FATS

FATS

The major functions of fats in baked items are:
• To tenderize the product and soften the texture.
• To add moistness and richness.
• To increase keeping quality.
• To add flavor.
• To assist in leavening when used as creaming agents or when used to give
flakiness to puff pastry, pie dough, and similar products.
Many fats are available to the baker. Each has different properties that
make it suitable for different purposes. Among the properties a baker must
consider when selecting a fat for a specific use are its melting point, its softness
or hardness at different temperatures, its flavor, and its ability to form
emulsions.

FAT EMULSIONS
Most bakery ingredients mix easily with water and other liquids and actually
undergo a change in form. For example, salt and sugar dissolve in water; flour
and starch absorb water and the water becomes bound up with the starch and
protein molecules. Fat, on the other hand, does not change form when it is
mixed with liquids or other bakery ingredients. Instead, it is merely broken
down into smaller and smaller particles during mixing.These small fat particles
eventually become more or less evenly distributed in the mix.
A uniform mixture of two unmixable substances,such as a fat and water, is
called an emulsion. Mayonnaise is a familiar example of an emulsion from
outside the bakeshop—in this case, an emulsion of oil and vinegar.There are
also emulsions of air and fat,such as that formed when shortening and sugar are
creamed together in the production of cakes and other products .
Fats have differing abilities to form emulsions. For example, if the wrong
shortening is used in certain cakes, the emulsion may fail because the batter
contains more water than the fat can hold.We then say that the batter curdles
or breaks.

SHORTENINGS
Any fat acts as a shortening in baking because it shortens gluten strands and
tenderizes the product. However, we generally use the word shortening to
mean any of a group of solid fats, usually white and tasteless, that are especially
formulated for baking. Shortenings generally consist of nearly 100% fat.

Shortenings may be made from vegetable oils, animal fats, or both. During
manufacturing, the fats are hydrogenated. This process turns liquid oils into
solid fats. Because shortenings are used for many purposes, manufacturers
have formulated different kinds of fats with different properties.There are two
main types: regular shortenings and emulsified shortenings.

Regular Shortenings
These shortenings have a fairly tough, waxy texture, and
small particles of the fat tend to hold their shape in a dough
or batter. Regular shortenings can be manufactured to
varying degrees of hardness. They have a good creaming
ability.This means that a good quantity of air can be mixed
into them to give a batter lightness and leavening power.
Also, this type of shortening melts only at a high
temperature.
Because of their texture, regular shortenings are used for flaky products
such as pie crusts and biscuits. They are also used in many other pastries,
breads, and products mixed by creaming, such as certain pound cakes,
cookies, and quick breads.
Unless another shortening is specified in a formula, regular shortening is
generally used.

Emulsified Shortenings
These are soft shortenings that spread easily throughout a batter and quickly
coat the particles of sugar and flour. Because they contain added emulsifying
agents, they can hold a larger quantity of liquid and sugar than regular
shortenings can. Thus, they give a smoother and finer texture to cakes and
make them moister.
On the other hand, emulsified shortening does not cream well. When
recipe instructions call for creaming shortening and sugar, regular shortening
rather than emulsified shortening should be used.
Emulsified shortening is often used when the weight of sugar in a cake
batter is greater than the weight of flour. Because this shortening spreads so
well, a simpler mixing method can be used. Such
cakes are referred to as high-ratio cakes, and emulsified shortening is
sometimes called high-ratio shortening.
In addition, emulsified shortening is often used in icings because it can
hold more sugar and liquid without curdling.
The term emulsified shortenings is not, strictly speaking, an accurate one.
Pure fat cannot be emulsified, because an emulsion is a mixture of at least two
substances. It would, perhaps, be more accurate to call them emulsifier
shortenings. However, the term emulsified shortenings is the more widely
recognized and commonly used term.

BUTTER
Fresh butter consists of about 80% fat, about 15% water, and about 5% milk
solids. (Many European butters have a higher fat content—about 82% or even
more—and a lower moisture content.)
Butter is graded according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)
standards, although grading is not mandatory. Grades are AA,A, B, and C. Most
operations use grades AA and A because flavors of the lower grades may be off.
In Canada, grades are Canada 1, Canada 2, and Canada 3.

Butter is available salted and unsalted. Unsalted butter is more perishable,
but it has a fresher, sweeter taste and is thus preferred in baking.If salted butter
is used, the salt in the formula may have to be reduced.
Shortenings are manufactured to have certain textures and hardnesses so
that they will be particularly suited to certain uses. Butter, on the other hand,
is a natural product that doesn’t have this advantage. It is hard and brittle when
cold, very soft at room temperature, and it melts easily. Consequently, doughs
made with butter are much harder to handle. Also, butter is more expensive
than shortening.

On the other hand, butter has two major advantages:
1. Flavor Shortenings are intentionally flavorless, but butter has a highly
desirable flavor.
2. Melting qualities Butter melts in the mouth. Shortenings do not. After
eating pastries or icings made with shortening, one can be left with an
unpleasant film of shortening coating the mouth.
For these reasons, many bakers and pastry chefs feel the advantages of
butter outweigh its disadvantages for many purposes. Shortening is not often
used in fine French pastries. Frequently, you may blend 50% butter and 50%
shortening to get both the flavor of butter and the handling qualities of
shortening.

MARGARINE
Margarine is manufactured from various hydrogenated animal and vegetable
fats, plus flavoring ingredients, emulsifiers, coloring agents, and other
ingredients. It contains 80 to 85% fat, 10 to 15% moisture, and about 5% salt,
milk solids, and other components. Thus, it may be considered a sort of
imitation butter consisting of shortening,water, and flavoring.
Unlike the margarines sold by retail grocers, bakers’ margarines are
formulated in different ways for different purposes. Following are the two
major categories.

Cake Margarines or Bakers’ Margarines
These types of margarine are soft and have good creaming ability. They are
used not only in cakes but in a wide variety of products.
Pastry Margarines
These margarines are tougher and more elastic and have a waxy texture.They
are especially formulated for doughs that form layers, such as Danish dough
and puff pastry.
Puff pastry margarine, the toughest of these fats, is sometimes called puff
pastry shortening. Puff pastry made with this margarine generally rises higher
than pastry made with butter. However, as the fat doesn’t melt in the mouth
like butter,many people find the pastry unpleasant to eat.

OILS
Oils are liquid fats.They are not often used as shortenings in baking because
they spread through a batter or dough too thoroughly and shorten too much.
Some breads and a few cakes and quick breads use oil as a shortening.Beyond
this, the usefulness of oil in the bakeshop is limited primarily to greasing pans,
deep-frying doughnuts, and serving as a wash for some kinds of rolls.

LARD
Lard is the rendered fat of hogs. Because of its plastic quality, it was once highly
valued for making flaky pie crusts. Since the development of modern
shortenings, however, it is not often used in the bakeshop.

STORAGE OF FATS
All fats become rancid if exposed to the air too long.Also, they tend to absorb
odors and flavors from other foods. Highly perishable fats, such as butter,
should be stored,well wrapped, in the refrigerator. Other fats and oils should
be kept in tightly closed containers in a cool, dry, dark place.