Baking Flour

A person who is trying their hands at the art of baking must know what it is they want and then try to learn a few tips about getting it. To make good baked products, baking requires a lot of patience and knowledge of baking process and baking ingredients. One of the important things that they have to know is baking flour as an ingredient.

There are many different kinds of baking flour that is used in baking.
- High protein flour or bread flour, made from hard wheat flour. Used as baking flour for bread and yeast bread or loaves. Bread flour has high and strong gluten to provide good texture of the baked bread.
- Medium protein flour or general purpose flour is used for almost any kind of baking.
- Low protein flour or soft flour, made from soft wheat flour, used to make fine cake, cookies, biscuits and wafer. Soft flour has less gluten.

In stead of the above flour, in baking flour we also familiar with plain flour item. Plain flour is also called all-purpose flour. Plain flour can be used for dessert and cake-making purposes. Self-raising flour is the most commonly baking flour in cake recipes. If you are using this flour, there is no need to add baking soda or baking powder. It can also be used to make pancakes, muffins and cupcakes.

Baking flour should be stored in airtight containers in a place that is cool and dry, but never more than 6 months. In tropical climate, it only can stand for 4 months.

Baking Soda

Baking soda is a leavening agent. Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate or bicarbonate of soda and its formula is NaHCO3. Baking soda is a white powder with crystalline grains. Baking soda is an alkaline, act to neutralize acids and break down proteins. It is very useful as a leavening agent and tenderizer.

Baking soda undergoes a chemical reaction that releases bubbles of carbon dioxide, in combination with a liquid and an acid. Trapped in batter or dough, these carbon dioxide bubbles enable the baked good to rise. Baked goods will have a light crumb and are aerated with many holes left by the escaping bubbles of carbon dioxide.

Baking soda has other uses in cooking to reduce acidity. A pinch added to tomato sauce while cooking, or coffee while brewing. A small amount added to the soaking water of beans will hasten the softening and cooking processes and reduce the beans’ propensity to cause flatulence in the eater. Baking soda is also a meat tenderizer.

Baking soda should not be confused with baking powder. Baking powder contains sodium bicarbonate, but it includes the acidifying agent already (cream of tartar), and also a drying agent (usually starch). Baking powder is available as a single acting baking powder and as double acting baking powder. Single acting powder is activated by moisture, so you must bake recipes which include this product immediately after mixing. Double acting baking powder reacts in two phases and can stand for a while before baking. With double acting baking powder, some gas is released at room temperature when the powder is added to dough, but the majority of the gas is released after the temperature of the dough increases in the oven.

Some recipes use baking soda, while others use baking powder. Baking soda is basic and will give a bitter taste unless countered by the acidity of another ingredient, such as buttermilk. We find baking soda in cookie recipes. Baking powder contains both an acid and a base and has an overall neutral effect in terms of taste. Recipes that call for baking powder often call for other neutral-tasting ingredients, such as milk. Baking powder is a common ingredient in biscuits and cakes.