INFORMATION SHEET NO.

2
BAKING INGREDIENTS

INTRODUCTION
The secret of a successful baking is using the right ingredients and storing them properly. Good quality
baked products comes from good quality ingredients. Each ingredient must be carefully selected and
considered so that quality will not suffer.

LEARNING CONTENTS
ESSENTIAL BAKING INGREDIENTS

A. Flour – It provides the structure in baked products and

contains proteins that interact with each other
when mixed with water, forming gluten.

 Bread flour – A hard wheat flour with about 12%

protein. This is used in yeast raised
bread because the dough it produces
has more gluten than. Has a coarser
texture and if squeezed into a lump, it
breaks away immediately. Creamy white
color and is called first class flour.

 Cake flour – A soft wheat flour that is 7.5% protein.

because of its lower gluten content, the
product has a tender and crumbly texture
that is desirable in cake.

 All purpose flour – Is blended during milling to achieve a

10.5%. This medium protein flour can
be used for all baking purposes.

 Whole wheat flour – Contains nutritious germ and bran as

well as the endosperm of the wheat kernel.
Bread made of wheat flour contains more fiber
and heavier than the usual white bread.

 Pastry flour – A weak flour but slightly stronger than cake

flour with 7-8% protein content. It is called
third class flour.
A pastry flour

 Self-rising flour – It is enriched flour to which baking powder and salt has been added and uniformly
blended.

ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY- ANGADANAN

ADVANCE BAKING FIRST SEMESTER-2017-2018
Types of Wheat flour

Hard Wheat – It has a higher protein content than soft

wheat and is therefore more suitable for bread
making

Soft Wheat – It is soft, talcum-like powder that stays

lumpy when pressed between fingers.

PROPERTIES OF FLOUR

 Color : The darker white color of the flour, the stronger it is.
Pure white represents weak flour which means low-gluten
content.

 Strength : The capacity of the flour to hold air cell which

is responsible for the volume of baked products.

 Tolerance : The ability of flour to undergo kneading and

other baking procedures but still good results prevail.

 Absorption capacity : refers to the amount of water a flour can

take up and hold while being made into a simple dough,
based on a predetermined standard dough consistency
or stiffness. The more protein is present,

 Texture : The weak flour has soft and smooth texture

While strong flour has coarser granules.

 Cohesiveness : The ability to hold its shape when

pressed by hand because the granules stick
together. Weak flour tends to retain lumpy.

B. LIQUID – It disperse proteins for gluten development.

a. Water : Contributes moistness to the texture and improve the mouth feel of baked products.

b. Milk : Contributes water and valuable nutrients to baked goods. It helps browning to occur and adds
flavour. When making yeast dough, milk should be scalded and cooled before adding to other
ingredients. This is done to improve the quality of the dough and the volume of the bread.

c. Juice : Because of its acidity, they are probably best used in baked products which have baking soda
as an ingredient.

C. EGGS – Adds flavour and color, contribute to structure, incorporate air when beaten, provide liquid, fat,
protein and emulsify fat with liquid ingredient.

A whole egg consists primarily of a yolk, a white, and a shell.

In addition, it contains a membrane that lines the shell and forms
an air cell at the large end, and two white strands called chalazae
that hold the yolk centered.

MARKET FORMS
o Fresh eggs or shell eggs
o Frozen eggs: Frozen eggs are usually made from high-quality fresh eggs
and are excellent for use in baking. They are pasteurized and are usually purchased in 30-lb tins.
o Dried eggs

ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY- ANGADANAN

ADVANCE BAKING FIRST SEMESTER-2017-2018
D. SUGAR - A sweet substance widely used in baking. It gives moisture to cakes, chewiness to
cookies, life to the yeast and sweetness to desserts.
Sucrose – The chemical name of sugar.

Market Forms of Sugar

 Granulated sugar – Table sugar

 Caster sugar – Ultra-fine sugar granules and finer than regular granulated sugar. They are prized for
making cakes and cookies because they make a more uniform batter and can support higher quantities
of fat.
 Sanding sugars are coarse and are used for coating cookies, cakes, and other products.
 Confectioner’s sugar – Also known as icing sugar or powdered sugar.
 Brown sugar – Refined sugar that has been mixed with molasses. It contributes to color and moisture
to any baked products. Basically, brown sugar is regular cane sugar that has not been completely
 refined
 Washed sugar – unwhitened crystals which is one step needed to complete refining process.
 Muscovado - is a crystalline brown sugar. It is dry rather than moist like regular brown sugar. Demerara sugar is
sometimes used in baking, but it is more often served as a sweetener with coffee and tea.

