Pastry & Baking Arts

Ask the Experts: How Do I Bake the Perfect Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie?

csale — Fri, 11 Oct 2024 19:28:42 +0000

Ask the Experts: How Do I Bake the Perfect Thanksgiving Pumpkin Pie? csale Fri, 10/11/2024 - 15:28 Get expert baking tips from ICE Senior Chef-Instructor Steven Chavez. November 12, 2024

By Cory Sale

Cory Sale is the Senior Public Relations Manager at ICE and an alumna (Culinary Arts '22). She enjoys writing about seasonal produce almost as much as visiting NYC’s greenmarkets, where she finds new flavors to add to ice cream. When she’s not cooking (or eating), you can find her on the frisbee field chasing down a piece of plastic.

With the holidays approaching, Pastry & Baking Arts Senior Chef-Instructor Stephen Chavez answers common questions about baking the perfect pumpkin pie.

Pie Crust

What type of crust do you prefer with pumpkin pie?
My preference for the pie crust is a flaky American pie dough or a classic pâte brisée. The bits of fat in the dough give a very light and flaky texture. If you’re making the dough, the biggest mistake someone can make with pie dough is simply overworking it. The more you mix the dough, the more gluten you create, which makes the dough chewy and tough. It’s best to make the dough and refrigerate it overnight before using it.

Should I blind bake the pie crust?
I don’t usually blind bake my pie dough, but it’s not a bad idea when working with such a wet batter like this one. The wetness may cause the bottom crust to stay soft rather than crisp, so you can blind bake the crust for about 15-20 minutes to avoid that.

The Filling

Do you prefer canned or fresh pumpkin for the filling?
Most chefs use canned pumpkin because it is inexpensive, ready to use, and available year around. That said, making your own is nice when pumpkin is in season and you have the time to cook and puree fresh pumpkin. Kabocha squash also makes a good pie!

Ingredient quality always matters though. If you are purchasing pumpkin puree, buy a good quality name brand, or a non-name brand item from a store such as Trader Joes or Whole Foods. Using generic brands tends to compromise the quality of the puree. Usually, it is either bland and flavorless, or watery.

What spices do you add to the filling?
I use cinnamon (freshly grated or ground from the stick), nutmeg (freshly grated), ginger (freshly grated), clove (ground is good when used sparingly), and I like to add just a bit of cardamom for an “extra” flavor that will make your pie unique. When making pumpkin pie, I prefer freshly grated spices over ground spices because they have a strong flavor and aroma.

Do you add any other ingredients to the filling?
I may add a bit of homemade vanilla extract occasionally, but other flavors and extracts can dilute the sweet-savory flavor of the pumpkin. I don’t often add anything to the pumpkin puree other than spices.

If pumpkin pie isn’t your jam, try Chef Rory Macdonald’s Pecan Pie with Orange and Smoked Salt or Chef Jenny McCoy’s Double-Crust Apple-Cranberry Pie.

Baking Tips

How do you know when the pie is done baking?
By far, the biggest mistake people make with this dessert is over baking the pie. Remember that it is a custard and must be handled the same way that you would make a crème brûlée or any other custard. Bake it until there is a slight “soft” jiggle, but not a “wet” jiggle. Meaning, when you tap the pie, it should have just a little sway as a whole, but it should not have a wave as if it is still liquid.

Once you have that “soft” jiggle, take it out and allow it to cool naturally. This allows for “carry-over” cooking, and the pie will set completely. Then, refrigerate the pie overnight, which allows the texture to completely set into a beautiful, silky custard. When a pie is overbaked, it squeezes all of the moisture out, and the top will split or crack.

Do you need special equipment to bake a pumpkin pie at home?
Most home kitchens will have everything necessary for making pie. Some tools that help in process include a bowl scraper or pastry cutter to help blend the dough ingredients and a rolling pin to roll out the dough.

Students in Pastry & Baking and Plant-Based Culinary Arts practice making pies in class, check them out on our Instagram!

