BAKERY AND PASTRY

Food items such as pieces of bread, cakes, and pastries are prepared in bakery for the purpose of selling.

Ingredients used in bread making

There are numerous of ingredients used in bread making according to their own distinctive flavour. The main ingredients are as follows:

1. Flour

White flour comes in various strengths according to how much protein the flour contains and how much gluten (an elastic substance) it will make.

1. Strong or hard flour: They are suitable for bread making because they develop a lot of gluten. It contains the 10-11% of gluten. They are used for the product like choux, puff pastries etc.
2. Weak flour: It contains 10-11.5% of gluten. They are suitable for producing items of shorter and denser texture such as cakes, biscuits, sponges, short and sweet pastries.

 2. Yeast

Yeast is a micro-organism that reproduces by a bidding process. By-products of the growth process are responsible for dough rising. For growth, yeast cells need to have the following conditions available.

• Food: In the form of sugar and gluten
• Temperature: Warmth of the liquid used and the condition for proofing the dough
• Moisture: Supplied by the liquid used
• Oxygen: Taken from the atmosphere.

Yeast is available in several varieties. Generally, fresh yeast and dry yeast are used in the bakery.

3. Egg

An egg is used to produce richness, flavour and colour to the dough.

4. Sugar

Sugar is used to sweetening dough and it also makes the dough lightness, browning, tenderness, and moistness.

5. Water or milk

Yeast needs water or a liquid to do its task. For some bread and many of the sweater dough products, the liquid i.e. milk or water is the need. The milk adds flavour.

6. Salt

Salt adds three important roles in a yeast dough, besides adding flavour. It strengthens the gluten, helps colour and crust and improves keeping the quality of the cooked product. However, it slows down the action of the yeast.

Bread Making Process

The dry ingredients (flour, salt, milk powder, spices etc.) are usually sieved together. This helps them mix and remove any lumps. In some recipe the flour and fat are rubbed together, before other ingredients are added, to produce the sandy texture. Care should be taken to ensure that the yeast and salt are separately mixed into the dough. Preparing the baking container: Always brush tins with cooking fat so that the bread doesn’t stick. If the bread tins are cold, warm them lightly before putting the dough in.

• Mixing: The first stage of combining the dry ingredient with liquid, eggs (if used) and yeast is done by mixing (machine/hand).
• Kneading: This is mixing the dough vigorously, continue until the dough is no longer sticky to touch and has a shiny surface. It is done to develop the gluten.
• Proving: The dough is set –aside after kneading to prove or ferment. While proving the dough is kept in the proving chamber or kept in room temperature by covering with polythene and lightly oiled to keep it moist.
• Folding: This is part of the kneading process, folding and pushing down to get air into the dough. In bread making the dough is rolled to make loaves then folded to get into the bread tin. This gives it good depth and the right shape.




• Shaping: Rolls and loaves are made into many different shapes by cutting, folding and rolling the dough. Portioning: For rolls, buns, pizzas, bread etc. the dough has to divide by weighing each portion. This is why it is also called dividing and scaling.
• Baking: The temperature range for bread is between 232C-260C with a good average being 246C the baking of bread extracts a lot of heat from the oven. The time of baking depends upon the size of the loaf and the volume being baked at one time.

Pastry

Sweet baked goods made of dough having a high-fat content are called pastries. To make a good pastry it is necessary to be familiar with the basic techniques and rules and follow the recipe carefully.

Types of pastry

The different types of pastry are as follows:

• Short Pastry: It is made from blending flour with half its weight of fat (butter or pastry margarine) then add water to produce a paste that can be rolled to make the different short pastry. Baking is done for short pastry.
• Sweet Pastry: The basic ingredients for sweet pastry are flour, fat, sugar, usually in the ratio of 1 part sugar, 2 parts fat and 3parts flour. Use the egg in the place of water which produces the richer taste. Sweet pastries are baked.




• Suet Pastry: Use chopped beef suet as fat with a little baking powder(to give the pastry lightness). The baking powder is sieved with the flour and salt. Mix the suet in well, add the water and lightly mix to form a paste. Suet pastry is steamed.
• Choux pastry: Uses more water and egg than the other types of pastry. The mixture is variously beaten together, which gives the pastry the strength elasticity as it needs to expand, as all the recipe water turns to steam. When cooked, the paste more than doubles in size with a soft hollow center.




• Puff Pastry: The basic ingredients used to prepared puff pastry are flour, fat salt, lemon juice, ice, and water. While making it is essential to have the fat and dought of equal consistency. Puff pastry consist of laminated structure builds up of an alternate layer of dough and fat. When the pastry is baked the expanding air and water vapor puff the separate layer apart from each other resulting in a delightful, crispy, light pastry. Baking method of cooking is done for puff pastry.
• Rough puff or flaky pastry: It has a similar light texture to puff pastry, but rise in the more random way. The paste has small lumps of fat in it, rather than whole layers. Baking is done for rough puff pastry.

A principle of pastry making

• Good mixing technique is the basis of good pastry. All the pastry dough should be mixed on a smooth table(marble/stainless steel). The majority of the pastry dough needs cool conditions.
• The ratio of flour to fat depends on the type of pastry. Dry ingredients must be mixed thoroughly, especially for short paste.
• It is important to have the correct amount of liquid for mixing.
• The dough needs resting and they should be allowed to relax after rolling.
• When baking, the oven must be always preheated to the correct temperature before placing any pastry in the oven.

Preparation method of pastry

• Rubbing-in: The process of blending fat and flour to acquire sandy mixture for short and sweet pastry. Mixing: This is the simple process of mixing the chopped suet with the flour.
• Relaxing or resting: Leave short and sweet pastry paste in a cool place before and after rolling. It helps the fat firm up so the pastry keeps a better texture, shapes, and cuts more easily and shrinks less when cooking.

Kneading: Making a properly blended mixture. Breakfast and Light Meals This module is about light meals such as breakfast, sandwiches, burgers and snacks, their types, their different components and the most common breakfast recipes for you to apply to learn.

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