Chapter 4

Ingredients

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Wheat Flour
• Wheat flour is the most important ingredient in the
bakeshop.
• In baked products, wheat flour provides:
• Structure
• Thickening
• Nutritive value

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Wheat Varieties
• Hard wheats contain greater quantities of the proteins
glutenin and gliadin, and are used to produce strong flours.
• Strong flours are used to make breads and yeast products.
• Soft wheats are used to produce weak flours often used in
cakes, cookies, and pastries.

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Wheat Varieties
The six principal classes of wheat grown in North
America are:
• Hard red winter
• Hard red spring
• Hard white
• Soft white
• Soft red winter
• Durum

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Composition of Wheat
• Bran is the hard outer covering of the
kernel. It is present in whole wheat flour
and is high in fiber, B vitamins, fat,
protein, and minerals.
• Germ is the part of the kernel that
becomes a new wheat plant if sprouted.
It is high in protein, vitamins, minerals,
and fat.
• Endosperm is the white, starchy part of
the kernel that remains when the bran
and germ are removed.
Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA
 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Flour Grades
• Patent flour
• Clear flour
• Straight flour

Extraction refers to the amount of flour milled from a given

amount of grain. It is expressed as a percentage of the total
amount of grain.

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Composition of Flour
• Starch: white flour consists of about 68-76% starch.
• Protein: 6 to 18% of white flour is protein. Glutenin and
gliadin are 80% of that protein.
• Moisture: 11 to 14%
• Gums: pentosans 2 to 3%
• Fats: 1%
• Ash: mineral content of flour 0.3 to 1.5%
• Pigments: carotenoids, orange-yellow.

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Types of Patent Flour

• Bread flour
• Cake flour
• High gluten flour
• Pastry flour

Bread flour

Cake flour Pastry flour

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA
 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Hand Test for Flour Strength

• Small bakeries keep three white flours on hand. You should
be able to identify them by sight and touch.

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Other Wheat Flours

• All purpose flour
• Durum flour
• Self rising flour
• Whole wheat flour
• Bran flour
• Cracked wheat

Whole wheat flour

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Other Flours, Meals, Starches

• Rye
• Corn
• Spelt
• Oats
• Buckwheat
• Soy
• Rice
• Starches
• Cornstarch
• Waxy maize
• Instant
Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA
 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Sugars
• Add sweetness and flavor.
• Create tenderness and fineness of texture.
• Give crust color.
• Increase keeping qualities.
• Act as a creaming agent with fats.
• Act as a foaming agent with eggs.
• Provide food for yeast.

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Sugars
The chemical name for sugar obtained from sugar
cane or sugar beets is sucrose.
• Lactose is the sugar found in milk.
• Maltose is the malt sugar.
• Fructose is the simple sugar found in fruit.

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Sugars
When a sucrose solution is heated with an acid, some
of the sucrose breaks down into equal parts of two
simple sugars, dextrose, and levulose. Equal parts
of dextrose and levulose is called invert sugar.

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Types of Sugars
• Granulated sugars include:
• Regular granulated sugar.
• Very fine sugars called caster sugar.
• Sanding sugars (coarse sugar used for coating).
• Pearl sugar (also called sugar nibs).

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Types of Sugars
• Powdered sugar or Confectioner’s sugar: ground to a fine powder
and mixed with a small amount of starch to prevent caking.
• Dehydrated fondant: a dried form of fondant icing.
• Brown sugar: contains varying amounts of caramel, molasses, and
other impurities.
• Demerara sugar: a crystalline brown sugar.
• Non-Nutritive sweeteners-sugar substitutes.

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Syrups
Syrups consist of one or more types of sugar dissolved in water.
• Simple syrup: dissolved sucrose in water.
• Molasses: concentrated sugarcane syrup.
• Glucose Corn Syrup: manufactured from cornstarch.
• Honey.
• Malt syrup: extracted from barley.

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Fats
The major function of fats in baked items are:
• To tenderize gluten.
• To add moistness and richness.
• To increase keeping quality.
• To add flavor.
• To assist in leavening when used as a creaming agent.
• To add flakiness.

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Fats
• Shortenings: any of a group of solid fats, usually white and
tasteless, that are especially formulated for baking (shortens
gluten strands).
• High ratio shortenings: devised for use in making cake batters
that contain a high ratio of sugar.
• High Ratio Liquid Shortenings.
• Butter: Adds flavor and melts in the mouth at body temperature.
• Margarine: manufactured from various
animal and vegetable fats plus flavoring, emulsifiers, and
coloring.
• Oils.
• Lard: rendered fat from hogs.
Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA
 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Milk and Milk Products

The functions of milk in baked products are:
• The water content in milk enables gluten development.
• Adds texture.
• Adds flavor.
• Provides crust color.
• Provides keeping quality.
• Provides nutritive value.

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Eggs
Funtions of eggs in baking:
• Structure
• Emulsifying fats and liquids
• Leavening
• Shortening action
• Moisture
• Flavor
• Color
• Nutritive value

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Composition of Eggs

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Composition of Eggs
A whole egg consists of:
• Yolk: High in fat and protein, contains iron and vitamins.
• White: primarily albumin protein.
• Shell: porous and allows egg to lose moisture and absorb
odors and flavors.
• Chalazae: holds yolk in center.
• Membrane.
• Air cell.