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Understanding the Science of Cookies

ajohnson — Tue, 30 Jul 2024 16:17:31 +0000

Understanding the Science of Cookies ajohnson Tue, 07/30/2024 - 12:17 July 31, 2024

By Pamela Vachon

Cookies are a classic baked treat.

Whether you’re whipping up a batch from scratch or utilizing refrigerated cookie dough, in theory, you can enjoy a fresh cookie, still warm from the oven, in about 20 to 30 minutes time from start to finish.

Few other baked goods can claim that kind of efficiency when it comes to satisfying a craving for something sweet. Plus, they're professionally significant: ICE Pastry & Baking Arts students learn about cookies early on in their classes, since the beloved dessert is so fundamentally important in the baking world.

Many baked goods have some proportion of sugar, flour, butter and eggs in their basic formula, along with a rising agent, so what makes a cookie uniquely a cookie, rather than a muffin or cake? Cookies can be dense or airy, chewy or crispy, flat or puffy — what variables in the basic formula create different outcomes in the shape and texture of cookies? In short, have you ever thought about the science of cookies?

Understanding the science of cookies can improve your baking skills, or even just simply add to your enjoyment of them. ICE Senior Chef-Instructor Stephen Chavez talks us through the science of what happens when you put your cookies in the oven, and how variations in ingredients and techniques can produce different outcomes.

Chef Stephen setting up a cookie display in class.

Cookies: The Baking Process

For understanding cookie science, it’s actually helpful to begin near the end of the process. Knowing what happens when your cookie goes into the oven can help inform your understanding of the individual elements that go into the cookie dough, and how best to mix them.

When your cookies go into the oven, there are several things that are happening scientifically, according to Chef Stephen.

“Your proteins are coagulating," he says. "Your starches are gelatinizing. Your fats are melting. Your moisture is evaporating. Your sugars are caramelizing, which leads to browning. The gas is expanding, and things are rising.”

Once out of the oven, as your cookies cool, the previously liquified ingredients begin to harden or solidify, and the cookies deflate slightly due to the cooling of the air inside of them as well.

If you peek into the oven while cookies are baking, you won’t see these processes happen one after the other, however.

“It all works in tandem,” Chef Stephen says. “So when the fats melt, the fat turns into a liquid and the liquid evaporates, which becomes a steam. Steam rises, which makes your cookies pop up. It doesn't matter whether it’s a cookie or a piece of steak. It all happens exactly the same. Cooking is cooking, and physics is physics.”

Understanding this, next let’s examine some of the major players in the cookie dough mixture for their possible effect on the outcome, depending on the products you use, as well as the treatment of those components.

Butter: Creamed, Melted or Browned

Different recipes frequently call for different butter treatments, which have a major impact on texture, and in certain cases, on flavor. Melted butter will result in a fudgier texture, whereas creamed butter will allow a little more air into your cookie. (Brownies, for example, almost always call for melted butter.)

“In general, most of the time we want to use the creaming method,” says Chef Stephen, “which is not only softening the butter but along with the sugar is putting little air pockets in it, which adds to the little bit of leavening that you need for your cookies to rise.”

As for browned butter, whether you add it melted or let it cool and solidify somewhat, it's all a matter of taste. As an ingredient, browned butter adds a nutty, enhanced caramel flavor to the cookie.

“Cook’s Illustrated’s chocolate chip cookies are famous for having brown butter — and it's a delicious cookie,” he says.

Related: Key Ingredient: Butter

White Sugar Versus Brown Sugar

Consider your basic chocolate chip cookie recipe, which tends to have both white sugar and brown sugar in the recipe. This isn’t necessarily a matter of flavor, but more so one of texture.

“The more white sugar you have, the more crispy your cookie will be. The more brown sugar you have, the softer your cookie,” Chef Stephen says.

This has to do with the moisture content of the different sugars. This is especially important to consider if you’re faced with making ingredient substitutions if you’re out of one kind or another. As brown sugar is made with molasses, which is a sugar syrup, it has more water content. Raw sugar, on the other hand, is a type of unrefined sugar but is not the same as brown sugar, as it doesn’t contain molasses and its related moisture content.

