Bakery Craftsman flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Baker's percentage

A scaling system where total flour weight equals 100% and every other ingredient is expressed as a percentage of that flour weight, allowing formulas to be resized and compared.

Desired dough temperature

The target temperature of dough after mixing, usually 24-26 °C for lean dough. Water temperature is calculated from room, flour, pre-ferment temperatures and friction factor.

Windowpane test

A gluten development check: stretch a small dough piece until translucent. If it forms a thin membrane without tearing, gluten is fully developed and shaping can begin.

Autolyse

Resting flour and water alone for 20-60 minutes before adding salt and yeast. It hydrates flour, activates enzymes and shortens the final mixing time.

Oven spring

The rapid rise of dough in the first 10-15 minutes of baking, driven by expanding gases and residual yeast activity. Steam and high initial heat maximise it.

Lamination layer count

Each fold multiplies layers: a single or book fold triples them, so n folds give 3^n theoretical layers. Too many layers merge and reduce lift.

Butter plasticity in lamination

Butter must be pliable and match dough firmness, typically 13-16 °C. Brittle butter cracks layers; soft butter absorbs into dough and destroys separation.

Croissant proofing conditions

Proof croissants at 24-27 °C and 75-80% relative humidity for 60-90 minutes. Butter must stay below about 28 °C or it leaks and lamination fails.

Choux paste panade

A cooked mixture of water, butter and flour dried on the heat until it films the pan. Eggs are then beaten in to reach a dropping consistency.

High-ratio cake method

A cake formula where sugar exceeds flour weight, requiring emulsified shortening. It produces a fine, moist crumb that tolerates high liquid levels.

Génoise

A whole-egg foam cake: eggs and sugar warmed to about 40 °C, whipped to ribbon stage, flour folded in and baked at 190-200 °C without chemical leavener.

Ganache ratios

Chocolate-to-cream ratio sets texture: 1:1 for glaze, 1.5:1 for filling, 2:1 for truffles. Glaze is applied at 30-32 °C.

Swiss buttercream

Egg whites and sugar heated to 60 °C, whipped to meringue, then butter beaten in. The sugar syrup reaches 118-121 °C in the Italian variant.

Flour protein and absorption

Higher protein flour absorbs more water and develops more gluten. Bread flour at 11.5-13.5% protein suits yeasted breads; cake flour at 7-9% suits tender cakes.

Salt in bread dough

Used at 1.8-2.2% of flour weight. It strengthens gluten, controls fermentation rate and improves flavour; above 2.5% it inhibits yeast.

Sugar's osmotic effect

Sugar above 10% of flour weight draws water away from yeast, slowing fermentation. Osmotolerant yeast or extra yeast compensates in sweet doughs.

Egg protein coagulation

Egg yolks set at 62-70 °C and whites at 70-80 °C. Custards must be pulled below 85 °C to set without curdling.

Starch gelatinisation and staling

Starch granules absorb water and gelatinise at 60-70 °C. On cooling they retrograde, causing staling; fats, sugars and emulsifiers slow this.

Yeast temperature rule

Yeast activity roughly doubles for every 10 °C rise between 5 and 35 °C. Above 50 °C yeast dies; below 4 °C activity is nearly dormant.

Proofing finger test

Press dough lightly: slow, complete spring-back means ready; fast spring-back means under-proofed; a dent that stays means over-proofed.

Steam in bread baking

Steam during the first 8-12 minutes keeps the crust moist and elastic so oven spring can occur. Dry heat later sets and colours the crust.

Maillard versus caramelisation

Maillard browning between amino acids and sugars starts around 140-150 °C; sugar caramelisation starts around 160-170 °C. Both colour bakery crusts.

Danger zone temperatures

Bacteria multiply fastest between 5 and 63 °C. High-risk bakery fillings should spend no more than 2 hours cumulatively in this range.

Rapid cooling of custards

Cream and custard fillings must cool from 63 °C to 5 °C within 90 minutes and then be held at 5 °C or below until service.

Allergen cross-contact control

Prevent unintended allergen transfer using dedicated colour-coded utensils, separate storage, scheduled production runs and validated cleaning between allergen and non-allergen batches.

EU regulated allergens

Fourteen allergens must be declared, including gluten cereals, eggs, milk, nuts, peanuts, soy, sesame, mustard, celery, sulphites over 10 mg/kg, fish, crustaceans, molluscs and lupin.

Backward production scheduling

Plan from delivery time backwards through packing, cooling and baking to determine the mixing start time, adding a buffer at each stage.

Convection versus deck oven

Fan-driven convection browns faster, so set the temperature 15-20 °C lower than a deck oven. Deck ovens require rotating goods at 60-70% of bake time.

Mixer bowl loading limit

Spiral mixers work best at 70-80% of bowl volume. Overloading raises friction heat and pushes dough temperature above target.

Food cost percentage

Food cost divided by selling price, multiplied by 100. Bakery targets typically fall between 25% and 35% depending on the product and labour content.

Yield and bake loss

Weigh dough before shaping and product after baking. Bread loses about 10-15% and croissants 15-20%, so portion costing must include this loss.

Display lighting for bakery

Lighting at 2700-3000 K warm white flatters crust colour and pastry tones. Cool white light makes crusts appear grey and less appealing.