Mixing Methods

The following mixing methods can be applied to most baked goods, and knowledge of these methods can help with creating original recipes.

·       Creaming: A common method for American style cakes and cookies, this simple mix starts with ‘creaming’ together sugar and butter (room temperature). The term creaming means beating the two ingredients together until the mix lightens in color and texture. This method works best if done in a stand mixer, but a beater will work in a pinch. Mixing this by hand is only recommended if you skipped arm day at the gym, but in my opinion it’s not worth the effort or muscle gain. After creaming add the eggs one at a time, beating each egg into the mix completely and scraping down the bowl after each egg. Once the eggs are beaten in, alternate with adding the wet and dry ingredients. Add these last two ingredients in stages to prevent curdling. A good system is 1/3 of the dry ingredients, ½ of the wet, 1/3 of the dry, ½ wet and 1/3 dry.

·       Reverse Creaming Method: This method is usually reserved for cakes, or other tender pastries. Use a mixer to blend fat into the dry ingredients of a recipe. This may sound like the biscuit method mentioned later, but in this method the fat is incorporated completely into the dry ingredients and the fat has to be room temperature. After the butter has been worked in, you can add the wet ingredients.

·       Brownie: In its most basic form, the brownie method is aerating the eggs and sugar together and uses five basic ingredients in different ratios. In my research around this method I came across many different techniques on how to make a brownie and I will be doing an exhaustive testing process on each of them. To achieve different textures in a brownie, know the end product you want, and the guide below can help achieve it. What follows is a kind of expansion on the Cookie Family article.

o   Flour: Not adding as much flour to a recipe will lead to a denser, fudgy brownie. All Purpose flour should always be used in brownies. Cake flour should not be used to create a cakey brownie because the structure is too delicate. For more information about adding flour to baked goods, visit our Flour Family article.

o   Fat: Solid and liquid fats can be used in brownies, most commonly butter or vegetable oils. Using butter in a recipe can result in a lighter brownie because of its lactic acid and milk proteins. Lactic acid is hygroscopic, meaning it attracts water. By attracting water, this acid helps leaven baked goods. Butter melts because of its own water content as well as what water it attracts, and the steam released causes a pastry to rise. One of the better examples of this effect is puff pastry, its only leavening agent is butter-based steam. Vegetable oils do not contain any of these additives, and will result in a fudgier, denser texture in a brownie or any baked goods.

o   Chocolate: Solid chocolate is typically made of cocoa solids, cocoa butter and sugar. Cocoa solids can be ground into a powder commonly known as cocoa powder and is also used in baking. When baking brownies, bakers can add chocolate through melted chocolate, cocoa powder, or a combination of the two. These two products can create different textures in any baked good. Cocoa powder adds no fat to the recipe and will create a lighter texture but too much will make it dry and crumbly. Adding melted chocolate will give a pastry a denser texture because of the added fat from the cocoa butter.

o   Sugar: Just like chocolate, there are two options for adding sugar to recipes. Granulated sugar and brown sugar. Brown sugar contains molasses and creates a chewy and moist texture. Both sugars do produce the Millard Reaction in a baked good. The Millard Reaction is a chemical reaction created when amino acids and sugars meet heat and caramelize. This reaction happens in baked goods, as well as searing meats. Basically, all browned food undergoes the Maillard Reaction.

o   Eggs: While a chemical leavener like baking soda or baking powder is usually used. Eggs can be the only other leavener added other than butter. This is because of the fat from the yolks. Use mostly or only egg yolks for a fudgier texture. Cakey brownies usually use less eggs and are more likely to use a larger amount of a chemical leavener.

·       One Stage: This method is the easiest to define, all ingredients are added at once and mixed on low speed. All ingredients should be at room temperature, think bread doughs.

·       Egg Foam: Egg foam mixing method has many variants, but most use the pate a bombe to incorporate the fats. Pate a bombe is a combination of egg yolks, sugar, flavorings and other fats that is whipped to the ribbon stage. This stage is characterized by the whisk used to whip the mixture being lifted out of the batter and the batter falling off the whisk will leave a trail over the batter in the bowl. This is usually the second step after sifting all the dry ingredients (you have to do this, I know that this is a pain in the ass but you have to do this this time) and can be left to sit while you whip the egg whites in the recipe. The egg whites are usually whipped with sugar and cream of tartar to stabilize its volume. When thee egg whites are at stiff peak, you take a small amount and fold it into the pate a bombe to even out the textures. Then fold in the rest of the egg whites almost all the way before adding the sifted dry ingredients and adding to the pan and baking immediately.

·       Biscuit or Pie Dough: Use this method by rubbing fat into dry ingredients before adding in wet ingredients. The type of fat used will affect texture and flavor, solid fats like shortening or butter work best. Shortening creates the best flaky texture, but butter creates the best flavor. Using either in a recipe is acceptable but for the best results, use a mix of the two. No matter the choice of fat, make sure that it is as cold as possible. I like to prep the cold fat for these kinds of recipes first, and then placing in the freezer while I measure the rest of the ingredients.