Image: archanaskitchen.com / Sneha Chhabria
Baking is a simple way to show your talent and passion, it’s something most of us like. We can feel the excitement while preparing the ingredients, the hunger while smelling the aroma of our favorite cake or bread inside the oven and when it’s finished, we can share a piece of it with our loved ones. So, apart from just knowing how to bake bread and pastries, the baker must start with something, knowing the basic ingredients to make the best delicious baked goods. For any baker still learning how to bake, here are the top 10 essential ingredients a baker should know.
FLOUR
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The importance of flour in baking is to build a structure in baked goods. It has a protein that can help to make gluten.
Gluten is the tiny fibers that make up your cake or baked goods and it depends on the protein from the flour.
Read more: Functions of Baking Ingredients .
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COMMONLY USE FLOUR
All Purpose Flour – most used with 9% to 11% protein content (mid range)
Bread Flour – build a structure for the bread so that the air formed by the yeast does not come out and it ranges 11% to 13% with a high protein content
Cake Flour – important for cakes, 5% to 8% lesser protein content and it produces softer baked goods
Tercera / 3rd Class / Pastry Flour – 8% to 9% protein content, sometimes mixed with bread flour to make softer bread
- Protein is an important ingredient to form gluten
SUGAR
The most common use of sugar is to add sweetness or taste to our baked goods. But according to research, sugar can also add color, be a preservative, can add texture, can retain moisture, become a decoration, etc. Sugar has many uses that can make your baked goods taste better and presentable.
Image: Simply Recipes / Lori Rice
TYPES OF SUGAR
Brown Sugar – It produces a slightly moist texture and caramel flavor.
- Two types of brown sugar; light and brown, light brown sugar has less molasses content than darker brown sugar
White Sugar / Refined Sugar / Granulated Sugar – highly refined sugar and it dissolves easily in liquid or batter
Confectioner / Icing / Powdered Sugar – It has a powdery texture and often contains an anti-caking agent, like cornstarch, to prevent it from clumping
Caster Sugar – finer than granulated sugar
Bianca Sugar – stays on the product for a long period of time and used for dusting of bake goods
Coco Sugar / Coconut Sugar – also called coconut palm sugar and it is made from coconut palm sap. It has a lot more nutrients than regular sugar.
Muscovado Sugar – unrefined cane sugar with molasses
- Molasses is a thick, dark syrup created from extracting sugarcane into sugar
Artificial Sugar – can be alternative to sugar and much sweeter than sugar
Read more: Types of Sugar for Baking and Cooking
Read more: Bianca Snow Sugar
Read more: Coconut Sugar
Read more: How Much Do You Know About Sugar Substitutes?.
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FATS
Image: Fats for Biscuits
Fats limits the increase of gluten to our baked goods to make a firm structure.
The function of fat in baking is to enhance flavor, add moisture, create tenderness and helps with leavening.
Read more: ALL ABOUT FAT AND ITS FUNCTION IN BAKING
ROLE OF FAT IN BAKING
- Creates a Lift
- Adds Moisture
- Improves Flavor
TYPES OF FATS
Butter – made of 85% fat and 15% water. It is the most expensive fat but the baked result is very tasty, fragrant and smooth in texture
Margarine – 80% fat and 20% water and made from vegetable oil, cheaper than butter
Oil – used to make baked goods moist and tender and doesn’t solidify the baked goods
Shortening – 100% fat and derived from vegetable oil
Lard – derived from animal fat or pig fat
Read more: TYPES OF FATS FOR BAKING
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MILK
Milk is used in baked products to provide moisture and it can add tenderness to texture.
It is also a source of protein which can help to strengthen the structure of baked goods.
Image: All Milk Comparison and Usage
Read more: The benefits of using milk in baking
TYPES OF MILK
Evaporated Milk – comes from milk but 60% of water is removed during the process
Condensed Milk – used as alternative if you wanted to add sweetness if you don’t want to add sugar
Powdered Milk – used for breads or pastries and baked goods do not spoil easily
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SALT
Salt is one of the four important ingredients in bread (flour, salt, yeast, and water)
It enhances and balances the flavor of the baked goods.
Salt also serves as a preservative.
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Read more: THE IMPORTANCE OF SALT IN BAKING.
EGG
Eggs have many functions which show that they are greatly needed in baking.
They contribute to moisture, combine the other ingredients, create structure because of the protein, lift and rise, add volume, texture, and have more nutrition.
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Read more: WHAT DO EGGS DO IN BAKING
WATER
Water functions as a solvent and dispersing agent, it also helps to form the gluten and it is responsible for the consistency of the doughs in making bread
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Read more: Water.
LEAVENING AGENT
Leavening are gasses that are trapped inside the baked goods that make them rise, spread out and keep them tender and fluffy.
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BAKING POWDER
It is a dry mixture of baking soda, cream of tartar and cornstarch and can be substituted for baking soda by tripling the amount of baking powder.
Image: https://candycorner.ph/product/calumet-baking-powder-500g/
BAKING SODA
A pure sodium bicarbonate. As soon as it blends with moisture and acidic ingredients it produces a bubble of carbon dioxide and the bubble gives the light texture in your baked goods.
Read more: Baking Powder versus Baking Soda
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YEAST
Yeast is a living organism that increases the volume and improves the flavor, texture, grain, color, and quality of baked goods. It is required throughout the fermentation process, along with a mixture of flour and water.
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- Active Dry Yeast: In order for it to become active, it needs to be hydrated with warm water
- Instant Dry Yeast: You can add it immediately into the dough without having to first hydrate it
Read more: Yeast in Baking
Read more: Active Dry Yeast vs. Instant Yeast: What’s the Difference?
CREAM OF TARTAR
Renowned for its capacity to stabilize egg whites by preventing the joining of the egg proteins, which produces a silky, billowy meringue.
Read more: What Is Cream of Tartar?
FLAVORINGS / ESSENCE / EXTRACT
Flavorings
It is made with natural ingredients and much stronger than extract
Essence
The term ‘essence’ comes from the early years of flavor manufacturing and was used to describe a ‘culinary strength’ flavoring, so basically, it is just another term for flavorings
Extract
It is made from raw material such as vanilla beans in alcohol and water and the extracted elements from the raw material in the liquid mixture will give you ‘vanilla extract’.
Read more: What Are The Differences Between Flavourings, Extracts And Essences?.
Image: Vanilla Extract
Image: Green Leaves
CHOCOLATE
Chocolate is made of cocoa powder, cocoa butter and sugar
It provides structure, absorbs moisture in baked goods and it adds texture as well, due to its fat content.
Read more: Chocolate.
TYPES OF CHOCOLATE
Dark Chocolate
Dark chocolate doesn’t contain milk and it is made from sugar, cocoa powder and cocoa butter
White Chocolate
White chocolate is the opposite of dark chocolate, it doesn’t contain cocoa powder and it’s ingredients are sugar, cocoa butter and milk
Milk Chocolate
Milk chocolate is made of sugar, milk, cocoa butter and cocoa powder
Read more: The Difference Between Milk, White & Dark Chocolate
