baking_terms

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Baking Terms - A, B and C

Below are important baking terms, plus, a few cooking ones, as well. Select a letter that begins the word you are looking for, and you will be brought to a listing of them. For kitchen equipment terms and descriptions, click here.

		A la Carte: referring to cooking to order as opposed to cooking ahead in large batches
		A la mode: (French) Literal translation in the fashion of. In American cookery it describes cake, pie, pudding or any other dessert topped with a scoop of ice cream. In French cooking it describes beef pot roast, larded with fat, braised with vegetables and simmered in a sauce.
		Acid: A substance having a sour or sharp flavor. Most foods are somewhat acidic. Foods generally referred to as acidic include lemon juice (citric acid), vinegar, cream of tartar, orange juice, pineapple juice and wine. Degree of acidity is measured on the pH scale; acids have a pH of less than 7.
		Acidify: To add acid (lemon juice or vinegar) to a culinary preparation to made a dish slightly acid, sour, or piquant.
		Acidulated Water: The addition of lemon juice or vinegar to cold water in order to prevent discoloration of some fruits and vegetables. To every pint of water, add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice or vinegar.
		Adulterated Food: Food items that have been contaminated to the point that it is considered unfit for human consumption.
		Aerate (ER-ayt): Aerate means the same as "sift." To pass dry ingredients through a fine-mesh sifter so large pieces can be removed. The process also incorporates air to make ingredients like flour, lighter.
		Aeration: involves the addition of air into the batter or dough. Proper aeration is a function of the solid-fat crystals in the shortening, butter or margarine (plastic fat) and requires that they be of the right type, size and shape. Liquid fat, however, does not aerate as well as plastic fat, so if aeration is critical to finished-product quality, a liquid ingredient is not the best selection.
		Aftertaste: A taste that remains in the mouth after a food has been swallowed.
		Agar: A vegetable gelatin made from various kinds of algae or seaweed. The algae are collected, bleached and dried. Then the gelatin substance is extracted with water and made into flakes, granules, powder or strips which are brittle when dry. Primarily used as a thickening agent.
		Aioli (ay-OH-lee) - (French) The French word for garlic is "ail." Aioli is garlic-flavored mayonnaise made from pounded cloves of garlic, egg yolks, oil, and seasoning. Just before it is served, lemon juice and a little cold water are added. It is served as a sauce for a variety of garnishes and main courses. History: It is believed to have originated in Provence, France. See "mayonnaise."
		Air cells: Air cells are the millions of tiny pockets found inside most baked products. Known technically as the "crumb", these air cells are trapped inside the webbing of starch and protein.
		Albumen: The protein content of the white of an egg.
		Albumin: Water-or dilute-salt soluble simple proteins, simple proteins that are soluble in water.
		Alkalized cocoa powder: Dutch-process cocoa powder has been treated with alkali to remove the classic bitterness and acidity of regular cocoa. Cocoa will go from very light reddish-brown to dark reddish-brown color and a mild cocoa flavor to strong cocoa flavor when treated. Recipes that use Dutch-process cocoa use baking soda to reduce the acidity, as well as for leavening. Also, Dutch-process dissolves better in liquids.
		All-Purpose Flour: Wheat flour milled from hard wheat or a blend of soft and hard wheat. Used in homes for some yeast breads, quick breads, cakes, cookies, pastries and noodles. All-purpose flour may be bleached or unbleached. Both may be enriched with four vitamins (niacin, riboflavin, folic acid, and thiamin) and iron. All-purpose flour may be used in a wide variety of home baked goods, such as cookies, quick breads, and some yeast breads.
		Allspice: A single spice, rather than a combination of all spices, which has a reminiscent of a nutmeg, cloves, juniper berries, pepper, and cinnamon mixture. Allspice is made from the fruit of an evergreen tree found in the Western Hemisphere.
		Allumette: Any of various puff pastry items made in thin sticks or strips (French word for "matchstick").
		Almond: (AH-mund, AM-und) - It is the kernel of the fruit of the almond tree. There are two types of almonds - sweet and bitter. Sweet almonds - These are used in cooking and can be eaten raw (either blanched without skins or with skins). Bitter almonds - Since these are bitter, they are usually distilled into an essence or extract which is used in baking. The sale of bitter almonds is illegal in the U.S.
