baking background

1. MODULE 2:
BASIC EQUIPMENT, UTENSIL &
INGREDIENTS

2. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF BAKING
◦ Baking features a long history that curbed the hunger of countless people. From ancient civilizations to modern ventures, baking played
a significant role in food history.
◦ Ancient Egypt (2,600 BC)- Archaeologists discovered the oldest ovens in Croatia in 2014. According to carbon dating, these ovens
to carbon dating, these ovens are about 6,500 years old.
◦ Data also suggests that Egyptians pioneered baking. They’re the first recorded civilization that used yeast in making bread. According
to research, they started baking in 2,600 BC.
◦ Research also shows that ancient Egyptians invented and shaped baking in its early stages. According to experts, they learned the skill
from the Babylonians. In particular, Egyptians baked bread using yeast, which they also used for brewing beer.
◦ Moreover, archaeologists found bread pieces in old Egyptian tombs. According to them, friends and family kept them, so the person
could bring something to eat in the afterlife.

3. ◦ Ancient Rome (300 BC to 1 AD)- Baking also became a highly regarded profession during the Roman Empire
(around 300 BC). According to research, baking professionals learned baking from the Greeks.
◦ Greeks taught them to harvest wild grass grains, soak them in water, mash them, and mix them with spices. The
◦ Next, they cook the paste on a flat, hot rock. This led to a bread-like substance.
◦ Around 168 BC, Romans established the Roman Empire’s Baker’s Guild. Also known as Pistorum, the guild
artisans.
◦ In addition, people at that time held baking in such high regard. As a result, they had an annual festival that
◦ Around 1 AD, over 300 pastry chefs existed in Rome. They baked many kinds of stuff, including bread and sweet
cakes, pretzels, pastries, and more.
◦ Interestingly, the Romans used an oven with a chimney on it. The people used grain mills, which allowed them to

4. ◦ Middle Ages (5th to 15th Century)- During the Medieval period, people did not usually
use ovens at home. Only those who could afford stoves fueled by burning wood made
quality bread became an achievement.
◦ However, baking further divided people based on their status. The rich ate delicious
poor only had black bread.
◦ Because of baking’s popularity in Rome, it became famous throughout Europe and

5. ◦ 15th to 17th Century- The birth of saffron and other expensive spices helped baking reach
new heights in Britain during the 15th century. At this point, sweetened dough buns,
entered the baking scene.
◦ Then, economic growth and globalization during the 16th and 17th centuries let baking
◦ During this period, bakers introduced decadent treats with butter, cream and raisins.
to the average person during this time. Hence, families began baking biscuits and cakes
◦ In the late 17th century, sugar prices decreased. Then, refined flour became easily
into the spotlight, including pies, pastries, and iced cakes.
◦ Pastry chefs in London also started selling their baked goods in carts. Thanks to the
progressed to convenient shops on wheels. Shortly after, bakers began delivering baked

6. ◦ 18th to 19th Century - The Industrial Revolution marked a turning point for baking in
the average home. In particular, the evolution of technology —not just the availability
more popular.
◦ In addition, the semi-closed oven and The Art of Cookery in 1747 gave budding pastry
needed to try many recipes.
◦ Moreover, as more women worked in the 19th century, they cut their time in the
food became more popular.
◦ During this period, baking powder transformed the dense, yeast-based cakes of
wonderful baking powder, we now enjoy the light and fluffy treats.

7. ◦ Modern Baking- Today, baking plays a crucial role in our lives. From homemade treats
to commercial deliciousness, baking allows us to enjoy baked products like never
◦ Whether you love baking from scratch or buying premade products, baking has
science of baking take on countless forms, from traditional cookies to frozen pizza.
◦ Plus, modern baking lets bakers do their craft more effectively, with less energy and
◦ Modern baking also introduced us to digital ovens and several baking tools and

8. BASIC PRINCIPLES OF BAKING
◦ Baking is an altogether new world that incorporates an entire set of
new principles, techniques, and strategies and figuring out how to
bake can take numerous years. In the culinary business, it is so wide
that it is generally done as a specialization.

9. 1. Ingredients
◦ If you were to substitute carrots for turnips in a stew, would you
observe an extreme change in the flavour? Not so much.
◦ The impact would be almost none. With regards to baked desserts,
changing an ingredient produces an enormous impact on the dessert and
can on a very basic level change the dessert.
◦ There are various flours, fluids, fats, and sugars that all work in a
different way. Even the temperature of all the ingredients should be
perfect for a perfect dessert.
◦ Bread flour and cake flour are not the same, nor are butter and
shortening. Substitute one element for another, and the outcome will
be totally unique.
◦ So, choosing the accurate ingredients according to the recipe you are
following is very important.

10. 2. Different Types of Flours
◦ There is a wide variety of flours that can be used in
the process of baking. Wheat flour is the most well-
known flour that is utilized in baking. It is available
in a wide range. Wheat flour is the main flour that can
easily generate gluten.
◦ Gluten is the tough, rubbery substance made when wheat
flour is blended in with water. It gives structure,
appearance, and contain gases in the dough. In the case
that there was no gluten, you would not have raised
bread.
◦ Many flours, when combined, produce all-purpose flour
which you generally buy in supermarkets. It is around
⅓ soft and ⅔ hard flour and is broadly utilized in
home baking. It can be easily used in many cake
recipes, but professional bakers avoid this flour.

