Baking for Dummies

by Emily Nolan

  Baking soda

  Otherwise known as sodium bicarbonate, baking soda is an alkali that must be mixed with something acidic (such as lemon juice, buttermilk, chocolate, or molasses) to react. Because baking soda reacts immediately, you should place the batter in the oven as soon as you’ve finished putting it together. If you taste baking soda, you will feel it tingle on your tongue.

  When mixed with an acidic ingredient such as sour milk, buttermilk, yogurt, or citrus, baking soda acts as a leavening agent for cookies, cakes, and muffins. But baking soda has many other uses in and around the kitchen (listed here), so keeping a couple boxes on hand is always a good idea.

  Baking soda is great for removing coffee stains from metal pots or ceramic mugs. Just sprinkle a tablespoon or two inside the pot, rub with a dishcloth, and watch the stain disappear.

  Baking soda is essential for destroying odors and keeping your refrigerator and freezer fresh. Arm & Hammer now makes a special design just for the refrigerator and freezer.

  Baking soda puts out grease fires. Keep a box of baking soda near the stove in case of an emergency.

  Baking soda is a great addition to a hot bath. I like to have a box in the bathroom to add to my bath after a day of baking in the kitchen — it softens my skin and keeps me fresh-smelling!

  Note: Baking soda and baking powder should not be substituted for one another.

  Baking powder

  Baking powder usually comes in a small, round, sturdy container with an airtight lid. Baking powder is essential for cakes, cookies, muffins, and quick breads and acts as the leavening agent. Choose double-acting baking powder, which is the most readily available.

  Baking powder contains both an acid and an alkali (which is almost always baking soda), so just the addition of liquid is necessary to create a rise. Double-acting baking powder is true to its name — it reacts twice: once when the liquid is mixed in and then again when the batter is placed in the oven. Today, almost all baking powder sold is double-acting.

  Although baking powder contains baking soda, don’t substitute one for the other. Too much baking powder will make your baked goods taste acidic and may cause the product to collapse.

  Baking powder can be stored in its own container, but if your baking powder has been sitting around for several months, be sure to test it for potency. Dissolve 1 teaspoon in 1/4 cup of hot water. If it does not foam within a few seconds, it is time to get a new container.

  In a pinch, you can make your own baking powder. Combine 1/4 teaspoon baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar to equal 1 teaspoon baking powder. Or you can use 1 teaspoon baking soda plus 2 teaspoons cream of tartar for each cup of flour called for in the recipe. If you do make your own baking powder, make just what you need for the recipe; it can’t be stored.

  Cream of tartar

  After the manufacturing of wine, the acid left in the wine barrels is made into cream of tartar. Not widely used in baking, cream of tartar is generally added to egg whites when whipping to help stabilize them. It is also often used in candy-making.

  Cream of tartar is sold with all the other spices in the supermarket. It’s used in baking when you are whipping egg whites to help “stabilize” them, which means they keep their shape. It’s also good to have on hand, because you can mix it with baking soda if you run out of baking powder (see the preceding section).

  Yeast

  Yeast is the leavening agent for breads and rolls. Mostly used in bread making, yeast gets its rising powder from the combination of the right amount of warmth, food for it to eat (sugar), and liquid, which causes the yeast to release carbon dioxide.

  In general, there are two types of yeast: active dry yeast and fresh compressed yeast.

  Active dry yeast, which I use for all the recipes in this book, is available in most supermarkets in premeasured packets, containing 1/4 ounce (or about 1 tablespoon). You can also buy active dry yeast in jars that contain larger amounts.

  Active dry yeast should be dissolved in lukewarm water, no hotter than 110 degrees, which is actually just slightly warmer than lukewarm. Test the water on the inside of your wrist or run the tap over a candy thermometer until you reach this temperature. If you’re unsure, it’s better to err on the side of cooler water than hotter because all yeast will die if exposed to temperatures over 120 degrees.

  Fresh compressed yeast is moist yeast, available in 0.6-ounce squares. A square of fresh yeast can be substituted for one package of active dry yeast.

  You can also find bread machine yeast, which I don’t recommend for any of the recipes in this book. It’s a special strain of fine-granulated, dehydrated yeast, specially designed to dissolve during the kneading and mixing processes of bread machines. Another type of yeast is rapid-rise or quick-acting yeast, which is just another strain of dehydrated yeast. Although this type of yeast can be substituted for active dry yeast measure for measure, I don’t often use it. I haven’t found it to significantly reduce rising time for my breads and am somewhat wary of its sustained rising power. If you do choose to use this variety of yeast, be sure not to proof it (to dissolve it in water and sugar before mixing it into the flour mixture to make sure that it’s working). It may expire before your dough finishes rising.

  Before starting any recipe, be sure to check the expiration date on your package of yeast. Don’t bother trying to use yeast that has passed that date. I like to store active dry yeast in the refrigerator to ensure its freshness, although you don’t have to. You must store compressed cake yeast in the refrigerator or freezer, because it’s highly perishable. You can also proof your yeast to make sure that it’s still alive.

