The mixture should be smooth. Sometimes you’ll see with a few small lumps visible; it just means that you slightly overwhipped the egg whites. Break them up with the rubber spatula by cutting straight through the egg white lumps, and continue to fold until the batter is smooth.

There are three main goals of cake batter mixing: 1) combine all ingredients into a smooth, uniform batter; 2) form and in- corporate air cells in the batter; and 3) develop proper texture in the finished product (7).

Dry ingredients are combined in one mixing bowl and the liquid ingredients are added. After mixing, the dry ingredients and fat, the eggs, and the remaining liquid ingredients are added. The fat coats the flour, helping to produce a “melt-in-your-mouth” cake or a more open and less fine texture than a creamed cake.

The High-Ratio Mixing Method, also known as the Two Step or Quick-Mix Method, is an alternate mixing technique for butter cakes, whether dense or light. It is used anytime you have high ratio cake, where the weight of the sugar in the batter is equal to or greater than the weight of the flour.

In the two-stage mixing method, after blending your dry ingredients–flour, salt, sugar, leaveners– you are mixing in a limited amount of liquid (milk) in the presence of sugar. Sugar inhibits gluten formation by stealing some of the liquid that would usually activate the gluten.

Mixing Method – Basics

METHOD	WHEN TO USE
TRADITIONAL MIXING METHODS
Creaming Method (Fat-Sugar, Cake or Conventional)	SHORTENED (BUTTER) CAKES COOKIES
All Ingredient Method (Single Stage, Quick-Mix, One Bowl or Dump)	SOME CAKES and CAKE MIXES
Biscuit Method	QUICK-BREADS (Biscuits and scones)

Mixing Methods-Foundations in Baking. There are three major mixing methods used in baking which consist of the muffin method, biscuit method, and the creaming method. Often, they are categorized by the baked item you are making and the degree of mixing used to ensure the best baked good possible.

There are three mixing methods used to prepare quick breads and batters, the stirring (muffin) method, the creaming method and the biscuit method.

Make a well in the dry ingredients, then gently pour wet ingredients into the center.

1. Stir the dry ingredients (flour, leavening, salt, spices) together.
2. When the wet ingredients are thoroughly combined, pour them into the well.
3. Stop mixing when the batter is just barely combined.

Generally speaking, yes – you want to add the dry ingredients into the bowl of wet ingredients. The other thing about adding wet to dry is that you’ll have to work harder to completely combine the ingredients, which can result in overmixing your dough/batter, which can mean overdevloping the gluten in the flour.

BUT whether you are making cookies, muffins, cake, or pancakes, the general rule of baking is that dry ingredients should be combined together thoroughly in one bowl BEFORE you add the wet ingredients.

These would include: water, milk, raw eggs (assuming the yolk and white are mixed together), oils, honey, molasses, syrups, extracts, and so on. Dry ingredients are ones that don’t level out: flour, sugar, nuts, powders of all sorts including spices lumps, clumps, solids, butter, spreadable fats, and so on.

Mixing the dry ingredients together first, and then doing the same with the wet ingredients, means that once you combine the two, you will have to do very little mixing. The less you mix the flour the less gluten has a chance to develop meaning you end up with a fluffier and light end product.

The well in the center of dry ingredients allows the dry ingredients to be folded over on top of the liquid and then gently incorporated just until mixed. Adding the liquid flat on top or the flour on top of the liquid would lead to overmixing. more sugar used than in the “two-bowl” method.

Dry measuring cups are designed to measure dry ingredients like flour, nuts, and berries, while liquid measuring cups are designed to measure liquids like water, cooking oil, and yogurt. Dry measuring cups, on the other hand, hold the exact amount of an ingredient and should be leveled off with a flat edge.

Can you use a liquid measuring cup to measure dry ingredients? Technically, yes. They both measure the same amount of volume. 1 cup in a dry measuring cup is the same as 1 cup in a liquid measuring cup.

For dry ingredients such as flour, sugar or spices, heap the ingredient into the spoon over a canister or waxed paper. With a metal spatula or flat side of a knife, level with the rim of the spoon. For shortening or butter, spread into spoon and level off.

Salt can just as easily be added in the wet phase. It’s often considered dry because it often acts chemically in the mixture – it’s why you hold back the baking powder/soda/leavener with the dry ingredients.

It lets the dry ingredients incorporate with the wet ingredients around the edges of the well, at a pace allowing for when the middle is ready to accept more dry ingredients. I’ve found it makes a less lumpy batter. It’s also easier to see when the whole mixture is uniform.

While sugar is technically considered a “dry” ingredient, it must be mixed with “wet” ingredients, like butter, eggs, vanilla, etc. Knowing how sugar interacts with other ingredients will not only strengthen your baking abilities, but it will also ensure that your baked goods come out perfect every time.

Dry measuring cups are used for measuring solid (dry) ingredients like flour, sugar, oats, or baking powder. They’re made from plastic, metal or porcelain and are sold in sets.

How will Kenia know if she has a quality yeast product? The product will have risen well. The product will be brown. Quick breads use baking soda or baking powder as a leavening agent, but yeast breads use yeast to leaven.

If you overmix, you will end up aerating the dough (adding air) which causes the cookies to rise and then fall, leaving you with flat cookies. So how do you know when to stop mixing?

Moist Ingredients Some ingredients are not liquids nor are they dry. They are “moist”. Moist ingredients are things such as butter, peanut butter, mayonnaise, yogurt and shortening. Moist ingredients should be “packed” into the measuring cup and leveled with a straight edge spatula to be accurate.

I promise you SOFT & MOIST cakes!

1. Use Cake Flour. Reach for cake flour instead of all-purpose flour.
2. Add Sour Cream.
3. Room Temperature Butter / Don’t Over-Cream.
4. Add a Touch of Baking Powder or Baking Soda.
5. Add Oil.
6. Don’t Over-Mix.
7. Don’t Over-Bake.
8. Brush With Simple Syrup/Other Liquid.

Fats, like butter, shortening, or oil, help retard gluten formation while providing moisture for the cake. This ensures a tender texture. Sugar breaks up gluten, keeping the texture tender; it absorbs liquid, keeping the cake moist; and it caramelizes in baking, enriching flavors and helping the cake brown.

Ingredient Percentage=Ingredient Weight/Total Flour x 100% For example, if a formula calls for 60 pounds of water and 100 pounds of flour, the baker’s percent would be 60% water. If there are two types of flour being used, the combination of the weight of both flours will be 100%.

Here are some helpful measuring tips.

1. Dry ingredients (like flour and sugar) should be measured using flat-cup measures. Ingredients should be level.
2. Spoon measures must be measured with the correct sized spoons. A level spoon is essential.
3. Liquid ingredients should be measured in jugs.

Here are five tips to make every baking project a success.

1. Follow directions exactly. You can be creative while cooking, but follow baking recipes exactly.
2. Heat the oven correctly. Most recipes say to pre-heat the oven.
3. Measure accurately.
4. Add and mix carefully.
5. Substitute sensibly.

Yeast