Baking Terms

Aerate To incorporate air into something, usually a batter.

Also known as a hot water bath, it is usually used to melt chocolate and butter gently and
Bain-marie
gradually over a pot of simmering water.
Baking the crust of a pie/tart without the filling. It can be done with a variety of methods. One
Bake blind would be to prick the bottom of the crust before filling it with pie weights, rice, pulses, or beans
prior to baking.
Batch Amount of bread, cookies, etc made from one bake.
A mixture of dry and liquid ingredients such as eggs, flour, and milk or water. Similar
Batter
to dough but it has a much thinner consistency and cannot be kneaded.
Mixing a mixture rapidly and intensely to combine ingredients and incorporate air into the
Beat
mixture. Typically done with a whisk or mixer.
Blend Mixing two substances together so that they become incorporated together.
For gelatin: softening gelatin using a liquid before use. Typically done by sprinkling the gelatin
onto the surface of a liquid and letting it sit for about 5 minutes.
Bloom For cocoa powder: Mixing cocoa powder with hot water and stirring to remove any lumps
before letting it sit for a minute or two. This will release the flavour in the cocoa particles,
increasing the intensity of the chocolate flavour.
For liquids: to heat the liquid until it reaches its boiling point.
Boil
For a subject: to place the thing into boiling liquid.
Butter (verb) To spread/add butter onto something.
A type of icing used to fill, top, coat, and decorate cakes or cupcakes. Typically made by
Buttercream
creaming butter with powdered sugar and adding any extra colourings and flavourings.
Process of cooking sugar until it turns brown. When sugar is heated to high temperatures, it
Caramelize undergoes chemical changes and breaks down. Cooking can also caramelise the natural sugars
found in various fruits and vegetables such as onions.
Chop Using a knife or sharp object to repeatedly cut something into small pieces.
To cover something with a wet or dry substance. For example, after baking, bread loaves are
Coat
usually coated with a layer of butter.
Combine To mix two ingredients together.
Consistency The texture and thickness of a substance.
Cool Allowing something to reduce in temperature.
Softening butter or other solid fats such as lard and mixing them with other ingredients. This
Cream
technique is commonly used for butter and sugar.
Crimp Technique of pinching the sides and tops of pie or tart crusts.
Used to describe the small particles of cakes or bread. Usually described as tight, loose, moist,
Crumb
dense, etc.
Crust The outer skin of a bread or pie. Typically hard in texture.
Happens when a liquid separates and forms curds and lumps. Typically used to describe things
Curdle
like eggs, batter, and milk.
Mixing butter or shortening into the flour using a knife or a pastry blender (cutter) until they are
Cut In (verb)
well mixed. This process creates a flaky texture in pies, pastries, and cookies. See Rubbing In.
Defrost To remove the ice or frost from something frozen by increasing its temperature.
Dilute Thinning a liquid by adding in water or another solvent.
Dip (verb) to immerse something into a dry or liquid mixture.
Dissolve To incorporate a solid ingredient/food to a liquid to form a solution or mixture.
Double Boil See bain-marie.
A thick mixture made by combining flour/meal with a liquid. Usually refers to bread or pastry
Dough
dough and it is stiff enough to be kneaded and rolled.
Drizzle The process of pouring a thin stream of liquid such as glaze or butter over food.
Ingredients that are dry and don’t contain any water, usually in solid form. Some recipes require
Dry Ingredients mixing dry ingredients before adding them to another mixture. Dry ingredients include flour,
sugar, cocoa powder, and salt. 
The process of sprinkling a thin layer of powdered ingredient such as cocoa powder, flour and
Dust
confectioners’ sugar over food.
(noun) Beaten eggs. Sometimes additional liquid such as milk and water are added.
Egg Wash (verb) To brush a layer of beaten egg mixture over the surface of food, typically to add colour
after it is baked.
Emulsion A mixture containing liquids that are immiscible such as oil and water.
For baking flavourings: an artificial substance. For example, vanilla essence is made
Essence
synthetically unlike vanilla extract. Hence, it is cheaper and less fragrant.
