three-drop fluidity are right about perfect. They make it easy to create a chocolate layer with the perfect thickness and minimise the chance of having unwanted air bubbles, especially in comparison with more fluid chocolates.For a fine chocolate shell:Some chocolate lovers and craftsmen want the chocolate shell of their moulded chocolates to be as fine and crunchy as possible. A more fluid chocolate with a 2% to 4% higher cocoa butter content is absolutely perfect for this. You can easily recognize these types of chocolate by the four-drop symbol indicated on their packaging.

Bad storage will have a negative impact on the quality of your finished product. To prevent this from happening, we show you the ins and outs of the proper storing procedure.Good To Know:Why is it so important to store your chocolate creations in the right conditions?Constant storage temperatures are essential to slow down the white-greyish discoloration (i.e. fat bloom) that naturally appears on the chocolate’s surface.Avoid temperature shocks since they may cause sugar bloom.Storing chocolate in a space that is too humid or too cold may expose it to condensation, often causes sugar bloom. Never store chocolate near strong-smelling products as chocolate has the tendency to absorb odours.How can you slow down the appearance of fat bloom?Store your finished chocolate products at a constant temperature between 18°C and 20°C. Fat-based fillings (e.g. pralines or nut-based fillings) will make fat bloom appear faster. You can prevent this by adding 5% to 6% cocoa butter to your filling and then pre-crystallising (or tempering) it.What causes sugar bloom?Temperature shocks, or storing chocolate in a space that is too humid or too cold (thus exposing it to condensation) in many cases gives rise to sugar bloom.

Need a large quantity of workable chocolate? Then it’s best to use the chocolate tempering machine.Good To Know:Why is fluidity so important?The fluidity of your chocolate determines the thickness of the shell and the snap of your chocolate products: the more fluid your chocolate, the thinner and crunchier your shell will be.Using chocolate with the right fluidity also saves time: you can cast large moulds in one go with less fluid chocolate. Chocolate with a higher fluidity is better for moulds with a lot of detail, but you’ll need to fill your mould with chocolate 2 to 3 times.Why is it so important to pre-crystallise chocolate properly?It helps chocolate harden, and gives it a beautiful satin gloss and a delicious snap. It makes chocolate contract during cooling, which makes it easier to unmould. Badly crystallised or uncrystallised chocolate will turn grey and won’t have an appetising gloss.What is tempering or pre-crystallising?The purpose of tempering chocolate is to pre-crystallise the cocoa butter in it, which is important to make your chocolate ready for processing. During tempering, the cocoa butter in the chocolate takes on a stable crystalline form. This guarantees a perfect finished product with a satin gloss and a hard snap. It also makes the chocolate contract during cooling, which makes it easier to unmould. If chocolate is simply melted (between 40 and 45 °C) and then left to cool down to a suitable working temperature, the finished product will not be glossy. If you make the small effort of bringing your chocolate to the right working temperature properly, you are guaranteed to get the desired end result. And that’s what we mean by tempering: bringing chocolate up to the right working temperature while making sure that the crystalline structure of the cocoa butter in it is stable. As you’ll discover below, the three key principles for proper tempering are time, temperature and movement.Step 1Pour a small amout of chocolate into a plastic or glass bowl.Step 2Place the bowl in a microwave and melt the chocolate at 800-1,000 W.Step 3Take the chocolate out of the microwave every 15 to 20 seconds and stir well to make sure that the heat is distributed evenly throughout and to keep the chocolate from burning.Step 4Repeat this procedure until the chocolate has almost entirely melted. Some small pieces of chocolate should still be visible in the bowl.Step 5Take the bowl out of the microwave and stir the chocolate well until all the pieces of chocolate have disappeared. You’ll notice that your chocolate is now smooth and slightly thicker. That means it is properly tempered and ready for use.Which chocolate needs to be tempered?Each variety or type of chocolate should be tempered before you use it to mould chocolates and hollow figures, or to enrobe cakes and chocolates. In short, whenever chocolate needs to have a beautiful satin gloss and a hard snap, tempering is absolutely crucial.When you add chocolate to dishes as a flavour component (e.g. chocolate mousses or bavarian creams), it suffices to simply melt it without tempering. All our recipes clearly indicate if your chocolate should be tempered or not.A general overview of baking pan materialsThe biggest distinction between pans is heat transfer. Metal conducts heat the most efficiently — in other words, it gets hot the quickest and transfers heat evenly across the pan’s surface — which is why many professionals choose aluminum pans. (Another benefit: Metal pans withstand rapid temperature changes, meaning you can take your pie plate from the fridge to the oven without worrying about shattering.)Glass, on the other hand, is an insulator. Because glass slows the flow of heat between the oven’s air and your dough, it takes more time to heat up than metal — meaning your dough takes longer to heat too. But once it’s hot, it retains that heat well, and it stays hot for longer than metal. For pie, there’s one more bonus: The clear material means you can visibly check how brown your crust is getting.Ceramic pie pans are usually either stoneware or porcelain, and they can vary based on the material and how it’s made. They can also vary in thickness and thus heat transfer, so ultimate performance depends on which brand or maker you’re baking with. Overall, though, they tend to be slower to transfer heat than more efficient metal pans, though they retain heat well.

A few tweaks — more sugar, a dash of milk — can make cookies crispy, chewy, or cakey.Good bakers know how to follow recipes. Great bakers know how to tweak them — how to deviate subtly from the printed word and create something that’s not just tasty but tailor-made to your palate. The line between good and great is surprisingly easy to navigate when it comes to chocolate chip cookies. All you need is a little cookie science and a friendly guide to show you the way.Just a few simple changes can turn a regular chocolate chip cookie into one that’s extra-crunchy, extra-chewy, or extra-cakey. We recommend using our Easy Chocolate Chip Cookies recipe, but these tips are broadly applicable to chocolate chip cookie recipe that makes a similar quantity of finished cookies.How to make crunchy chocolate chip cookiesAdd 2 tablespoons granulated sugar and bake for 2 to 4 extra minutes.What does the extra sugar do to the cookie dough?Although sugar may seem like a simple ingredient, it plays a very important and complex role in cookie dough. It contributes to both texture and flavor in many ways: It melts in the heat of the oven to increase spread, and it creates little air pockets in the dough to expand and make cookies rise. Sugar also caramelizes and participates in Maillard reactions to add both color and additional flavor notes, and it recrystallizes upon cooling to give the cookies crispy texture. (Maillard reactions are when amino acids react with sugars to give you the brown color and caramelized flavor in baked goods.)When adding an extra few tablespoons of granulated sugar, you increase the ratio of sugar to fat and flour in the cookie. This will result in a bit more spread, a larger surface area and more material to caramelize and react and, of course, a little bit of extra sweetness as well, which never hurts.You may notice that the cookies won’t be crispy immediately out of the oven; that happens later. While the exact science of cookie cooling is still somewhat of a mystery, one theory is that as the molten sugar retreats to its crystalline structure and solidifies, the cookie becomes crispy as opposed to bendy. Working with that theory, we can then understand why the more sugar present to recrystallize, the more snap your cookie will have.How does granulated sugar act differently than brown sugar?Granulated sugar contains little to no “invert sugar,” which is what you find in the molasses or refiners syrup added to brown sugar. This invert sugar is actually single monosaccharide molecules that were created by breaking down the double disaccharide molecules that make up granulated or table sugar (sucrose). These monosaccharides possess different chemical properties that make cookies chewier, as we’ll see in the tip below.Why the different bake time?By adding extra sugar, you can bake the cookies to a slightly higher temperature without over-baking, which will allow for a crispier final cookie as well as deeper flavor development.Why not just bake any version longer to get a crunchy cookie without added sugar?While it’s certainly true that baking any cookie longer will cause it to have a firmer final texture, having the extra granulated sugar allows the cookie to maintain a tender, “snappy,” crisp texture (due to the properties discussed above), as opposed to a less enjoyable hard/crunchy texture. How to make chewy chocolate chip cookiesAdd 2 tablespoons brown