On Food And Cooking Part 68

Leavened

Iran

Sangak Sangak

Whole wheat, baked on hot pebbles Whole wheat, baked on hot pebbles

Italy

Focaccia Focaccia

Moderate thickness Moderate thickness

Pizza

Thin, cooked in very hot oven (to 900F/450C) Thin, cooked in very hot oven (to 900F/450C)

Egypt

Baladi Baladi

Pocket bread Pocket bread

Ethiopia

Injera Injera

Soured teff batter, bubbly and soft Soured teff batter, bubbly and soft

India

Naan Naan

Dough enriched with yogurt, baked in tandoor Dough enriched with yogurt, baked in tandoor

United States

Soda cracker Soda cracker

Sourdough neutralized by baking soda Sourdough neutralized by baking soda

English m.u.f.fin

Small diameter, thick Small diameter, thick

Pretzel

Thin knotted cylinder Thin knotted cylinder

Quickbreads: Biscuits, Biscotti, Scones Quickbreads are appropriately named in two ways: they are quick to prepare, being leavened with rapid-acting chemicals and mixed briefly to minimize gluten development; and they should be quickly eaten, because they stale rapidly. Batter breads are moister, richer, and keep longer (p. 554). Quickbreads are appropriately named in two ways: they are quick to prepare, being leavened with rapid-acting chemicals and mixed briefly to minimize gluten development; and they should be quickly eaten, because they stale rapidly. Batter breads are moister, richer, and keep longer (p. 554).

The term biscuit biscuit is an ambiguous one. It comes from the French for "twice-cooked," and originally referred to breads and pastries that were baked until dry and hard. The Italian hard cookies called is an ambiguous one. It comes from the French for "twice-cooked," and originally referred to breads and pastries that were baked until dry and hard. The Italian hard cookies called biscotti biscotti remain true to this heritage; they're lean doughs leavened with baking powder, baked in flattish loaves, then cut crosswise into thin pieces and rebaked at a low oven temperature to dry them out. French remain true to this heritage; they're lean doughs leavened with baking powder, baked in flattish loaves, then cut crosswise into thin pieces and rebaked at a low oven temperature to dry them out. French biscuits biscuits proper, and English proper, and English biskets, biskets, were long-keeping sweets, small bread-like loaves made from foamed egg whites, flour, and sugar. To this day in England, the word is used for little sweet dry cakes, what Americans call were long-keeping sweets, small bread-like loaves made from foamed egg whites, flour, and sugar. To this day in England, the word is used for little sweet dry cakes, what Americans call cookies. cookies. Modern French Modern French biscuits biscuits are dryish cakes made from egg foams, usually moistened with a flavored syrup or cream. are dryish cakes made from egg foams, usually moistened with a flavored syrup or cream.

Biscuits became something entirely different in America, and early in its history (see box below). American biscuits contain no sugar and often no eggs, are made from a moist dough of milk or b.u.t.termilk, flour, pieces of solid fat, and baking soda, and are cooked briefly into a soft, tender morsel. There are two styles: one with a crusty, irregular top and tender interior; another with a flat top and flaky interior. The first is made with minimal handling to avoid gluten development, the second with just enough folding and kneading to develop a structure with alternating layers of dough and fat. The simple recipe and short cooking mean that the flavor of the flour itself is prominent.

English scones are similar to American biscuits in their simplicity, basic composition, and floury taste. Irish soda bread is made with soft whole-wheat flour and without fat.

Early American BiscuitsDespite their name, these American biscuits were cooked only once, and were rich and moist, not dry.BiscuitOne pound flour, one ounce b.u.t.ter, one egg, wet with milk and break while oven is heating; and in same proportion.b.u.t.ter BiscuitOne pint each milk and emptins [liquid yeast], laid into flour, in sponge; next morning add one pound b.u.t.ter melted, not hot, and knead into as much flour as will with another pint of warmed milk, be of a sufficient consistence to make soft - some melt the b.u.t.ter in the milk.- Amelia Simmons, American Cookery, American Cookery, 1796 1796 Doughnuts and Fritters Doughnuts and fritters are essentially pieces of bread or pastry dough that are fried in oil rather than baked. Doughnuts have a moist interior and little or no crust, while fritters are usually fried until crisp. Doughnuts and fritters are essentially pieces of bread or pastry dough that are fried in oil rather than baked. Doughnuts have a moist interior and little or no crust, while fritters are usually fried until crisp.