Refers to the natural substance that has been extracted straight from its source. For example,
Extract
vanilla extract is the substance that has been retrieved straight from vanilla pods.
Fermentation A process that converts the sugars and starches in bread dough into simpler substances such as
Baking Terms
carbon dioxide, which causes dough to rise, producing the holey texture you see in bread. Most
bread recipes require two periods of rising. 
First rise: Waiting for the yeast to work after adding it to the dough. This step is required in the
making of any yeast bread.
Second rise: Also known as the final rise, final fermentation, or blooming. The resting period
after shaping the dough and before baking.
A technique used to describe the gentle incorporation of dry to liquid ingredients. It is typically
Fold
done using a whisk or rubber spatula.
Refers to a stage in whipping. When you lift up your beaters/whisk, the peaks should hold their
Firm peaks shape better than soft peaks. Firm peaks have more distinct ridges, but with tips that are slightly
bent.
To make the surface of a food shiny by coating with a layer of sugar, butter, or any other glossy
Glaze
liquid.
Name for the proteins found in grains such as wheat, barley and rye. It gives food their structure
Gluten
and helps to maintain their shape.
Grain The seed(s) from a food plant such as grass and cereal crops.
Grainy Refers to the texture of a substance - not smooth/fine, has granular bits.
Grease (verb) To lubricate or oil something (usually a pan) with a fat, usually butter.
Icing/Frosting A sweet glaze used to cover or decorate food such as cakes, pastries, and cookies.
Incorporate To add one substance to another and mix them together such that they are evenly distributed.
Infuse To immerse/steep/soak something into a liquid to extract its flavours.
Knead To work dough (usually for bread) by massaging, stretching, pulling and folding it.
The process of alternating layers of dough with butter. The butter between the thin layers of
Laminate dough let out steam during baking, helping the pastry puff up and rise, giving pastries such as
croissants their delicate, airy and layered texture.
Usually used in conjunction with “agents”, or “ingredients”. Leavening agents are used in
Leavening (adj.) doughs and batters to help them rise. The most commonly used leavening agents are either
chemical (baking soda and baking powder) or biological (yeast).
Light and Fluffy Typically used to describe the final/optimal state of creaming butter and sugar.
Lumpy Used to describe the texture of a substance - not smooth, has lumps.
Mildly warm liquid (milk or water), very slightly warmer than the body temperature. Usually
Lukewarm
required to activate yeast before baking.
Macerate The process of softening a food by soaking it in liquid.
Mature For food: taste has developed fully to produce a strong and rich flavour.
Melt Heating a solid product to form a liquid.
Mince Using a knife or sharp object to chop something very finely/into very small pieces.
Mix To combine two or more substances together.
Mold To pinch or give shape to something, such as bread or pie dough.
A pan with multiple cylindrical indents (usually 4, 6, or 12) used to create the characteristic
Muffin pan shape of muffins and cupcakes. It comes in various materials such as stainless steel, aluminum,
and silicone.
Nonstick For pan/surface: covered with a substance that prevents food from sticking.
Oil (verb) See grease.
Commonly refers to bread dough which has been left to ferment/rest for too long.
[see fermentation] When this happens, the air bubbles that have been formed in the dough have
Over-proofing grown too large and have popped. Indicated by the inability of the dough to spring back when
you poke on it. The baked bread is likely to be dense. To rescue it, press down the dough,
reshape, and reproof the bread. 
Parchment Used to line baking pans to prevent food from sticking to them.
(noun) the outer skin or covering of a food such as orange or lemon.
Peel
(verb) Removing the outer layer or skin of something.
Pinch Using your fingers to press something (usually a pie dough) together.
Pipe To squeeze a liquid substance (usually a frosting) through a piping bag for decorating purposes.
Preheat Turning the oven/pan beforehand to let it come to the desired temperature.
Proof Letting the shaped bread dough have its final rise before baking.
