
To beat ingredients to incorporate air and make the mixture creamy in consistency. A small amount of corn flour is added to prevent clumping. The finest version of sugar which is a powder form. Confectioners sugarĪnother name for icing or powdered sugar. When a liquid, usually a custard, is thick and viscous enough to coat a spoon and doesn’t drain off. To heat food until the sugars on the surface break down and form a brown coating, which may be sweet or savoury. To bloom agar agar it must be soaked in cold water but, unlike gelatine, it must be boiled for 5 minutes to activate. Leaf gelatine must be softened in cold water for a few minutes before being used. It involves sprinkling the powdered gelatine into a liquid and letting it sit for 3 to 5 minutes. Bloom (gelatine)īlooming gelatine is a step integral to ensuring the smooth texture of a finished product. Before baking with the filling, the shell is lined with parchment paper and filled with ceramic beads, dry rice, or dry beans, and then baked briefly until the pastry is set. Blind BakeĪ technique used for baking an unfilled pastry shell. Bicarb is alkaline and needs the acidity from other ingredients to react and release CO2. Bicarbonate of SodaĪlso referred to as baking soda, it reacts in baking as a raising agent. Baking PowderĪ raising agent that reacts in the presence of moisture and heat to produce carbon dioxide (CO2) which allows cakes and other baked goods to rise.

Believed to have originated as a way for bakers to avoid being blamed for shortchanging their customers. The baking tin containing the mixture is set inside a larger pan that holds a shallow amount of hot water – this provides insulation against high heat. A water bath protects delicate desserts, such as a set custard or a cheesecake, from curdling, cracking or over-cooking as they bake. This is the French term for a water bath. To whip, sift or beat air between particles, as with flour, confectioners sugar, or sugar and butter. Alphabetical Glossary of Baking Terms Aerate, Aeration Never feel out of your depth again with our extensive glossary of baking terms, so you know your creaming from your coating and your glazing from your greasing.

Even for the most gifted baker, there are terms in a recipe that make you stop and say “huh?”.