The word doughnut doughnut was coined in the United States in the 19th century to name what the Dutch called was coined in the United States in the 19th century to name what the Dutch called olykoeks, olykoeks, portions of fried sweetened dough. Their great popularity flowered in the 1920s, when machinery simplified the handling of the soft, sticky doughs, which are rich in sugar, fat, and sometimes eggs. There are two main styles: yeasted doughnuts are light and fluffy, while cake doughnuts, leavened with baking powder, are denser. Light, yeasted doughnuts ride on the oil surface and must be turned, which leaves a white band around their circ.u.mference where the oil surface cooks the dough less thoroughly. Doughnuts are fried at a moderate temperature, originally in lard and now usually in a hydrogenated vegetable shortening, which solidifies when the doughnut cools to provide a dry rather than oily surface. portions of fried sweetened dough. Their great popularity flowered in the 1920s, when machinery simplified the handling of the soft, sticky doughs, which are rich in sugar, fat, and sometimes eggs. There are two main styles: yeasted doughnuts are light and fluffy, while cake doughnuts, leavened with baking powder, are denser. Light, yeasted doughnuts ride on the oil surface and must be turned, which leaves a white band around their circ.u.mference where the oil surface cooks the dough less thoroughly. Doughnuts are fried at a moderate temperature, originally in lard and now usually in a hydrogenated vegetable shortening, which solidifies when the doughnut cools to provide a dry rather than oily surface.

Thin Batter Foods: Crepes, Popovers, Griddle Cakes, Cream Puff Pastry Batter Foods The difference between doughs and batters is reflected in their names. Dough Dough comes from a root meaning "to form," while comes from a root meaning "to form," while batter batter comes from a root meaning "to beat." Doughs are firm enough to develop and sculpt by hand. Batters are too fluid and elusive to hold, so we contain them in a bowl, mix them by battering them repeatedly from within - by stirring - and cook them in a container to give them form and solidity. comes from a root meaning "to beat." Doughs are firm enough to develop and sculpt by hand. Batters are too fluid and elusive to hold, so we contain them in a bowl, mix them by battering them repeatedly from within - by stirring - and cook them in a container to give them form and solidity.

Batters are fluid because they include two to four times more water than doughs. The water disperses the gluten proteins so widely that they form only a very loose, fluid network. When we cook a batter, the starch granules absorb much of the water, swell, gelate, leak amylose, stick to each other, and thus turn the fluid into a solid but tender, moist structure. The gluten proteins play a secondary structural role, providing an underlying cohesiveness that prevents the food from being crumbly. But if the gluten is overdeveloped, it makes the food elastic and chewy. Batters often contain eggs, and the egg proteins also contribute a nonelastic solidity when they coagulate in the cooking heat. Fluid batters can't retain much of the gas slowly evolved by yeast, and are usually leavened either chemically, or else mechanically, by beating air into the batter or its components.

Most batter products are meant to be delicate and tender. Tenderness can be encouraged in several different ways.

The concentration of gluten proteins in the batter is reduced by the use of pastry flour, or low-or no-gluten flours (buckwheat, rice, oat), or all-purpose flour mixed with cornstarch or other pure starches.

Gluten development is minimized by minimal stirring of the ingredients.

Replacing milk or water with soured dairy products, notably b.u.t.termilk and yogurt, helps produce an especially tender texture. This is mainly an effect of their thick consistency, which means that it takes less flour to make the batter properly thick. A spoonful of the finished batter therefore contains less flour, less starch and gluten, and cooks to a more delicate structure.

Leavening the batter with gas bubbles not only divides it up into innumerable thin sheets surrounding the gas bubbles, it makes the batter more viscous (as in sauce foams, p. 595), which again means that less flour is needed to thicken it.