Related Recipe: Foolproof Sugar and Gingerbread Cookies

Differences in Flour

Most of us probably have all-purpose flour in our cupboards as a go-to option. AP flour is an ideal flour for cookies because it results in a pleasantly chewy texture, rather than dense or cakey cookies.

“AP flour will work perfectly pretty much every time,” Chef Stephen says. “Just don't get self-rising flour or anything like that,” he says. “I don't get anything that adds ingredients — just stick to straight flour.”

If you have other flours on hand, they’ll work, but you shouldn’t expect the same outcome.

“Bread flour has the most protein content, so your cookies will probably end up a little bit on the tougher side,” Chef Stephen says. “Cake flour has the lowest protein of any flour. So with cake flour, the cookies will be soft, and they may even be crumbly.”

Different types of flours have different textures and baking properties.

Baking Soda Versus Baking Powder

You’ll notice that most cookie recipes call for baking soda rather than baking powder, so it’s important to understand the reason why if you’re considering making a substitution.

“Baking soda is gonna give you a little pop, which is why you use it mostly for cookies,” Chef Stephen says. “Baking powder is when you want a bigger pop, like for cake or muffins.”

Baking powder is considered “double acting,” where it activates with both moisture and heat. It will begin developing in the bowl as the ingredients come together, and continue working in the oven to give your baked goods a big rise.

Unless you specifically want puffy cookies, baking soda is the way to go. “Baking soda simply requires an acid to activate,” Chef Stephen explains, which can be found in several ingredients in the cookie: salt, for example, and even chocolate.

Mixing the Dough

How you build the cookie dough also has a scientific impact on its outcome. Very few (if any) cookie recipes call for you to put everything in a mixer all at once. Typically, butter and sugar are creamed together, then additional liquids are added, then dry ingredients. How you handle each step can have an impact.

“One thing I teach my students every time is with the creaming method, combining the fat and the sugar, you can mix that as long as you want, you can make that light and fluffy and airy and creamy,” Chef Stephen says, “but after that, for the remaining ingredients it’s just about mixing enough until they come together.”

This is especially important with the eggs, which should be lightly beaten first before being added to cookie dough, so they can be easily incorporated into the mixture.

“If you whip up your eggs with a bunch of air, you're going to have big cakey cookies,” Chef Stephen says.

The goal with adding the dry goods is not to overly develop the gluten content in the flour.

“Flour plus moisture equals gluten,” Chef Stephen says. “We don't want our cookies to be tough. We want them to be tender. So I want that flour to mix until it's just combined. And then if I'm adding in chocolate chips or nuts or anything like that, then I'll put those in and just stir them through and that's it.”

A spread of various types of cookies from Chef Stephen's class.

Resting the Dough

While you definitely can have fresh cookies baked in under 20 minutes, there is a scientific rationale for making yourself wait, even just an extra half hour.

“One of the most important things when it comes to cookies is the controlling of the temperature of the fat,” Chef Stephen says. “When I want to make chocolate chip cookies, I want to have chocolate chip cookies now.” (Relatable.) “But the best thing that you can do once you’ve mixed them is to put them in the fridge for about half an hour.”

Resting the cookies is the key to activating the ideal cookie physics Chef Stephen mentioned before.

“I need the starches gelatinizing and the proteins coagulating before the fats melt away," he says. "If you've ever had cookies that you were trying to make right now, you put them in the oven, and they turn into basically just a puddle. It's because your fat was too warm, and it melted before everything else had a chance to do its thing.”

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How to Cut Cake Like a Pro

abaker — Mon, 20 May 2024 19:51:47 +0000

How to Cut Cake Like a Pro abaker Mon, 05/20/2024 - 15:51 May 22, 2024

By Pamela Vachon

Layer cakes are generally celebration cakes, so unless you’re a pastry chef or otherwise work in a bakery, you might not actually be in the habit of cutting cake more than once or twice a year. It follows, then, that without regular practice and consistent technique, you might not always get the best outcome in terms of producing neat, even slices, or the correct number of pieces to feed the crowd at hand.

