Page 12 - The Chemistry of Cooking
P. 12
• You may not think of chemistry when
you're baking a cake, but it is definitely
a chemically based process. Whatever
type of food you bake, the recipe's Chemistry in Baking
basic ingredients are involved in
several chemical reactions
Sugar does much more than just sweeten a cake. When • Most baking is based on the use of flour, the powder
the baking temperature reaches 300 degrees form of grains, nuts and beans. Wheat flour, the most
commonly used type of flour in baking, is composed
Fahrenheit, sugar undergoes what is known as a largely of starch and protein, with very high levels of a
Maillard reaction(in frying too) , a chemical reaction class of protein known collectively as gluten. When water
between amino acids, proteins and reducing sugars. is added to wheat flour, the gluten forms a heavy, pliable
The result is browning, which forms the crust of many mass. This expands greatly under hot temperatures and
baked goods, such as bread. sets with the desired airy texture.
• Leavening agents such as baking soda, baking powder and
yeast give baked dough its lightness. Baking soda reacts
with acids in the dough to make carbon dioxide, which
helps the dough to rise. Baking powder, which is baking
soda with an additional acidic salt, releases carbon dioxide
twice during the baking process, once when it hits water,
and again when it reaches a certain temperature in the
oven.
