The Formality of Baking

The Formality Of Baking

Baking is a method that requires meticulous concentrating which can be joyous as well as frustrating. In order to understand baking it is necessary to grasp the basics. To understand the basics is practicing and conditioning yourself the proper methods of doing so. One of the easiest dough to assemble is the straight dough method, which is a combination of water, yeast, sugar, milk solids, butter and salt. The salt is added last because it inhibits the growth of the yeast. All of the ingredients are mixed in a mixing bowl"(Gisslen, p68, ch4). The straight dough method is a starter point to making dough. There are many varieties to dough that require different attention. Lean dough requires a lesser amount of fat and sugar and therefore it is the leanest of all bread products. The types of breads that have fewer amounts of fat and sugar are French, Italian, Kaiser rolls, and pizza bread"(Gisslen, p66, ch4). There are dough's with a higher fat content which provide a taster result. The short dough has a very high fat content. The short dough consist of having flour, sugar, and fat which makes the product such as a cookie or a pastry very crumbly and tender"(http://www.bakingterms.com, 5/24/2005). There are many people who love croissants and Danish pastry's. To make a croissants or Danish pastry there needs to be a rolled in fat dough method. The rolled in fat dough method is when fat is incorporated into the dough in many layers by using a rolling and folding procedure. By alternating the layers of fat and dough it gives the baked product a flaky texture"(Gisslen, p66, ch4). Pies are a desert favorite. Making a pie depends on what kind of filling is used. A pie can have a Pumpkin, squash, even sweet potato filling. A pie that includes fruits such as apple or blueberries is best to consider the cooked juice method. The cooked juiced method is when the gel is made separately by cooking fruit juice, water, and sugar with starch. The gel is mixed in with the fruit, this method is used when the fruit requires little or no cooking before filling"(Gisslen, ch11, p243). Corn starch is important to cream pies because it sets up into a firm gel that holds it's shape when sliced, also it may be used for fruit pies as well"(Gisslen, p242, ch11). To make sure that a pie is stable it is wise to have mealy dough, mealy dough is when the fat is blended into the flour more thoroughly, until the mixture looks like cornmeal. The mealy dough is best used as a bottom crust to prevent sogginess"(Gisslen, p235, ch11). To produce a cake that is editable a basic sponge method is useful. A sponge method is a basic cake batter that includes egg foam, egg yolks, sugar, and sifted flour folded in"(Gisslen, p329, Ch14). If being fancy is your cup of tea a creaming method is wonderful, it begins with the blending of fat and sugar. It is used for cakes and cookies, very useful for products that have high fat and sugar content. Great for cakes"(Gisslen, p326, ch14). To make a cake more appealing in texture, whipping cream can be added. Whipping cream has a high fat content of thirty to forty percent, the higher the fat content in the whipping cream the less likely it is to weep or separate into liquid and foam"(Gisslen, p44, ch3). To have a taste of France making a Pate a choux would be ideal. Pate a choux means cabbage paste referring to cream puffs that look like little cabbages. It consist of water, milk, half water or milk, shortening, salt, bread flour, and eggs"(Gisslen, p279, ch12). Making dough from scratch can be a tricky process. To make bread will include having flour. The best flour to use will be bread flour. Bread flour is also called wheat flour; since there are a variety of flours it is best to become knowledgeable of which flour is being used. Bread flour is slightly coarse when rubbed between the fingers, if it is squeezed into a lump in the hand it falls apart as soon as the hand is open. The color of the flour is creamy white"(Gisslen, p34, ch3). To make bread it is rational to use the straight dough method. A main component of the bread is the gluten that is made up of proteins present in wheat flour. It gives structure and strength to baked goods. The gluten must first absorb water so it can develop, it has to be a very conscientious process to become