sugar.What does extra brown sugar do to the cookie dough?While brown sugar is similar to granulated sugar in many ways, it has one major functional component that granulated sugar does not: invert sugar!The two primary invert sugar monosaccharides found in brown sugar are glucose and fructose, which are actually bound together to make the disaccharide sucrose — what Americans know as our standard white table sugar.Compared to sucrose, invert sugars caramelize at a lower temperature, and absorb and retain more moisture; fructose is particularly hygroscopic, meaning it really loves to suck up and hold onto water.Invert sugars also interfere with recrystallization upon cooling, which helps make cookies crisp. By holding that extra moisture and delaying the sugar’s recrystallization, brown sugar has the wonderful ability to give you a moist, bendy, chewy cookie.Does it make the chocolate chip cookie extra sweet?While a particularly perceptive taster might be able to tell the difference in sweetness with the additional two tablespoons brown sugar, the overall sweetness level only increased slightly. It’s really just a delightfully sweet cookie at either level.Do light and dark brown sugar work the same?In fact, they do. The differences between light and dark brown sugar in terms of the amount or types of syrup used are usually minimal, even though you might expect otherwise given the significant difference in coloration. How to make cakey chocolate chip cookiesAdd 2 tablespoons milk.What does extra brown sugar do to the cookie dough?Although it may seem obvious, the most important role extra milk plays is adding a little more liquid. As cookie dough is very low in hydration, that two tablespoons of milk have more of an impact here than in something with higher hydration, such as cake batter.Milk is around 85% water — and that water will evaporate in the heat of the oven to form steam. This steam will migrate to air pockets created by the melting sugar grains.As the steam gets hotter, it teams up with gases produced by the leaveners, expanding those air pockets. That expansion causes the cookies to puff and rise in the oven, creating an airy, cakey texture.The moisture contributed by the milk will also increase spread and hydrate more of the starches in the flour. These hydrated (gelatinized) starches support the structure of the air pocket wall, keeping the cookies from collapsing once cooled. By holding more water, they also help keep the cookies softer over time.Why milk and not water?While milk is mostly water, those other little molecules in milk do serve a purpose. First, their presence means that there’s 15% less liquid being added to the dough, and this helps prevent the dough from spreading too far and turning into some less-than-ideal chocolate chip pancakes in the oven.The proteins in milk — about 3% to 4% — will enhance Maillard reactions (as discussed above) and contribute many of the flavor notes that we recognize as “baked,” giving the cookies their roasted, toasted, and even sometimes nutty notes. Finally, the fat and sugar from the milk also add extra tenderness and richer flavor. Sugar creamed with warm or melted butter is grainy and greasy.If your butter is just rightNow that we’ve seen both extremes, let’s check out the results when the butter is at the right temperature. The mixture is lightened in color, it’s visibly fluffy, and it’s not clinging to the sides of the bowl. Sugar creamed with room temperature butter is pale and fluffy.Let’s look at the three results side by side. Starting on the left: too cold and the mixture sits in a lump. Too warm, and the mixture spreads out and has an oily layer. Finally, properly creamed, the mixture sits up tall and has visible fluffy peaks. From left to right: sugar creamed with cold butter, warm butter, and room temperature butter.Besides looks, the feel of each mixture will be different as well. Under-creamed and your mix will feel like wet sand or damp cornmeal. Over-creamed, and your mix will have the feel of oil and sugar on your fingers, rather like a facial scrub. Your well-creamed mix will be moist and light and the sugar will be nearly dissolved. You’ll barely feel any grit when you rub it between your fingers.The right mixing speed and duration for creamingOf course, having correctly softened butter is just one part of the equation, albeit a big one. Mixing at too high or too low a speed and for too short or long a time will also wreak havoc with your creaming. With the advent of the more powerful stand mixers that we use today, gone are the days of having to whip the butter and sugar mixture on high speed for several minutes to achieve good results. Instead, a moderate speed (typically speed 3 to 4 on a stand mixer) for 2 to 3 minutes is sufficient to get the