Baking Ingredients

Salt is ubiquitous. Virtually every dish that comes out of the kitchen has salt added. In fact, salt is so elemental to our culture that the word “salary” comes from the Latin salarium, which refers to Roman Soldiers’ payment for the purchase of salt. What salt does in Baking: Since it’s so commonplace do we even need to …

Remember the days when fats, especially butter, were villainized? Everywhere you looked you saw “low fat” this and “low fat” that. Well, no surprise that the pendulum has swung the other way and now everyone loves coconut oil, olive oil and nut oils. Even butter is back in style. I tend not to sway much …

It’s not really possible to overstate how important the simple chicken egg is in the kitchen. Eggs are the base for a myriad of dishes, from rich custards to ethereal meringues. Eggs can be scrambled, fried or poached for a nutritious meal. The yolk emulsifies mayonnaise and the white is indispensable for the pastry chef’s …

If there is one ingredient that defines baking, I would argue that it is flour. Specifically, wheat flour. Sure, sugar is important for desserts and pastries, but flour is the backbone of most baked goods. The composition of Wheat Flour Wheat flour is composed of proteins, starch, lipids, sugars and enzymes. The two most important of …

Sugar is a mainstay in the baker’s kitchen. Of course, sugar is important in the kitchen because the sweet flavor makes food delicious. We humans are programmed to like sweet. Sweetness also balances out sour and bitter flavors in food to help create a more complex flavor. But sugar contributes much more than sweetness to …

If you like to bake from scratch, learning the basics about chemical leavening (baking soda & baking powder) can help you understand how your recipe works. Knowing which and how much leavener to use is a valuable tool in the baker’s skill set. What are Baking Powder & Baking Soda? When certain acidic and alkaline compounds …