It's useful to divide batter foods into two groups. Thin batters are both thin in consistency and cooked in the form of small, thin, free-standing cakes. Quickbreads and cakes are made from thicker batters, and are cooked in pans in larger, deeper ma.s.ses.

Crepes Crepes and their relatives (Eastern European blintzes and palasc.h.i.n.ki), thin unleavened pancakes that are cooked on a shallow pan and folded over a filling of some kind, have been made for a thousand years from a simple batter of flour, milk and/or water, and eggs. Their delicacy comes from their thinness. The batter is carefully mixed to minimize gluten formation, allowed to stand for an hour or more to allow the proteins and damaged starch to absorb water and air bubbles to rise and escape, and then cooked for just a couple of minutes per side. In France, the milk in crepe batter is sometimes partly replaced with beer, and wheat flour with buckwheat, especially in Brittany.

Popovers Popovers are an American version of English Yorks.h.i.+re pudding, which is cooked in the fat rendered from a beef roast. The batter is almost identical to crepe batter, but a different cooking method transforms it into a large air pocket surrounded by a thin layer of pastry. Popover batter is vigorously beaten to incorporate air and cooked immediately, before the air bubbles have a chance to escape. The batter is poured into a preheated, liberally oiled pan and set in a hot oven. The surfaces of the batter set almost immediately. The air bubbles within the batter are trapped, expand with the rising temperature, coalesce into one large bubble, and the liquid batter balloons around it and sets into a thin blister. When cooked in a pan with many cups, popovers rise unevenly, because the cups around the outside heat faster than the ones in the middle of the pan.

Griddle Cakes: Pancakes and Crumpets Griddle cakes are made from a more floury, viscous batter than crepes, popovers, and choux pastry, and can retain gas cells for the few minutes that it takes to cook them; so they rise on the hot pan surface and develop an aerated, tender structure. Pancakes may be leavened (and flavored) with yeast, or with whipped egg whites folded into the batter, or chemical leavening, or some combination of these. Russian blinis sometimes include beer, which may contribute effervescence. The batter is poured onto the griddle and allowed to cook until bubbles begin to rise and break on the upper surface; the cook then flips the cake to set the second side before the leavening gas escapes.

Crumpets are an English invention, small, flat, yeast-raised cakes with a distinctively pale, cratered top surface. They're made from a somewhat thick pancake batter that's allowed to become bubbly from yeast activity, then poured into ring molds to a depth of about 0.75 in/2 cm, cooked very slowly until bubbles break and set on the surface, then unmolded and turned to cook briefly on the hole-y side.

Food Words: Crepe CrepeThe French word crepe crepe comes from the Latin for "curled, wavy," and probably refers to the curling of the edge as it dries during cooking. comes from the Latin for "curled, wavy," and probably refers to the curling of the edge as it dries during cooking.

Griddle Cakes: Waffles and Wafers Waffles and wafers have two things in common: the root word for their names, and the unique method by which they're cooked. Their flour-water mixture is spread in a thin layer and pressed between two heated and embossed metal plates, which spread them even thinner, conduct heat into them rapidly, and imprint them with an attractive and often useful pattern. The usual square indentations increase the area of crisp, browned surface and collect the b.u.t.ter, syrup, and other enrichments that are often added on top. The French version, the gaufre, gaufre, goes back to medieval times, when street vendors would make them to order and serve them hot on religious feast days. goes back to medieval times, when street vendors would make them to order and serve them hot on religious feast days.

Today the difference between wafers and waffles is a matter of texture. Wafers are thin, dry, crisp, and when high in sugar are dense, almost hard. The most familiar wafer is the ice cream cone; there are also French cookies called gaufres gaufres that are similar to very thin, crisp that are similar to very thin, crisp tuiles. tuiles. Waffles came to the United States from Holland in the 18th century and are thicker, lighter, and more delicate thanks to leavening by either yeast or a baking powder, which interrupts the cooked structure with gas bubbles. They're served fresh and hot, their honeycomb structure filled with b.u.t.ter or syrup. Waffles came to the United States from Holland in the 18th century and are thicker, lighter, and more delicate thanks to leavening by either yeast or a baking powder, which interrupts the cooked structure with gas bubbles. They're served fresh and hot, their honeycomb structure filled with b.u.t.ter or syrup.