aeration you’re looking for, being sure to scrape the bowl halfway through.Under-creamed butter and sugarIf you under-cream your butter and sugar mixture, it will remain dense, grainy, and dark in color: Under-creamed butter and sugarIf you under-cream your butter and sugar mixture, it will remain dense, grainy, and dark in color.Correctly creamed butter and sugarPerfectly creamed butter and sugar should be light, fluffy, and pale in color (but not white).Perfectly creamed butter and sugarPerfectly creamed butter and sugar should be light, fluffy, and pale in color (but not white).Over-creamed butter and sugarIf you beat too long and hard, the mixture will be over-creamed, becoming nearly white in color. Because it’s too aerated, it can result in dense, gummy streaks in your cake when baking. Over-creamed butter and sugar.Unfortunately, if the butter and sugar has gone this far there’s no going back. We hope you’ve found this information helpful. A picture is worth a thousand words, they say, and we hope these photos and our video will help you achieve the cakes and bakes of your dreams.

Baker’s and Natural YeastBaker’s and Natural are two types of yeast more commonly used in baking, each providing the basis for dough fermentation. Yeast requires special conditions for it to perform consistently throughout the fermentation process. Yeast growth is shown by its increasing capacity to multiply and bud. The conditions necessary for its growth are water, food, oxygen, time, temperature, and appropriate acidity/alkalinity level (pH).Baker’s YeastBaker’s Yeast is a commercial product available in several forms, such as low-sugar or high sugar-tolerant varieties. The choice of which yeast will depend on the dough’s sugar levels. Low sugar yeast works well up to 10% sugar content, whereas high sugar yeast works best in doughs with above 10% sugar content. To check the Percentage of sugar in the recipe, use the Bakers Percentage calculation method, as explained in Part Two.Types of YeastCompressed : Block form is the most common. It is also available in flakes for larger plant bakeries.Dried Yeasts: Instant Dried / Instant Active DriedStrains of yeast that have had the water removed. The yeast is re-activated by mixing with warm water. It is added directly into the dough when it is mixed.Note: To convert fresh yeast usage to dried yeast, multiply the quantity by 0.4. High and Low Sugar YeastsThe type of yeast used in the dough relates to the amount of sugar in the formula. For lean dough formulas, sugar will range from 0% – 10% on the flour weight. In rich sweet dough formulas, sugar can be 12% to 20% of the flour weight. The high sugar yeast strain is required in these doughs as regular yeast will not be able to create enough fermentation activity. The dough would move slowly as low-sugar yeast cannot cope with high-sugar levels.StorageFor dried yeasts, refrigeration in airtight containers is most suitable. Fresh compressed yeast also needs refrigeration and is wrapped in appropriate paper to prevent it from drying out. Buy small packs until confident so as not to waste ingredients. Do not purchase large pack sizes (500g) at first, as they deteriorate with age.Must KnowYeast is a living organism and requires attention to detail to obtain a consistent result. Buying yeast in individual small sachets is recommended rather than a large amount. Once opened, its gassing properties deteriorate.Natural Yeast – Levain (Sourdough)A mix of flour and water (equal parts) stands in a clean container to attract the wild yeast cells and organic bacteria in the air. Once evidence of activity (bubbles or air pockets visible), a regular feeding process using equal parts of flour and water begins. The action is repeated for the next seven days. The result is that Levain replaces baker’s yeast for dough fermentation. For further details refer to page 71, Part Three on practical baking.StorageIt is best kept refrigerated during the building stage and upon completion of the starter. Any leftovers from daily production must be returned to the mother and kept under refrigeration.Must KnowBuilding the Levain is a slow and steady process requiring care so that the foundation is solid and healthy. Once you have the Levain, you must feed it so it is ready for use before making the dough. The flour used in the starter and feeding must be unbleached, with the most suitable being a medium protein.FermentationYeasts are used as an aerator, affecting product structure, flavour, volume, and quality. The yeast’s performance depends on the amount of water, its temperature, and the finished mixing temperature. It will be challenging to control this process as it could move too quickly or slowly at times, so it is crucial to have a clear understanding for success to follow.