Despite being the most popular method, cutting cake into wedges by eyeballing the radius of a round cake isn’t necessarily the best way to approach a layer cake situation, especially if you’re dealing with a cake of more than six or eight inches in diameter.

With wedding and graduation season on the horizon, ICE Pastry & Baking Arts Chef-Instructor Kathryn Gordon takes us through some best cake-cutting practices so you can cut celebration-worthy slices with confidence, no matter the size or style of cake.

“You need to make sure, whether it’s a smaller, party-sized serving or a bigger, dessert-sized serving, that there are enough slices to go around,” Chef Kathryn says.

Chef Kathryn's advice applies for casual cakes made at home or cakes made for a professional catering job. A pastry chef’s goal is also to produce slices that retain their textural integrity and look neat and presentable, but you don’t need to be a professional pastry chef to adopt the same mindset for cutting cake.

Related: All Ģ��Ƶ Cake Math

The size or shape of the slices might depend on the size or style of the cake.

“I also consider to some extent how rich a cake is,” Chef Kathryn says. “For example, generally people will eat a smaller slice of a ganache, praline fudge and nut cake than a strawberry and cream sponge.”

No matter the style, though, having the right tool and the right approach to cutting are both key to the optimal outcome of ample, beautiful cake slices.

The Right Tool for the Job

As with any culinary undertaking, using the appropriate tool for the job at hand is an important habit for both professionals and amateurs. While layer cakes are generally soft in texture, that doesn’t mean you should disrespect them with a dull knife, or with the side of a wedge-shaped pie server.

A cake deserves a sharp chef’s knife just as much as would a tender, perfectly cooked cut of meat.

“The best knife is generally a hot, dry chef's knife,” says Chef Kathryn. “Boil water, and for each slice — yes, each slice — dip the knife in the water and dry it on a clean towel. This will help keep all the carefully created layers of cake and filling separate and clean, and not smeared together.”

The blade should be pointed away from you and not toward your hand when drying the knife between slices.

Consult a Cake-Cutting Guide

Most of us have experience with small round cakes cut into wedges, but this is rarely how professional pastry chefs or bakers approach layer cake, unless the cake is very small to begin with. You can find a variety of helpful cake-cutting guides online that demonstrate how to cut slices from a round cake in a grid fashion, allowing for many more slices than you could get by cutting wedges. Rectangular slices also are generally neater and easier to cut, especially if a cake has multiple layers, than the wedge approach.

Consider that most standard round cake pans are eight or nine inches in diameter. According to the grid method, anything larger than a six-inch cake should be cut into thin rectangles, not wedges. The larger a cake gets, the harder it is to estimate the exact center of the cake and the more likely you’ll end up with uneven and unruly slices by trying to cut wedges. Rather than trying to eyeball the center point of the cake and cut radiuses, with the grid method you need only estimate about an inch or two of cake at a time, working from the edge of the cake.

With a small eight- or nine-inch cake, “many people slice through the center to halve the cake, and then place that cake on a cutting board to cut rectangular slices as desired,” Chef Kathryn says.

With this grid-like approach, it’s possible to get dozens of neat, equal slices, even from a relatively small cake.

Consider Dowels and Concentric Circles

Chef Kathryn also points out that many multi-tiered cakes rely on dowels in the center to maintain a cake’s structural integrity, and need to be considered when it comes to cutting.

“If a large celebration-style cake has multiple tiers, it is often doweled,” she says. “This typically means the cake is baked and sized up, to account for the center ring to never be cut or served, given the risk of eating part of a non-edible dowel. Slices are cut only out of the outer perimeter of the cake in this instance,” which may be either rectangular in fashion, or in small wedges.

With larger round cakes, you can use a smaller cake pan to trace and cut concentric circles to create multiple rings from which to cut uniform slices.

