Getting to know the Eight Ingredients Bakers Use Everyday

Nearly all bakery products are prepared using a common list of ingredients that fall into eight categories:

  1. Fats/shortenings,such as butter and oils
  2. Sweeteners, such as sugars and syrups
  3. Strengtheners, such as flour and eggs
  4. Thickeners, such as cornstarch, flour, and eggs
  5. Flavorings, such as extracts and spices
  6. Liquids, such as water, milk, cream, eggs, honey, molasses, and butter
  7. Additives, such as food coloring
  8. Chemical, organic, and physical leaveners, such as baking powder, baking soda, yeast, and steam

Strengtheners

In baking, strengtheners provide stability and ensure that the baked item does not collapse once it is removed from the oven. Flour is a main strengthener used in baking.There are six popular types Wheat Flour. To check the gluten content of a particular flour, look at the nutrition label: the higher the protein content, the higher the gluten content. Gluten (gloo-ten) is a protein found in flour. The more bakers mix, work, and knead yeast doughs, the more the gluten becomes elastic and stretchy. When baked, it helps provide the firm structure and light, even texture needed in bread production.

Types of flour

AP Flour: Between pastry and bread flour; Cookies, biscuits, general production work; Gluten content 10%–12%
Bread Flour: Hard or Strong flour; Bread, hard rolls; Gluten content 12.5%–13.5%
Cake Flour: Soft, smooth texture; Pure white color; Cake and delicate baked goods; Gluten content 7%–9%
Pastry Flour: Cookies, pie pastry, sweet yeast doughs, biscuits, muffins; Feels like cake flour; Creamy color of bread flour; Gluten content 9%–10%
Durum Flour: Hard wheat flour; Breads; Gluten content 13.5%–14%
Semolina Flour: Type of durum flour; Coarsely ground; Fine texture; Pastas and Italian pastries; Gluten content 13.5% or more

Fats/Shortenings

Fats/Shortenings make baked goods moist, add flavor, and keep baked items fresh longer. Any fat, such as oil or butter, acts as a shortening in baking. The more thoroughly mixed, the more the fat will affect the item’s overall texture. Fats that are rubbed, cut, or rolled into doughs tend to separate the dough into layers, creating a flaky texture. When the fat is thoroughly creamed together with the other ingredients, the resulting texture of the baked item will be smooth, soft, and more cake-like.

Crisco (Vegetable Shortening) Lard, Butter, Vegetable and Olive Oil

Liquids

Liquids are one of the most important elements used in baking. The liquid used in baking can be water, milk, cream, molasses, honey, vegetable oils, or butter. Liquid is used in baking to provide moisture to the product and to allow the gluten to properly develop. Water is the most basic and common form of liquid used in baking. Often, milk products such as whole milk, buttermilk, cream, or dried milk are used. Milk provides the baked product with flavor, nutritional value, and texture. Honey, molasses, eggs, oil, and butter also act as liquids in baking by contributing moisture to the baked item, as well as a unique taste and texture.

Sweeteners

Sweeteners Include refined sugars, sugar syrups, molasses, brown sugar, corn syrup, honey, and malt syrup (usually used in yeast breads). Sweeteners add flavor and color to baked goods. They also help the shortening blend with other ingredients and make the product soft and tender. When a product containing refined sugars is baked, the heat causes the sugar to turn a light brown color. This process is called caramelization and occurs whenever sugar is used as an ingredient in baked items. Artificial sweeteners and sugar substitutes used in baking do not create caramelization, so they will produce baked goods that are lighter in color.

Other Important Ingredients

Thickeners include gelatin, flour, arrowroot (a powdered starch made from a tropical root), cornstarch, and eggs. Thickeners, combined with the stirring process, determine the consistency of the finished product. For example, custard cooked over direct heat and stirred constantly will result in a sauce. The same custard recipe can be cooked (without stirring) by placing it in a bain-marie and then gently cooking it by surrounding the pan with simmering water. Then, it will set into a firm custard that can be sliced.

Flavorings, such as cocoa, spices, salt, nuts, and extracts, affect a baked item’s taste and color. Cocoa is the basis of all chocolate desserts and is absolutely vital to any dessert menu. Spices used most often in baking are cinnamon, nutmeg, mace, cloves, ginger, caraway, cardamom, allspice, anise, and poppy seed. Salt plays an important role in baking. In addition to enhancing flavor, it improves the texture of breads and controls how yeast ferments in bread doughs.