11. 3. Leavening Agents
◦ A leavening agent plays an important role in the procedure or recipe
that generates air, offering an ascend to a heated dessert.
◦ When you look at bread closely, you'll notice the number of air pores
contained inside it.
◦ The air pores are made by leavening agents and are fundamental in
providing light and fluffy desserts.
◦ A proper selection of the leavening agent is very necessary, and a bad
choice can ruin the taste and structure of the desserts.

12. 4. Mixing Methods
◦ . There are numerous mixing strategies that are utilized to deliver
various doughs and batters.
◦ Knowing these mixing techniques is very important, and most of the
cake recipes assume that you know these techniques and differences
between each one of them.
◦ The basic mixing methods that you should know are blending, beating,
cutting, creaming, folding, stirring, kneading, sifting, and whipping.
◦ So, according to the mixing method mentioned in the cake recipe you
follow, do it properly for a perfect cake!

13. 5. Heating
◦ Preheating the oven is as significant as extending the legs before a
run, or heating up the vehicle before starting, or letting the water
get hot before you go for a shower.
◦ Preheating is important to give an underlying push of warmth. Numerous
dough and batters which are made utilizing leavening agents like
yeast, baking powder or baking soda require a decent push of warmth
toward the start for the ideal ascent, texture, and browning.
◦ That’s why it is instructed to preheat the oven while you prepare the
batter.

14. FORMULA & MEASUREMENT
◦ Bakers generally talk about formulas rather than recipes.
◦ If this sounds to you more like a chemistry lab than a food production facility, it is with good
reason.
◦ The bakeshop is very much like a chemistry laboratory, both in the scientific accuracy of the
procedures and in the complex reactions that take place during mixing and baking.

15. Measurement
◦ Ingredients are almost always weighed in the bakeshop, rather than measured by volume, because
measurement by weight is more accurate.
◦ Accuracy of measurement, as we have said, is essential in the bakeshop. Unlike home baking recipes, a
professional baker’s formula will not call for 6 cups flour, for example.
◦ To demonstrate to yourself the importance of weighing rather than measuring by volume, measure a cup of
flour in two ways:
(a) Sift some flour and lightly spoon it into a dry measure. Level the top and weigh the flour.
(b) Scoop some unsifted flour into the same measure and pack it lightly. Level the
top and weigh the flour.
◦ Note the difference. No wonder home recipes can be so inconsistent!

16. ◦ The baker’s term for weighing ingredients is scaling.
◦ The following ingredients, and only these ingredients, may sometimes be measured by volume, at the ratio
of 1 pint per pound or 1 liter per kilogram:
-Water, Milk, Eggs
◦ Volume measure is often used when scaling water for small or medium sized batches of bread. The results
are generally good.
◦ However, whenever accuracy is critical, it is better to weigh. This is because a pint of water actually weighs
slightly more than a pound, or approximately 16.7 oz.
(This figure varies with the temperature of the water.)
◦ For convenience, volume measures of liquids are frequently used when products other than baked flour
goods-such as sauces, syrups, puddings, and custards are being made.

17. Units of Measure
The system of measurement used in the United States is very complicated. Even those who have used the
system all their lives sometimes have trouble remembering things like how many fluid ounces are in a quart
and how many feet are in a mile.
The Metric System
The United States is the only major country that uses the complex system of measurement we have just
described. Other countries use a much simpler system called the metric system.
Abbreviations of Units of Measure Used
Pound (lb) Fluid ounce (fl oz)
Ounce (oz) Tablespoon (tbsp)
Gallon (gal) Teaspoon (tsp)
Quart (qt) Inch (in)
Pint (pt) Foot (ft)

18. ◦ In the metric system, there is one basic unit for each type of measurement:
The gram is the basic unit of weight.
The liter is the basic unit of volume.
The meter is the basic unit of length.
The degree Celsius is the basic unit of temperature.

19. Bakers Percentage
◦ When writing a formula, the easiest method is to do so using what is known as baker's percentage,
or baker's math.
◦ In using baker's percentage, each ingredient in a formula is expressed as a percentage of the flour
weight, and the flour weight is always expressed as 100%.
◦ There are good reasons for using baker's percent for our formulas.
• First, since each ingredient is weighed, it enables us to work with precision using only one
unit of measure.
• Second, it is quite easy to scale a formula up or down when we are working with baker's
percent.
• And last, it allows bakers to share a common language.
◦ This common language enables the baker to not only communicate with other bakers, but also
makes it possible to quickly assess a formula simply by seeing the percentages used. I

20. Calculating The Baker's Percentage of a Single
Ingredient

21. Baking Conversions

23. MIXING & GLUTEN DEVELOPMENT
◦ Gluten is a substance made up of primarily two proteins present in wheat flour.
◦ It gives the product its structure and resilience.
◦ Gluten is developed by first absorbing water.
◦ Then, as the dough or batter is mixed, kneaded, or folded, the gluten forms long, spring-like elastic
strands. I
◦ f the dough or batter is leavened, the strands capture gases in tiny pockets or cells, and we say it
begins to rise.
◦ However it is also resilient and tries to shrink back and retain its shape.
◦ By allowing the dough to bench rest before make-up (shaping), the gluten has a chance to relax
making it easier to manage.