		Almond Paste: A mixture of ground almonds, sugar, and glucose used in baking recipes. Often used as a pastry filling.
		Amaranth flour: Milled from amaranth seeds, it combines well with other flours for smooth-textured quick breads. It has an assertive flavor and especially complements savory breads or pastries. Its lack of gluten means it must be combined with wheat flour in yeast breads.
		Amaretti: Italian almond cookies much like a macaroon.
		Amaretto: An almond flavored liqueur made from apricot pits. Originally from Italy.
		Anfrishsauer: A German term for the first stage of the traditional German sourdough baking process made from Anstellgut, water, and flour.
		Angel Food Cake: Unique because of its light texture, angel food cake is a supreme example of the tremendous leavening power of egg whites. The batter is made with just egg whites, sugar and flour and is baked in an ungreased tube pan.
		Angel Food Method: A cake mixing method involving folding a mixture of flour into a meringue.
		Arrowroot: A starch. White, powdery thickening agent ground finer than flour. It is preferable to cornstarch because it provides a clear finish, rather than a cloudy paste. Arrowroot is extracted from rhizomes and was historically used by American Indians to heal arrow wounds, hence the name.
		Ascorbic acid: The scientific name for vitamin C; it is used in bread flour for its gluten development properties. It conditions the dough to obtain a better loaf volume.
		Aspartame: A high intensity alternative sweetener with the trade name Nutrasweet. This is approximate 180 times sweeter than sucrose. Essentially calorie free as small quantities were used. If bought at the grocery stores as Equal it is mixed with dextrose and maltodextrin.
		Aspic: A jelly made of liquid that is often molded.
		Attach: To secure royal or buttercream icing flowers or plastic decorations, pipe dots of icing to "attach" the decoration to an iced cake. Royal icing dries hard and is more permanent than buttercream. Use your icing to attach as you would use "glue."
		Autolyse: (pronounced ah-toh-leez) Yeasted recipes - A short rest called an autolyse comes right after mixing the flour, yeast, oil, and water. It cuts down on your kneading time and allow the dough to bake into a lighter bread with a more open crumb. Here's how an autolyse works.• It allows the flour time to fully absorb the water, so the dough is less sticky when you knead it; • It helps the gluten to both bond and break down, resulting in a dough that's quicker to knead and easier to shape; • It gives the yeast time to rehydrate fully so you don't end up with yeast bits in the dough. You'll notice in the recipe that the salt goes in after the autolyse. This is because salt causes gluten to contract and toughen, preventing the gluten from absorbing as much water and thus fully benefiting from the autolyse.

		Baba: (BAH-bah) - Called babka in Poland and Babas Au Rhum in France. These are small cakes made from a yeast dough containing raisins or currants. They are baked in cylindrical molds and then soaked with a sugar syrup usually flavored with rum (originally they were soaked in a sweet fortified wine). After these cakes were soaked in the wine sauce for a day, the dried fruits would fall out of them. History - It is believed to be a version of a kugelhopf which was invented in Lemberg in the 1600s. It is said that the French thus called the cake a baba, meaning "falling over or dizzy." It is also said that the cake was named after one of the heroes of Stanishias Leczinski's favorite book, "Ali Baba." Babas are said to have been brought to France by Stanisias Leczinski of Poland, the deposed king of Poland and the father-in-law of King Louis XV of France. He was very fond of the Babba of his homeland and brought his baker to Paris to introduce them. In the 18th century, a French cook named Savarin made a special cake and served it with a rum sauce. He called it Baba Au Savarin. The dessert became very popular, but the people called it Baba Au Rhum and soon forgot about Savarin.
		Bagel: (BAY-guhl) - Bagel derives from the Yiddish word "beygl" which comes from the German word "beugel" meaning a "bracelet." Bagels are bread rolls in the shape of a doughnut or an old-fashioned curtain ring. The brown and glossey crust is obtained on the rolls by first boiling them in water and then baking them in an oven. History - According to legend, the world's first bagel was produced in 1683 as a tribute to Jan Sobieski, King of Poland. The king, a renowned horseman, had just saved the people of Austria from an onslaught by Turkish invaders. In gratitude, a local baker shaped yeast dough into the shape of stirrup to honor him and called it the Austrian word for stirrup, "beugel." The roll soon became a hit throughout Eastern Europe. Over time, its shape evolved into a circle with a hole in the center and its named was converted to its modern form, bagel. In the 1880s, hundreds of thousands of Eastern European Jews emigrated to America, bringing with them a love for bagels. New York City vendors used the bagel's hole-in-the-middle shape to their merchandising advantage by threading them onto dowels and selling them on street corners throughout the city. In 1927, Polish baker Harry Lender opened the first bagel plant outside New York City in New Haven, Conn. The bagel's popularity began to spread in the United States.