Extracts Are flavorful oils (some are alcohol based) taken from such food items as vanilla bean, lemon, and almond. A few drops of extract will greatly enhance the flavor of baked goods. Flavorings need to be measured accurately so that the flavor of the spice or extract will not overwhelm the flavor of the finished baked product.

The final, eighth category of elements used in baking is additives. Additives are substances added to food to enhance its taste and/ or appearance. Additives, such as food coloring or xanthan gum, are often used in baking to enhance the product’s color, texture, and taste, as well as to extend its shelf life.

Artificial Sweeteners and Baking

If you decide to use artificial sweeteners when baking or cooking, there are a few important things to know:

  • Baked products may be lighter in color because real sugar has a caramelizing/ browning effect and artificial sweeteners do not.
  • Volume may be lower in cakes, muffins, and quick breads because artificial sweeteners do not have the same bulking ability as sugar.
  • Texture may be altered in some baked products, especially cookies.
  • Taste may be slightly altered if you are sensitive to the sweetener’s aftertaste.
  • Sugar naturally holds in moisture and increases keeping quality, so baked products made with the sugar removed will not keep as long.

Leaveners

Leaveners are used in baked goods to improve texture and visual appearance. They create air pockets within a dough or batter to give the final product a light, fluffy texture. In general, leaveners can be divided into three categories: physical, biological, or chemical.

Physical Leaveners

There are two types of physical leaveners: air and steam. Air is often incorporated into batters when butter and sugar are creamed together. Briskly whisking butter (or another solid fat) with sugar traps small pockets of air within the fat. Air can also be used as a leavener when whipping egg whites or cream. In both instances, the air becomes trapped within a protein matrix in the cream or egg whites, causing expansion. On a smaller scale, sifting flour also traps a small amount of air and can offer a minimal level of leavening action.

The second physical leavener is steam. When water converts to steam, the volume increases by approximately 1,600 times its original size. When moist, batters are introduced to high temperatures, the liquid in the batter rapidly transforms into steam. The steam becomes trapped within the batter, which solidifies as it is baked. Steam is used as a leavener in foods such as popovers, cream puffs, and pie crusts.Introducing air into the batter is another way to leaven a baked item. The air expands during baking and leavens the product.

Biological Leaveners

Yeast, the Biological Leavener

Instant Yeast
Fresh (or Cake) Yeast
Active Dry Yeast

An organic leavener, yeast is a microscopic fungus used often in baking. It comes in two forms: fresh or dry. When yeast is mixed with carbohydrates (such as sugar and flour) and a liquid, it ferments, producing carbon dioxide gas and alcohol. Yeast works in much the same way that the chemical leaveners do, by releasing carbon dioxide gas, causing the bread dough to rise.

We explore yeasts in great detail in the Baker’s Welcome to the World of Yeast Breads post.

Chemical Leaveners

The two chemical leaveners are baking soda and baking powder. 

Baking Soda

Baking soda is a natural alkaline powder that produces carbon dioxide gas when combined with an acid (like buttermilk, yogurt, lemon juice, cream of tartar, or even cocoa powder). Since the reaction occurs rapidly, baking soda is an ideal leavener for soft or weak batters like pancakes, muffins, and other quick breads. Buttermilk, vinegar, yogurt, or even cocoa powder can be used as the acid in this reaction. Because heat is not necessary for the leavening process to occur, bake the item right away to prevent the gases from escaping and leavening the item too soon.

Baking Powder

Baking powder is similar to baking soda but it already contains the acid necessary to react. The acid in baking powder is in the form of a salt, which means that it will not react until combined with water. Baking powder is an ideal leavener for recipes that do not contain a lot of other acidic ingredients, such as cookies. Most baking powders sold commercially today are double-acting, which means that it will produce gas twice—once when water is added and again when the mixture is exposed to heat. Double acting baking powder provides a consistent and reliable leavening action. 

I like to use mnemonics to remember lists. Here’s one that I came up with 30 years ago in culinary school. Is it brilliant? No. But I passed my pastry test. Maybe it will help you too:

MNEMONIC: Sweet butter is thick and strong. Add it to chocolate milk and go to heaven.

Sweet – Sweetener; Butter – Fat; Thick – Thickener; Strong – strengthener; Add – Additives; Chocolate – Flavorings; Milk – Liquids; heaven- Leaveners