Lesson One THE BAKING INDUSTRY Correspondence Course APPLIED BAKING TECHNOLOGY TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction 3 Baking in the 20th Century. 3 Science and Baki 4 Wheat and FOU? ....nnesnnnnsnnnnnnnnntnnnninnnnnsnnnnisie 5 7 9 9 Miscellaneous Flours Sweetener Shortening Products Milk and Milk Products Egg and Egg Products. Salt Yeast Chemical Leavening Dough Strengtheners an Programmed Exercises .. Mixing Technology Dough Preparation and Fermenta Straight-Dough Method ... ‘Sponge-and-Dough Method . No-Time Straight Dough Process 20 Dough Scaling and Shaping ... 22 Final Proof and Packaging Programmed Exercises Cake Baking Technology 26 Non-Automated Cake Bakeries ...cccnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn 26 Doughnuts 2 Fried Fruit Pies 27 Oven Baked Pies. 27 Sweet Dough Products .......scsscsccssssssssuneeseeeceeeseesssnnsnnnnessseeeeeeseanennense 28 Programmed Exercises Summary. Glossary of Terms. Self-Check Quiz © Copyright, American Insite of Baking, 1997 All sighs reserved — Lesson OneLesson One The Baking Industry Introduction 1.01 The term baking applies to the production of food products that are processed by a dry heat applied directly by radiation and/or convection in an oven or similar heating device. Of particular interest to the baking industry are those products that contain some type of flour milled from grain, Chief among these products is bread, which in one form or another has been a staple of Western man since prehistoric times. Man’ first use of cereals was probably in the form of wild grain seeds eaten in their raw state. Eventually, these seeds were made more palatable by parching or roasting to loosen the hulls from the kernels, Next, man added water to produce a porridge or gruel. This mixture ultimately evolved into the earliest baked foods when it was poured onto hot rocks to produce flat, breads. Then, man discovered that crushing the grains between stones—and later, that grinding them in a mortar—yielded a better, more digestible product. ‘The first written record of the actual existence of a baked grain product is a Sumerian clay tablet dating back to about 2600 B.C. Baking as a specialized craft was a reality by the year 2000 B.C. The discovery of leavened bread is generally attributed to the ancient Egyptians. It probably resulted from a lucky accident; the growth of wild yeasts in left-over porridge. But, it was not until millennia later (actually in the nineteenth century) that cultured yeast and baking powder came into being. During this long interval, various kinds of starters and barms were used to leaven bread. Baked foods were also made light by incorporating air into batters with the use of eggs and by beating or whip- ping With the emergence of public bakeries, by the second century during the Roman era, baking was organized into an established trade with official rules and regula- tions prescribed by government authorities. For many centuries thereafter retail baking predominated, with little or no changes in either the baking process or equipment. However, the second half of the nineteenth century witnessed an upsurge of innovations, marked by great mechanical advances in both baking and milling equipment that eventually resulted in the evolution of wholesale bakeries. 1.02 Bakery foods exhibit a wide range of differ- ences that result from variations in ingredients and baking methods. Major differences exist between yeast-leavened and chemically-leavened products, and between the types of leavening used. When doughs are fermented, they undergo profound chemical and physical changes that impart to the baked proxtucts their distinctive character. From a technical standpoint, the fermentation that takes place during the mixing and baking process is highly complex. Understanding them fully is of primary importance today as baking no longer relies on the trial-and-error process, but has evolved into a controlled application of food engineer ing principles. The old-time bakeshop, in which guesswork and traditional trade secrets predominated, has given way to the modern plant where science dominates craftsmanship, Baking in the 20th Century 1.03 At the tum of the Twentieth Century, the needs of the baker were comparatively simple; sales volumes ‘were generally small and baking equipment was rather primitive. Product varieties were few in number, ingredients were mixed by trial and error, and most of the work was done by hand. Raw materials were inexpensive, labor was cheap, consumer expectations ‘were modest, and there were no governmental regula- tions to control baked food composition or sanitation, Lesson One — 3