HISTORY OF BAKING

HISTORY OF BAKING
What is Baking?
Baking is a form of cooking where you cook flour-based food under prolonged heating. An oven is generally used to bake food but there are a few other methods to bake food without an oven. Homestead Honey mentions a few ways of baking without oven. I experimented the baking without oven by baking cookies without oven.
Bread is the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of baking. However, cookies, cakes, muffins and many other foods are also popular in baking.
The History of Baking
The world’s oldest oven, around 6500 years old, was discovered in Croatia in 2014. Bread baking began in Ancient Greece around 600 BC.
Egyptians were pioneers in baking and the traces of their baking are as old as 2600 B.C.. Egyptians were the one who started baking bread using yeast.
Baking and its Importance
Baking was traditionally done at home by women, generally for the family. Commercially, men used to bake in bakeries and restaurants. Baked goodies, especially bread are one of the most important parts of our day to day food.  Human beings have been baking for ages. The history of baking is deep enough to encourage you to start baking at home.

European and American cuisines have the high importance of baking. The cuisine looks incomplete without bread, cakes, pastries etc. that forms a major part of their food. In Asian countries, Chapati is the most common bread in the food. Chapati is one of the simplest forms of baking without an oven.
ADVANTAGES OF BAKING
Baking enhances the flavor and aroma of the food. For those who have been baking at home, they know what I mean when I talk about the aroma of baking. Baking can expand the possibilities of making a food healthier. People are moving from deep fried stuff to baked goodies.
Baking is no longer just all-purpose flour, white sugar and butter baked together. Health conscious people have taken baking to a different level. People now bake with millets, whole wheat flour, and multigrain flour. They avoid sugar and extract sweetness naturally. This Ragi cookies recipe with Jaggery is a fantastic example of the same.
HISTORY OF CAKE BAKING
The history of cakes dates back to ancient times. Initial cakes were way too different from today’s exotic cakes. The cakes in olden times were more bread-like with sugar or honey added to them. The word cake was derived from Old Norse word “kaka”. Oxford dictionary traces the word “cake” back to 13th century.
Historian claims Europeans to have baked the first modern round cake with icing on it. Cakes are made from various combinations of flour, butter, shortening, eggs, sugar, honey, baking powder, and baking soda and flavoring agents. The Internet is full of cake recipes.
A typical question that people have asked time and again is why baking at home? For them buying a bread from the market is cheap and easy than doing it at home. The first article of this tutorial helps you understand why baking at home is important for you.

INGRIDIENTS in Baking and their Uses
YEAST is the heart of the bread-making process. It’s the essential ingredient that makes the dough rise and gives home-baked bread its wonderful taste and aroma. Other ingredients are added to complete the reactions that result in a perfectly baked loaf of hot, crusty homemade bread. In each yeast packet, there are thousands of living plant-like microorganisms. When activated by warm liquid, and fed by sugar or starch, the yeast releases tiny bubbles of carbon dioxide gas. This gas is what makes the dough rise and achieve its light texture after baking.
WHEAT is the most common type of flour used in bread baking. It includes all-purpose flour, bread flour and whole wheat flour. Wheat is rich in gluten, a protein that gives dough its elasticity and strength. When yeast and flour are mixed with liquid and then kneaded or beaten, the gluten forms and stretches to create a network that traps the carbon dioxide bubbles produced by the yeast.
Recipes with whole wheat flour have less gluten and make denser loaves. That’s why these recipes generally require some all-purpose flour which increases the gluten and makes lighter, taller loaves.
WATER is the most important liquid because it does 2 critical things:
It dissolves and activates the yeast.
It blends with the flour to create a sticky and elastic dough.
MILK, buttermilk, cream or juice
may be added to enhance the flavor or texture. Only warm liquids should be added to dry ingredients in a recipe because:
A too-cool liquid will slow or stop yeast action.
A too-hot liquid will destroy the yeast and prevent it from rising.
Ideal temperature ranges are 100°F–110°F, when yeast is dissolved directly in water; 120°F-130°F when undissolved yeast is added to dry ingredients.
Sugar adds flavor and rich brown color to a bread’s crust. Brown sugar, honey, molasses and jams may also be used.
SALT is an important ingredient in bread baking because it slows rising time allowing the flavor of the dough to develop, and it adds to the flavor of the baked product. For best results, we do not recommend omitting the salt in a yeast recipe.
EGGS add food value, color and flavor to breads. They also help make the crumb fine and the crust tender. Eggs add richness and protein. Some recipes call for eggs to be used as a wash, which adds color.
BUTTER,margarine,shortening or oil add flavor and make bread tender and moist. Fat slows moisture loss, helping bread stay fresh longer. Fat is heated with liquid when using RapidRise® Yeast. Do not substitute oil for margarine/shortening unless the recipe calls for it.

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