Recipes

Glossary

This is an explanation of generic bakery phrases. The Fault Finder in our Members' Area can help you with more common bakery anomalies.

Activated Dough Development (ADO)
A no-time dough making process in conjunction with an improver.

Bulk Fermentation Process (BFP)
Traditional bread-making process.

Collapse (of cakes)
Breakdown or shrinkage. In cakes resulting in sunken tops.

Cores
(a) Hard pieces or lumps found in the crumb of bread or cakes.
(b) Heavy unbaked portions of the mixing (seams).

Cream
(a) Beating two or more ingredients together, to form a slight and fluffy mixture.

Cream
(b) Adding cream to a breadcake as a filling or decoration.
(c) Legally the word "cream" must only be used to describe dairy cream.

Damper
Device to control heating air or steam into the oven.

Development
State of advancement, i.e. gluten is developed during the mixing of flour with water.

Divider
Machine which automatically divides off portions of dough of equal size.

Docker
A utensil consisting of a number of spikes and used to puncture the surface of a dough/pastry.

Elasticity
The property of a material by which it tends to recover its original shape after deformation e.g. gluten in a well manipulated dough.

Emulsifier
An ingredient which allows water and oil to mix without separation.

Enzymes
Organic catalysts responsible for many of the chemical changes which occur in food.

Ferment
Mixture of flour, sugar, yeast and water which is allowed to ferment prior to it being made into a dough by the addition further ingredients.

Fermentation
The action of yeast in a dough in which the sugar is changed into carbon dioxide gas and ethyl alcohol.

Final Proof
The stage between the final moulding and the baking of a dough.

Flash Heat
Fierce heat which burns the surface of goods in an oven, before they are properly baked.

Full Proof
Maximum expansion of a dough before collapse.

Gluten
Hydrated wheat protein which is developed during mixing or kneading.

Green Dough
Unripe dough, not having received sufficient fermentation.

Handing Up
Preliminary moulding of dough pieces prior to recovery and final moulding.

High Ratio Cake
Refers to cakes containing high ratios of sugar and water to flour.

High Speed Mixers
These mix ingredients at about 3 times the speed of conventional mixers.

Hopper
A funnel into which material etc. is passed from a higher to lower level.

Improvers
Substances which are added to the basic bread or flour confectionery recipe to improve its quality or shelf life.

Knead
Work a piece of dough by vigorous manipulation.

Knock Back
Expelling the gas from fermented dough usually about 2/3rds through its bulk fermentation, by kneading or folding etc.

Lamination
Formation of layers, e.g. puff pastry.

Oven Spring
The expansion in size gained during the baking of a loaf of bread.

Over-Fermented
Fermented beyond the optimum time period for good quality product.

Over-Proof
Proved beyond the optimum often leading to collapsed dough on oven transfer

Peel
Flat shovel made of wood or metal for transferring product to/from the oven bottom.

Prover
Cabinet into which steam and heat can be applied in which fermented goods are proved prior to baking.

Rack Oven
A type of oven in which a rack is made to revolve in a vertical position inside a heated chamber.

Recovery Time
Time which is allowed for dough to relax between processing stages.

Reel Ovens
A type of travelling oven in which each shelf is made to revolve in a horizontal position inside a heated chamber.

Retarder
Cabinet which is kept at a temperature of 2°C - 4°C (38°C - 40°F) and RH of 80°C (176°F), into which unbaked fermented goods may be held for up to 24 hours prior to proving and baking.

Rope
A disease of bread which produces a sticky crumb which can be pulled away in strands, typically smelling of pineapples.

Rotary Oven
A type of travelling oven containing swinging shelves.

Runny Dough
Dough lacking in stability.

Scaling off
Weighing off pieces of dough or portions.

Seams
The join between two edges of dough.

Setter Strip
Strip of wood to hold a row of loaves during final proof, prior to baking.

Skinning
The hard crust which forms on dough when left uncovered.

Slack Dough
A soft dough usually containing extra water.

Soft Flour
A flour containing a weak or low percentage of gluten and has low water absorbtion.

Sole
The floor of an oven.

Sour Dough
Dough fermented to give high levels of acid.

Sponge
1. Type of cake produced with flour, egg and sugar.
2. Dough which is allowed to ferment and then mixed with more flour to produce a final dough.

Straight Dough
Method of making a dough in which all the ingredients are blended at one operation.

Streaky Texture
Crumb structure made up of different colours and/or densities.

Tight
Dough or mixing containing insufficient liquor.

Top Patent Flour
Highest grade of white flour.

Tough
Strong or inextensible.

Toughen
To make tough, e.g. by manipulation.

Trade Descriptions Act
An Act of Parliament put on the Statute Book in the United Kingdom in 1968. It is intended to protect the consumer against the use of false descriptions with regard to the sale of goods.

Umbrella Moulder
A type of bread moulder producing a ball shaped dough piece.

Under-Proving
Insufficient proof time allowed.

Yeast
Living micro-organism which under favourable conditions of warmth, moisture and food will grow and produce carbon dioxide gas and alcohol.