Cookbook
24
It’s fascinating to think that out of all of the ingredients
we use for baking, one of the most important ones is one
that is invisible to the eye. When we think of leaveners,
we tend to think of chemical leaveners (baking powder,
bicarbonate of soda) and biological leaveners like yeast.
But air, a mechanical leavener, is fantastic when it comes
to achieving a light and fluy texture instead of something
dense and flat.
Leavening occurs when mixtures release gasses and create
a porous structure in the batter. These tiny air cells then
expand (rise) and then maintain their structure when
heated in the oven. But where does all of this air come
from in the first place, and how does it make its way into
the mix? The secret is in the mixing technique.
Creaming, beating, whisking, kneading stirring and
whipping are all ways of incorporating air. Ensuring these
precious air bubbles remain is why so many recipes say
“do not over mix.” By gently folding in our dry ingredients
like flour, baking powder, cocoa, etc, we can combine the
ingredients without running the risk losing air bubbles.
In order to incorporate the right amount of air into the
batter, it’s important to mix using the correct speed
and motion. This is where the Sage Bakery Boss
™
speed
selector dial comes in - it takes the guesswork (and the
physical work) out to ensure your mixture is correctly and
evenly mixed.
The High Rise.
Mixing with the correct speed and moon
is easy with the Bakery Boss™
It’s easy to over mix or under mix
if you don’t know the right speed and moon