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Jessica ZamoraMr. Gango-3October 3, 2014The Science of BakingLike science, when baking observation is needed to analyze the finished product. When baking, it may simply feel as if it were just creating a sweet treat, but it is what happens at the beginning, during, and end is what’s interesting. “It’s one of the first lessons in culinary school: Baking is a science” (Charlie). Baking consists of formulas, chemical reactions, and physical changes. Without formulas baking would be a difficult task. Formulas are the recipes that allow chefs, bakers, and just regular people, to follow directions on how to create a certain treat. Formulas are essential because any little change that is made can cause a failure. For example, “Too much baking powder or over mixing the batter, can make the difference between a moist and a hockey puck cupcake” (Charlie). If too much baking powder is added or over mix the batter the gluten will change the texture of the cake. Formulas come in handy in the beginning as well as during the process of baking. In the beginning it is needed to know what goes first and what is needed to build or create something.Without these formulas it is practically impossible to create, let alone recreate a treat exactly the same. It might be possible to recreate a certain treat twice without using a formula, but there are for sure adjustments that would be made. “Formulas are the essential part of baking because they are the handbook to creating a special treat” (Charlie). Like science, observing and analyzing the experiment is an essential part for creating an extravagant or simple treat. It’s the only way to come up with any type of formula, to solve that experiment, or simply explain the process of the experiment. In baking the things that are created are not just things that magically come up. It starts with an idea of creating something and then goes into a step by step. You have to be able to expand that idea by doing experiments with different types of ingredients and steps. That is what baking consists of. While creating these treats, it is proper to make sure and write down the steps and ingredients. “When I create something new I make sure to right steps down as well as the ingredients. If I do not write them down there’s no way I’ll be able to do my show because I need to show others at home, my steps and ingredients I used” (Drummond). Like science it is needed to write down the procedure then test it, because otherwise how would it be known that a formula works properlyFormulas or in baking terms, recipes, are used to solve a problem by experimenting. When a problem is encountered, the first thing needed to do is experiment in order to solve it. Not knowing what a recipe is for a certain treat can be frustrating, especially when wanting to recreate that treat, in order to enjoy it. Chefs and Bakers do not just come up with these recipes in their head, and they never try to not make them. For example, Ree Drummond, always makes these classical recipes, but adds a twist to a well-known recipe. “It’s never about making a classic recipe that everyone loves; it’s about changing up that classic recipe so more people can love it” (Drummond). She does not just go and add things or takes things out without going through a trial and error process. They encounter many problems at first, because they have to test and make sure the treat tastes good. If the treat does not taste as good as they thought it would, they change, add, and take out different ingredients, in order to make the recipe, formula, work. Formulas are also needed because they do not just allow the person who wrote down the formula, but as well as those who are interested in having that recipe. When creating a formula, all anyone wants to do is share it with the world, so that they can see that it has been solved. In the restaurant business well in any business, everyone wants to be the first one to create something so that later on they will know that one person created something that others find useful. An example would be the first time someone created a cheesecake. Cheesecake did not just come out of nowhere. Cheesecake dates back to 776 B.C in Greece where cheesecake was first found to be used as a sort of energy, therefore serving it during the Olympic Games. “The simple ingredients of flour, wheat, honey and cheese were formed into a cake and baked – a far cry from the more complicated recipes available today!” (Cheesecake). Now there is not just one flavor or style, there are hundreds maybe even thousands of spinoffs. With baking sharing the recipe you created to others is useful to allow more creations to come out, out of just one recipe that came from one person. This is how we have so many formulas in science and so many recipes for baking. There are so many different possibilities one could do with just one formula and one recipe. “There is never just one answer to a formula; there are infinite possibilities on what can be done with baking and science” (Michaeleen).Many people believe that chemical reactions only happen in science, but they are wrong. Chemical reactions occur in baking as well. “A chemical reaction is a change of a substance into a new one that has a different chemical identity” (Orlich). These reactions occur during the process of creating that special treat. “Baking is not usually thought of as a chemical industry, but it relies on the interactions of the various chemicals in flour and the other substances used and thus are chemically based” (J. H. Czernohorsky). Chemical reactions occur due to the ingredients coming together, heating, or cooling the treat. Sometimes in science, it can be more difficult to notice a chemical change, but it baking it is easily seen. Most of the time, chemical reactions are followed along with physical reactions.