EggsEggs are a staple ingredient in baked items and bring a list of incredible attributes: Egg provides aeration, is a natural emulsifier, adds softness and tenderness to cake batters, brings nutritional value and assists in the shelf-life of products.Fresh and liquid eggs are used to make fresh bakery products. The hen shell egg comes in various sizes/weights and should be cracked and weighed. Relying on the size gradings of eggs, e.g. 50g, 65g, instead of the liquid weight, can result in unbalanced recipes.As a convenience, powdered eggs are a component in bakery pre-mix, with the application formula appropriating the liquid amount required for the egg powder. Eggs contain a natural emulsifying agent called Lecithin that stabilises cake batters.Chicken Egg Types of EggsFreshShell Eggs / Egg Yolks / Egg White : The shell can be white or brown, with the colour related to the chicken’s genes. They come in varying sizes and should be weighed for accuracy when using them in a baking formula.Fresh and FrozenLiquid Whole Eggs / Liquid Yolk / Liquid Egg Whites : Shell eggs can be processed by pulping the whole egg to a liquid or separating the yolk and white.Powdered EggWhole Egg / Egg Yolk / Egg White (Albumin) : The liquid shell eggs undergo a drying process that removes the egg’s moisture. Pasteurisation of EggsFor Food Safety reasons, egg products are pasteurised to destroy harmful bacteria and prolong shelf life. It is common practice for many brands of fresh shell eggs sold in the supermarket to have undergone pasteurisation.StorageFresh shell eggs and fresh liquid eggs require refrigeration for safety reasons. Frozen egg product storage is at -10°C. Powdered egg products have an extended shelf-life of up to 5 years if stored in an airtight container at a low ambient temperature.Must KnowThe firmness of the yolk and white upon opening indicates freshness. Both should be firm, with the yolk having a bold appearance. Stale eggs will show a thin yolk that breaks easily and a thinner white. To obtain the best results when whipping, the fresher, the better.

It’s hard to truly understand the importance of baking soda and baking powder — and the difference between the two — until the day you accidentally stumble and add one instead of the other, or forget to add one entirely. If you need visuals, just imagine sunken banana bread, squat scones, and deflated cupcakes. An eerie sight, am I right?Sometimes it can be downright confusing how a mix-up in leavening agents makes or breaks a cake batter or cookie dough. And such ignorance is never bliss, especially when it results in frightening baked goods. So to avoid any baking mishaps, here’s a breakdown of the difference between baking soda and baking powder, what they contribute to baking, and suggestions for substitutions if you find yourself without one.What is baking soda?Let’s quickly return to high school chemistry class. Baking soda (or sodium bicarbonate) is a base compound with a pH level of 8. When it mixes with an acidic solution, it reacts to produce carbon dioxide — a.k.a. the gas required to get that desirable lift in baked treats.As a result, baking soda needs an acidic partner to work its magic; this can be a wet ingredient like sour cream, buttermilk, yogurt, lemon juice, vinegar, maple syrup, or honey, but it could also be a dry ingredient like brown sugar or natural cocoa powder. (Dutch-process won’t contain enough acidity.) Once paired and mixed, baking soda instantly starts to react with that acid. Therefore, with recipes that lean on baking soda, it’s better to get batters and doughs in the oven straightaway so the reaction doesn’t die down before you even start baking.Baking soda creates a less chewy and more tender, airy texture in baked goods. It’s no wonder it’s called for in quick bread recipes to provide shape and soft crumb without having to rise for a long time like traditional yeasted bread. As a leavener, baking soda is