Modern waffle recipes are often essentially a lean pancake batter cooked in a waffle iron instead of on a griddle, and they often produce a disappointing result that is more leathery than crisp. Crispness requires a high proportion of fat, sugar, or both: otherwise the batter essentially steams rather than fries, the flour proteins and starch absorb too much softening water, and the surface ends up tough.

Cream Puff Pastry, Pate a Choux Choux is the French word for "cabbage," and choux pastry forms little irregular cabbage-like b.a.l.l.s that are hollow inside like popovers. Unlike popovers, choux pastry becomes firm and crisp when baked. It provides the cla.s.sic container for cream fillings in such pastries as cream puffs (profiteroles) and eclairs, and also makes such savory bites as cheese-flavored gougeres and deep-fried beignets, whose lightness inspired the name is the French word for "cabbage," and choux pastry forms little irregular cabbage-like b.a.l.l.s that are hollow inside like popovers. Unlike popovers, choux pastry becomes firm and crisp when baked. It provides the cla.s.sic container for cream fillings in such pastries as cream puffs (profiteroles) and eclairs, and also makes such savory bites as cheese-flavored gougeres and deep-fried beignets, whose lightness inspired the name pets de nonne, pets de nonne, "nun's farts." "nun's farts."

Choux paste was apparently invented in late medieval times, and is prepared in a very distinctive way. It's a cross between a batter and a dough, and is cooked twice: once to prepare the paste itself, and once to transform the paste into hollow puffs. A large amount of water and some fat are brought to the boil in a pan, the flour is added, and the mixture stirred and cooked over low heat until it forms a cohesive ball of dough. Several eggs are then beaten sequentially into the dough until it becomes very soft, almost a batter. This paste is then formed into b.a.l.l.s or other shapes and baked in a hot oven or deep-fried. As with the popover, the surface sets while the interior is still nearly liquid, so the trapped air coalesces and expands into one large bubble.

An Early French Waffle RecipeWaffles of Milk or CreamPut a litron [13 oz/375 g] of flour in a bowl, break in two or three eggs and mix together while adding some cream or milk and a pinch of salt. Add a piece the size of two eggs of freshly made cream cheese, or simply soft cheese from whole milk, and a quarteron [4 oz/125 g] of melted b.u.t.ter. If you only add a half quarteron of b.u.t.ter, that is enough provided that you add a half quarteron of good beef marrow crushed very small.Mix all this together, and when it is well bound, one should put the waffle irons on the fire, and make the waffles. These waffles should be eaten while they're hot.- La Varenne, Le Cuisinier francois, Le Cuisinier francois, 1651 1651 Frying Batters A number of foods, especially seafood, poultry, and vegetables, are sometimes coated with a layer of flour batter before deep-frying (or sometimes baking). A good batter adheres well to the food, and fries into a crust that has a long-lasting crunchiness and that readily breaks apart in the mouth without an oily residue. Problematic batters fall away during frying or produce a crust that's greasy, chewy, and tough, or soft and mushy.

Batters include some kind of flour, a liquid that might be water, milk, or beer, sometimes a chemical leavening to provide gas bubbles and lightness, and often eggs, whose proteins promote adherence to the food and allow the use of less flour. Of all the ingredients, the flour has the largest influence on batter quality. Too much can produce a tough, bready coating; too little and it will be fragile. The gluten proteins in ordinary wheat flour are valuable for the clinginess they provide, but they form elastic gluten and absorb both moisture and fat, and so are responsible for both chewiness and oiliness in the fried crust. For these reasons, moderate-protein flours make better batters than bread flour, and some batters are made from other grains, or from a mixture of wheat flour and other flours or starches. Rice proteins don't form gluten and absorb less moisture and fat, so batters that contain a substantial proportion of rice flour fry crisper and drier. Similarly, corn flour improves crispness because its relatively large particles are less absorbant, and its proteins dilute wheat gluten and reduce the chewiness of the crust. Adding some pure corn starch also reduces the proportion and influence of wheat gluten proteins. Root flours and starches don't work well in batters because their starch granules gelate and disintegrate at relatively low temperatures, do so early in frying, and produce a soft crust that gets soggy quickly.

