Here is a list of what I have found to be the terms that you might need a definition for if you haven’t done much baking.
Bake – a dry heat method of cooking.
Batter – a mixture of flour, liquid, and other ingredients that is thin enough to pour, something like a pancake batter.
Beat – to thoroughly combine ingredients and incorporate air…think of how cookie dough is made.
Caramelize – heating sugar until it’s melted and brown -giving it the combination a very rich, nutty aroma and a dark, sort of toffee flavor.
Cream – beating together ingredients – usually a fat, sugar, and/or eggs until smooth and fluffy.
Crimp – sealing the edges of 2 layers of dough (like on a pie) with a fork or your fingers.
Cut in – distributing solid fat (butter, shortening) throughout dry ingredients with a pastry blender or fork to a crumbly texture sort of like cornmeal kind of.
Dough – a soft, thick mixture of flour, liquids, fat, and other ingredients…chocolate chip cookie dough..om nom nom.
Dot – to distribute small amounts of margarine or butter evenly over the surface of pie filling or dough.
Flute – to make or press a decorative pattern into the raised edge of the pastry.
Fold in – gently combining a heavier mixture with a more delicate one with out losing the air. Something I like to do I learned on the Food Network, to cut it in half (not all the way through), fold and turn the bowl a quarter turn…3-4 turns is usually pretty good.
Glaze – coating something like a pound cake, or brownies with some sort of liquid, loosened jelly, or thin icing before or after food is cooked.
Knead - this is taking a dough, pressing the heels of your hands into the dough, folding it in half, then again and repeat that process until it feels like the toughness of an earlobe.
Partially set – refrigerating a gelatin mix until about the thickened consistency of unbeaten egg whites.
Proof – allowing a yeast dough to rise before baking. Or, dissolving yeast in a warm liquid and leaving it in a warm place for 5 to 10 minutes until it expands and becomes bubbly. (some microwaves and ovens have a setting for proofing)
Scald – heating a mixture or liquid to just below boiling point. This is typically seen done with milk.
Score – cutting shallow slits into food, commonly done to the top of bread before baking it to add some decoration.
Soft peaks – beating egg whites or whipping cream to the stage where it forms soft rounded peaks where beaters were removed.
Stiff peaks – this is the same process as soft peaks but to a stage when once you remove the beaters the mixture holds stiff peaks. (Notice how the frosting on the beaters holds its shape)
Zest – the outer part of citrus fruit (only color, not the white part) used for its intense flavor. It’s generally a stronger flavor then the juice itself.