Kinds of Syrup
 Molasses is concentrated sugarcane juice. Molasses contains large amounts of sucrose and other
sugars, including invert sugar. It also contains acids, moisture, and other constituents that give it its
flavor and color. Darker grades are stronger in flavor and contain less sugar than lighter grades.
Molasses retains moisture in baked goods and, therefore, prolongs freshness. Crisp cookies made with
molasses can become soft quickly because the invert sugars absorb moisture from the air.

 Corn syrup is a liquid sweetener consisting of water, a vegetable gum called dextrin, and various
sugars, primarily dextrose (also called glucose). Corn syrup is made by converting cornstarch into
simpler compounds through the use of enzymes. Corn syrup aids in retaining moisture and is used in
some icings and candies. It has a mild flavor and is not as sweet as granulated sugar (sucrose).

 Glucose Syrup -It resembles corn syrup, is colorless and nearly tasteless and is thicker than corn
syrup. It has the same uses as corn syrup in the pastry shop but is often preferred by pastry chefs
because of its purity. If a recipe calls for glucose syrup and none is available, substitute light corn
syrup.

 Honey is natural sugar syrup consisting largely of the simple sugars glucose and fructose, plus other
compounds that give it its flavor. Honeys vary considerably in flavor and color, depending on their
source. Flavor is the major reason for using honey, especially as it can be expensive. Because honey
contains invert sugar, it helps retain moisture in baked goods. Like molasses, it contains acid, which
means it can be used with baking soda as a leavening.
 Malt syrup, also called malt extract, is used primarily in yeast breads. It serves as food for the yeast
and adds flavor and crust color to the breads. Malt is extracted from barley that has been sprouted
(malted) and then dried and ground.

E. FATS : Used to lubricate the gluten strand in the dough.

The major functions of fats in baked items are:

• To tenderize the product and soften b texture.

• To add moistness and richness.
• To increase keeping quality.
• To add flavor.
• To assist in leavening when used as creaming agents or when used to give flakiness to puff pastry, pie
dough, and similar products.

ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY- ANGADANAN

ADVANCE BAKING FIRST SEMESTER-2017-2018
Classification of Fats
1. Shortening – A solid fat that is white and tasteless which is of vegetable origin.
2. Butter – A product from fresh milk consist of 80% of fats and 15% of water and 55 milk solids.
Available as salted and unsalted.
3. Oils – Substance came from variety of vegetables that is in liquid form.
4. Lard A hydrogenated fat from swine and often used in pie making to produce flaky crust.

Fats (from left: lard, butter,margarine, shortening)

F. LEAVENING AGENTS - Leavening is the production or incorporation of gases in a baked product to

increase volume and to produce shape and texture.
 Biological leavener
Yeast
1. Active dry yeast
2. Fresh yeast
3. Instant yeast

 Chemical leavener
1. Baking powder – contains baking soda, starch and tartaric acid.
2. Baking soda – sodium bicarbonate

 Air
Air cells produced into mixing of batter through:
1. Creaming
2. Foaming

 Steam
1. When the moisture of baked product evaporates, it creates steam which leavens the product.
2. Oven spring is the rapid rise of yeast product in the oven.

G.. CHOCOLATE AND COCOA

 Cocoa
Alkalized – undergo Dutch-process that is treated with alkali to reduce the acidity and produced
milder flavour but darker color.

Natural – more acid content, lighter in color and taste somewhat bitter

 Bitter chocolate – unsweetened chocolate in solid form.

 Sweet chocolate – bitter chocolate to which sugar is added; if the percentage of sugar is less it is
called dark sweet.
 Milk chocolate – sweet chocolate to which milk solids have been added.
 White chocolate – consists of cocoa butter, sugar and milk solids.

ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY- ANGADANAN

ADVANCE BAKING FIRST SEMESTER-2017-2018
H. FLAVORINGS

1. Salt –

 Salt strengthens gluten structure and makes it more stretchable. Thus, it improves the texture of
breads.
• Salt inhibits yeast growth. It is therefore important for controlling fermentation in bread dough and
preventing the growth of undesirable wild yeasts.

2. Spices - are plant or vegetable substances used to flavour foods.

Allspice Anise Cardamom

Cinnamon bar and powder Cloves Nutmeg

Poppy seeds Sesame seeds Mace

Vanilla beans

4. Extracts
5. Alcohol

ISABELA STATE UNIVERSITY- ANGADANAN

ADVANCE BAKING FIRST SEMESTER-2017-2018