| As you've all heard/been told or have learned
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"BAKING IS A SCIENCE"
a long time ago the only way to become a Baker, Pastry Chef or even a Chef was to become an Apprentice to a Master Chef.?Usually your parents secured your position and gave this "Master Craftsman" a Fee or due as they were to teach you everything they knew.?This took years or a lifetime to acomplish.??
Most knew what to do because they had been shown and it always worked if they followed the "formula" "recipe" or "method".Today, Bakers and Pastry Chefs have ever more challenges.?They MUST master more and more skills and techniques.?They have to adapt to ever changing trends and learn to use a larger array and more diversified ingredients;?Even more devised in Chemical labs and have a shorter learning window.~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Not to many people know why it is so but let me try to explain a little.there are 10 main things that happen during baking and those are:
1.?Fats melt.?Any fats that you've put into your baking product, such as butter, shortening or such have a melting point.?while you bake, this melting point is usually reached and the fat melts, that's what will sometimes give you those air pockets, and if your fat is not completely mixed into your batter and you leave it "chunked up" it will be one of the causes of those large air pockets you get after you baked your product.?Sometimes you want this like when you make croissants and sometimes you dread this.2.?Gasses form and expand.?This will give some "lift" to your product.?makes your batter "expand, rise and or double" while baking.Steam forms when water is heated and heat also activates baking powders, the double acting ones to release carbon dioxide.?This step is important for leavening?and tenderizing
3.?Eggs and gluten proteins stretch and coagulate.This will form "structure" in baked goods.?Think of the changes that happen to a raw egg as it cooks.4.?Starches gelatinize.?Starch, the forgotten structure builder in flour.?This structure is often softer and more tender and forms when starch granules absorb and trap the water.5.Gases evaporate and migrate to the exposed surfaces and evaporate and changes occur like your baked goods will form a crust and depending on your formula it will form a hard, crispy one or a soft one.6.Sugars, protein and some other molecules break down and react with each other.?This is called Maillard browning.?This contributes to the flavor of a wide range of food, including toasted nuts, roast beef and baked goods
7.?Micro-organisms die.?Mos Microscopic living entities like yeast, mold, bacteria and virues will die when heated to 140F.?Once yeast dies fermentation will stop.?Heat also destroys pathogenic micro organisms like salmonella which makes food safer to eat
8.?Enzymes are inactivated.?These are?PROTEINS that are present in all living things.?THey speed up chemical reactions without being used up.?They can cause reactions to occur that might not happen othewise.?As all enzymes are proteins they are denatured by heat.9.?Changes occur to nutrients.?The Proteins, fats, carbs, vitamins and minerals are examples of nutrients found in food.?Heat changes most of these.?Some proteins and starches become more digestible when heated.?This means that baked food containing flour are often more nutritious than raw foods, while most of the effects of heat on food are good, heat does destroy Vitamin C.
10.Pectin Breaks down.?This is not usually present in batters and dough, but many baked goods contain fruts and pectin is the main component that holds fruit together.?When pectin is heated it dissolves and the fruit will soften and lose it's shape.?That's why you get soggy fruit in baked goods and the favorite fruit to bake in your batter are ones with whole skins like blue berries and raisins.Well, I tried to keep the "science" simple for those of you that care to read.?Just explaining what happen when you place your product into the oven and why you get what you get when you are done baking. |
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