1. Home Baking
© PDST Home Economics

2.  Better flavour
 Attractive appearance
 Cheaper
 No preservatives
 You can control ingredients
Advantages of Home Baking

3. Ingredients for baking
 Flour: usually wheat flour
because it contains gluten
 Fat:
keeps bread fresh,
butter has the best flavour,
margarine is economical

4. Ingredients for baking
 Sugar:
granulated or castor
sugar can be used for
sweetness,
brown sugar adds a
spicy flavour,
icing sugar is used for
decorating
 Eggs:
should be fresh and at
room temperature used
to trap air

5. Ingredients for baking
 Fruit: fresh or
dried used to add
flavour
 Liquid: water,
milk, egg used to
make dough

6. Ingredients for baking
 Raising agent:
makes product
light and spongy,
can be natural,
chemical or
biological

7. Raising Agents
 Raising agents make bread and cakes rise in the oven
so that they have a spongy texture
 Raising agents put a gas (air and/or CO2) in the
mixture
 In the oven the heat makes the gas expand which
pushes up the mixture
 The mixture is able to stretch because of the gluten
in the flour
 After a while the heat in the oven sets the gluten so
that the mixture keeps the risen shape

8. Natural raising agent: Air
 Used alone in sponge cakes and
pastry or with another raising
agent in other baked goods.
 Air is put into mixtures by
(a) Sieving
(b) Rubbing fat into flour
(c) Creaming sugar and fat
(d) Whisking eggs with sugar

9. Chemical Raising Agents
 These depend on a chemical reaction to make the gas
in the dough.
 An alkali and an acid react to make a gas called
carbon dioxide (CO2)
 Baking Powder + Milk = CO2
 (Alkali + Acid ) + Moisture = Gas
 Bread Soda + Buttermilk = CO2
 Alkali + (Acid + Moisture) = CO2

10. Biological Raising Agent
 Yeast
 Tiny living organisms make
CO2 in the dough
 In the oven the bubbles of
CO2 expand and pushes up
the dough, until the gluten
sets the dough
 The heat also kills the cells

11. Oven temperature
 Pre-heat oven to correct temperature
 Too hot – outside burns inside still raw
 Too cool – gas escapes – bread doesn’t rise

12. Rules for Home Baking
 Prepare tins and oven shelves in advance.
 Pre-heat oven.
 Use fresh ingredients.
 Weigh and follow recipe carefully.
 Sieve to add air.
 Add liquid carefully.
 Handle as little as possible, knead lightly.
 Once wet put in oven a.s.a.p.
 Time carefully, avoid opening door.
 Test for doneness.
 Cool on wire tray.

13. Methods of baking
Method Used for
The rub-in method.
Fat rubbed into flour.
Scones,
yeast bread,
pastry
The creaming method.
Fat and sugar creamed.
Queen cakes
Madeira cakes
The all-in-one method.
All ingredients mixed together at once
Madeira cakes
Queen cakes
The whisking method
Sponge cake
Meringue
The melting method
Oatmeal biscuits
Ginger bread

14. Cake Mixes
 Mixture of flour, fat, sugar, raising agent, salt and
additives sieved blended and packed.
 When buying check expiry date and that its sealed,
store in cool place.
 When using follow instructions when adding the liquid.
 Advantages: Saves time & labour,
simple to use,
quick in emergencies.
 Disadvantages: Expensive, contain additives, lack fibre,
too much salt & sugar

15. Cake Mixes

16. Pastry
 Mixture of flour, fat and water.
 Richer pastry may have egg or sugar added.
 Many types, used for sweet or savoury dishes.

17. Shortcrust and Rich Shortcrust

18. Flaky and Puff pastry

19. Suet pastry and choux pastry

20. Filo pastry

21. Pastry ingredients
 Flour: plain flour only, self-raising flour makes pastry
soft.
 Fat: Butter gives good flavour, hard margarine is
economical and lard makes pastry light and crispy. A
mixture of margarine and lard can be used.
 Water: should be cold and added a little at a time to
make stiff dough.
 Air: makes pastry rise, the more air in the pastry the
better, sieving, rubbing in, rolling and folding.

22. Rules for making pastry
 Weigh accurately.
 Keep ingredients and equipment cool.
 Introduce air.
 Avoid over-handling.
 Use knife to mix.
 Add water carefully.
 Knead & roll lightly.
 Relax pastry in fridge before baking.
 Avoid stretching pastry.
 Bake in hot oven so burst starch grains can soak up
melting fat.

23. Baking Blind
 Baking a pastry case
without a filling e.g. for
quiche or a fruit flan.
 The base of the case is
marked with a fork
 Grease proof paper is
spread over the base and
weighted down with dried
beans.