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All Ģ��Ƶ Cake Math

abaker — Tue, 16 Apr 2024 16:40:18 +0000

All Ģ��Ƶ Cake Math abaker Tue, 04/16/2024 - 12:40 It’s time to reacquaint yourself with the other type of pie April 19, 2024

By Cory Sale

I’m getting married this summer, and maybe I’m crazy, but I’d like to bake my own wedding cake. The pastry module in the Culinary Arts program was one of my favorites when I was a student, and the process of testing out different flavors and fillings was a delicious endeavor.

Looking through recipes like Chef Penny Stankiewicz’s Ultimate Birthday Cake or her Peanut Butter & Jelly Cake, I uncovered a flaw in my plan. I don’t want to bake that much cake. It would be a lot of work to make multi-layered cakes just to get a taste, and the ingredient costs — and the inches to my waistline — would indeed add up.

A six-inch round pan is the smallest I have, but many recipes call for an eight-inch or 10-inch round pan, a 9x13-inch rectangular pan and even half-sheet pans. For help, I turned to Pastry & Baking Arts Chef-Instructor Ravindra Verma to teach me how to modify a recipe when using a different pan than the recipe calls for. He also shared some pointers to make the conversion process easier and ensure better baking.

Formula for Calculating Baking Pan Volume

This post is about cake math after all, and here's where pi — the other pie — comes in. To adjust a recipe for your desired yield, Chef Ravi explains the first step is to calculate the volumes of the two pans — the size the recipe calls for and the one you want to use. Then, divide them to get the factor, which is what will be multiplied with each ingredient to determine the adjusted quantities you’ll need to use.

Chef Ravi’s formulas, along with examples of how to use them, are as follows:

Volume of a round pan = π [x r(radius of pan)] ^2 x h (height of pan)
Volume of a square or rectangular pan= length x width x height of pan
Factor= (volume you want)/(volume of recipe)

Example 1: Converting More Cake to Less Cake

For example, Chef Penny’s Ultimate Birthday Cake uses four eight-inch round pans that are three inches tall, but I want to make one six-inch round cake that’s two inches in height. First, I calculate the total volume for what Chef Penny’s recipe calls for and the pan size for what I want to make:

Volume of Chef Penny's recipe= π x 4^2 x 3 x 4 (four pans) = 602.88 cubic inches
Volume of 6" pan = π x 3^2 x 2 = 56.52 cubic inches

I divide those two numbers to calculate the factor:

Factor= [56.52 (volume of cake I want)] / [602.88 (volume of Chef Penny's recipe)] = 0.09

And then multiply the recipe’s ingredients by the factor. Chef Penny’s recipe calls for 540 grams of white sugar, so to calculate the adjusted quantity I need:

540g x 0.09 = 48.6g white sugar

Example 2: Converting Round Cakes into a Sheet Cake

Say a vanilla cake recipe yields two 12-inch round cakes (pans are two inches tall), but you want one half-sheet cake. First, calculate the volume of the pans:

Volume of half sheet pan = 13 x 18 x 1 = 234 cubic inches
Recipe yields = π x 6^2 x 2 x 2 = 452.16 cubic inches

Divide the two numbers to calculate the factor:

Factor= [234 (the volume of cake I want)] / [452.16 (volume of recipe)] = 0.51

Multiply each ingredient in the recipe by 0.51 to get enough batter for a half-sheet cake:

200g x 0.51 = 102g white sugar

Use these same calculations to scale recipes up and down or to convert between circle and rectangular pan shapes.

Measure by Weight and Go Metric

For greater accuracy, Chef Ravi highly recommends measuring ingredients by weight instead of volume. If you don’t have a kitchen scale, here’s more on why it’s necessary according to ICE Pastry & Baking chefs.

And, while you’re ditching the measuring cups and spoons, Chef Ravi underscored the benefits of using the metric system instead of the imperial system. He gives an example: imagine trying to divide a third of a cup of oil by four or five, versus dividing 1,000 grams by the same number. If your recipe uses imperial measurements, consider converting it to metric. Weighing ingredients and using the metric system leave less room for error and will make conversions easier.

