Perfecting Your Baking Skills: Troubleshooting in Baking

Perfecting Your cooking skills: Troubleshooting in cooking

Know how to make products correctly and also be able to explain faults that have occurred in baked products.

Learning Objective

At the end of the lesson, you should be able to explain the faults that can occur when baking bread, making pasta, creamed cakes, shortcrust pastry, puff pastry, choux pastry, and roux/ all in one sauces; how to rectify them, ensuring a perfect product.

What do you already know about the possible faults in baking bread, making pasta, creamed cakes, shortcrust pastry, puff pastry, choux pastry and roux/ all in one sauces?

Introduction

Baking is both a science and an art. It requires precision, patience, and creativity. In this lesson, we will explore the common faults that can occur when baking bread, creamed cakes, shortcrust pastry, puff pastry, and choux pastry, and learn how to fix them to achieve a perfect product.

You are expected to be familiar with a range of recipes as any may crop up in exam questions.

Introduce yourself and the lesson plan. Explain the importance of troubleshooting in baking.

Bread Faults

The common faults in bread baking are tough crust, dense crumb, and uneven rise. To rectify: 

• 
  
• use strong bread flour as this has a high gluten content

• add the salt away from the yeast
• use enough water/ liquid so the gluten can start to develop but not too much 
• Knead thoroughly to allow the gluten to develop
• prove to allow fermentation to produce sufficient CO2, but don't over prove to give too much CO2
• add steam to the oven
• use the right amount of yeast to strong flour ratio
• Cook through at the correct temperature (should sound hollow when tapped).
  

Explain the faults in detail and provide examples. Show pictures of the perfect and imperfect bread.

Pasta

Use bread/ strong/ pasta flour - ensures sufficient gluten

High bran content in wholemeal flour could cause crumbliness

Not enough liquid : crumbly Too much: sticky

Insufficient kneading: crumbly/ tight texture as not enough gluten development

Dough needs resting before shaping to allow gluten strands to relax, but left for too long can dry out. Dough should always be wrapped in cling film.

Measure ingredients accurately.

Creamed Cake Faults

The common faults in creamed cake baking are sunken center, dryness, and tough texture. To rectify:

• weigh ingredients accurately as too much of any one will affect the result
• use self-raising flour (low gluten content to ensure a soft texture) 
• use the right amount of baking powder (too much and the structure will collapse)
• cream the butter and sugar properly (to ensure air has been incorporated)
• check the oven temperature is correct. Do not open the door while the cake is baking or it may sink.
  

Explain the faults in detail and provide examples. Show pictures of the perfect and imperfect creamed cakes.

Shortcrust Pastry Faults

The common faults in shortcrust pastry baking are shrinking, soggy bottom, and uneven bake. To rectify, use cold butter (half butter and half white fat is best) and water, avoid overworking the dough, and preheat the oven. Allow the pastry dough to rest before shaping and baking (lets the gluten relax). Do not stretch the dough when shaping or it will shrink when hot. Bake at the right temperature.

Explain the faults in detail and provide examples. Show pictures of the perfect and imperfect shortcrust pastry.

Puff Pastry Faults

The common faults in puff pastry baking are poor rise, uneven layers, and burnt edges. To rectify, use chilled butter and water, rest the dough between folds, and bake at the right temperature(too low and it doesn't rise as well and too high and it will burn). Fold several times to ensure the dough is laminated (air trapped between the layers ensures a good rise and a flaky texture). Rest between each folding (relaxes the gluten).

Explain the faults in detail and provide examples. Show pictures of the perfect and imperfect puff pastry.

General rule with shortcrust and puff pastry

Handle as little as possible so the gluten has less chance to develop. More gluten means tough pastry and less gluten means shorter gluten strands and a crumbly/ flaky pastry

Choux Pastry Faults

The common faults in choux pastry baking are flat shape, split shells, and soft texture. To rectify, make sure the fat/ water mixture is really hot before quickly adding the strong flour (ensures gelatinisation takes place), use the right amount of eggs and mix in really well, pipe the dough properly, and bake at the right temperature. Turn over and make a small hole in the bottoms and bake for a little longer to ensure the pastry dries out in the middle. Choux should be firm to the touch and well risen when baked.

Explain the faults in detail and provide examples. Show pictures of the perfect and imperfect choux pastry.

Roux/ all in one sauces

Cook off the flour so there is no floury after taste.

Stir constantly so there are no lumps.

Cook to 100C to ensure gelatinisation ( starch grains start to swell at 60C, burst at 80C and completely thickened at 100C).

Add lemon juice after gelatinisation as can slow down the process

Conclusion

By learning how to identify and rectify the common faults in baking bread, creamed cakes, shortcrust pastry, puff pastry, and choux pastry, you can achieve a perfect product.

Follow recipes carefully and always weigh ingredients accurately. Check the oven temperature.

Summarize the lesson and encourage the students to practice troubleshooting in baking.

Write down 3 things you learned in this lesson.

Have students enter three things they learned in this lesson. With this they can indicate their own learning efficiency of this lesson.

Write down 2 things you want to know more about.

Here, students enter two things they would like to know more about. This not only increases involvement, but also gives them more ownership.

Ask 1 question about something you haven't quite understood yet.

The students indicate here (in question form) with which part of the material they still have difficulty. For the teacher, this not only provides insight into the extent to which the students understand/master the material, but also a good starting point for the next lesson.