  Fats: The Good Guys with a Bad Rap

  Fat is just a generic way of referring to butter, margarine, lard, oil, and shortening. How rich a cake, pastry, cookie, or other baked item tastes depends largely on the type of fat used in it and how the fat was incorporated. Although fat has gotten a bad reputation, it really does play an important role in baking, adding tenderness and flavor to baked goods. It also retains moisture and helps the leaveners in batters.

  Several different types of fats are used in baking. Although butter, stick margarines, and shortenings are pretty interchangeable, using the ingredient the recipe calls for is always best.

  Butter

  Of all the fats, butter has the best flavor for baking. Most professional bakers would not think of baking with anything else. It is made from the richness of cream and gives a wonderful melt-in-your-mouth taste to baked goods.

  Butter varies in taste from brand to brand, so finding the brand you like is important. Because butter can be expensive compared to your other choices (margarine, oil, shortening, and so on), your best choice is usually the brand that’s on sale.

  At the market, butter comes in sticks or whipped in tubs. For baking, choose the stick form — whipped butter gives a much different texture to baked goods because it has air whipped into it. You also have to choose between salted and unsalted. For the recipes in this book, it doesn’t really matter which one you use, although you may want to choose unsalted butter for less salt content in your baked goods. Most professional cooks are “butter purists” and use only unsalted butter for baking. They vow that salty butter will alter the taste of their recipes, so they like to control that by choosing only unsalted. Personally, I have not yet found a recipe where the salted or unsalted butter has made or broken a recipe, but I’m sure that many would passionately disagree. I respect their choices, but I believe that the choice is yours. No need to get too fussy here.

  Keep butter wrapped in the refrigerator, away from strong odors (the butter compartment of your refrigerator is always a good choice). You can also freeze butter (which is a great reason to load up when there’s a sale). Just remember that butter is a sponge for odors, which can dramatically change its flavor. So wrap your butter in aluminum foil or seal it well in plastic wrap or plastic bags before freezing and rotate your stock (first in, first out). Think about stor
ing your butter near an open box of baking soda, too.

  Butter will keep frozen for up to one year, and in the refrigerator for several weeks. If you’re in doubt about freshness, just give it a taste. It should taste like nothing but butter. When butter goes bad, it becomes rancid, which is indicated by a bad odor and taste. If it has picked up refrigerator odor, you will also be able to easily detect that.

  One stick of butter or margarine weighs 4 ounces and equals 8 tablespoons or 1/2 cup.

  There is nothing like butter, which imparts it own fresh, creamy flavor to baking. But stick margarine can be substituted in recipes where butter is called for, unless otherwise stated.

  Margarine, butter blends, and vegetable spreads

  Butter is 100 percent saturated fat, which is a drawback for many. A wide variety of oils and solid fats are used in making margarine, which gives you an unsaturated butter substitute with no less than 80 percent fat. Butter blends are a combination of about 60 percent margarine and 40 percent butter and can be used interchangeably with butter or margarine.

  Margarine and butter blends come in sticks and in tubs. Use the sticks for baking; the margarine in the tub is too soft.

  For the most part, stick margarine can be used in place of butter. Because of the oils that are added, margarine has a higher melting point than butter (110 degrees compared to 96 degrees). This also means it remains softer even when refrigerated. Textures and flavors vary, so you may have to try several brands before you find one you prefer.

  Don’t use reduced-calorie or low-fat butter or margarine for baking. Margarine products called vegetable oil spreads, which are lower in fat and cholesterol than butter or margarine, are available in sticks, tubs, or as liquid spreads. Because the fat is decreased and water is increased in these products, I don’t recommend them for baking — you won’t like the results! If you must use them for health reasons, don’t use any product with less then 65 percent fat for baking, and choose only the sticks. These products affect the texture and quality of any baked item. Never use a liquid spread for the recipes in this book.

  Shortening

  Shortening is 100 percent fat and is great for creaming and whipping because it doesn’t break down or melt (like butter or margarine can) from the friction created by creaming fats. Many bakers swear by vegetable shortening for the flakiest piecrusts. Solid vegetable shortening is great for incorporating air into the batter, which gives added volume to cookies and cakes and makes them softer and spongier.

  Unfortunately, shortening does not impart much flavor to baked goods (although its lack of flavor makes it ideal for greasing cookie sheets and pans). Although there are butter-flavored shortenings, they still fall short of the real thing. Shortening is a good choice when the flavor of the fat is not that important. For example, you may want to use shortening for a spice or chocolate cake, and it makes a great choice for crunchy chocolate chip cookies. It’s a bad choice for sugar cookies, however, because butter is an important flavoring ingredient in that recipe. Substitute shortening for butter, measure for measure. You also can use half butter and half shortening in some baking recipes.

  Solid vegetable shortening comes in cans and, unopened, can be stored indefinitely. Once opened, it will last for several years if it’s stored in an airtight container.

