Scoffopedia

Tag: bakery

  • Croquembouche

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    A croquembouche is a French dessert consisting of a pyramid of choux-buns bound with threads of caramel. It’s sometimes served instead of a wedding cake or as a treat at other parties.  It’s become popular also to make a croquembouche to look like a decorative Christmas tree.  

  • Slashing

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    Slashing is a bakery term which refers to slashing the top of the dough with a very sharp knife or razor blade. This is crucial – a blunt knife simply won’t do the job properly. As well as giving the bread an attractive appearance, historically – in the days of communal ovens – it was…

  • Knead

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    Kneading is the process of working dough, especially bread dough, to speed up the development of gluten to turn the dough into a firm and more workable mass. Kneading isn’t necessary – there are plenty of no-knead recipes.  Given enough time and water, the proteins in wheat flour will do this for themselves. Kneading is…

  • Burst

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    When bread loaves are first put in the oven to bake, they swell rapidly. This is known as oven spring. If this has been planned for, eg by slashing the top with a lame or sharp knife, it can give the loaf an attractive design. However, a rupture, or random burst, could look unattractive so…

  • Autolyse

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    Autolyse is a term for bread baking technique of mixing the flour and water together and leaving it to rest before adding the other ingredients, such as yeast and salt. This simple technique is said to improve the structure of the bread as well as to make mixing and kneading easier. Professor Raymond Calvel, a…

  • Maid of honour

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    Maids of honour are small almond-flavoured custard tarts, traditionally made with a lemon curd and cream cheese filling.  It’s said that Anne Boleyn invented them whilst she was lady in waiting to Catherine of Aragon and Henry VIII liked them so much he named them maids of honour after the Queen’s unmarried attendants. Recipe Asda…

  • Gluten

    Gluten

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    Gluten is a protein found predominantly in wheat, rye and barley. It may also be present in other cereals, either as a natural component or as a result of cross-contamination during harvesting. Therefore, anyone with a gluten-intolerance might be wise to check that any other cereal they purchase is in fact gluten-free. Gluten’s main culinary…

  • Panettone

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    Panettone is a type of sweet bread loaf which originated in Milan, Italy. It’s often found at Christmas, New Year and other celebrations in Southern Europe and Latin America. It’s pictured on the left above, with stollen on the right. Panettone takes a long time to make as the dough is cured, in a process…

  • Baguette

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    A baguette is a long, thin loaf of bread. It’s commonly known in English as a French stick. It’s made from a lean type of dough which is defined by French law. The dough traditionally contains wheat flour, water, yeast and salt. Some baguettes are made by using a ‘poolish’ – a starter dough to…

  • Bagel

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    The bagel, also spelt beigel, is a bread product which originated in the Jewish communities of Poland.  Traditionally, it’s made of a yeasted wheat dough shaped into a ring, which is first boiled and then baked. These days some bagels are steamed before baking, thus eliminating the boiling stage. This process results in a dense,…