1THE ULTIMATE A-Z TERMS

Know the difference between creaming, folding, and beating? How about and ?

Reading recipes can be especially difficult, to help you along, we’ve compiled a comprehensive A-Z list of common baking terminologies that’ll make baking a breeze. Kindly refresh your mind with these terminologies during this break. Contact your pastry instructor for clarification in case you don’t understand. TCSU stands with you during these trying times, always adhere to the simple precaution to prevent the virus from reaching you, stay safe. We love you.

Aerate To incorporate air into something, usually a batter.

Also known as a hot water bath, it is usually used to melt chocolate and gently Bain-marie and gradually over a pot of water.

Baking the crust of a pie/tart without the filling. It can be done with a variety of Bake blind methods. One would be to prick the bottom of the crust before filling it with pie weights, rice, pulses, or beans prior to baking. Batch Amount of bread, cookies, etc. made from one bake.

A mixture of dry and liquid ingredients such as eggs, flour, and milk or water. Similar to Batter dough but it has a much thinner consistency and cannot be kneaded.

Mixing a mixture rapidly and intensely to combine ingredients and incorporate air into Beat the mixture. Typically done with a whisk or mixer.

Blend Mixing two substances together so that they become incorporated together.

For gelatin: softening gelatin using a liquid before use. Typically done by sprinkling the gelatin onto the surface of a liquid and letting it sit for about 5 minutes. Bloom For cocoa powder: Mixing cocoa powder with hot water and stirring to remove any lumps before letting it sit for a minute or two. This will release the flavor in the cocoa particles, increasing the intensity of the chocolate flavor.

For liquids: to heat the liquid until it reaches its point. Boil For a subject: to place the thing into boiling liquid.

Butter (verb) To spread/add butter onto something.

A type of icing used to fill, top, coat, and decorate cakes or cupcakes. Typically made by Buttercream creaming butter with powdered sugar and adding any extra colorings and flavorings.

Process of sugar until it turns brown. When sugar is heated to high Caramelize temperatures, it undergoes chemical changes and breaks down. Cooking can also caramelize the natural sugars found in various fruits and vegetables such as onions.

Chop Using a knife or sharp object to repeatedly cut something into small pieces.

To cover something with a wet or dry substance. For example, after baking, bread Coat loaves are usually coated with a layer of butter.

Combine To mix two ingredients together.

Consistency The texture and thickness of a substance.

Cool Allowing something to reduce in temperature.

Softening butter or other solid fats such as lard and mixing them with other ingredients. This technique is commonly used for butter and sugar.

Crimp Technique of pinching the sides and tops of pie or tart crusts. Used to describe the small particles of cakes or bread. Usually described as tight, loose, Crumb moist, dense, etc.

Crust The outer skin of a bread or pie. Typically, hard in texture.

Happens when a liquid separates and forms curds and lumps. Typically used to describe Curdle things like eggs, batter, and milk.

Defrost To remove the ice or frost from something frozen by increasing its temperature.

Dilute Thinning a liquid by adding in water or another solvent.

Dip (verb) to immerse something into a dry or liquid mixture.

Dissolve To incorporate a solid ingredient/food to a liquid to form a solution or mixture.

A thick mixture made by combining flour/meal with a liquid. Usually refers to bread or Dough pastry dough and it is stiff enough to be kneaded and rolled.

Drizzle The process of pouring a thin stream of liquid such as glaze or butter over food.

The process of sprinkling a thin layer of powdered ingredient such as cocoa powder, Dust flour and confectioners’ sugar over food.

(noun) Beaten eggs. Sometimes additional liquid such as milk and water are added.

Egg Wash (verb) To brush a layer of beaten egg mixture over the surface of food, typically to add color after it is baked.

Emulsion A mixture containing liquids that are immiscible such as oil and water.

For baking flavorings: an artificial substance. For example, vanilla essence is made Essence synthetically unlike vanilla extract. Hence, it is cheaper and less fragrant.

Refers to the natural substance that has been extracted straight from its source. For Extract example, vanilla extract is the substance that has been retrieved straight from vanilla pods.

