Baking
 Baking
is the technique of cooking food in an oven
by dry heat applied evenly throughout the oven or only
from the bottom element. Many household ovens in North
America are usually provided with two heating elements,
one in the top for baking, and one in the bottom for broiling.
The person who does the
baking is called a baker. Breads, desserts, and meat (see
also roasting) are often baked, and baking is the primary
cooking technique used to produce cakes and pastry-based
goods such as pies, tarts, and quiches. Such items are
sometimes referred to as "baked goods," and are
sold at a bakery.
Overview
The dry heat of baking changes the
structures of starches in the food and causes its outer surfaces to brown,
giving it an attractive appearance and taste, while partially sealing in
the food's moisture. The browning is caused by caramelization of sugars
and the Maillard reaction. Moisture is never really entirely "sealed
in," however; over time, an item being baked will become more and
more dry.
This is often an advantage, especially in
situations where drying is the desired outcome, for example in drying
herbs or in roasting certain types of vegetables. The most common baked
item is bread. Variations in the ovens, ingredients and recipes used in
the baking of bread result in the wide variety of breads produced around
the world.
To compensate for moisture loss, some
items (usually meats) are basted on the surface with butter or oil to slow
the loss of moisture through the skin, or sometimes brined. The term
"baking" is not usually associated with the cooking of meats in
this manner; it is instead called roasting. Some foods are replenished
with moisture during baking by placing a small amount of liquid (such as
water or broth) in the bottom of the pan, and letting it steam up into or
around the food, a method commonly known as braising.
Over time baked goods become hard in a
process known as going stale. This is not primarily due to moisture being
lost from the baked products, but more a reorganization of the way in
which the water and starch are associated over time, a process similar to
recrystallization.
Ingredients often used in baking
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