		Baguette: (bag-EHT) - Is French for a "rod," "wand," or "stick." Baguette is the name for anything long and skinny, including drum sticks, strips of wood, etc. The baguette is generally known as a French white bread due to its popularity in that country. Baguettes are formed into a long, narrow, cylindrical loaf. It usually has a thin, crisp brown crust and a open-holed, chewy interior. History - The shape for which it is famous was developed by an Austrian baker and brought to France in the middle of the nineteenth century. At first French bread was all shaped round, but when bakers realized that their crusts were so tasty, they gave the bread more crust by making them long.
		Bain Marie: (French) (bahn mah-REE) - (1) A hot water bath that is used to keep food warm on the top of a stove. It is also to cook custards and baked eggs in the oven without curdling or cracking and also used to hold sauces and to clarify butter. (2) The term is also used for a cooking utensil which is a fairly large pan (or tray) which is partly filled with water. The food to be cooked is placed in another container in order that the food is not cooked too quickly or harshly. Used when melting or tempering chocolate or when baking a custard, such as cheesecake.
		Bake: To cook by dry heat in an oven or under hot coals.
		Bake Blind: It is the technique used for baking an unfilled pastry shell. The pastry shell is first pricked with a fork to prevent puffing, covered with aluminum foil or parchment paper, and then weighted with rice or beans. It is then baked for a short period of time, about 10 to 15 minutes.
		Bakestone: is a flat, round iron plate, usually with an attached semicircular iron loop which allows it to be hung over a fire from a crane. It can also be set down directly on hot embers. Before baking ovens, and even after them, this was a common utensil for baking simple quick breads.
		Baked Alaska: A dessert consisting of ice cream on a sponge-cake base, covered with meringue and browned in the oven.
		Baker's Percentage Method: Recipe formulas for food service or when making large quantities are expressed in percentages for more accuracy. Then the formula is converted to pounds and ounces.

		Bakers Sugar: A refined specialty product that has an average crystal size smaller than that of normal table sugar.
		Baking Ammonia: A leavening ingredient that releases ammonia gas and carbon dioxide.
		Baking Blind: This term refers to baking an unfilled tart shell to produce a partially or fully baked crust. It is done by lining the dough with parchment paper or foil and filling it with pie weights or dried beans to hold the shape during baking.
		Baking Pan: Available in a variety of shapes and sizes for baking specific cakes, cookies, biscuits, breads, pies, and specialty goods. Most pans sold today are made from light- to heavy-gauge steel, except for two-layer, insulated baking pans, which are heavy-gauge aluminum.
		Baking Powder: Leavening agent typically found as a double-acting baking powder, because it firstly reacts with liquids and secondly reacts with heat during baking. A good substitute for 1 teaspoon of baking powder is 1/4 teaspoon baking soda plus 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar. It is important to check the expiration date on the can as baking powder loses its leavening power over time.
		Baking Soda: Leavening agent activated by interacting with an acidic agent. Liquid ingredients such as sour milk, sour cream, buttermilk, yogurt, molasses, and lemon juice help baking soda produce the gases which make a batter rise. The batter must be baked as soon as possible after the liquid has interacted with the baking soda to produce the desired results.
		Baking Sheet: A sheet of metal that is rigid and is used for baking cookies, breads, biscuits, etc. It usually has one or more edges that is turned up for ease in removing from the oven. Types include shiny, heavy-gauge aluminum, the standard used in most test kitchens for even baking and browning. Darkened, heavy-gauge pans will produce especially crisp exterior crusts desired for specialty baked goods. Insulated baking sheets are two sheets of aluminum with air space between.