Batters adhere better to moist foods when the foods are predipped in dry particles, whether seasoned flour or bread-crumbs; the dry particles stick to the moist surface, and the moist batter then clings to the rough surface created by the particles. Batters are more likely to produce crisp, tender crusts if they're prepared just before frying, with cold liquid and little mixing to minimize water absorption and gluten development (see j.a.panese tempura, p. 214). If a batter stands for a long time before the food is dipped and fried, many of its air and gas bubbles can leak out, and some of the remaining chemical leavening reacts too early; the result is a dense casing rather than a light puff.

The Logic of Cream Puff PastryThe technique for preparing cream puff pastry may seem tediously elaborate, but it's a brilliant invention. It produces an especially rich and moist paste that the cook can shape and cook into a hollow, crisp vessel for other ingredients. Cooking the flour with water and fat tenderizes the gluten proteins, preventing them from developing elasticity, and it swells and gelates the starch to turn what would normally be a batter into a dough. The subsequent addition of raw eggs contributes the richness of the yolks and the cohesive, structure-building proteins of the whites, and thins the dough into a nearbatter so that air pockets in the interior will be able to move and coalesce during cooking. During the baking, the fat helps crisp and flavor the outer surface. And both eggs and fat contribute to a structure that resists moisture and stays crisp while holding the cream filling.

Thick Batter Foods: Batter Breads and Cakes Batter Breads and m.u.f.fins Batter breads and m.u.f.fins are moister, usually sweeter versions of quickbreads (p. 549). They're leavened with baking powder or soda, and often contain moderate amounts of egg and fat in addition to sugar. They develop a dense, moist texture that accommodates nuts, dried fruits, and even such fresh fruits and vegetables as apples, blueberries, carrots and zucchini, whose moistness readily blends into the moistness of the crumb. Potatoes and bananas can be mashed to become part of the batter itself.

m.u.f.fin batters generally contain less sugar, eggs, and fat than quickbreads. The ingredients are mixed together just enough to dampen the solids, and the mix baked in small portions rather than a large loaf. Well-made m.u.f.fins have an even, open, tender interior. They stale quickly because the small proportion of fat is dispersed unevenly by the minimal mixing and can't protect much of the starch. Overmixing produces a less tender, finer interior with occasional coa.r.s.e tunnels, which develop when the overly elastic batter traps the leavening gas in large pockets.

Green Blueberries and Blue Walnuts Sometimes the solid ingredients folded into bread and m.u.f.fin batters turn disconcerting colors: blueberries, carrots, and sunflower seeds may go green, and walnuts blue. This happens when the mix contains too much baking soda, or when the soda isn't evenly mixed in the batter, so that there are concentrated alkaline pockets. Because the anthocyanin and related pigments in fruits, vegetables, and nuts are sensitive to pH, and their normal surroundings are acidic, alkaline batters cause their colors to change (p. 281). Small brown spots on the surface of the finished bread or m.u.f.fin are also a sign of incomplete mixing; the browning reactions proceed faster in more alkaline portions of the batter. Sometimes the solid ingredients folded into bread and m.u.f.fin batters turn disconcerting colors: blueberries, carrots, and sunflower seeds may go green, and walnuts blue. This happens when the mix contains too much baking soda, or when the soda isn't evenly mixed in the batter, so that there are concentrated alkaline pockets. Because the anthocyanin and related pigments in fruits, vegetables, and nuts are sensitive to pH, and their normal surroundings are acidic, alkaline batters cause their colors to change (p. 281). Small brown spots on the surface of the finished bread or m.u.f.fin are also a sign of incomplete mixing; the browning reactions proceed faster in more alkaline portions of the batter.

Cakes The essence of most cakes is sweetness and richness. A cake is a web of flour, eggs, sugar, and b.u.t.ter (or shortening), a delicate structure that readily disintegrates in the mouth and fills it with easeful flavor. Cakes often contain more sugar and fat than they do flour! And they serve as a base for even sweeter and richer custards, creams, icings, jams, syrups, chocolate, and liqueurs. As suits their luxurious nature, they're often elaborately shaped and decorated.