On pulse mode, a blender will start working when the button is pressed, and will immediately
stop when the button’s released. Using the pulse mode will give you more control to the fineness
Pulse (verb)
of the blended ingredients (e.g., when you want to make chunks of vegetables instead of
blending them into a smooth liquid).
Deflating bread dough, eliminating air bubbles so that it can be easily kneaded and shaped after
Punch down
its first rise. Contrary to its name, this process should be carried out gently.
The process of thickening and reducing the amount of liquid in a liquid substance through
Reduce
simmering or boiling in order to intensify its flavour. Opposite of dilute.
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Happens when a liquid or mixture has reached its boiling temperature and produces a lot of
bubbles. Required in some baking processes, such as making choux pastry for cream puffs.
Rolling boil
Bringing a mixture to a rolling boil will emulsify the butter into the other liquid ingredients,
which will give you a smooth product.
Typically used to refer to the process of crumbling and breaking butter into small pieces rubbing
Rubbing in
them into flour. Usually used to make food like crumble topping and shortcrust pastry.
Heating liquid until it reaches the temperature just before its boiling point. Indicated by the
Scald
formation of small bubbles around the edges of your pan. 
Score Slashing the surface of food such as bread/pie dough, cakes and meat using a sharp knife.
Typically used to describe dough which is too dry, hasn’t been fully kneaded, rough, and
Scraggly (adj)
irregular in texture.
Using a sharp edged instrument to remove something from a surface. For example, scraping
Scrape
bread dough from a work table.
Shelf Life The length of time that a product is usable, fit for consumption, and can be kept.
Sieve Putting a food through a sieve to separate solids from liquids, or lumps from powdered material.
Stick proof baking sheet made from food-grade silicone and fiberglass. Commonly used by
Silpat (noun) bakers to make baked goods such as cookies and macarons. It is very non-stick, incredibly
durable, and withstands a wide range of temperature.
The process of bringing a liquid to a temperature that is slightly below its boiling point, and
Simmer
letting it bubble gently.
(noun) the outer layer of a fruit, vegetable, or meat.
Skin
(verb) to remove the outer layer of a fruit, vegetable, or meat.
Butter that has been left at room temperature for a while until it is no longer hard and cold. It
Softened butter
should still be cold to the touch and form an indentation when pressed.
 A stage in whipping where the peaks are able to hold their shape when your whisk/beaters are
Soft peaks
lifted. They are soft and melt back into the mixture after some time.
Refers to the sponge and dough method for making bread, consisting of two steps. The first step
Sponge is the making of a yeast starter or yeast pre-ferment (aka sponge). After the sponge is left to
ferment, it will be added to the final dough.
Sprinkle To lightly scatter something (sugar, toppings etc) over a food.
 Refers to a stage in whipping. This refers to peaks that do not collapse at all when the
Stiff peaks beaters/whisk is lifted. At this point, the mixture should be very thick. Don’t continue whipping
when you’ve reached this stage since it’ll result in overbeating.
Mixing a substance by moving a kitchen utensil/tool in circular motions.
Stir
A technique used to raise the temperature of a substance gradually. Typically used for eggs and
Temper chocolate. When tempering eggs, a hot liquid is slowly added to the mixture in small amounts to
prevent the eggs from scrambling.
Turntable A cake stand with a rotating base that is used for decorating cakes.
Usually in reference to bread dough. This occurs when the fermentation time isn’t long enough,
Under-proofing so the air bubbles produced are not enough for the desired bread texture. If your proofed bread
dough bounces back immediately when poked, it is under-proofed and needs more time to rise.
Beating liquid ingredients such as heavy cream and egg whites using a whisk or mixer to
Whip (verb) produce volume. Air is incorporated into the liquid in this process, making it light, voluminous,
and frothy.
Whisk A kitchen tool used to blend, beat, and incorporate air into a mixture.
Yield The amount of baked goods one can get from one recipe. Similar to batch.
Made by scraping the outer layer of the skin of citrus fruits using a grater. Used to add flavour to
Zest
food.