Have you ever had a word in a recipe leave you stubbed as to what it means? In this baking glossary, we share what common baking terms mean. This alphabetical list is sure to help with your baking endeavors.
This glossary will help you manage through recipes whether you are a seasoned baking pro or a beginner baker.
My girls have been showing more of an interest in baking. Occasionally I get what does it mean to do. Thinking about this made me think of putting together a list of baking terms to help them out as well as others.
Baking Terms A through B
- All-purpose flour is flour that is made from a blend of soft and hard kinds of wheat. Making them suitable for all cooking except for the finest of cakes.
- Autolyse is a gentle mixing of flour and water together that is then followed by a rest period of 20 to 60 minutes. Once the rest period is done, the rest of the ingredients are added, and then kneading would begin.
- Bake means to cook in an oven using dry heat without exposure to direct heat.
- We have all heard the term a Baker's Dozen, right? Think about eggs, a dozen eggs is twelve. So a baker's dozen is 13, one more for good measure.
- Bar is a type of cookie that is pressed into a baking pan then cut into squares. Our cookie cake bars are a good example of bar cookies.
- Batter is a mixture of ingredients that are used to make baked goods. Such as flour, a liquid of some kind, salt, eggs, flavoring such as an extract, and some sort of leavening agent.
- Beat is to mix ingredients together in a rigorous manner. Beating ingredients together will incorporate air into the batter making your baked goods light and fluffy
- Biscuit Method is a technique used to blend cold fat into flour to make a flaky texture.
- Blend means to stir ingredients until they are well-mixed together.
- Bread Flour has a higher protein content than all-purpose flour. The protein will add more strength to the dough. Thus making the dough rise higher.
- Buttercream is a mixture of soft butter that is mixed with powdered sugar. Buttercream can be used to fill in between layers of the cake as well as frost a cake.
Baking Terminology C Through F
- Cake Flour is a lower protein flour that is made from soft winter wheat. Cake flour is normally bleached which gives it a fine texture and light color. Making it a great flour to use to make cakes with.
- What is Caramelization? It is a chemical process that causes the sugar in food to break down. Giving the food a nutty or buttery flavor and brown in color.
- Chemical leavener are compounds like baking soda or baking powder. These ingredients react with other ingredients to produce carbon dioxide gas. This helps to make baked goods rise when the batter is heated.
- Combine means to stir or mix ingredients together until they are completely mixed.
- Confectioner's Sugar is a finely powdered sugar that is used to make candy and icings.
- Cream is when butter and sugar are mixed together at a high speed. This is typically the first step in making most cookie and cake recipes.
- Cut-In is when you cut butter or shortening into flour. Usually cut-in happens when you are making biscuits, scones, or some type of flaky pastry.
- Drizzle means to pour a thin stream of liquid onto the top of a baked good.
- Dust is when you coat the surface of something with a dry ingredient. Such as baking cocoa or powdered sugar.
- Fold In is taking a mixture from the bottom of a bowl and turning over the top in a gentle motion.
- Fondant is a candy paste that is used to cover cakes and some candies.
Definitions G Through P
- Ganache may seem like a fancy baking technique. But really ganache is just a glaze that is made of chocolate and cream that tops many recipes. Our Triple Chocolate Cheesecake is an example of a dessert that has a ganache topping.
- Glaze is a thick sugar-based sauce that is used to coat desserts and pastries.
- Gluten is a protein that is found in wheat. Gluten helps to give structure and texture to baked goods.
- Grease means to coat the inside of baking dishes with some type of fat substance. This will help the baked good from sticking to the baking dishes.
- Knead is a process of combining ingredients by hand. Kneading is most commonly done when making bread. Kneading helps add strength to the dough. Normally you will knead the dough until it is smooth and elastic.
- Leavening is a substance that produces gas making the baked goods rise. Leavening agents are yeast, baking soda, and baking powder.
- Lukewarm is a temperature of 105 degrees making it slightly warm.
- Pastry Flour is soft wheat flour that has a lower protein content. Thus making pastries lighter and more delicate.
- Proof is when the dough has time to rise giving the yeast time to activate.
Final Terms
- Scald is to heat a liquid just below boiling point.
- Score means that you slash the top of the dough with a sharp knife. This allows the dough to expand during baking.
- Shortening is a type of fat that is used in baking. When the shortening melts stem will form in the dough. The steam will cause puffs in the layers of the dough that pulls it apart. Giving a flaky crust to baked goods.
- Soft Peaks will hardly hold their shape when eggs or cream are whipped. The peak will bend its shape over to one side.
- Stiff Peaks are peaks in eggs or cream that stand straight up when beaters are removed.
- Whisk is a tool that will add air into the batter as it mixes the ingredients together.
- Whole Wheat Flour provides more nutrients and fiber to baked goods than all-purpose flour does.
- Yeast is a single-cell organism that needs food, warmth, and moisture to thrive. It ferments sugar and starch into carbon dioxide and alcohol. Which will make baked goods rise.
We hope you found these baking terms helpful. Make sure to Pin it for future reference. Many blessings from our kitchen to yours.
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