Adjusting Bake Time

When the ingredient quantities have been adjusted, the batter’s made and in the pans, all that’s left to do is bake. While bake time depends on a number of factors including the kind of cake and oven type, Chef Ravi noted that taller cakes take longer to bake than shallow cakes.

So, if the recipe made a half-sheet cake but you’ve switched it up to yield a 6x3-inch cake, you’ll need to increase the bake time and may need to reduce the oven’s temperature. He also mentioned that cake batter with a higher liquid content, like carrot cake or red velvet cake, takes longer to bake than cakes with less liquid, such as a pound cake.

One last slice of wisdom from Chef Ravi: Keep in mind that baking is a science where accuracy plays a big role in a recipe’s outcome. So do your math, then eat your cake!

Related: How to Start a Home Bakery

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An Introductory Guide to Vanilla

abaker — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 19:00:00 +0000

An Introductory Guide to Vanilla abaker Tue, 03/12/2024 - 15:00 A supporting cast member that isn’t always meant to be in the spotlight March 12, 2024

By Cory Sale

When we think of vanilla, pastry applications that have vanilla as the primary flavor, like ice cream, may come to mind first. However, vanilla is more often used because it’s a flavor enhancer. It complements and mellows, balancing sharper notes and contributing a sweet and floral flavor, which is why it appears as an ingredient in most baked goods.

Think of vanilla like any other spice in your cabinet — it can be added to cocktails, barbecue rubs, chili and more. Plus, the many forms of vanilla available at the grocery store offer many different and fun ways to experiment with it.

Here’s everything you need to know about this ingredient from the Pastry & Baking Arts Chef-Instructors at ICE.

What is vanilla? Where is it grown?

Vanilla beans are the string-bean-shaped fruit of the vanilla orchid, which is grown in tropical regions with lots of sunlight, high humidity and high temperatures. It takes about a year for the fruit to grow, and after the bean is picked, it is cured then dried and fermented, changing in color from green to dark brown.

According to ICE Chef-Instructor Trung Vu, Madagascan vanilla beans are the most widely available, and they bring the classic vanilla flavor we’re familiar with (sweet notes), whereas Tahitian beans offer more floral notes.

All forms of vanilla are expensive because the areas where the orchid grows are prone to monsoons and tropical storms which decrease supply, plus it’s a very labor-intensive crop.

What are the different types of vanilla?

Whole vanilla beans

Look for beans that are oily, plump and moist, and not dried out or brittle. To use, slice the pod in half lengthwise and use the back of a paring knife to scrape down the length of the bean to extract the seeds. Add the seeds to any recipe, but don’t discard the pod — steep it in liquid to add flavor (it's great to use in an ice cream base) or use it to create other vanilla products at home, which you’ll find out more about below. If you get a firmer bean, soak it in warm or room-temperature liquid to help it loosen up.

Vanilla extract

Ever had a taste of vanilla extract and been surprised by its harsh flavor? That’s because this ingredient is made by macerating vanilla beans in a mixture of alcohol and water until the flavor and color of the bean have been extracted. This type of vanilla is widely available and more affordable than whole beans. When purchasing, make sure to read the product label, as there are two types of extract: pure vanilla extract and imitation extract.

Though imitation may be cheaper, ICE Chef-Instructor Stephen Chavez always recommends using pure vanilla.

“The pure flavor is much more floral and deep than any inexpensive extract,” he says.

Vanilla paste

Made from ground vanilla beans, vanilla paste may also contain sugar or thickeners. Both extract and paste will add color, but unlike the extract, the paste has speckles from the seeds. Director of Pastry Research & Development Jürgen David prefers to use this type of vanilla for its convenience and deep flavor and suggests using one tablespoon of paste per bean when substituting.

