Cookies | Biscuits | Sweets And Confectionary | Method of Bakery | Types of Dough and Batter

Cookies | Biscuits | Sweets And Confectionary | Method of Bakery | Types of Dough and Batter  

In this article I am going to explain about cookies, biscuits, sweets and confectionary, Method of bakery and Dough. Let's start with biscuits and cookies.

BISCUITS AND COOKIES 

The terms biscuit comes from french world bus which means twice and wit means baked. It is sweet or savoury dry flat and have high calorie content. Biscuit is made of flour , butter and sugar/salt. 

Cookies is derived from Dutch word 'koekje' which meant little cake. Cookies are loaded with flavours and take more time to bake. Cookies are moist and chewy and are available on different shape, size, Flavouring and Texture. The American began to use word cookie while English continue to use word biscuit for same product. 

• Cookies requires Soft dough while biscuit require hard dough

• Cookies are little heavier than biscuits where as biscuit are fluffier than cookies

• Cookies contain more sugar than biscuits

• Texture of cookies is heavy, rough and crispy and are generally sweet while biscuit are either savoury or sweet

CLASSIFICATION OF COOKIES 

1. Bar and Square cookies

2. Drop cookies

3. Rolled cookies

4. Pressed cookies

5. Moulded or shaped cookies

6. Refrigerated cookies

7. Piped cookies. 

Bar and drop cookies are made with soft dough having high percentage of liquid while other varieties calls for a stiff dough usually less sweet and often higher fat content 

MIXING METHOD FOR COOKIES 

Cooking mixing method are similar to cake mixing method . The main difference is that less liquid is incorporated, therefore less gluten/ weak flour is required. Method of Mixing are :- 

One stage - In one stage method all the ingredients are mixed at once

Creaming - Creaming method is identical to the Creaming method for cakes. Small amount of creaming is desirable.

Sponge method - It is similar to egg foam method for cake. 

CLASSIFICATION OF COOKIES

The mixing of cookies are simple so they are classified according to their makeup.

1. Rolled cookies :- cookies are rolled and then cut into cutters. They are tough and inferior cookies and required a little more manpower so many establishment doesn't bake this types of cookies

2. Dropped :- These cookies are made from soft dough and batter is deposited in a sheet for baking with spoon . We used Dropped method when when our dough contains pieces of nuts , chocolate chips . 

3. Bagged :- It is also called pressed cookies and is made of soft dough. The dough is soft so that it can be passed through piping bag but it should be able to hold it's shape

4. Moulded :- Each pieces of dough is moulded into desired shape

5. Icebox cookies :- They are called refrigerated cookies because rolled of dough are prepared in advance and kept in refrigerator . They are then, baked when required.

PRECAUTIONS FOR MAKING COOKIES 

1. The dough should be never over processed.

2. If cookies stick on the pan, put the pan back into oven for few seconds which helps to loosen cookies easily.

FAULTS IN COOKIES 

There are many faults in cookies which we see. Some common cookies fault are :-

1. Our Cookies spread excess if we use Excessive sugar, Baked at too low oven temperature and the batter used has very soft consistency.

2. Our Cookies will stick to the pan if our dough has excessive egg content ,is soft and we use unclean pan.

3. Our Cookies will lack spread if it is baked on too low oven temperature and dough is excessively mixed. 

4. Our Cookies will be crisp ,if they are low in moisture, high sugar and fat content and is baked enough to dry moisture

5. Our Cookies will be soft if we used high proportion of liquid, low sugar and fat and makes it large size/thick shape.

6. Our Cookies will become chewiness if we use high sugar and egg and high liquid content

7. Baking soda and ammonia helps in spreading of Cookies along with heavy greasing of tray and coarse sugar added.

Sweets and confectionary

Sweets are small shaped pieces made of sugar in confectionery . Confectionary are very popular among almost all population types. Confectionary is the art of making confections . These Food items are rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Confectionary is divided into two broad categories - baker confections and sugar confections. Bakers confections includes flour confections i.e confection made with flour as ingredients. Similarly, sugar confectionery includes sweets , Chewing gum and confections that are made primarily of sugar. 

