Glossary

All-purpose flour
A white flour, generally a combination of soft and hard wheats, or medium-protein wheats. It works well for all types of baked products, including yeast breads, cakes, cookies, and quick breads. All-purpose flour usually is sold presifted. It is available bleached and unbleached. Either is suitable for home baking and can be used interchangeably.

Almond Paste
A mixture of ground blanched almonds, sugar, and liquid glucose or corn syrup. Similar to marzipan, almond paste contains more nuts and is thus coarser, stiffer, and has a stronger almond flavor. Almond paste is used as a filling in pastries, cakes, and confections.

Batter
A smooth mixture that is thin enough to pour or spoon. Most batters consist of flour, eggs, and a liquid such as milk. Many also contain sugar and butter. Batters have a thinner consistency than doughs.

Beat
To make a mixture smooth by briskly whipping or stirring it with a spoon, fork, wire whisk, rotary beater, or electric mixer.

Blend
To combine two or more ingredients until smooth and uniform in texture, flavor, and color; done by hand or with an electric blender or mixer.

Bread Flour
The type of flour recommended for bread recipes, made from hard wheat. It has a higher gluten content than all-purpose flour. Gluten, a protein, provides structure and height to breads, making bread flour well suited for the task. Store bread flour in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 5 months, or freeze it for up to a year.

Bulgur
A parched, cracked wheat product, made by soaking, cooking, and drying whole wheat kernels. Part of the bran is removed and what remains of the hard kernels is cracked into small pieces. Bulgur has a delicate, nutty flavor. Store it in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 6 months, or freeze it for up to a year.

Cake Flour
Cake flour is made from soft wheat and produces a tender, delicate crumb. Many bakers use it for angel food and chiffon cakes. To substitute cake flour for all-purpose flour: Use 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of cake flour per 1 cup all-purpose flour. Sift cake flour before measuring to lighten it so too much won't be added.

Caramelize
To heat and stir sugar until it melts and browns. Caramelized, or burnt, sugar is used in dessert recipes such as flan, candy-coated nuts, and burnt sugar cake and frosting.

Cornmeal
A finely ground corn product, made from dried yellow, white, or blue corn kernels. Cornmeal labeled "stone ground" is slightly coarser than regular cornmeal. Store cornmeal in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 6 months, or freeze it for up to a year.

Cream
To beat a fat, such as butter or shortening, either alone or with sugar, to a light, fluffy consistency. This process incorporates air into the fat so baked products have a lighter texture and better volume.

Crimp
To pinch or press pastry dough together using your fingers, a fork, or another utensil. Usually done for a piecrust edge.

Cut-in
To work a solid fat, such as shortening or butter, into dry ingredients, usually with a pastry blender or two knives.

Dash
A measure equal to 1/16 teaspoon. Can be measured by filling a 1/4-teaspoon measure one-fourth full.

Dough
A mixture of flour and liquid to which other ingredients, such as sweeteners, shortening, butter, egg, or a leavening agent may be added. A dough is thick and nonpourable; some doughs can be kneaded. Soft doughs have more liquid and generally are used for biscuits, breads, and drop cookies. Stiff doughs are firm enough to be rolled out easily and are used to make items such as piecrusts and cutout cookies.

Dust
To lightly coat or sprinkle a food with a dry ingredient, such as flour or powdered sugar, either before or after cooking.

Fold
A method of gently mixing ingredients -- usually delicate or whipped ingredients that cannot withstand stirring or beating. To fold, use a rubber spatula to cut down through the mixture, move across the bottom of the bowl, and come back up, folding some of the mixture from the bottom over close to the surface.

Frost
To apply a sweet cooked or uncooked topping to cakes, cupcakes, or cookies. Frosting is soft enough to spread but stiff enough to hold its shape.

Ganache
A rich chocolate icing made of bittersweet chocolate and whipping cream heated and stirred together until the chocolate melts. The mixture is cooled until lukewarm and poured over a cake or torte for a satiny, glossy finish.

Garnish
To add visual appeal to a finished dish by decorating it with small pieces of food or edible flowers. The term also refers to the items used for decoration.

Glaze
A thin, glossy coating on a food. There are numerous types of glazes. A mixture of powdered sugar and milk can be drizzled on cookies, cakes, or breads for a glaze.

Gluten
An elastic protein present in flour, especially wheat flour, that provides most of the structure of baked products.

