Terminologies in Baking

Terminologies in Baking
 Bake: To cook in an oven with dry heat. The
oven should always be heated for 10 to 15
minutes before baking.
 Batter: A mixture of flour, liquid and other
ingredients that is thin enough to pour.
 Beat: To thoroughly combine ingredients and
incorporate air with a rapid, circular motion. This
may be done with a wooden spoon, wire whisk,
rotary eggbeater, electric mixer or food
processor.
 Blanch: To partially cook food by plunging it
into boiling water for a brief period, then into cold
water to stop the cooking process.
 Blind Baking: refers to the process of
baking a pie crust or other pastry without the
filling. The pie crust is lined with tin foil or
parchment paper, then filled with dried peas,
lentils, beans or other pulses, or with ceramic
"baking beans", so that it will keep its shape
when baking.
 Boil: To heat a liquid until bubbles rise
continually to the surface and break.
 Caramelize: To heat sugar until it is
melted and brown. Caramelizing sugar
gives it a distinctive flavor.
 Chill: Make mixture or cooking bowl cold
by placing in refrigerator or in ice.  
 Chop: To cut into small pieces using a
sharp knife, appliance or scissors.
 Clarify: To make a substance clear or
pure.
 Coat: To thoroughly cover a food with a liquid or
dry mixture   
 Coats spoon: When a thin, even film covers a
metal spoon after it has been dipped into a
cooked mixture and allowed to drain.
 Coarse:Refers to the crumb structure of some
baked goods  
 Combine: To stir together two or more
ingredients until mixed.
 Cool: To come to room temperature.
 Core To remove the seeded, inner portion
of a fruit.
 Cream: To beat one or more ingredients,
usually margarine or butter, sugar and/or
eggs, until the mixture is smooth and fluffy.
 Crimp: To seal the edges of two layers of
dough with the tines of a fork or your
fingertips.

Double In Bulk: Refers to expansion of gluten
cells in yeast bread that has risen and is ready
to be punched down. Recipe will give a range of
time.  Varies with dough and environment’s
temperature. May be difficult to tell visually: 
Finger test used by bakers:  gently press two
fingers into dough, if marks remain unchanged,
dough is ready to punch  
 Dough: A soft, thick mixture of flour, liquids, fat
and other ingredients.
 Dot: To distribute small amounts of margarine or
butter evenly over the surface of pie filling or
dough.
 Drain
To remove liquid from a food product  
 Drizzle: To drip a glaze or icing over food from
the tines of a fork or the end of a spoon.
 Drop:To deposit even portions of dough on a
baking sheet using spoon or batter dispenser
 Dust: To sprinkle lightly with sugar, flour or
cocoa.
 Egg Wash Or Glaze
Whole egg or egg white mixed with small
amount of milk or water and brushed over dough
prior to baking; creates glossy baked surface.  
 Elasticity: Capable of recovering shape after
stretching; developed gluten in dough is elastic 
 Dust: To sprinkle lightly with sugar, flour or
cocoa.
 Egg Wash Or Glaze
Whole egg or egg white mixed with small
amount of milk or water and brushed over dough
prior to baking; creates glossy baked surface.  
 Elasticity: Capable of recovering shape after
stretching; developed gluten in dough is elastic 
 Flakey:Distinct layers of pastry or biscuit
formed by using low protein flour, fat and
not too much mixing  
 Fold: To incorporate a delicate mixture
into a thicker. heavier mixture with a whisk
or rubber spatula without stirring, so that
the finished product remains light.
 Flute: To make or press a decorative
pattern into the raised edge of pastry.
 Fold in: To gently combine a heavier
mixture with a more delicate substance
such as beaten egg whites or whipped
cream without causing a loss of air.
 Garnish: To decorate foods by adding
other attractive and complementary
foodstuffs to the food or serving dish.
 Glaze: To coat with a liquid, thin icing or
jelly before or after the food is cooked.
 Gluten: The wheat flour proteins glutenin and
gliadin, when mixed with water and handled
(stirred, mixed, kneaded) connect into long
elastic structures.  This structure traps air
bubbles, expands and later, when baked
becomes rigid to hold the structure of the dough.
 Grate: To shred with a hand-held grater or food
processor.
 Grease: To rub fat on the surface of a pan or
dish to prevent sticking.
 grease and flour a pan:
 Grease the pan. Then add a tablespoonful
of flour to the pan and shake the pan so
that flour sticks to all greased areas. Turn
the pan upside down and tap the bottom to
remove excess flour.
 Grind: To produce small particles of food
by forcing food through a grinder.
 Knead: To fold, push and turn dough or other
mixture to produce a smooth, elastic texture.
  Level:Straight edged knife or spatula used to
scrape across a dry measuring cup in which
flour or other dry ingredient is heaped.
 Liquid Measure: Cup or beaker with gradations
for metric and English (fractions and whole cup,
pint, quart) measurements of liquids (water, milk,
vegetable oils, honey, molasses, syrups,
juices). 
 Lukewarm: A temperature of about 105
degrees F. that feels neither hot nor cold.
 Mash: To break up into finer, smoother
pieces by pressing with back of a spoon, a
masher or ricer.  
 Mix: To stir together two or more
ingredients until they are thoroughly
combined.
 Mix until just moistened: To combine dry
ingredients with liquid ingredients until the dry
ingredients are thoroughly moistened, but the
mixture is still slightly lumpy.
 Packed: Refers to measuring brown sugars. 
Spoon brown sugar into dry measuring cup and
press down until firmly packed, overfilling
slightly, then leveling.  When dumped out,
should hold its shape (as when making sand
castles).
 paper-line a pan:
Line the pan with parchment paper or
waxed paper cut to the appropriate size.
Grease the paper if specified in the
recipe.
 Parboil:To boil until partially cooked.
 Parchment Paper:Sheets of grease and
moisture resistant paper used in baking to line
pans; replaces greasing or spraying pans. 
Products are shaped or distributed directly on
the paper and are easily removed after baking.
Great for making disposable pastry bags too.
 Pare:To remove the outer covering or skin of
fruit or vegetables with a small knife or peeler.  
 Peel:Rimless, lightweight board, may have a
long handle; used to transfer proofed bread to
hot baking stone in oven
 Partially set: To refrigerate a gelatin mixture
until it thickens to the consistency of unbeaten
egg whites.
 Peel: To remove the skin of a fruit or vegetable
by hand or with a knife or peeler. This also refers
to the skin or outer covering of a fruit or
vegetable.
 Preheat
Very important in baking.  To heat the oven,
griddle, skillet or broiler to a desired
temperature before inserting the food.  TIP: 
Always check the oven to be sure nothing is
in it—and place the oven racks in the correct
position before preheating.