		Baking Stone: A round or rectangular plate of stone or unglazed, tile-like material used to provide the baking qualities of a brick oven floor. The stone is placed on the lowest oven rack. Follow the manufacturer's directions regarding whether preheating the stone with the oven is recommended. The product to be baked or the product in its pan are placed on the stone to bake.
		Baking Terms - British
		Baklava: A Greek or Middle Eastern dessert made of nuts and phyllo dough and soaked with syrup.
		Balsamic Vinegar: Balsamic vinegar is an aged reduction of white sweet grapes (Trebbiano for red and Spergola for white sauvignon) that are boiled to a syrup. The grapes are cooked very slowly in copper cauldrons over an open flame until the water content is reduced by over 50%. The resulting "grape must" is placed into wooden barrels and an older balsamic vinegar is added to assist in the acidification.
		Banana: Bananas aren't grown on trees. They're part of the lily family, a cousin of the orchid, and a member of the herb family. With stalks 25 feet high, they're the largest plant on earth without a woody stem. The banana is harvested green, even for local consumption. It is the one fruit which, if left to ripen on the plant, never develops its best flavor. After they are picked, the sugar content increases from 2% to 20%. The yellower the skin, the sweeter the fruit will be.
		Bananas Foster: A dish made of bananas and rum, flamed and served over vanilla ice cream. History - This was created in the New Orleans restaurant called Brennan's in the old French Quarter. It resulted from a promotion the restaurant began to run in the 1950s called "Breakfast at Brennan's." The breakfasts were elegant brunches that ended with splendid desserts. The dish was named after Robert Foster, a New Orleans businessman and close friend of the Brennan family and also an enthusiastic patron of the restaurant.
		Barley Flour: A low-gluten flour made from hulled barley. It imparts a sweet taste, moisture, and relative lightness to cakes, cookies, and quick breads.
		Baste: To moisten food while it cooks with melted butter, pan drippings, sauce or fruit juice.
		Batter: The name of many semi-liquid, floury mixtures of flour, water or milk (or both) or some other liquid. It also usually includes sugar and eggs. Batters may be thin or thick (but even when thick, they must be fluid enough to drop from a spoon). When thin, they should pour out like a creamy milk.
		Batter Bread: A yeasted bread that is not kneaded but stirred vigorously. The very thick but viscose (pourable) batter produces a coarser crumb than a kneaded bread.
		Bavarian: The mousse in certain desserts, called a Bavarian cream, is based on creme anglaise with gelatin added while it is still hot. It always contains whipped cream.
		Bavarian Cream: This molded cream is made from custard sauce or sweetened fruit puree that is bound with gelatin and lightened with whipped cream. Bavarian cream can be served on its own or used as a filling for cold charlottes or molded cakes.
		Bavarois: It is a light mousse, usually made with chocolate, praline or fruit.
		Beat: To mix rapidly, smoothing the ingredients and adding air, using a wire whisk, electric hand mixer or stand mixer.
		Beating: Process of mixing food to introduce air and make it lighter or fluffier. Tools utilized to beat an ingredient or mixture include a wooden spoon, hand whisk or electric mixer.
		Beet Sugar: Sugar [sucrose] processed from the sugar beet plant.
		Beignet (ben yay): A type of fritter made with Pâte à choux paste, which puffs up greatly when fried and then dusted with powdered sugar. The word beignet comes from the early Celtic word "bigne" meaning "to raise." Beignet is also French for "fritter." It is a New Orleans specialty that is a fried, raised piece of yeast dough, usually about two inches in diameter or two inches square. After being fried, they are sprinkled with sugar or coated with various icings. The real beignet is coated with a frosting of mocha (but these are very hard to find). It is like a sweet doughnut which is square-shaped and minus the hole. Traditional fare at New Orleans coffee houses, most notably Cafe du Monde in the French Quarter. History: The recipe was first brought to the New Orleans area by the Ursuline French Nuns in 1727. For many years, the beignet was made in the shape of balls or squares and covered with mocha frosting. Beignets are the forerunners of the raised doughnut.
		Belle-Helene: (1) A classic French dessert called "Poires Belle Helene" with cold poached pears, vanilla ice cream, and chocolate sauce. (2) This is also used in French cookery as a name for a garnish to grilled meat dishes. History: Introduced around 1865 by Paris chefs from restaurants on the Grands Boulevard. This dessert was created in the 1870s and named in honor of the title character, Belle Helene, in an opera by Offenbach of the same name. Offenbach is perhaps best known in the United States for the popular melody associated with the French can-can.
