A pastry instructor I once had used to tell us that bakers make their living selling air. It sounds deceptive, but that’s part of why baked goods are so delicious (and don’t break your teeth!). Air bubbles make cakes fluffy, make breads soft (not gummy or hard), meringues pillowy, and more. And part of theContinue reading “Lighten up: let’s talk leavening”
Tag Archives: theory
Custards: don’t lose your temper making this egg-celent dessert
For someone who doesn’t really like eggs, I buy a ton of them. Eggs are incredibly useful in baking- they add structure but also tenderness, they increase volume, bind liquids, and are the basis of meringues, some buttercreams, and more. Eggs can do it all. One of their classic uses apart from basic cakes andContinue reading “Custards: don’t lose your temper making this egg-celent dessert”
Pastry doughs: it’s all about that fat
If I could only make one category of baked good for the rest of my life, it might be pastries. It’s a bit of a cheater answer, though- pastry doughs are pretty variable, and include things like crumbly doughs reminiscent of shortbread and sugar cookies, flaky pies, shatteringly crisp puff pastries, and rich, slightly chewyContinue reading “Pastry doughs: it’s all about that fat”
Gluten: the basics
Gluten is the backbone of most baked goods, at least in my kitchen. It’s a protein that holds together breads, muffins, cookies, and more, and is derived primarily from wheat flour. In the presence of water, proteins called glutenin and gliadin link up to make long gluten strands, which then create a network with eachContinue reading “Gluten: the basics”
Yeast doughs
Some of my favourite things to make are yeasted breads- there’s something incredibly satisfying about squishing some flour, water, salt, and yeast together to create something that’s so much better than the sum of its parts. There’s a bit more waiting involved than with something like a muffin or a cake, but the delayed gratificationContinue reading “Yeast doughs”
Hungry Hungry Hippocampus 