A cake's structure is created mainly by flour starch and by egg proteins. The tender, melt-in-the-mouth texture comes from gas bubbles, which subdivide the batter into fragile sheets, and from the sugar and fat, which interfere with gluten formation and egg protein coagulation, and interrupt the network of gelated starch. The sugar and fat can compromise lightness if they weaken the cake structure so much that it can't support its own weight. Of course dense, heavy cakes can be delicious in their own way. Flourless chocolate cakes, nut cakes, and fruit cakes are examples.

Traditional Cakes: Limited Sweetness and Hard Work Well into the 20th century, risen cakes were typified by the English pound cake or French Well into the 20th century, risen cakes were typified by the English pound cake or French quatre quarts, quatre quarts, "four quarters," which contain equal weights of the four major ingredients: structure-building flour and eggs, and structure-weakening b.u.t.ter and sugar. These proportions push the flour's starch and the eggs' proteins to their limit for holding the fat and sugar in a tender, light scaffolding; more b.u.t.ter or sugar collapses the scaffolding and makes dense, heavy cakes. And because cake batter must be filled with many small bubbles without the help of yeasts, which generate gas too slowly for the batter to hold them, traditional cake making was hard work. In 1857, Miss Leslie described a technique by which the cook could beat eggs "for an hour without fatigue" and then added: "But to stir b.u.t.ter and sugar is the hardest part of cake making. Have this done by a manservant." Fannie Farmer warned in 1896 that "A cake can be made fine grained only with long beating." "four quarters," which contain equal weights of the four major ingredients: structure-building flour and eggs, and structure-weakening b.u.t.ter and sugar. These proportions push the flour's starch and the eggs' proteins to their limit for holding the fat and sugar in a tender, light scaffolding; more b.u.t.ter or sugar collapses the scaffolding and makes dense, heavy cakes. And because cake batter must be filled with many small bubbles without the help of yeasts, which generate gas too slowly for the batter to hold them, traditional cake making was hard work. In 1857, Miss Leslie described a technique by which the cook could beat eggs "for an hour without fatigue" and then added: "But to stir b.u.t.ter and sugar is the hardest part of cake making. Have this done by a manservant." Fannie Farmer warned in 1896 that "A cake can be made fine grained only with long beating."

Modern American Cakes: Help from Modified Fats and Flours Beginning around 1910, several innovations in oil and flour processing led to major changes in American cakes. The first innovation made it possible to leaven cakes with much less work. The hydrogenation of liquid vegetable oils to make solid fats allowed manufacturers to produce specialized shortenings with the ideal properties for incorporating air quickly at room temperature (p. 557). Modern cake shortenings also contain tiny bubbles of nitrogen that provide preformed gas cells for leavening, and emulsifiers that help stabilize the gas cells during mixing and baking, and disperse the fat in droplets that won't deflate the gas cells. Beginning around 1910, several innovations in oil and flour processing led to major changes in American cakes. The first innovation made it possible to leaven cakes with much less work. The hydrogenation of liquid vegetable oils to make solid fats allowed manufacturers to produce specialized shortenings with the ideal properties for incorporating air quickly at room temperature (p. 557). Modern cake shortenings also contain tiny bubbles of nitrogen that provide preformed gas cells for leavening, and emulsifiers that help stabilize the gas cells during mixing and baking, and disperse the fat in droplets that won't deflate the gas cells.

The second major innovation was the development of specialized cake flour, a soft, low-protein flour that is very finely milled and strongly bleached with chlorine dioxide or chlorine gas. The chlorine treatment turns out to cause the starch granules to absorb water and swell more readily in high-sugar batters, and produce a stronger starch gel. It also causes fats to bind more readily to the starch granule surface, which may help disperse the fat phase more evenly. In combination with the new shortening and with double-acting baking powders, cake flour allowed U.S. food manufacturers to develop "high-ratio" packaged cake mixes, in which the sugar can outweigh the flour by as much as 40%.The texture of the cakes they make is distinctively light and moist, fine and velvety.

