Overview: The Ingredients
This portion of the food chemistry journey seeks to illuminate some of the mystique surrounding traditional baking, and how each ingredient contributes to that wonderful cake, bread, as well as all other baked goods. The next time you step into the kitchen and follow those step-by-step instructions in your favorite recipe, hopefully you will understand how each item in that shopping list contributes to the delicious outcome!
Tell Me About: Flour, Eggs, MilkThese ingredients contribute to the overall structural integrity of our baked goods. This is elaborated on in the discussion about Protein Chemistry, but that is not all that these ingredients are good for!
Flour is the backbone of the cooking process. Being full of important structural proteins, flour is the main contributing factor that keeps our baked good standing tall and proud! There are a variety of choices when it comes to flour, and understanding the differences between them and which is best suited to your recipe. The different types are detailed in the Protein Chemistry section.
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Eggs play a dual role in the baking process. Most recipes will call for whole eggs, which act as binders and add to the overall cohesiveness of the dough. What makes eggs unique, however, is the fact that there are two distinct parts: the whites and the yolk. Both contain unique proteins which, along with the flour proteins and a myriad of others, help build the essential scaffolding.
Egg whites, in contrast to egg yolks, are unique in that they are full of protein, but do not contain any fats. This allows them to be separated and whipped on their own, producing a light foam. If you've ever experienced meringue, you know where this can be useful! How this is achieved is explained in detail in the protein section.
Egg whites, in contrast to egg yolks, are unique in that they are full of protein, but do not contain any fats. This allows them to be separated and whipped on their own, producing a light foam. If you've ever experienced meringue, you know where this can be useful! How this is achieved is explained in detail in the protein section.
Milk is a common ingredient in many cooking recipes. The main purpose of milk is to add much needed moisture to the equation. Milk is also rich in lactose, another protein that can add to the overall cohesion of the dough when mixed with the contributing proteins from the flour and eggs.
Tell Me About: Leaveners
Leaveners are an essential part of baking. They are what breathes life into an otherwise flat cake or bread. Not that flatbreads such as nan and matzo can't be delicious in their own right! But for a lofty wedding cake, or a tall loaf of sourdough, leaveners are a must. There are different classifications of leaveners, both natural and chemical. More about this topic can be found on the Leaveners section.
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Tell Me About: Fats & Sugars
Fats provide additional moisture to the mix, while sugar provides the sweetness that is commonly associated with certain baked good such as cakes and brownies. While sugar is less important in other applications and provides little to the overall structure, I'm sure we can all agree that many baked goods would not be the same without it! |
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References
- A Guide to Binders in Gluten-free Sourdough Baking. Cultures for Health, Web. 7 Mar. 2014. <http://www.culturesforhealth.com/guide-binders-gluten-free-sourdough-baking>.
- Kitchen 101: Eggs in Baking. Chasing Delicious, Web. 7 Mar. 2014. <http://chasingdelicious.com/kitchen-101-eggs-in-baking/>.
- Roberts, Kathryn, and Demand Media. What Can You Use in Place of Egg Yolk as a Binder in Cooking & Baking? GlobalPost, Web. 5 Mar. 2014. <http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/can-use-place-egg-yolk-binder-cooking-baking-34770.html>.
- Stewart, Kelly. The science of baking: Kitchen chemistry. Culinate, 2009. Web. 7 Mar. 2014. <http://www.culinate.com/articles/features/baking_chemistry>.
- Understanding Baking: How Yeast Works. The Prepared Pantry, Web. 7 Mar. 2014. <http://www.preparedpantry.com/howyeastworks.aspx>.
- Yeast. HowStuffWorks, Web. 14 Mar. 2014. <http://science.howstuffworks.com/life/fungi/yeast-info.htm>.