  Lard

  Lard is rendered pork fat, which is 100 percent animal fat and means that, like butter, it contains cholesterol. Lard makes for a great flaky piecrust, and the pork fat gives good flavor, especially good for savory recipes, and is inexpensive. You usually can find lard in the supermarket where the shortening is kept. You also can get lard from a butcher. Piecrusts aside, lard is not recommended for cakes, cookies, or other baked goods because of the strong flavor of the pork fat. When serving, you may want to inform your guests that there is lard in the crust, in case there are any vegetarians in the crowd.

  Oil

  Oils impart a tenderness and moistness to baked items. Mild-flavored vegetable oils such as corn, canola, or peanut are often called for in quick-bread, muffin, and some cake recipes. Oil also can be used to grease baking sheets or pans.

  Vegetable oils are a good choice in baking because they are low in saturated fats and contain no cholesterol. When oil is called for in a recipe, be sure to choose one with a very mild flavor, such as safflower, canola, vegetable, peanut, or corn. I learned this the hard way. When I was a beginning baker, I once decided to make fresh blueberry muffins for guests visiting from Russia. The only oil I could find in the kitchen was extra-virgin olive oil, so I used it. Although the muffins looked fine, the assertive flavor the olive oil gave to the muffins made them pretty unpleasant-tasting (although the jolt was better than coffee!). Our guests were extremely gracious and even sampled one or two, but in the end we used the muffins to feed the birds. However, you can use “light” or “pure” olive oil for baking because it does not have the same flavor qualities that extra-virgin olive oil has.

  You don’t have to refrigerate vegetable oils (unless it’s extra-virgin olive oil, which is not used for baking). They will keep for a year or longer in an airtight container. You’ll know that it’s gone rancid if it tastes stale or smells oddly pungent. You can, however, refrigerate oils for even longer storage.

  When baking, use oil only when a recipe calls for it. Because oil mixes up differently than solid fats, the outcome of using it when it isn’t called for may be undesirable.

  Nonstick cooking spray

  I love nonstick cooking spray for one-shot super-easy greasing action. It’s especially great for greasing Bundt pans, because the molded design makes it particularly difficult to grease. You can also find a product called Baker’s Joy, which “greases and flours” your baking pans for you.

  Liquids

  Liquids are added to a batter to help dissolve the salt and sugar and to create steam, which helps a cake rise and adds to its texture. Liquids also moisten the leavener, which helps to activate it. Although liquids include everything from water to fruit juice, the liquids I define here are dairy liquids, because these are the ones you’ll come in contact with most often:

  Fresh milk: When a recipe calls for milk, it refers to cow’s milk. Several varieties of fresh milk are available in the market: whole, low-fat, and skim. Although all the recipes in this book were tested with whole milk, unless otherwise specified, you can substitute the milk of your choice.

  Fresh milk without the fridge? Keep a constant supply of milk on hand in your pantry. Parmalat makes a boxed milk that can be stored in the pantry for months without refrigeration. Open it, use what you need, and then store it in the refrigerator. Its flavor is slightly sweeter than traditional milk, but that’s undetectable when it’s used in baking. You can find this milk in your grocery store’s baking section.

  Buttermilk: This milk contains no butter but was once a by-product of butter-making. Most commercial buttermilk is fermented from milk mixed with lactic acid (like yogurt and sour cream). Buttermilk adds a tangy flavor to doughs and batters, and it is lower in fat than whole milk.

  If a recipe calls for buttermilk and you don’t have any on hand, you can substitute 1 cup of regular milk plus 1 tablespoon vinegar or lemon juice for 1 cup of buttermilk. Let it sit for a few minutes before using. You can also substitute plain yogurt, measure for measure.

  If you purchase buttermilk and you don’t use the whole container, freeze it! Pour the buttermilk in 1-cup yogurt containers, and then you’ll always have a small amount ready when you need it.

  Cream: Cream is produced when the butterfat of milk is separated out of the liquid. The different types vary depending on the amount of butterfat in them.

  •Heavy (whipping) cream is the richest of all the creams, containing between 36 and 40 percent butterfat. It’s used to make whipped cream and for some cooked frostings. Ultra-pasteurized heavy cream has been sterilized and will keep for several weeks in the refrigerator. Regular heavy cream will keep for up to one week.
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br />   •Light cream is only about 20 percent butterfat. It is much richer than milk and can be substituted for milk in many recipes. It’s good for making sauces or baking when you don’t want all the richness of heavy cream. It’s also tasty in coffee. Light cream will not whip up, though.

  •Half-and-half is a mixture of light cream and milk and contains between 10 and 12 percent butterfat. If you ever run out of milk, half-and-half makes a great substitute.

  Evaporated milk: Available in small cans, evaporated milk is whole milk with half the water removed. The mixture is slightly thicker than whole milk. Skimmed evaporated milk is widely available and can be used interchangeably with regular evaporated milk.

  Keeping a can of evaporated milk on hand is always a good idea. If you ever run out of fresh milk while baking, just mix equal parts evaporated milk and water to make up the amount of milk you need.

  Sweetened condensed milk: Also available in small cans, this is similar to evaporated milk with sweetener added. It’s often used for cream pies and candy making.