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Market Form of Eggs

• Fresh
Grade AA Grade A Grade B

• Frozen
• Dried

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Egg Sizes
• One whole egg = 1.67 oz. (47 g)
• One egg white = 1 oz. (28 g)
• One yolk = 0.67 oz. (19 g)
• 9½ whole eggs = 1 lb. (21 whole eggs = 1 kg)
• 16 whites = 1 lb. (36 whites = 1 kg)
• 24 yolks = 1 lb. (53 yolks = 1 kg)

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Leavening Agents
Leavening is the production or incorporation of gases
in a baked product to increase volume and to
produce shape and texture.

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Yeast
• Fermentation is the process by which yeast acts on sugars
and changes them into carbon dioxide.
• Yeast is a living organism. It is sensitive to temperature.
Temperature
34°F (1°C) Inactive (storage temperature)
60°-70°F (15°-20°C) Slow action
70°-90°F (20°-32°C) Best growth (fermentation and proofing
temperatures for bread doughs)

Above 100°F (38°C) Reaction slows

140°F (60°C) Yeast is killed

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Types of Yeast
• Fresh or compressed yeast: moist and perishable, and is
preferred by professionals. It must be refrigerated as it
only lasts 2 weeks.

• Active dry yeast: a dry, granular form of yeast. It requires

rehydration.
• Instant dry yeast: dry granular form of yeast but does
not require rehydration. Contains little dead yeast so
produces gases much quicker than active dry yeast.

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Chemical Leaveners
• Baking Soda (sodium bicarbonate): if moisture and an acid
are present, soda releases carbon dioxide gas.
• Baking Powder: a mixture of baking soda plus one or more
acids.
• Double-acting baking powder has two acids that release
gases with moisture and heat.
• Baking ammonia: a mixture of ammonium carbonate,
ammonium bicarbonate, and ammonium carbamate.

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Air
• Air is incorporated into all doughs and batters during
mixing.
• The formation of air cells is important even in products
leavened by yeast or baking powder because the air cells
collect and hold the leavening gases.

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Methods of Incorporating Air

• Creaming: the process of beating fat and sugar together to
incorporate air.
• Foaming: the process of beating eggs, with or without sugar,
to incorporate air.

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Steam
• When water turns to steam, it expands to 1100 times its
original volume.
• Because all baked products contain some moisture, steam is
an important leavening agent.

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Gelling Agents
• Gelatin is a water-soluble protein extracted from animal
connective tissue.
• Two forms available for bakeshop:
1. Powdered
2. Leaf gelatin, sheet gelatin

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Gelling Agents
Using gelatin in formulas:
• Soften gelatin in water or other liquid. It absorbs 5 times its
weight in water (blooming).
• Softened gelatin is added to hot ingredients or is heated
with other ingredients until it dissolves.
• The mixture is chilled until it sets.

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Gelling Agents
Pectin is a vegetable gum that can absorb a great deal
of water and is used for thickening or gelling
liquids.
• Pectin is extracted from fruits and used to thicken or gel
fruit preserves, jams, and jellies.
• In order for pectin to gel, high sugar content and an acid are
necessary.

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Fruits and Nuts

Nuts commonly used in bakeshop:
Almonds Brazil nuts Cashews Hazelnuts

Macadamia nuts Pecans Pine nuts Pistachios Walnuts

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Nut Products
• Almond paste
• Kernel paste
• Macaroon paste
• Marzipan
• Praline paste

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Chocolate and Cocoa

Chocolate and cocoa are derived from cocoa or cacao
beans. The beans are fermented, roasted, and
ground, yielding chocolate liquor, which contains
cocoa butter.
• Cocoa is the dry powder that remains after part of
the cocoa butter is removed from the
chocolate liquor.

• Dutch process cocoa is processed with an alkali to

make it darker and more easily dissolved in liquids.

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Chocolate and Cocoa

• Unsweetened chocolate is straight chocolate liquor.
• Sweet chocolate is bitter chocolate with the addition of sugar
and cocoa butter.
• Milk chocolate is sweet chocolate to which milk solids have
been added.
• Cocoa Butter is the fat pressed out of the chocolate liquor.
• White chocolate is made of cocoa butter, sugar, and milk
solids. Technically, it should not be called chocolate because
it does not contain cocoa solids.

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Chocolate and Cocoa

Cocoa contains starch, which absorbs moisture
(drier) in a batter. When adding cocoa to a formula,
use the rule of thumb:
• Reduce the flour by 3/8 (37.5%) of the weight of cocoa
added.

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Salt, Spices, and Flavorings

Salt:
• Strengthens gluten structure and makes it more stretchable.
• Inhibits yeast growth.

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Salt, Spices, and Flavorings

Spices are plant or vegetable substances used to flavor
foods. The most important spices and seeds in the
bakeshop are:
Allspice Ginger
Anise Mace
Caraway  Nutmeg
Cardamom Poppy seeds
Cinnamon Sesame seeds
cloves Zest of lemon and orange

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Salt, Spices, and Flavorings

Vanilla is the most important flavoring in the pastry
shop:
• Vanilla beans
• Vanilla extract

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Salt, Spices, and Flavorings

• Extracts are flavorful oils and other substances dissolved in
alcohol.
• Emulsions are flavorful oils mixed with water with the aid of
emulsifiers such as vegetable gums.

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Salt, Spices, and Flavorings

Two categories of flavorings:
• Natural
• Artificial

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA

 Chapter 4
Ingredients

Salt, Spices, and Flavorings

Alcohols
• Alcoholic beverages are useful flavoring ingredients in the
pastry shop.
• Sweet alcohols and liqueurs (e.g., cassis, orange).
• Non-sweet alcohols (e.g., rum, cognac).
• Wines (e.g., Marsala, Madeira).

Mr. Vasanthan Sigamany, Associate Professor, WGSHA