		Betty or Brown Betty: A Betty is a baked dessert dating back to Colonial America, It is a baked pudding made with layers of spiced sweetened fruit (usually apples) and buttered bread crumbs. History: Some cookbooks claim that it originated in the South, in Arkansas. Others claim that, like the cobbler, the recipe came with the early Scotch-Irish colonists. It is almost certainly a modification of the pandowdy, a deep-dish fruit dessert that falls midway between pie and cobbler. And it is like a cobbler, but with a simpler, crisp crust rather than a biscuit crust.
		Beurre Manie: (burr mahn-YAY) - This is a French term for a kneaded mixture of butter and flour. Uncooked roux - It is a roux that is added at the end of cooking for a quick thickening.
		Bialy: (bee-AH-lee) - A bialy is similar to a bagel, in that it is a round, chewy roll. But it is unlike a bagel in two important ways: One, it does not have a hole in the middle, but a depression; and two, it never became popular outside of New York City. The indentation in the middle of the dough is filled with either onion, garlic, or poppy seeds. As the bialy has a very short shelf life, about six hours, they do not lend to being shipped around the country. They can be modest in size, three to four inches, or the size of a small pizza. History - The bialy came to the United States from Bialystock, Poland, and they are sometimes known as Bialystock Kuchen. During the early 1900s, when hundreds of thousands of Eastern European Jews emigrated to America and settled in New York City, they brought with them their taste and recipes for bialys.
		Bird's Nest Pudding: A pudding containing apples whose cores have been replaced by sugar. The apples are nestled in a bowl held by the crust. Also called Crow's Nest Pudding.
		Biscotti: (bee-SKAWT-tee) - Biscotti means "twice cooked." The dough is formed into logs and baked until golden brown. The logs are then sliced, and the individual biscotti are baked again to give them their characteristic dryness.
		Biscuit: (BISH-kiht) - In England, it is the equivalent of U.S. cookies (small, sweet cakes). In the U.S., a type of non-yeast bread made of flour, milk, and shortening, usually served with breakfast - small, and similar to what much of the world refers to as "scones."
		Bittersweet Chocolate: Often used in cake and cookie recipes. Bittersweet or semisweet chocolates are often used interchangeably, though bittersweet generally has more chocolate liquor, a paste formed from roasted, ground cocoa beans. Semisweet chocolate contains at least 35% chocolate liquor while finer bittersweet chocolates contain 50% or more chocolate liquor. Both chocolates have a deep, smooth, intense flavor that comes from the blend of cocoa beans to dairy products. Sugar, vanilla, and cocoa butter are added to the chocolate liquor to create an even richer chocolate flavor.
		Blackstrap Molasses: Unrefined molasses that produces a bitter flavor. Is a type of molasses which is generally used as animal feed or biological (fermentation) feed stock. The by-product of sugar extraction from sugar-containing liquors.
		Blanc Mange: (bla mahnge) (1) An English pudding made of milk, sugar, and cornstarch. (2) A French dessert made of milk, cream, almonds, and gelatin. Considered to be one of the oldest desserts.
		Blanch: Preparation method which briefly places foods in boiling water in order to partially cook them or to aid in the removal of the skin from nuts, fruits and vegetables. Method often utilized in preparation of tomatoes. Blanching sets or maintains the color of the food. Blanching also kills enzymes prior to freezing and removes strong or bitter flavors, like those found in citrus zests.
		Bleached Flour: refers to flour that has been bleached chemically to whiten or improve the baking qualities. No change occurs in the nutritional value of the flour and no harmful chemical residues remain. It is a process which speeds up the natural lightening and maturing of flour.
		Blend: Preparation method that combines ingredients with a spoon, beater or liquefier to achieve a uniform mixture.
		Blender: Electric liquefier with a glass or plastic vessel. A set of rotary blades is attached to the base of the vessel and rapidly reduces most ingredients to a smooth, or blended consistency.
		Blind Bake: To bake a pie crust without the filling. Metal weights or dried beans are typically utilized to keep the pastry from bubbling.
		Blini: (Russian) Pancake made of buckwheat and yeast. Traditional served as a base for caviar and sour cream.
