Baking Ingredients Definitions
Source of Recipe
Submitted by Brandon Johnstun From Wheat Foods Council
Recipe Introduction
Here is a list of definitions you should have for making bread or reading the label.
Recipe Link: http://www.wheatfoods.org Baking Ingredients
Amylases (diastases): Enzymes capable of breaking starch and glycogen into smaller molecules.
Antioxidant: A substance, such as BHA or BHT, which prevents oxidation and thus rancidity in fats.
Baking powder: A dry mixture of bicarbonate of soda and one or more acid substances compounded to generate large quantities of carbon dioxide gas to leaven products while baking.
BHA (butylated hydroxyanisole): An antioxidant used to stabilize fats and oils; functions similar to BHT.
BHT (butylated hydroxytolulene): An antioxidant functioning similar to BHA.
Bleaching: The process of treating flour with minute amounts of benzoyl peroxide and exposure to chlorine to remove yellow (carotenoid) pigment and produce a whiter flour and crumb. The process matures the flour and in the case of cake flours, denatures the gluten and improves performance.
Calcium propionate: A salt of an organic acid (propionic acid) used in small quantities in bread to inhibit mold growth.
Carbohydrates: Sugars and starches derived chiefly from plant sources.
Cellulose: The fibrous or woody matter of plants making up cell walls; a source of insoluble dietary fiber in baking goods.
Compound shortening: A blend of animal and/or vegetable fats or oils, combined for stability; "standard shortening."
Corn syrup: Sugar produced from cornstarch; comprised of glucose (dextrose), maltose and higher sugars; 70 percent to 80 percent solids.
Cream of tartar: Acid tartrate of potassium; often used in baking powder as the acid ingredient.
Crumb softener: Emulsifiers that retard crumb firming and extend the shelf life and retard staleness in bakery products (e.g., calcium stearoyllactylete or CLS); FDA approved.
Cysteine: An amino acid used in breadmaking to reduce mixing requirements for optimum dough development.
Dextrin: A glucose polymer shorter than the starch chain.
Dietary fiber: The part of cereal grains, fruits, vegetables, peas/beans/legumes, seeds and nuts that resist digestion by enzymes in the human digestive tract. Dietary fiber is found only in plant-based foods.
Dough conditioner: An ambiguous term referring to an ingredient added to bread dough for improvement; may be yeast food, oxidant, reducing agent, enzyme or dough strengthener (e.g., azodicarbonamide or ADA).
Dough strengthener: An ingredient used to bind the protein (gluten) in dough; improves mixing and machining tolerances; stabilizes and enhances texture, volume, shelf life and crumb (e.g., ethoxylated monglycerides or EOM).
Emulsifier: A compound allowing a relatively permanent suspension of oils and fats in water (e.g., glyceryl monostearate or GMS, lecithin, monoglycerides or polysorbate 60 - used primarily in cakes and frostings).
Fermentation: In bread baking, yeast metabolizes sugar to produce ethyl alcohol and carbon dioxide gas to leaven (raise) the dough and produce loaf volume and flavor.
Ferrous sulfate: Enrichment compound used to supply iron in baked goods as required by FDA.
Flour, all-purpose: Enriched white flour, bleached or unbleached, of medium protein strength primarily used in home baking.
Flour, bread: Enriched white flour, generally unbleached, that has sufficient protein and gluten strength for producing high-quality yeast breads. This flour has the highest protein content.
Flour, cake: A fine, silky flour milled from soft, low-protein wheats. This flour has the lowest protein content.
Flour, enriched: Flour supplemented with thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, folic acid (B vitamins) and iron to meet government (FDA) standards; may also be supplemented with calcium.
Flour, pastry: Milled from soft wheats, this flour is similar to cake flour, but with a slightly higher protein content.
Flour, whole-wheat: Flour produced from the entire wheat kernel. Also known as graham flour.
Folic acid: Folic acid is a B vitamin that's been shown to protect against neural tube defects and anencephaly. Folates also are needed for cell growth and blood production. Effective January 1, 1998, a new fortification law requires enriched grain products to contain specific levels of folic acid.
Gluten (vital): A wheat flour protein formed when water and flour are mixed; gives dough elasticity, strength and gas-retaining properties.
Hydrogenated shortening: Shortening prepared by partially solidifying (hydrogenating) vegetable oils; may contain animal fats.
Improving agent: Any substance added to flour or dough to improve its performance during breadmaking or in the finished product.
Invert sugar: A syrup containing glucose, fructose and some residual sucrose; prepared by treating cane or beet sugar with dilute acid and/or enzymes.
Leavening: The process of introducing and/or producing gas to give volume to dough's and batters; may be air, steam, yeast, bacteria (such as in salt-rising bread) or chemical agents.
Lecithin: Used to stabilize emulsions; derived from egg yolk or soybean oil, it is a mild antioxidant used as a crumb softener and as an active component in pan release agents.
Malt: Grain, usually barley, partially germinated, dried and powdered or in syrup form; used widely in breadmaking and brewing yeast food.
Mold inhibitors: Compounds added to food to retard mold and extend shelf life (e.g., calcium propionate or vinegar).
Monoglycerides: A chemical compound of one fatty acid and glycerol; used widely as an emulsifier in foods.
Oxidants: Agents used to mature flour, improving its breadmaking qualities (e.g., ascorbic acid or vitamin C).
Plastic shortening: Shortening comprised of a solid and liquid fat, typically liquid at room temperature.
Polysaccharide: A complex carbohydrate; may be broken into simple sugars (monosaccharides) such as glucose and maltose.
Preservatives: Substances added to foods to prevent or delay spoilage from fungal or bacterial action or chemical interactions (e.g., potassium sorbate, a potassium salt of sorbic acid applied in a water spray or baked products).
Soda: Carbonate or bicarbonate of sodium; alkaline leavening agent used in combination with leavening acids.
Stabilizers: Gelatinous substances added to oil and water emulsions to prevent separation (e.g., gums in icings and fillings to prevent weeping or melting).
Surfactant: A chemical able to reduce surface tension of water; used in baking to keep fat and water in emulsion (e.g., polysorbate 60, monoglycerides, propylene glycol or monostearate).
Yeast: A unicellular fungi which ferments carbohydrates to produce alcohol and carbon dioxide, which causes bread to rise.
Yeast food: A combination of mineral salts and chemicals required by yeast for growth and propagation. (Also malted barley flour.)
|
|
member logon