Vanilla powder

Pure vanilla powder is made from dried, ground vanilla. Many powders available are actually vanilla sugar and their white color is a giveaway, as pure powder has a darker shade. This form of vanilla can be useful when you want a dry application of the flavor, like sprinkling it with sugar onto a doughnut. When substituting, keep in mind that vanilla powder is more intense than vanilla extract, so start with about half the volume of powder.

Which type of vanilla should I use when?

ICE Chef-Instructor Sandra Palmer advises students to use vanilla beans, powder and paste only when a customer will be able to see it, like in vanilla bean marshmallows or vanilla ice cream. Seeing the flecks of vanilla seeds enables them to anticipate the flavor and understand the effort and expense involved in making it. On the other hand, if you’re making a chocolate cake, she recommends using vanilla extract in order to maximize value.

How to get the most out of vanilla

Don’t toss vanilla beans after scraping the seeds out, as there is still a lot of flavor left. Try these two methods at home for spreading this expensive ingredient as far as possible:

Make homemade vanilla extract using leftover vanilla beans.

In an airtight jar, add three to four used beans, water and alcohol using a ratio of 2/3 alcohol to 1/3 water. A neutral spirit is ideal, but you can use rum, vodka, bourbon or any type you’d like. Let the beans steep for a few weeks before using. Alternatively, if you don’t have enough beans to start from scratch, Chef Stephen suggests adding what you have to a bottle of vanilla extract to amplify its flavor. Continue adding used beans and alcohol and you’ll end up with a much better flavored product.

Don’t need more vanilla extract? Try vanilla sugar instead.

ICE Chef-Instructor Kierin Baldwin suggests using running water to clean a leftover pod, then letting it dry out for a few days. Once it is no longer pliable, she uses a food processor to grind the pod with granulated sugar, then sifts it through a fine sieve to remove any large leftover chunks of the bean — you can process these chunks with more sugar to ensure the use of the whole pod. The sugar will absorb the scent and flavor of the vanilla; substitute it for granulated sugar in any recipe for great vanilla flavor.

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Choosing the Best Flour for Bread Baking: A Comprehensive Guide

abaker — Fri, 01 Mar 2024 23:37:34 +0000

Choosing the Best Flour for Bread Baking: A Comprehensive Guide abaker Fri, 03/01/2024 - 18:37 March 4, 2024

By Pamela Vachon

You don’t need to be a professional baker or even a culinary student to know that the dusty old bag of flour lurking in the back of your pantry might not be the best option when you’re in the mood to whip up a fresh, crusty loaf of bread.

Even in a conventional grocery store, you have many options to choose from when it comes to different flours: those that are indicated for different purposes, white and whole wheat, and even those made with alternative grains.

So which is or are the best option(s) when it comes to making bread? Is bread flour the only way to go?

In order to choose the best flour (or flours) specifically for bread-baking, it’s important to understand the basic science at the heart of the process that produces a successful, crusty loaf.

“In order to produce a great loaf of bread, one needs to have the proper structure that comes from the high quantity of protein that is found in what we consider bread flour or high-gluten flour,” says Stephen Chavez, Chef-Instructor at ICE LA.

“The gluten structure [in your bread dough] captures the carbon dioxide, part of the fermentation process that gives the bread rise,” says Jürgen David, ICE's Director of Pastry Research and Development.

The protein content of the flour that you choose, then, as well as the kneading process you apply to the dough, determines the gluten development and ultimately governs the outcome of your loaf. So in short, it matters greatly what flour you choose for bread baking.

What Differentiates Bread Flour from Other Types of Flour?

The difference between bread flour and other types of flour “comes down to the protein content of the flour,” says Chef Jürgen.

Most crusty bread recipes require flour with a high protein content.

“For recipes like cookie dough or cake batters, the protein content should be low so the texture remains tender,” he says.

The protein content varies considerably with different types of flour. Chef Jürgen breaks down the different percentages of protein found in different, commercially available wheat flours.

“Generally, bread flour contains about 15% protein, and all-purpose flour has between 10.5% and 11.5% protein, sometimes up to 13%,” he says. “Pastry flour has between 8.5% to 9.5% protein, and cake flour has only 7%.”