		Blintz: This is the Yiddish word, derived from "blini" for a small pan-fried batter cake that is rolled with meat, potato, cheese, or fruit filling.
		Bloom: Refers to the white, gray or yellow film that appears on chocolate that is not properly stored or tempered caused by separated cocoa butter. In bread baking, bloom refers to the attractive, brown color of the crust of a well-baked loaf of bread.
		Blown Sugar: Pulled sugar that is made into thin-walled, hollow shapes by being blown up like a balloon.
		Bombe: A type of frozen dessert made in a dome-shaped mold.
		Boil: To cook submerged in a boiling liquid. See boiling.
		Boiled Icing: This icing, which is similar to Italian meringue, is used as a filling and frosting for a number of old-fashioned American layer cakes such as Devil's food cake.
		Boiling: Preparation method which cooks a liquid at a temperature of 212 degrees F degrees (100 degrees C). To get it, boil fresh cold tap water, then use it; boiled water is not hot tap water. A full rolling boil -- a boil that can NOT be stirred down with a spoon.
		Bombe: (bahm) - Bombe is French for a "bomb" which was used in a cannon. In France, they had at one time, a spherical mold for food shaped like a round bomb. Originally it was made of copper and had a tight lid so that it could be buried with its contents in salted ice to keep the contents frozen. It is a dessert made with two different ice cream mixtures. The first is a simple plain ice cream which is used to line a mold. The second is a more elaborate ice cream mixture (usually with a strong flavoring) which is used as a filling. The bombe is usually decorated when it is complete with crystallized fruit. It is then frozen and served cold as a dessert.
		Bon Appetit: (bon a-pet-tite) - A french phrase that literally means "good appetite" or "enjoy your meal."
		Boston Cream Pie: A sponge cake or other yellow cake filled with pastry cream and topped with chocolate fondant or confectioners' sugar and baked in a pie tin. It isn't exactly known when this famous dessert was truly invented, but according to James Beard, it was sometime around the mid-1800s. The famous Parker House in Boston, Massachusetts made a Chocolate Cream Pie, which was the cake with the pastry cream filling and the chocolate butter icing. It is not clear if the Boston Cream Pie existed before the Parker House served it. The term pie may come from the fact that pies were around before cakes, and more people had pie tins in their home.
		Bouchee: (French) Small puff pastry case, baked blind and filled with a savory cream or sweet mixture.
		Bouquet Garni: (French) A bunch of herbs traditionally including fresh parsley, thyme, and bay leaf, etc. Dried Bouquet-garni is bundled in a cheesecloth or muslin bag and fresh is typically tied with string. The herb bundle provides the base flavors to a stew, soup or stock.
		Braise: To cook food in a simmering liquid (on stovetop or in oven). Braising is done to whole cuts of meat; to cook, especially meats, covered in a small amount of liquid or in steam over low heat.
		Bran: The outer layers of a kernel of grain that lie just below the hull. "Miller's bran" is produced during milling when the bran layers are removed from the grain kernel. About 14.5 percent of whole-wheat flour is bran. Bran is used in baked goods and cereals to add dietary fiber and nutrients.
		Bread: (1) A coating of bread crumbs, cracker crumbs, or meal. The crumbs are made to adhere by first dipping food in liquid or beaten egg. (2) Bread is the name given to the oldest, commonest, and cheapest form of human food. Bread is made of the flour or meal of one or more kinds of cereals, as well as the flour or meal which can be obtained from some grasses, seeds, and rootstocks other than cereals. History: Loaves of bread were entombed with the Pharaohs in Egypt. Fat, fresh loaves were smothered in volcanic ash as Pompeii. We refer to bread as the "staff of life," and what is a staff but a stout stick that you can lean on, a strong support to keep you going. "Give us this day our daily Bread" means precisely that (let us have just enough of our essential food to keep us on our way).
		Bread Flour: Unbleached, wheat flour that is higher in protein (gluten) for better yeast bread dough development and preferred for use in bread machines. Look for bread flour that is enriched - as indicated on the ingredient label.
		Bread Machine Yeast: An instant yeast product especially developed for use in the types of doughs most commonly made in bread machines.
		Break and Shred: The portion of the loaf between the top and the sides that shreds somewhat during baking. Ideally it should be even around the loaf.