24. ◦ There are several factors and ingredients that help in controlling gluten development.
◦ Flour is one of them. Flour is mostly starch and knowing the protein content determines what kind
of flour to use when making breads, cakes, or pastries.
◦ Strong flours come from hard wheat and have high protein content. Weak flours come from soft
wheat and have lower protein content.
◦ Flour grown in the United States has a higher protein content than flours grown in Europe. There
are six main categories of wheat grown in North America. They are listed in order of highest to
lowest protein content:
Hard Red Spring: used in breads that require strong bread flours
Hard White: high-protein wheat grown in smaller quantities
Hard Red Winter: moderate strength wheat grown in large quantities
Soft White: low-protein wheat used in making cakes, pastries, and crackers
Soft Red Winter: low-protein wheat used in making cake and pastry flours

25. ◦ Shortening is another factor in gluten development. Solid fats or oils affect the gluten by shortening
the strands.
◦ Shortening acts as a tenderizer. When a fat is introduced into a formula, the fat bonds with parts of
the gluten protein and stops it from forming strong gluten strands. When fat is introduced the dough
becomes more flaky and crumbly.
◦ Mixing, kneading, and folding also affect the outcome of a final product. Pie dough is an example of
this. It can either be “flaky” or “mealy” depending on how long the dough is worked. The less it is
worked, the more tender and flaky it is. In essence, the longer dough is mixed, kneaded, or folded,
the more gluten it develops. Bread dough is mixed for long times, while pie crusts, cookies and other
similar products are mixed for shorter periods of time.
◦ Finally, liquids also have an affect on gluten development. Because gluten proteins must absorb
water to develop, the amount of water in a formula directly relates to the toughness or tenderness of
a specific product. Formulas with less water produce crispier and flakier products.

26. BAKING PROCESS
How does it work?
◦ Baking sets the final structure of baked goods.
◦ It involves simultaneous heat and mass transfer phenomena.
◦ The heat travels from the surrounding air into the interior of the dough or batter while moisture and other
moisture and other liquid compounds travel/escape from the core towards the exterior or surrounding air due
surrounding air due to evaporation.
◦ While both yeast and chemical leavening can result in gas development and volume build-up, yeast is essential
up, yeast is essential for the development of unique flavors in bread and some baked goods.

27. Baking of yeast-leavened bakery products
◦ Coming out of the final proofer, the bread dough is well aerated with a typical internal
temperature close to that of the proof box, around 35°C (95°F).
◦ As the dough pieces enter the oven, their surface temperature begins to increase and heat
transfers slowly towards the core of the product.
◦ The oven temperature can be set, according to the type of product being processed, at
any point between 200–300°C (390–570°F).
◦ In general, there are three major stages in the baking process:
1. expansion of the dough
2. drying of the surface
3. crust browning.

28. ◦ These can be subdivided into the following stages (in the order of temperature increase):
1.Formation and expansion of gases (oven spring).
◦ A rapid rise in volume takes place at the beginning of baking at a core temperature of 35–70°C
(95–158°F). This rise creates the oven spring.
◦ Five events occur simultaneously to produce the oven spring in the first 5–8 minutes of baking
◦ Yeast reaches its maximum fermentation rate and generates carbon dioxide, CO2 gas (CO2 is
also produced by chemical leavening).
◦ Release of carbon dioxide gas from the saturated liquid dough phase into the surrounding gas
cells.
◦ Expansion of the gasses trapped in cells (nitrogen from air and CO2) and generated during
mixing, makeup, and proofing.
◦ Evaporation of water/ethanol mixture.

29. 2. Killing of yeast and other microorganism
◦ This usually occurs at an internal temperature of 60–70°C (140–160°F) where the cells can no longer
no longer contribute to the gas production or volume increase.
3.Gelatinization of starch
◦ At 76°C (170°F), starch begins to gelatinize as granules become fully swollen with local free water.Thanks to
free water.Thanks to starch gelatinization and protein denaturation, the dough is converted into bread and
converted into bread and a structure is set.
4.Coagulation/denaturation of gluten proteins that make up the continuous phase. From 60
to 70°C (140 to 160°F), the proteins begin to denature. As a consequence, gluten becomes increasingly tough
increasingly tough and stiff as it irreversibly forms a gel. Moisture loss also imparts rigidity to the product
to the product being baked.

30. 5. Inactivation of enzymes in the dough (naturally-occurring or added) at
80–95°C (176–203°F).
6. Crust formation and browning (non-enzymatic browning reactions and
caramelization). Maillard browning takes place above 105°C (220°F) and requires the
and requires the presence of a reducing sugar together with an amino acid. Sugars
acid. Sugars caramelize at 160°C (320°F).