Baking is science in action, science disguised as culinary art! Every time you bake, you are conducting complex chemical experiments that transform ingredients into tasty treats. Understanding the scientific principles behind baking allows you to understand these molecular interactions. This understanding not only helps achieve consistent results but also empowers bakers to troubleshoot problems and innovate with confidence and improve their baking.
Many people never think about it as science and if they do, they acknowledge that it is a form of chemistry. However, what I never hear people talk about, is that it is also about biology and physics! When you use yeast, you are using a fungus, which is a living microorganism. When you heat a cake batter in an oven, gases are trapped and expand. This is an example of Charles’ law, which describes the relationship between the volume and temperature of a gas.
There are many concepts of science that many bakers are unaware of happening, such as the pyrolytic process, the Maillard reaction and emulsification.
You don’t need to understand these to be a good baker but I believe that understanding them can improve your baking and you can enjoy the realisation and understanding that you are creating a product that is the result of so many things happening on a molecular level!
Here are some examples:
Using leavening agents (such as baking powder and baking soda) can help to makes sponges light and rise. There are different sorts but they nvolve mixing a base with an acid, to release carbon dioxide, which you want to trap into your bake.
Making caramel involves a process called pyrolosis, where you are decomposing sugar by heating it, releasing chemicals that result in its distinctive colour and taste. Understanding that each sugar needs to be heated to a different temperature, allows you to ensure caramelisation happens, rather than guessing when it will occur.
How much you use this knowledge in your baking going forward, is up to you. You don’t need to go full on with the science, like I do. Take what you want from it and use it to enhance your baking. The article tab will lead you to an index of all the articles that I have written so far. There is also a dictionary of terms and a recipe section. This is all theory, it’s one thing having the knowledge, it’s another turning it into practise! The more you bake and the more you tweak your recipes, the better you will get.