		Brigade Review: inspection of personal appearance when working as a Chef.
		Brioche: (French) Soft bread made of rich yeast dough, slightly sweetened. A French sweet yeast bread that typically has a uniquely light flavor and aroma. It is composed of flour, sugar, yeast, milk, butter, and egg yolk. Very similar to the Jewish Challah.
		British Baking Terms
		Broil, broiling: In this method of cooking, the heat source is above the food. In home cooking, a oven is often used for broiling by setting it so that only the top element comes on. Broiling is a high-heat method of cooking in which food is placed on a rack below, and the speed with which it cooks depends on how far away it is from the element. As with grilling, food has to be watched carefully, so it does not overcook.
		Bromated Flour: is largely discontinued in the United States. Ascorbic acid is now being added to strengthen the flour for bread doughs.
		Brown Sugar: Comes in two forms; the more intensely flavored dark brown sugar and the lighter brown sugar, both containing molasses. Dark brown sugar contains more molasses that light brown sugar. To avoid hardening of either sugar, store it in an airtight container. Brown sugar must be packed to measure accurately.
		Brownie: A dense, chewy, cake-like bar cookie that is generally chocolate-flavored and colored (hence the name) and cut in bar shapes to serve. The name comes from the deep-brown color of the cookie. History: The origins of the chocolate brownies is uncertain but it is felt that it was probably created by accident, the result of a forgetful cook neglecting to add baking powder to chocolate cake batter. Sears, Roebuck catalog in 1897 published the first known recipe for the brownies, and it quickly became very popular (so popular that a brownie mix was even sold in the catalog).
		Brule: (French) finishing method applied to dishes such as cream custards finished with caramelized sugar glaze.
		Bruschetta: (broo-SHEH-tah) - Traditional Italian garlic bread. Grilled slices of bread are brushed with extra-virgin olive oil and fresh garlic.
		Buckle or Crumble: Is a type of cake made in a single layer with berries added to the batter. It is usually made with blueberries. The topping is similar to a streusel, which gives it a buckled or crumpled appearance.
		Buckwheat Flour: A gluten-free flour made by grinding hulled buckwheat seeds. It is not a relative of wheat. Originating in Russia, buckwheat has a distinctive flavor and is used in pancakes and some baked goods, such as multi-grain breads. Russian blini are made with buckwheat flour. Groats and kasha also are produced from buckwheat.
		Bulgur: Whole-wheat kernels that have been steamed, dried, and cracked. Bulgur may be soaked or cooked and added to baked goods. Bulgur also may be ground into flour.
		Burnt Cream: It is sometimes known as Trinity Cream since it is generally believed to have originated at Trinity College, Cambridge, in the 18th century. It is the English relation (and predecessor) of the French Crème Brulee.
		Burre Manie: An equal mixture of soft butter and flour, used for thickening soups and sauces. Also called handled butter.
		Butter: (1) To rub the cooking utensil to be used with butter or fat to prevent foods from sticking. (2) It is essentially concentrated milk fat, fat globules separated from liquid when fresh cream is agitated, whether in a mixing bowl, an old-fashioned hand churn, or an industrial-size machine. By U.S. standard definition, it is 80 percent milk fat, with the remaining 20 percent consisting of water and milk solids. Butter for baking may be salted or unsalted and is valued by most bakers for its irreplaceable flavor and ability to create flaky layers, crispness, tenderness, carry flavors, and provide golden-brown color.
		Buttercakes: These cakes are made by first creaming butter with sugar to incorporate air. Whole eggs or egg yolks are added and flour is stirred in alternately with the liquid (often milk) at the end. When made with whole eggs, baking powder is often used as the leavener. When only the yolks are added at first, the beaten whites are folded in at the end. Most American layer cakes are butter cake-based.
		Buttercream: It is basically a flavored mixture of butter, sugar and eggs that is used to fill and frost cakes. Whole eggs, yolks or whites may be heated with sugar over simmering water and whipped cold before adding the butter and flavoring, or a sugar syrup cooked to the firm-ball stage can be poured over the eggs, then whipped until cold before the butter and flavoring are added. Buttercream can also be made by combining butter with pastry cream in a 1-to-2 ration or with custard sauce, 1-to-1.