Thanks to these qualities and to the convenience of premeasured ingredients, packaged cake mixes were a great success: just 10 years after their major introduction following World War II, they accounted for half of all cakes baked in U.S. homes. The very sweet, tender, moist, light cake became the American standard; and hydrogenated shortening and chlorinated flour became standard kitchen supplies for cakes made "from scratch."

An Early English Pound Cake RecipeIn the centuries before electric mixers and preleavened shortenings, filling a dense cake batter with many fine air bubbles was hard, prolonged work!To Make a Pound CakeTake a pound of b.u.t.ter, beat it in an earthen pan, with your hand one way, till it is like a fine thick cream; then have ready twelve eggs, but half the whites, beat them well, and beat them up with the b.u.t.ter, a pound of flour beat in it, and a pound of sugar, and a few caraways; beat it all well together for an hour with your hand, or a great wooden spoon. b.u.t.ter a pan, and put it in and bake it an hour in a quick oven.- Hannah Gla.s.se, The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, The Art of Cookery Made Plain and Easy, 1747 1747 The Disadvantages of Modified Fats and Flours Hydrogenated vegetable shortenings and chlorinated flour are very useful, but have drawbacks that lead some bakers to avoid them. Hydrogenated shortening does not have the flavor that b.u.t.ter does, and has the more serious disadvantage of containing high levels of trans fatty acids (1035% compared to b.u.t.ter's 34%; seep. 38). Chlorinated flour has a distinctive taste that some bakers dislike (others find that it enhances cake aroma). And the chlorine ends up in fat-like flour molecules that acc.u.mulate in animal bodies. There's no evidence that this acc.u.mulation is harmful, but the European Union and the United Kingdom consider the safety of chlorinated flour unproven, and forbid its use. The U.S. FDA and the World Health Organization consider chlorinated flour a safe ingredient for human consumption. Hydrogenated vegetable shortenings and chlorinated flour are very useful, but have drawbacks that lead some bakers to avoid them. Hydrogenated shortening does not have the flavor that b.u.t.ter does, and has the more serious disadvantage of containing high levels of trans fatty acids (1035% compared to b.u.t.ter's 34%; seep. 38). Chlorinated flour has a distinctive taste that some bakers dislike (others find that it enhances cake aroma). And the chlorine ends up in fat-like flour molecules that acc.u.mulate in animal bodies. There's no evidence that this acc.u.mulation is harmful, but the European Union and the United Kingdom consider the safety of chlorinated flour unproven, and forbid its use. The U.S. FDA and the World Health Organization consider chlorinated flour a safe ingredient for human consumption.

Manufacturers are addressing some of these problems and uncertainties. For example, the effects of flour chlorination can be approximated by heat treatment, and vegetable oils can be hardened without the production of trans fatty acids. So it's likely that cooks will eventually be able to make high-ratio cakes with less questionable ingredients.

Cake Ingredients Cakes are generally made with flour, eggs, sugar, and either b.u.t.ter or shortening. Eggs are 75% water and may provide all the moisture in a recipe; or various dairy products - milk, b.u.t.termilk, sour cream - may be included to provide moisture as well as richness and flavor. Because the sugar is used to incorporate air into the mix, the preferred form is finely granulated ("Extra-Fine," "Superfine") so as to maximize the numbers of small sharp edges that will cut into the fat or eggs. Because they're filled with bubbles in the mixing process, cake recipes usually call either for no chemical leavening, or for less than other batter recipes do. Cakes are generally made with flour, eggs, sugar, and either b.u.t.ter or shortening. Eggs are 75% water and may provide all the moisture in a recipe; or various dairy products - milk, b.u.t.termilk, sour cream - may be included to provide moisture as well as richness and flavor. Because the sugar is used to incorporate air into the mix, the preferred form is finely granulated ("Extra-Fine," "Superfine") so as to maximize the numbers of small sharp edges that will cut into the fat or eggs. Because they're filled with bubbles in the mixing process, cake recipes usually call either for no chemical leavening, or for less than other batter recipes do.

