For Cake and Pastry Making, Fats in Baking

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FOR CAKE AND PASTRY MAKING

Flour, such as cake, pastry, all purpose, self rising and whole wheat, used for cake and pastry making should be lower in protein (gluten) than flour used for bread making.

Cake and Pastry flour have a lower protein (gluten) content and give baked products, such as cakes, muffins, pastries, scones and pancakes, a softer texture.

All-purpose flour is often used as a general purpose flour however is not recommended for bread making.

Self–rising flour is a blend of all purpose flour and raising agents such as baking powder. Self rising flour can be used in recipes to replace all-purpose flour and baking powder. To make 1 cup self-rising flour sift together 1 cup all-purpose flour and 2 teaspoons baking powder (Care should be taken when using self rising flour as a substitute in recipes as not all recipes have the same proportions of baking powder and baking powder loses it's leavening (rising) power over time.).

Whole wheat flour contains more parts of the whole wheat grain — flour, bran and wheat germ — and can be used in muffins, breads and pie dough but will have a denser texture.

Corn flour is made from maize (corn) and is used in some baked products to give a finer texture and can also be used as a starch to thicken sauces and desserts.

Rice flour is derived from rice and is used to give a finer texture in baked products such as shortbread cookies.

Baking powder is a mixture of cream of tartar and baking soda and is used as a leavening agent in baking.

Baking soda is used as a leavening agent in baked goods. When using baking soda in a recipe the product must be baked at once and not stored for later or the leavening power will be lost and the product may not rise.

FATS IN BAKING

Butter will give particular flavor and soft texture to baked products. When using butter in baking recipes it is best to use unsalted butter as salted butters vary in their salt content and may change the consistency and taste of your baked good.

Margarine can replace butter to give a similar result.

Oil can be used in some baking to replace butter but will give texture and

flavour differences.

Eggs should be at room temperature to give better volume when making cakes and sponges. Standard large eggs were used in the recipes.

Milk should be full fat unless specified. Light, low fat or skim milk can be used but will give texture and flavor differences.

Sugar (granulated sugar) is used to give flavor, texture and color to baked products. Bakers sugar is often used in baking as it is easier to dissolve when creaming butter and sugar. Brown sugar is also easy to dissolve and can be used to give a different flavor and texture. The large crystals of raw sugar are slower to dissolve and can be suitable for baked products such as muffins.

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21/06/12 10:25 AM