more responsible for the outward spread of baked goods. (Remember: soda = spread).What is baking powder?While baking soda needs a co-conspirator, baking powder is a complete mixture of baking soda and cream of tartar, a powdered form of tartaric acid, so it has both the basic and acidic components necessary to produce carbon dioxide. In grocery stores, you’ll often come across “double-acting” baking powder, meaning it reacts twice. The first reaction occurs when you’re mixing batter and the powder dissolves. (Think about how when you let pancake batter rest for around 15 minutes, it thickens and bubbles slightly — this works on the same principle.) The second reaction takes place when the batter hits the heat and begins to bake.Inside any high-rise scone or jumbo muffin is typically a good amount of baking powder. That’s because baking powder adds height, fluff, and lightness. (Remember: powder = puff). Just feast your eyes on the glow-up that 1 tablespoon gives Baking Powder Biscuits. I’m not saying if you skimp on the baking powder, you’ll be left with dense, inedible doorstops, but I’m not not saying that either — there’s a reason the ingredient is in the recipe name.Why do some recipes call for both baking soda and baking powder?If a recipe requires both leavening agents, there’s a good chance there’s acid included in the recipe, yet not enough to trigger a full reaction when combined with just baking soda on its own. In such cases, baking powder comes in as reinforcement to do most of the leavening, while baking soda is there to neutralize the acid (lessening the astringent taste) and contribute some lifting power. Now that’s teamwork!Can you use baking soda instead of baking powder? Or vice versa?You can’t substitute equal amounts of baking soda for baking powder in a recipe, or vice versa. But! There is some wiggle room for substituting.To put it briefly: Don’t substitute these ingredients for each other (or other swaps) if you can help it, but should you be in a pinch (maybe in the middle of mixing your brownie batter when you realize you’re missing baking powder) there are a few options to swap in. Some may be sitting in your kitchen as we speak! It’s important to keep in mind that these ingredients are happy to step in and do a good job, but they won’t perform absolutely the same as the original leavener called for in the recipe.Learn how to create deliciously roasted sesame seeds for your meals by following the step-by-step instructions below.Substitutions for baking sodaBaking powder: Baking powder can be used to replace baking soda, though not at a 1-to-1 ratio. Because the former is not as strong as the latter, it’s important to use three times the amount of baking powder as baking soda. Be aware, a slightly bitter, off-putting taste might result from using that much baking powder.Sub for 1 teaspoon baking soda: 3 teaspoons baking powderSubstitutions for baking powderBaking soda + cream of tartar + cornstarch: You can’t just sub baking soda directly for baking powder, but you can use it alongside other ingredients as a swap. Remember, baking powder is a mixture of baking soda and cream of tartar — which means you can easily make it yourself.Sub for 1 teaspoon baking powder: Combine 1/4 teaspoon baking soda + 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar + 1/4 teaspoon cornstarch or tapioca starch.Baker’s ammonia: Baker’s ammonia is a trusty leavener from the 19th century that produces a light, tender crumb similar to what you’d get from baking powder. You can use it 1:1 in place of baking powder. Be aware: It doesn’t smell great, but no need to worry, as the smell totally dissipates by the time baked goods are done.Sub for 1 teaspoon baking powder: 1 teaspoon baker’s ammoniaLemon juice or vinegar: These acids react with baking soda to mimic the power of baking powder.Sub for 1 teaspoon baking powder: 1/4 teaspoon baking soda + 1/2 teaspoon lemon juice or white vinegar