Baked goods
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Baking and cooking tools can be interchangeable, but some tools make baking universally easier, like specialized pans and mixers. Baked goods are often sweet desserts or snacks, but savory dishes like meat pies, roasted vegetables or souffles use the same tools and techniques as cookies or cakes. Baking is more of a science than cooking, since the chemistry between the ingredients and the preparation techniques can affect the outcome more than in cooking. Add this to my Recipe Box.
Measuring Tools
Measuring cups, spoons and scales help bakers measure the ingredients properly. Baked goods require the right proportions to turn out successfully and standardized measurements help produce dependable results. Glass measuring containers have volume marks on the side, making it possible to accurately determine the correct amount of liquid for a recipe. Plastic or metal measuring cups make it easy to level off the top of dry ingredients. Measuring spoons measure fractions of dry or wet ingredients. Scales measure the weight of an ingredient, typically sugar and flour, and some recipes use weight in ounces and pounds instead of fractional amounts or cups.
Mixers
Cookies, bars and cakes depend on the mixing process to incorporate air into the batter to provide lift. Since sponge cakes do not use any leavening agents like baking powder or baking soda, hand or stand mixers make whipping the egg yolks much easier. A mixer also distributes the ingredients in baked goods evenly. Some mixers have attachments that can grind or shred ingredients for baked goods, like shredded carrots for carrot cake or shaved chocolate as a garnish for desserts. Tools used with mixers include spatulas that scrape the sides of the mixing bowl.
Shaping Tools
Rolling pins make it easy to roll dough for pie crusts, cookies and shaped bread. Cookie presses create uniform molded cookies. The baker puts the dough inside the cookie press and squeezes a handle that creates a shaped cookie by pushing the dough through a specific template. Other presses make pasta noodles for lasagna or baked casseroles. Cutters create specific cookie designs or can edge the perimeter of rolled dough.
Pans
Baking pans come in all shapes and sizes for general and specific purposes. Cookie sheets with rims double as homemade pizza pans, and cake and pie pans can hold meat and vegetables for roasting. Like the measuring tools, the materials dictate the suitability of the pan for baking. Metal pans create a crisp crust, glass bakes somewhat faster than metal and lets the baker see how the food is progressing, and silicone offers nonstick cooking and easy cleanup.
Ovens
Ovens bake virtually all kinds of food from delicate cakes to roast turkeys. Ovens can be the lower part of a range or separate units installed into cabinets in walls. Smaller ovens sit on counters or can be part of a microwave. Convection ovens include a fan that circulates the air, baking food faster and more evenly. Fuel for ovens includes gas, propane, electricity and solar power. In some parts of the world, including the U.S., solar ovens provide an alternative to fossil fuels, reducing air pollution and dependence on wood for baking.
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