A technique used to describe the gentle incorporation of dry to liquid ingredients. It is Fold typically done using a whisk or rubber spatula.

To make the surface of a food shiny by coating with a layer of sugar, butter, or any other Glaze glossy liquid.

Name for the proteins found in grains such as wheat, barley and rye. It gives food their Gluten structure and helps to maintain their shape.

Grain The seed(s) from a food plant such as grass and cereal crops. Grainy Refers to the texture of a substance - not smooth/fine, has granular bits.

Grease (verb) To lubricate or oil something (usually a pan) with a fat, usually butter.

Icing/Frosting A sweet glaze used to cover or decorate food such as cakes, pastries, and cookies.

To add one substance to another and mix them together such that they are evenly Incorporate distributed.

Infuse To immerse/steep/soak something into a liquid to extract its flavors.

Knead To work dough (usually for bread) by massaging, stretching, pulling and folding it.

The process of alternating layers of dough with butter. The butter between the thin Laminate layers of dough let out steam during baking, helping the pastry puff up and rise, giving pastries such as croissants their delicate, airy and layered texture.

Light and Typically used to describe the final/optimal state of creaming butter and sugar. Fluffy

Lumpy Used to describe the texture of a substance - not smooth, has lumps.

Macerate The process of softening a food by soaking it in liquid.

Mature For food: taste has developed fully to produce a strong and rich flavor.

Melt Heating a solid product to form a liquid.

Mince Using a knife or sharp object to chop something very finely/into very small pieces.

Mix To combine two or more substances together.

Mold To pinch or give shape to something, such as bread or pie dough.

Nonstick For pan/surface: covered with a substance that prevents food from sticking.

Oil (verb) See grease.

Parchment Used to line baking pans to prevent food from sticking to them.

(noun) the outer skin or covering of a food such as orange or lemon. Peel (verb) Removing the outer layer or skin of something.

Pinch Using your fingers to press something (usually a pie dough) together.

To squeeze a liquid substance (usually a frosting) through a piping bag for decorating Pipe purposes. Preheat Turning the oven/pan beforehand to let it come to the desired temperature.

Proof Letting the shaped bread dough have its final rise before baking.

The process of thickening and reducing the amount of liquid in a liquid substance Reduce through simmering or boiling in order to intensify its flavor. Opposite of dilute.

Typically used to refer to the process of crumbling and breaking butter into small pieces Rubbing in rubbing them into flour. Usually used to make food like crumble topping and short-crust pastry.

Slashing the surface of food such as bread/pie dough, cakes and meat using a sharp Score knife.

Typically used to describe dough which is too dry, hasn’t been fully kneaded, rough, and Scraggly (adj) irregular in texture.

Using a sharp-edged instrument to remove something from a surface. For example, Scrape scraping bread dough from a work table.

Shelf Life The length of time that a product is usable, fit for consumption, and can be kept.

Putting a food through a sieve to separate solids from liquids, or lumps from powdered Sieve material.

The process of bringing a liquid to a temperature that is slightly below its boiling point, Simmer and letting it bubble gently.

(noun) the outer layer of a fruit, vegetable, or meat. Skin (verb) to remove the outer layer of a fruit, vegetable, or meat.

Refers to the sponge and dough method for making bread, consisting of two steps. The Sponge first step is the making of a yeast starter or yeast pre-ferment . After the sponge is left to ferment, it will be added to the final dough.

Sprinkle To lightly scatter something (sugar, toppings etc.) over a food.

Stir Mixing a substance by moving a kitchen utensil/tool in circular motions.

A technique used to raise the temperature of a substance gradually. Typically used for Temper eggs and chocolate. When tempering eggs, a hot liquid is slowly added to the mixture in small amounts to prevent the eggs from scrambling.

Turntable A cake stand with a rotating base that is used for decorating cakes.

Whisk A kitchen tool used to blend, beat, and incorporate air into a mixture. Yield The amount of baked goods one can get from one recipe. Similar to batch.

Made by scraping the outer layer of the skin of citrus fruits using a grater. Used to add Zest flavor to food.