Confectionary are low in protein and also often are fat free. In United Kingdom confectionery terms applies to any sweet products and includes cakes also. While,in U.S.A confectionery is candy and includes sugar and chocolates Confectionary. 

Confectionary items have sugar as principal ingredients which is available in different colour with different flavour and often with nuts , Fruits. It also have pleasant smell and taste and are usually finished with different syrups. Most, common used sugar is sucrose which is also known by table sugar. Hydrolysis of sucrose gives invert sugar which is sweeter and common ingredients for making sweets. 

We will talk about a term confectionery and Confectionary . This word are often used and most gets confused . Confectionary is the place where all confections are stored or made and confectionery is the art of making confections . We use confectionery while to describe sweets and chocolates. 

Flour confections includes cookies , crackers, wafers , cakes and pastries and sugar confections includes candies and chocolates works.

Basic Method Of Bakery / Dough production

1. Whisking method

2. Creaming method

3. Melting Method

4. Rubbing Method

1. Whisking method :- It requires wet mixture to be whisked inorder to incorporate air inside . The wet mixture is made of eggs , sugar and no raising Agents is used. These cakes are great if people are looking to eat less fat

2. Creaming Method :- creaming method is the base of many baked goods especially cakes and cookies. This method requires thorough creaming of butter and sugar before before any ingredients is added. Keep going untill butter and sugar mixture is pale , light only then eggs can be added and rest of dry ingredients. It is used for caramel cake , biscuits, chocolate chips cookies. 

3. Melting Method :- It is simple and quick method of baking. cakes made by melting Method are moist and more dense. Gingerbread and fruitcakes can be made by this Method. The butter used in cakes is often melted together before eggs and dry ingredients are added. There is no whisking so raising Agents are used.

4. Rubbing Method :- This process works by fat , usually butter being worked into flour.  Sugar is added and then little liquid is used to create dough 

Dough and Batter :-

Dough ( pate ) in French is made by mixing flour with small amount of water and other ingredients. Dough is kneaded but not baked. The main ingredient is flour and it keep shape as mass. 

Batter are usually thinner , more liquid and used as coating for fried food. Batter cannot be kneaded and main ingredient is flour , egg and water . 

Types of dough :-

Pasta dough

Pizza dough

Sour dough

Sweet dough

Bread dough

Croissant dough

Puff pastry dough

Brioche

Phyllo dough

Straight dough

Leavened dough

Elastic dough

Laminated dough

Faults in Dough :-

1. Under kneading will cause dough to lack structure so it won't rise and overkneading possible in electric kneader cause dough to become warm and fermentation

2. Improper resting time

3. Too much yeast added In flour

4. Adding to much flour will make difficult to rise

5. Adding too much salt

Types of dough explanation :-

1. Leavened dough : Leavened dough is dough that has risen to its final form. The leavened dough achieves rising through fermentation or addition of raising Agents. Fermented dough are usually raised by yeast due to production of carbon dioxide gas. 

2. Unleavened dough : unleavened dough belongs to all of those baked dough that do not Rise in oven but rather stay thin or flaky. 

3. Laminated dough : laminated dough is made by folding a piece of pastry onto itself many times. In between each layer fat like butter is applied which creates flaky finished dough. The example of this dough is phyllo dough and puff pastry dough 

4. Straight dough : straight dough is simple dough made from all fresh ingredients which are placed together , mixed properly (kneaded ) allowed to rest after mixing. It is direct dough method and normally consists of flour 100% , water 60% , sugar and Butter 4% , salt 1% and yeast 5%. 

This is all about Cookies | Biscuits | Sweets And Confectionary | Method of Bakery | Types of Dough and Batter, For today.