November 20, 2012

BAKING BASICS - COMMON CAKE FAULTS AND THEIR CAUSES


VOLUME AND SHAPE 
              Poor Volume
            Too little flour
            Too much liquid
            Too little leavening
            Oven too hot

Uneven shape
            Improper mixing
            Batter spread unevenly
            Uneven oven heat
            Oven racks not level
            Cake pans warped 
CRUST           
Too Dark  
                        Too much sugar
                        Oven too hot
           
Too Light
                        Too little sugar
                        Oven not hot enough
           
            Burst or cracked
                        Too much flour or flour too strong
                        Too little liquid
                        Improper mixing
                        Oven too hot
           
            Soggy
                        Underbaked
                        Cooling in pans or with not enough ventilation
                        Wrapping before cool

TEXTURE
           
           Dense or heavy
                        Too little leavening
                        Too much liquid
                        Too much sugar
                        Too much shortening
                        Oven not hot enough
           
            Coarse or irregular
                        Too much leavening
                        Too little egg
                        Improper mixing
           
            Crumbly
                        Too much leavening
                        Too much shortening
                        Too much sugar
                        Wrong kind of flour
                        Improper mixing

            Tough
                        Flour too strong
                        Too much flour
                        Too little sugar or shortening
                        Overmixing

POOR FLAVOR

                        Poor quality ingredients
                        Poor storage or sanitation
                        Unbalanced formula

From Professional Baking by Wayne Gisslen.

No comments:

Post a Comment