“During the process, bonds between atoms are broken and formed as at least one of the original substances is changed to another” (Lavoisier). In baking it is known to usually start off with something liquidly or solid, but due to the chemical reactions it will soon become something else. When beginning with a liquidly object, it will most likely end up being a solid. When beginning with a solid, there is a possibility that it can turn into a liquid in order to create a sweet treat. For example, if chocolate syrup is on the ice cream, the reaction that happens with chocolate does not happen magically, it is done in a way that the chocolate turns from a solid into a liquid form. Chocolate syrup contains different things in it, in order for the chocolate to be a liquid. Something needs to be done to the chocolate in order for it to be in a liquid form base. “This type of phase change is called melting, which is the change from solid to a liquid” (Helmenstine). Chocolate may just be put in the microwave in order to melt it down to a liquid form, and when it is taken out it may be liquidly, but what is not seen is what is happening on the inside and the way it was transforming. The chocolate slowly separates and the atoms break off. This is the beginning of a process that turns something solid into something liquid. “The atoms and molecules are so close to each other when in solid form, but in liquid form they sort of separate not completely, but just enough to turn into a solid”(Charlie).“When you put the raw cookie dough into the oven, you are setting off a series of chemical reactions” (Michaeleen). This is just one example of a chemical reaction and how it can occur in baking and not only science. Whether it be a cookie, cheesecake, or cake; all these and many more are examples of chemical reactions occurring in baking. “Chemical reactions are always in effect during the baking process,” because it is what helps different ingredients come together (Michaeleen). For example, when seeing a cake rise, that itself is proof that the chemicals inside are making it and allowing it to rise.Chemical reactions are really not given as much credit in baking as they should. In science chemical reactions are definitely seen and are tested, but in baking no one ever gets the chance to analyze this sort of reaction. Bakers do not test or write down what they might think the chemical reaction might have been during the process of baking. They do not see how chemical reactions affect the sweet treat; they do not appreciate it as much as they should. Without these reactions, treats would be a hard thing to come by due to the treat not looking right or cooking right. For example, when you bake a cake the baking powder is the reactant and allows the cake to rise up and if this chemical reaction does take place then the cake would just be batter. “Chemical leavening is the reaction of a leavening base (such as baking soda) with a leavening acid (such as sodium aluminum sulfate) in the presence of moisture and heat to produce carbon dioxide gas” (Clabber Girl). These reactions help the treat become what it ends up being. Chemical reactions are the main factor for baking. People usually do not see these physical reactions but one shall always know that they are there. The way atoms move during chemical reactions are very particular. “Putting cookies in the oven cause a change in molecules and cause atoms to move faster” (Michaeleen). Atoms only react when something is going on, atoms move and vibrate at a faster pace when there is a chemical reaction. A physical change is what’s on the outside, not the inside of your treat. Physical changes are seen a lot more easily, than a chemical reaction. Physical changes are what usually follow a chemical reaction. The most noticeable thing that might be seen in a treat, especially a cake, is when the batter rises. “When you put the raw cookie dough into the oven, you’re setting off a series of chemical reactions which then lead to the physical side effects” (Michaeleen). When pouring the batter it is nothing but a liquid, but when put in the oven then take it out the differences are seen in the appearance. This is due to the baking powder and how it reacts inside as a chemical reaction. If cakes or cookies wouldn’t rise, it would basically be this sort of raw thing. When baking something it should not only taste good, but as well as to look good because no one would want to eat something that looks unappealing such as bird poop or a pile of dirt. “The molecules play a role in the rise and fall of every treat” (Charlie). What allows us to see the physical change is how the molecules work. “Molecules move loosely in liquid form compared to a solid” (The Diagram Group). These molecules move this way for a short time. Then they turn the liquid to a solid the molecules then squish together as much as possible to become a solid. The molecules squish together due to the change of temperature, whether it is a really cold change in temperature, or a really hot one, molecules still would change. When the molecules allow the liquid to become a solid, the treat then rises. Without these molecules doing their job, these treats would not appear as good as they do. These sweet treat would not be in a solid form when they are supposed to, they would not be liquid either if they needed to be because the molecules would be confused. Molecules would not know what to do if they were just left there, they would not adapt to a certain shape or form that is needed. In conclusion, many may believe that baking is just baking and has nothing to do with science, but they are wrong. Baking is science from the very first steps to the last; it is science throughout the process. Baking is made up of scientific things; formulas, chemical reactions, and physical changes. For those who love baking should know these things by now.Works Cited BIBLIOGRAPHY Charlie, Boss. Cakes and Chemistry:the Science of Baking. 24 November 2013. 9 September 2014.. 2014. 9 December 2014.Clabber Girl. Chemical Leavening 101 - Baking Powder Reaction. 2014. 24 October 2014.Czernohorsky, J. H. THE CHEMISTRY OF BAKING . n.d. 15 10 2014.Drummond, Ree. The Pioneer Woman. 2014. 10 December 2014.Helmenstine, Anne Marie. About Education. 2014. 19 September 2014.Lavoisier, Antoine Lurent. Elements of Chemistry. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, 1971.Michaeleen, Doucleff. Engineer Your Perfect Sweet Treat. 03 December 2013. 10 September 2014.Orlich, Mrs. Harris County Carver Middle School. 2014. 15 September 2014.The Diagram Group. The Facts on File Chemistry Handbook. New York: Facts on File, 2000. ................
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