This glossary is a handy and useful reference for any baker. Sometimes we come across an unfamiliar term – especially if you’re looking through a vintage or British cookbook. I’ve gathered a list of terms most frequently used and I will try to update this list periodically.
| Baking Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Bake | to cook by dry heat, especially in an oven; the term Fan Bake refers to the use of the fan/convection oven setting (fan/convection oven setting circulates the air and evenly distributes the heat) |
| Bain Marie | a French term for water bath; used to gently cook delicate custard based desserts like crème brûlée, flan and cheesecake by creating gentle heat and steam and promotes uniform baking without cracking or over drying. Ramekin or spring-form pan is placed in a larger oven safe container, like a roasting pan, and filled half way up the ramekin/spring form pan’s side with hot water |
| Baker’s Dozen | thirteen; often used for baked goods such as bagels, doughnuts, and such |
| Batter | a mixture consisting chiefly of flour, egg, milk or water and being thin enough to pour or drop from a spoon; batter is also a term used in savory cooking when a mixture is used as coating for food that is to be fried |
| Beat/Beating | to stir together very rapidly in a circular motion with a spoon, whisk, electric mixer, or food processor to create a smooth mixture of ingredients |
| Bench | the baker’s work surface where dough is kneaded and crusts rolled out |
| Bench Scraper | a metal or plastic hand-held tool with a flat edge to scrape the work surface clean |
| Blanch | to scald or parboil in water or steam to partially cook then plunge in ice water to stop the cooking process; commonly done with vegetables and sometimes nuts like almonds |
| Blend | to stir two or more ingredients together with a spoon, whisk, electric mixer, or food processor until well mixed |
| Bloom | in bread, bloom is the brown color found in the crust of a well-baked loaf; in chocolate, it refers to pale gray streaks or blotches that appear on the surface when cocoa butter separates from the chocolate |
| Caramelize | when sugar is heated to the point it begins to brown; can also caramelize the sugars in some ingredients such as pineapples, peaches or corn and onions |
| Coats the Back of the Spoon | term often used to test a sauce or custard. When the sauce has reached a thick consistency you can literally coat the back of a spoon. To test, run a line across the spoon with your finger, if the line remains visible, the sauce is thick enough; if the line runs off, the sauce needs to be cooked longer |
| Combine | to stir ingredients together just until mixed; avoid over mixing as it will change the texture of the final product |
| Cream/Creaming | to beat sugar and butter together until light, creamy texture and color have been obtained. This method incorporates air to the batter, which helps the leavening process. Sometimes eggs are also added during the creaming process |
| Crimp | compress (something) into small folds or ridges as in to pinch the edges of a pie with your fingers or fork |
| Cut In | when you incorporate a solid fat (butter/shortening) into flour until it resembles peas or coarse sand. You can cut the fat into the flour with clean hands, two knives in a cross-cutting motion, forks, a special pastry cutter or a food processor in quick pulses |
| Double Boiler | another form of bain marie, but on a stove-top, also used to cook delicate sauces or melt chocolates; a pot with 1 inch of simmering water topped with a form-fitting glass bowl, but not touching the water. The steam gently heats the glass bowl and either melt chocolates or cook eggs and delicate sauces such as Hollandaise |
| Drizzle | to pour a thin stream of a liquid on top of something |
| Dust | to lightly sprinkle a dry substance (flour, sugar, cocoa powder, etc.) evenly to coat the surface of something like dusting confectioners’ sugar on a cookie |
| Egg Wash | a mixture of one whole egg, egg white or egg yolk plus one Tablespoon of cold milk or water; it’s brushed on an unbaked surface and gives a rich color and gloss to the crust once baked |
| Fold | technique used to gently combine a heavy substance, such as lemon curd, into a lighter substance, such as whipped cream, as not to deflate the air in the lighter one. Using a spatula, bring it upward in a folding motion from the bottom of the bowl up and over the top, turn the bowl a quarter turn, fold again. Repeat the process until both substances are combined yet retaining a light and airy texture |
| Glaze | a runny, sugary topping used to dip in or be drizzled over, as in glazed doughnuts. A glaze should run off a spoon in a ribbon-like pattern; not too thin and not too thick like frosting |
| Grease | to coat the inside of a baking dish or pan with an even, thin layer of a fatty substance (oil, butter, lard) to prevent the batter from sticking to the pan during the baking process |
| Grease & Flour | to coat the inside of a baking dish or pan, as stated above, then to dust with an even coat of flour. Once all sides have been coated with four, tap to remove the excess flour |
| Heaping Cup | means a generous cup; a heaping cup can be a cup plus 1-2 Tablespoons |
| Knead | to combine dough by hand on a hard surface – the bench. Kneading involves folding the dough over, pressing down with the back of your palm and pushing the hand away from you, folding the dough over, giving it a slight quarter turn and repeating the process. Not only does kneading mix the dough, it also helps develop the gluten strands that give breads and other baked goods their needed structure |
| Leavening | refers to the production of gas in a dough by using agents like yeast, baking powder, baking soda and sometimes eggs. In some vintage books, they might be referred to as “lifters” since they help the dough or mixture rise |
| Lukewarm | Slightly warm, or around 105°F |
| Proof | allowing the yeast to activate or the bread dough to rest and/or rise and double in size |
| Ribbons | describes desired consistency of an egg and sugar batter that has been beaten long enough to become very thick and pale in color. To test, raise the beaters and allow the batter to slowly fall back into the bowl, if the batter slowly falls back into the bowl in a ‘ribbon-like’ pattern and stays on the surface for a few seconds before disappearing into the bowl, the batter has been sufficiently beaten |
| Rolling Boil | water under extreme heat that boils with large, fast, and vigorous bubbles |
| Scald | to heat to near boiling; usually scalded milk is required for some recipes, the milk will create a skin on top with smaller boiling bubbles |
| Scant Cup | means just barely reaching or slightly less; a scant cup can be a cup minus 1-2 Tablespoons |
| Score | to make a mark by cutting lines or slits into something without cutting all the way through; usually bread |
| Sift/Sifting | a technique used to combine dry ingredients so the mixture has a uniform consistency. This step also aerates the ingredients and breaks up any lumps. You can sift using a fine woven mesh strainer, sieve, a sifter or a wire whisk. Because it incorporates air, it increases the volume of the dry ingredients so you need to read the recipe first. If your recipe states: 1 cup of sifted all purpose flour – sift first, then measure 1 cup of all purpose flour, sifted – measure first, then sift |
| Softened | a solid, high-fat content substance that has been brought to room temperature in order to make it more pliable, typically referred to when using butter or cream cheese |
| Soft Peaks | egg whites or cream that has been whipped to the point at which a peak form but bend or slump over to one side. To test, pull the whisk straight up and out of the foam, if peaks don’t slump over, you over mixed and need to start again |
| Stiff Peaks | egg whites or cream that has been whipped to the point at which a peak will form and stand in place without slumping over. To test, pull the whisk straight up and out of the foam, if it doesn’t slump over, you don’t need to continue mixing |
| Whip | to stir briskly with a whisk or electric mixer to incorporate air; this makes the substance light and airy – you can whip cream, egg whites, butter and other substances |
| Whisk | a kitchen tool made of wire loops that tends to add air as it mixes substances together; you can mix, combine and whip with a whisk |
| Yield | the estimated amount of servings for any recipe |
| Zest | the colorful and fragrant outer skin of a citrus fruit, also known as grated peel. The outer peel has the oils and fragrance so be sure not to include the white bitter pith underneath. For best results use a microplane grater |
