Red Seal Baker flashcards
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32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.
- Baker's percentage
- A method where total flour weight equals 100% and every other ingredient is a percentage of that flour weight, allowing formulas to be scaled and compared easily.
- Desired dough temperature
- The target temperature of a mixed dough, usually 24-27 °C for lean doughs, controlled by adjusting water temperature using the friction-factor formula.
- Friction factor
- The number of degrees Celsius a mixer adds to dough during mixing; it rises with speed, batch size and mixing time and must be measured for each mixer.
- Poolish
- A preferment of equal weights flour and water with a small amount of yeast, ripened 3-16 hours until domed and bubbly, adding flavour and extensibility.
- Biga
- An Italian preferment with lower hydration (about 50-60%) and a stiff consistency, fermented 12-24 hours and used to strengthen flavour and structure.
- Oven spring
- The rapid rise of bread in the first 5-10 minutes of baking, caused by expanding gases and residual yeast activity before the crust sets.
- Proof test
- A readiness check where a floured finger pressed into the dough leaves an indent that springs back slowly and incompletely when the loaf is fully proofed.
- Creaming method
- A mixing method where butter at 18-21 °C is beaten with sugar to incorporate air, then eggs and dry ingredients are added, giving a light, tender crumb.
- Cookie spread
- The outward flow of cookie dough during baking, increased by more sugar or liquid, warmer dough and lower-protein flour, and reduced by chilling and cool pans.
- Macaron shell
- A piped almond-flour meringue shell, rested before baking and baked at 140-160 °C with venting so a textured foot forms at the base.
- Muffin method
- A quick-bread technique where dry and liquid ingredients are mixed separately, then combined with minimal stirring until just moistened, preventing gluten development.
- Biscuit method
- A technique where cold fat is cut into dry ingredients, liquid is added, and the dough is folded and patted to create flaky layers before cutting and baking.
- Lamination layers
- The count of butter-and-dough layers created by folds; three single folds give 27 layers and one double plus two single folds give 36.
- Blind baking
- Baking a pastry shell lined with paper and weights to set the base, then removing the weights to brown and dry the shell before filling.
- High-ratio cake
- A cake formula where sugar weight equals or exceeds flour weight, using emulsified shortening so the batter holds more liquid and stays moist.
- Foam cake
- A cake leavened only by whipped egg foam, such as sponge, angel food or chiffon, with no chemical leavening and a light, airy structure.
- Swiss meringue buttercream
- A buttercream made by heating egg whites and sugar to 65-70 °C, whipping to cool, then beating in butter at 18-20 °C for a smooth, stable finish.
- Simple syrup soak
- A 1:1 sugar-to-water syrup boiled and cooled, brushed onto cake layers to add moisture and extend shelf life.
- Tempering chocolate
- A process of melting, cooling and reheating chocolate to form stable beta cocoa butter crystals, giving snap, shine and resistance to bloom.
- Seeding method
- A tempering technique where melted chocolate is cooled by adding chopped tempered chocolate, whose stable crystals seed the whole mass.
- Couverture
- Chocolate with a higher cocoa butter content (typically 31-39%) that requires tempering and gives a strong snap and gloss.
- Fat bloom
- Grey streaks on chocolate caused by unstable cocoa butter crystals rising to the surface, usually from poor tempering or warm storage.
- Overrun
- The percentage increase in volume of a frozen dessert from incorporated air, calculated as (mix volume minus frozen volume) divided by frozen volume.
- Aging ice cream mix
- Holding a pasteurized ice cream mix at 4 °C for 4-12 hours so fat crystallizes and stabilizers hydrate, improving whipping and texture.
- Gelato
- An Italian frozen dessert with lower fat (about 4-8%) and lower overrun (20-30%) than ice cream, giving a denser, more flavour-forward product.
- Pastry cream
- A cooked custard of milk, sugar, egg yolks and starch, heated to 82-85 °C to set the starch and pasteurize, then chilled and covered to prevent a skin.
- Crumb coat
- A thin first layer of icing that seals in loose crumbs, chilled before the final coat so the finished surface is smooth and clean.
- Croissant lamination
- A process of folding a butter block (25-30% of dough weight) into yeast dough with rests between folds, creating layers that steam and rise in the oven.
- Choux pastry
- A cooked panade of water, butter and flour with eggs worked in, piped and baked so steam inflates the shells, which are then filled.
- Sugar stages
- Temperature ranges that define syrup concentration and use: soft ball 113-116 °C, firm ball 118-121 °C, hard ball 121-130 °C, hard crack 146-154 °C.
- Invert sugar
- A mixture of glucose and fructose produced by hydrolyzing sucrose with acid or invertase, more hygroscopic and resistant to crystallization than sucrose.
- Retrogradation
- The recrystallization of starch that causes staling, fastest at 0-4 °C, which is why refrigeration stales bread faster than room temperature storage.