Baking: Method and Recipes

Ingredients for baking
Image by Markus Spiske

Baking is a way of cooking sweet or savory items in the dry heat of an oven. Although baking itself is a relatively easy process, it is good to have some knowledge of the role each ingredient plays in creating the final dish.

Different ingredients strengthen, bind, thicken, sweeten, leaven and add moisture. Some ingredients, like milk and sugar, perform multiple roles. And others will only carry out their duties under very specific conditions. For this reason baking is often compared to the science of chemistry.

You shouldn’t be intimidated by baking though. A reasonable knowledge of basic methods and ingredient functions opens up a world of variety and creativity that is the raison de faire cuire au four of the typical pastry chef.

International Baking Recipes

Pavlova 
(Australian meringue with whipped cream and fruit)

Torta Pasqualina 
(Italian Easter spinach, ricotta and egg torte)

Kulich 
(Eastern Orthodox sweet Easter bread)

Apple Pie 
(American apple tart)

Hamantaschen 
(Israeli Jewish filled tricorner Purim pastries)

Sweet Potato Pie 
(American, Southern-Soul sweet potato open-faced tart)

Tah Chin 
(Persian layered rice and chicken dish)

Pão de Queijo 
(Brazilian cheese buns)

Naan 
(Indian, Pakistani tandoor-baked bread)

Torta di Noci 
(Italian walnut cake)

Dresdner Stollen 
(German Christmas fruitcake)

Torta Maria Luisa 
(Latin marmalade-filled layer cake)

Lavash 
(Southwest Asian thin flatbread)

Glazed Pumpkin Spice Cookies 
(American cinnamon-scented baked treat)

Banana Bread 
(Caribbean sweet quickbread)

Panforte 
(Italian Christmas honey fruitcake)

Torta Rustica di Mele 
(Italian rustic apple cake)

Focaccia Genovese 
(Italian olive oil bread with sea salt and rosemary)

ANZAC Biscuits 
(Australian, New Zealand oatmeal and coconut cookies)

Linzertorte 
(Austrian jam tart)

Bauernbrot 
(German farmer-style rye bread)

Pflaumenkuchen 
(German plum tart)

Papaya Pie 
(Caribbean papaya-filled tart)

Lefse 
(Norwegian potato flatbread)

Torta di Mele 
(Italian apple torte)

Bibingka Especial 
(Filipino sweet coconut and rice flour cake)

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