Gluten Flour
Sometimes called wheat gluten, made by removing most of the starch from high-protein, hard-wheat flour. If you can't find gluten flour at your supermarket, look for it at a health-food store. Store it in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 5 months, or freeze it for up to a year.

Grate
To rub food, such as whole nutmeg or ginger, across a grating surface to make very fine pieces. A food processor may also be used.

Juice
To extract the natural liquid contained in fruits and vegetables. This can be done with a juicer or -- in the case of citrus fruits -- simply by squeezing wedges of fruit over a measuring cup to catch the juice.

Knead
To work dough with the heels of your hands in a pressing and folding motion until the dough becomes smooth and elastic; an essential step in developing the gluten in many yeast breads.

Leavening Agents
Leavening agents add lightness to baked goods by causing them to rise. Common leaveners used in desserts include baking powder and baking soda, which produce carbon dioxide. Double-acting baking powder produces gasses in two stages: when liquids are added and during baking.

Marble
To gently swirl one food into another; usually done with light and dark batters for cakes or cookies.

Meringue
Sweetened, stiffly beaten egg whites used for desserts. There are two basic types of meringues. Soft meringues are moist and tender and are used for topping pies and other desserts. Hard meringues are sweeter than soft meringues and are baked to form crisp, dry dessert shells or cookies, such as macaroons. Meringue shells often are filled with fresh fruit or puddings.

Millet
A cereal grain with tiny, round, yellow kernels, tastes slightly nutty and has a chewy texture. Store millet in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 2 years.

Oats
The cereal grain produced by the cereal grass of the same name. Whole oats minus the hulls are called groats. Oats have a nutty flavor and a chewy texture. Store oats in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 6 months, or freeze for up to a year. Two popular forms include old-fashioned and quick-cooking oats.

Rolled Oats
Oat groats that have been steamed then flattened by steel rollers.

Pipe
To force a semisoft food, such as whipped cream, frosting, or mashed potatoes, through a bag to decorate a food.

Plump
To allow a food, such as raisins or dried cherries, to soak in a liquid.

Proof
To allow a yeast dough to rise before baking. Also a term that indicates the amount of alcohol in a distilled liquor.

Puree
To change a solid food into a liquid or heavy paste, usually by using a food processor, blender, or food mill. Also refers to the resulting mixture.

Rye Flour
Made from finely ground rye, a cereal grain that has dark brown kernels and a distinctive robust flavor. Light rye flour is sifted and contains less bran than dark rye flour. Store rye flour in an airtight container in a cool, dry place, for up to 5 months, or freeze for up to a year.

Shortening
Shortening is a solid fat that has been made from vegetable oils. It is often used to create tender, flaky piecrusts and biscuit toppers. It comes packaged in sticks marked with tablespoon and cup measurements and in canisters.

Sift
To put one or more dry ingredients, especially flour or powdered sugar, through a sifter or sieve to remove lumps and incorporate air.

Sponge
A batterlike mixture of yeast, flour, and liquid used in some bread recipes. The mixture is set aside until it bubbles and becomes foamy, which can be several hours or overnight. During this time, the sponge develops a tangy flavor; the remaining ingredients are added to the sponge, and the dough is kneaded and baked as usual.

Vanilla Bean
The pod of an orchid plant that is dried and cured. During curing, the pod turns a dark chocolate color and shrivels to the size of a pencil.

Weeping
A condition in which liquid separates out of a solid food, such as jellies, custards, and meringues.

Wheat Germ
The embryo or sprouting portion of the wheat kernel, sold both raw and toasted. It is extremely perishable. Once opened, store in the refrigerator no more than 3 months.

Whip
To beat a food lightly and rapidly using a wire whisk, rotary beater, or electric mixer to incorporate air into the mixture and increase its volume.

Whisk
A kitchen utensil made of a group of looped wires held together by a long handle. Whisks are used in baking for whipping ingredients such as eggs and cream to incorporate air into them.

Whole-Wheat Flour
Unlike all-purpose and bread flour, whole wheat flour is ground from the complete wheat berry, and contains the wheat germ as well as the wheat bran. It is coarser in texture and does not rise as well as all-purpose or bread flour. Store whole wheat flour in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 5 months, or freeze for up to a year.

Zest
The colored outer portion of a citrus fruit peel. It is rich in fruit oils and often used as a seasoning. To remove the zest, use a grater, a fruit zester, or a vegetable peeler; be careful to avoid the bitter white membrane beneath the peel.

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