 Proof: To allow yeast dough to rise before

baking. Or, to dissolve yeast in a warm liquid
and set it in a warm place for 5 to 10 minutes
until it expands and becomes bubbly.
 Refrigerate: To chill in the refrigerator
until a mixture is cool or a dough is firm.
 Rind: The skin or outer coating of foods
such as citrus fruit or cheese.
 Rolling boil: To cook a mixture until the
surface billows rather than bubbles.
 Rounded teaspoon: To mound dough
slightly in a measuring teaspoon.
 Scald: To bring liquids to a temperature
just below boiling so that tiny bubbles form
at the edge of the pan or cup to stop
enzymatic activity that retards gluten
development.
 Score: To cut slits in food with a knife,
cutting part way through the outer surface.
 Separate:Remove the yolk from the white
of the egg  
 Softened: Margarine, butter, ice cream or
cream cheese that is in a state soft
enough for easy blending, but not melted.
 Shred: To cut food into narrow strips using
a sharp knife, grater or food processor
fitted with a shredding disk.
 Sift:To move flour or sugar through a
sieve (sifter) to incorporate air and insure
accurate measurement.
 Simmer
To cook in liquid that is barely at the boiling
point and small bubbles rise below the
surface.  
 Skim
To remove a substance from the surface of a
liquid. Ex: "Skim" the milk after scalding.  
Slack
 Soft peaks: To beat egg whites or whipping
cream to the stage where the mixture forms
soft, rounded peaks when the beaters are
removed.
• Steam: To cook food on a rack or in a wire
basket over boiling water.
 ¨ Steep: To soak in hot liquid.
 Stiff peaks: To beat egg whites to the
stage where the mixture will hold stiff,
pointed peaks when the beaters are
removed.
 Stir: To combine ingredients with a spoon
or whisk using a circular motion.
 Thicken: Make a liquid dense by adding
an ingredient like cornstarch, egg yolk,
tapioca, flour, rice or potato starch or flour;
also to bind
 Toss: To mix lightly with a lifting motion,
using two forks or spoons.
 Vent: To leave an opening through which
steam can escape in the covering of a
food to be cooked.
 Whip:To beat rapidly with a wire whisk or
electric mixer to incorporate air into a
mixture in order to lighten and increase the
volume of the mixture.Commonly done
with a particular ingredient.
 Whisk:To beat ingredients together, using
a wire whip or whisk, until well blended.
 Zest: The colored outer peel of citrus fruit,
which is used to add flavor. The zest is
often referred to as grated peel in recipes.
To create zest, choose the diagonal-hole
side of a box grater—it will give you a
cleaner zesting than if you use the nail-
hole side—and rub lightly to avoid getting
the white pith, which is bitter. For broader
strips of zest, use a swivel-blade peeler or
a sharp knife to cut away the peel.