BAKING LANGUAGE

THE SCIENCE OF BAKING

Modern science has shown that life is chemistry, so is Baking; thinking you can do without Baking is like thinking your soup deserves no salt. Baking is the spice of life. Everybody who wants to be a grasp pastry chef has to recognize both the Fundamental principles and technological advancements that make modern baking works. The science of Baking has to do with pure creativity, and that involves your ability in coming up with different cakes and pastry recipes. Baking is the method of preparing food that uses dry heat, especially in an oven. It can as well be done in hot ashes or hot stones. The most common baked items are bread, cake, pastries, small chop, pies, etc.

Now let’s talk about heating in Baking. Heat is gradually transferred from the surface of baked foods to the center; the heat transfers the dough and batter into a firm, dry crust and a softer center. The dry heat of Baking changes the form of starches in the food and causes its outer surface to turn brown, giving it an attractive appearance and taste. The brown is of course caused by caramelization of sugars and the Maillard reaction. Maillard browning occurs when sugar breaks down in the presence of proteins because many foods contain a large amount of sugars and proteins. The Maillard Browning contributes greatly to the flavor of a wide range of foods. For instance, higher levels of fat such as margarine, butter, lard or vegetable shortening will cause fermentation.

The baking process does not require any fat to be used for cooking in an oven. When baking, close attention must be given to the quantity of fat to be used for cooking in an oven. All types of food can be baked, but some require special care and protection from direct heat.

Because of historical, social and families’ role, Baking has traditionally been carried out at home by women for domestic consumptions, by men in bakeries and by restaurants for local consumption. When production was industrialized, baking was automated by machines in large industries. The art of Baking remains a fundamental skill, and it is important for nutrition.

HEALTHY BAKING

As far as healthy food is concerned, baked food comes first in this category because baked food items are low in fat; they are full of taste as it cooks more within its own oil. The principles of food safety and sanitation apply to the making of baked foods, and it must be handled frequently; it does not matter whether the chef adopts machinery or hand kneading method for the mixing. The various stages of Baking require different tools and station of the kitchen. Therefore, cross contamination should be a concern. Always pay attention to safe and healthy food handling procedures.

There are rigorous healthy components which can be put into consideration while baking:

1. Ensure your work area is clean
2. Proper handling of clean food: Keep waste away from edible food.
3. Keep your hands away from the hairs on your face and body.
4. Always adopt a frequent hand washing method; especially when changing from one food task to the other, in most cases of raw food to trendy made or ready to eat food.
5. Prioritize a high and consistent pest control; rodents and insects can thrive in grains and flour or any other basics baking ingredients.
6. Ensure a healthy eating habit. Maintain adequate consumption of baked foods in other to avoid too much fat in your body system.

BAKING TOOLS LANGUAGE

Getting yourself acquainted with baking tools is essential. Ordinarily, there are different stages in Baking. Different basics tools are used at different stages. Baking needs an enclosed space for heating; typically, in an oven. The fuel can be supplied by wood, gas, coal or electricity. Adding or removing any item from an oven can be done with the hand, with an oven mitt or by a peel. However,some baking tools are just the same as cooking tools, but a professional baker must separate baking tools from ordinary kitchen tools. It should be noted that the tools required for Baking are different from the ones used in decoration.

Basic Baking tools include:

• Oven
• Mixer
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Whisk
• Scissors
• Sieve
• Baking pan
• Kitchen scale

A very paramount tool in Baking is an oven; if you don’t have an oven, then you are not fully ready for Baking. Baking needs an enclosed space for heating, typically in an oven. Many commercial ovens are equipped with two heating elements: One for Baking, using convection and thermal conduction to heat the baked food and the other is meant for broiling and grilling which are done mainly by radiation. The world’s oldest oven, around 6500 years, was discovered in Croatia in 2014. Bread baking began in ancient Greece around 600 B.C. (Source: Wikipedia).

The Asian cultures adopted steam baskets to produce the effect of Baking while decreasing the amount of fat needed.

THE BAKING PROCESS

Different events occur concurrently during Baking. Some of them, such as starch gluternization would not occur at room temperature. The earliest processing of cereal grains probably involved parching or dry roasting of collected grain seeds. Flavor, texture and digestibility were later improved by cooking whole or broken grains with water forming gruel. Brewing and Baking were closely connected in early civilization. Fermentation of a thick gruel resulted in a dough suitable for Baking; a thinner mash produced a kind of beer.The process of Baking is a sensitive work which needs a lot of expertise and knowledge of different scientific and hygiene principles.

Such processes include:

1. Sugar Dissolves
2. Fats Melt
3. Microorganisms die
4. Starches gelatinize
5. Gases form and expand
6. Pectin breaks down
7. Enzymes are inactivated 
8. Gases evaporated
9. Starches

BAKING SIGNIFICANCE

An essential part of Baking is a bread food item. Bread holds a special significance for many cultures. It is a fundamental of every food consumption. Baked foods at all kinds of party, both formal and official events are essential; European and America cuisines have high importance of Baking. The cuisine looks incomplete without bread, cakes, pastries etc. Baking form a major part of their food.

Baking has been part of humans for ages. Once upon a time, Baking was a combo of flour, white sugar and butter, all mixed; but that’s now a relic of the past. Consciously, health practitioners have taken Baking to a different height in health support. Bakers now bake with other forms of flour, millets, whole wheat flour, and multigrain flour. They reduce sugar and extract sweetness naturally.

Egyptians were the pioneers of Baking, and the traces of their Baking are as old  as 2600 B.C(Source: Baking times), they started the Baking of bread by using yeast.

    

BAKING: A BRIEF HISTORY

Talking about the history of Baking, the science behind the creation of Baking can be traced back to the ancient period that is now conveyed through the blog history of Baking. By using the nature sweeteners available at that time, Romans, Greeks, and Egyptians used to prepare filo type of pastry which was a simple mix of flour and oil to mould some delights like fruit pastries, honey cakes dumpling stuffed with nuts and dates. These baked foods were prepared for some special occasions and festivals.

Evidence extracted from research metrics has it proved that bread, as a significant type of baked food has been in existence in Egypt as far back as the year 2600-2100 B.C. It was believed that Egyptians learnt this skill from the Babylonians. At that time, bakers used to bake cakes which were in the shape of animals that were used for sacrifices. According to Greek scholar Aristophanes (450-385 BC), the ancient Greeks had a type of dough that was made from flour and honey named as “Dispyrus,” it was a ring cake immersed in wine and usually served hot.

The Roman Empire created basic pastry dough that was used to cover the meat while cooking. The paste of oil, flour, and water was used as a safeguard to keep the meat moist and protect it from burning. It was never meant to be eaten. The main factor that was missing was the use of butter or lard to create the richness that we associate with today’s pastries. The Greek culture influenced the Roman Empire, and they both have struggled a lot in making a good pastry due to the fact that they used oil in the cooking process, and the oil caused the bread to lose its firmness. The sweet arty of Baking emerge as a noble profession.