Chef Stephen adds: “You can also describe flours by their content of protein versus the content of starch contained in the flour. Protein is needed for structure. Starch is needed for tender texture through gelatinization,” he says. “Comparing the four most common types of commercial flour, bread flour is high in protein and low in starch. All-purpose flour contains close to equal amounts of protein and starch. Pastry flour has medium-high protein and high starch, and cake flour is low in protein, high in starch.”

Can You Use All-Purpose Flour for Bread Baking?

True to its name, all-purpose flour was developed to be a one-size-fits-all flour to be used in a number of ways.

“All-purpose flour was designed for home cooks to be able to use one flour in order to make a loaf of bread, or a cake or cookies,” Chef Stephen says. “However, as professionals, we can use specialized flours for specific applications that will work better than using a generic all-purpose flour.”

Second to bread flour, all-purpose flour does have the next highest amount of protein available, however. While bread flour is the best option, it can sometimes be used if you don’t have bread flour.

“Check the protein content,” advises Chef Jürgen, since it can vary from brand to brand, and an all-purpose flour that contains protein on the higher end of the range, 12 to 13 percent, will produce a better outcome.

AP flour can also be successful in certain types of recipes.

“AP flour can be used in the making of rich or enriched breads such as soft rolls, or brioche,” says Chef Stephen, which are meant to be softer in nature, rather than crusty.

Enriched breads typically include added fat in the dough in the form of butter, milk, oil, etc.

“AP flour does not work well for lean doughs such as those used for baguettes or other artisan breads,” he says.

Different Types of Flours for Different Types of Bread

It’s also important to consider that different types of bread can also call for different types of flour.

“Sometimes we mix types of flour in one recipe to balance the protein content,” says Chef Jürgen.

Not all bread recipes have the same intended outcome as well.

“Think of pizza dough where you need a very high percentage of gluten protein in order to take a small piece of dough and stretch it out to a large pizza size,” says Chef Stephen. “The dough will need to be soft but have a crispy finish, as opposed to a rich dough such as Hawaiian rolls which are very soft, or biscuits which should end up tender and flaky,” he says. “Each example should use a different type of flour in order to get the optimal results.”

Always try to utilize the correct flour that’s called for in whatever recipe you’re making.

What Ģ��Ƶ Whole Wheat Flour?

Whole wheat flour, which is different from conventional flour which is also made from wheat, also has different considerations than bread flour when it comes to bread baking.

“Whole wheat flour contains both the bran and germ, which are removed by sifting for flour that is not whole wheat,” says Chef Jürgen. “The endosperm is the starch, and main part of the wheat kernel which is used in most flour.”

Whole wheat breads also typically contain at least some white flour in addition to whole wheat.

“Whole wheat flour can be incorporated into most breads effectively,” says Chef Stephen, which also brings additional nutrient value to breads. “However, it is best used in percentages below 70%,” he says. “Any amount of whole wheat above that would require a re-formulation of the recipe that would necessitate a higher percentage of water, or else your bread will turn out very heavy and dense. 100% whole wheat bread usually incorporates well over 100% water in order to come out light and fluffy.”

Are Alternative Flours Good For Bread Baking?

Alternative flours such as spelt, rye, and others can also be used for bread baking.

“They are delicious, nutrient rich and add a different flavor profile and texture,” says Chef Jürgen, but also come with additional considerations.

“Flour can be made from any grain, nut, seed, or tuber if it is ground enough until a powdery substance forms,” says Chef Stephen, “however, wheat flour must be used to make the type of bread found in Western civilization. Wheat flour is unique in that it is the only flour that has a large amount of gluten which is important for structure and texture in baking bread.”

Spelt is a form of wheat flour, and rye is a grain flour that also contains protein, but they too must also include white flour for a successful outcome, as they are low in gluten.

“Spelt and rye flours are both wonderful for use in bread, but as with whole wheat flour above, they must be used in moderation,” says Chef Stephen, along with a percentage of white flour.

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