Flours, Starches, Cocoa Cake bakers use low-protein pastry or cake flours to minimize the toughening that comes with gluten formation. They're not really interchangeable; cake flours are both chlorinated and milled into very small particles to produce a fine, velvety texture. Cooks who prefer not to use cake flours can approximate their protein content and increase fineness by adding starch to all-purpose or pastry flours. Corn starch is the most commonly available starch in the United States; potato and arrowroot starches lack cornstarch's cereal flavor and gelate at lower temperatures, which can reduce cooking times and produce a moister cake. Some cakes are made with pure starch or starchy chestnut flour only, and no wheat flour at all. Cake bakers use low-protein pastry or cake flours to minimize the toughening that comes with gluten formation. They're not really interchangeable; cake flours are both chlorinated and milled into very small particles to produce a fine, velvety texture. Cooks who prefer not to use cake flours can approximate their protein content and increase fineness by adding starch to all-purpose or pastry flours. Corn starch is the most commonly available starch in the United States; potato and arrowroot starches lack cornstarch's cereal flavor and gelate at lower temperatures, which can reduce cooking times and produce a moister cake. Some cakes are made with pure starch or starchy chestnut flour only, and no wheat flour at all.

Standard Cake Proportions and Qualities In chocolate cakes, cocoa powder takes on some of the water-absorbing and structural duties of flour; it's around 50% carbohydrate, including starch, and 20% nongluten protein. Cocoa powders may be "natural" and acidic or "dutched" and alkaline (p. 705), a difference that affects both leavening and flavor balance; cake recipes should specify which kind to use, and the baker should not subst.i.tute one for the other. If chocolate rather than cocoa is used, it must be melted and carefully incorporated into the fat or eggs. Different chocolates contain widely varying proportions of cocoa fat, cocoa solids, and sugar (p. 704), so again, bakers and recipes should be clear about what kind of chocolate is to be used.

Fats In the standard method for making pound and layer cakes, the cook beats fat and sugar together to incorporate air bubbles, until the mixture reaches the fluffy consistency of whipped cream. Solid fats retain air bubbles thanks to their semisolid consistency: the air carried along by the sugar crystals and beater becomes immobilized in the mixture of crystalline and liquid fat. b.u.t.ter is the traditional cake fat, and is still the fat of choice for bakers who value flavor more than lightness of texture. In the standard method for making pound and layer cakes, the cook beats fat and sugar together to incorporate air bubbles, until the mixture reaches the fluffy consistency of whipped cream. Solid fats retain air bubbles thanks to their semisolid consistency: the air carried along by the sugar crystals and beater becomes immobilized in the mixture of crystalline and liquid fat. b.u.t.ter is the traditional cake fat, and is still the fat of choice for bakers who value flavor more than lightness of texture.

But modern vegetable shortenings do a better job of incorporating air bubbles into the cake batter. Animal fats - b.u.t.ter and lard - tend to form large fat crystals that collect large air pockets, which rise in thin batter and escape. Vegetable shortenings are made to contain small fat crystals that trap small air bubbles, and these bubbles stay in the batter. Manufacturers also fill shortenings with preformed bubbles of nitrogen (around 10% of the volume), and bubble-stabilizing emulsifiers (up to 3% of the shortening weight). b.u.t.ter is best aerated at a relatively cool 65F/18C, while shortening creams most effectively at a warm room temperature, between 75 and 80F/2427C.

Fat Replacers The moistening and tenderizing effects of fat - but not its aerating abilities - can be imitated by some concentrated fruit purees, notably prune, apple, apricot, and pear. Their high levels of viscous plant carbohydrates, mainly pectins and hemicelluloses, bind water and also interrupt the gluten and starch networks. So these fruit purees can be used to replace some of the fat in cake recipes. The result is usually moist and tender, but also denser than a full-fat cake. The moistening and tenderizing effects of fat - but not its aerating abilities - can be imitated by some concentrated fruit purees, notably prune, apple, apricot, and pear. Their high levels of viscous plant carbohydrates, mainly pectins and hemicelluloses, bind water and also interrupt the gluten and starch networks. So these fruit purees can be used to replace some of the fat in cake recipes. The result is usually moist and tender, but also denser than a full-fat cake.