The Chemical Importance of Baking Dough Ingredient

In baking dough, every ingredient plays an important role in creating the texture, flavor and structure of the final product.

1. Flour

• Purpose: The main structural ingredient of dough. It contains proteins (gluten) that, when mixed with water, form an elastic network that holds gas and gives volume to baked goods.
• If you don't put it in: The dough won't be able to hold its shape, the baked goods won't have texture and structure, the product will fall apart.
• If you add too much: The baked goods will be dense and dry.
• Chemical composition: The main component is starch and proteins, including gluten. Gluten is formed from two proteins - gliadin and glutenin - when kneading the dough and adding water.
• Chemical role: When flour is mixed with water, the proteins gluten and gliadin form a network that gives the dough its elasticity and flexibility. Gluten traps gases produced during fermentation or leavening and helps the dough rise.

2. Sugar

• Purpose: Adds sweetness, helps caramelize the surface (crust color), and also retains moisture in baked goods, making them softer.
• If you don't add: Baked goods will be less sweet and may become denser.
• If you add too much: Baked goods can become too sweet and sticky, or too soft and heavy.
• Chemical composition: Usually sucrose (C₁₂H₂₂O₁₁), but other forms of sugar such as glucose, fructose can be used.
• Chemical role: Sugar is a food source for yeast, accelerating its activity. It also helps caramelize during baking, which gives the crust a golden color and flavor. In dough, sugar also affects the texture, making it softer. In addition, sugar helps retain moisture in the finished product.

3. Milk

• Purpose: Adds liquid to mix with dry ingredients, improves flavor and texture, helps create soft and tender baked goods due to the fat and protein content.
• If you don't put it in: The dough may be less soft and less flavorful.
• If you add too much: The dough will be too runny, resulting in an unstable structure.
• Chemical composition: Proteins (casein and albumin), carbohydrates (lactose), fats.
• Chemical Role: Milk adds softness and moisture to the dough. Milk proteins (casein) give the dough structure, and the fats make it softer. The lactose in milk helps the crust caramelize during baking, and the milk sugar adds a subtle sweetness.

4. Soda and Baking Powder

• Purpose: Baking powder. When interacting with acids (such as vinegar), it releases carbon dioxide, which makes the dough fluffier and lighter. Baking powder is a mixture of soda and an acidic component (usually cream of tartar), which is activated by adding moisture and heat. It makes the dough light and airy.
• If you don't put it in: The baked goods will be dense and won't rise as they should.
• If you add too much: Baked goods will have an unpleasant metallic taste and may become too doughy.
• Application: Biscuits, muffins, cupcakes.
• Chemical composition: Soda (NaHCO₃), leavening agents (eg sodium bicarbonate in combination with acid).
• Chemical role: Baking soda and baking powder form carbon dioxide (CO₂) when they react with an acid (such as vinegar or citric acid). This gas forms bubbles that expand the dough, making it more airy. This is what the website https://intellect.icu says. Baking soda also neutralizes acids in the dough and can improve texture and flavor.

5. Salt

• Purpose: Enhances flavor, helps balance sweetness, improves dough texture and yeast interaction in some recipes.
• If you don't add: The baked goods will be bland and will not have a bright taste.
• If you add too much: Baked goods will be too salty and may become dry.
• Chemical composition: Sodium chloride (NaCl).
• Chemical role: Salt slows down the fermentation of yeast, preventing its overgrowth and controlling the rate of growth of carbon dioxide bubbles. Salt also strengthens the gluten network, giving the dough a denser structure.

6. Water

• Purpose: Liquid needed for mixing with dry ingredients, to activate the gluten in the flour and to regulate the consistency of the dough.
• If you don't add: The dough will be too dense and won't mix well.
• If you put too much: The dough will become liquid and lose structure, the baked goods will be flat.
• Chemical composition: H₂O.
• Chemical role: Water dissolves sugar and salts, activates yeast, and helps form the gluten network. Water also helps in the fermentation process of yeast, and dissolves all active ingredients such as leavening agents and spices.

7. Vinegar

• Purpose: An acidic component that activates the soda to help the dough rise. May also add a slight sourness.
• If you don't add it: The soda will not be fully activated and the dough will not rise properly.
• If you add too much: The dough will have a strong sour taste, which will ruin the taste of the baked goods.
• Chemical composition: The main component is acetic acid (CH₃COOH).
• Chemical role: Vinegar helps activate baking soda or leavening agents, accelerating the release of carbon dioxide. This makes the dough more airy. In addition, vinegar can be used to stabilize the pH of the dough and improve its texture.

8. Yeast

• Purpose: Yeast is used as a leavening agent in bread dough and other baked goods. It releases carbon dioxide during the fermentation process, causing the dough to rise and become airy.
• Application: Bread, buns, pizza.
• Chemical composition: Microorganisms (mainly Saccharomyces cerevisiae) that feed on sugar.
• Chemical Role: Yeast is a living microorganism that breaks down sugars into carbon dioxide (CO₂) and ethanol (C₂H₅OH) during fermentation. The carbon dioxide forms bubbles in the dough, allowing it to rise, and the ethanol evaporates during baking. This process also helps develop flavor.

9. Butter margarine or fat

• Purpose: Fats (butter, margarine, vegetable oil, lard) make baked goods softer, crumblier and improve the taste. They also delay drying and extend the shelf life of baked goods.
• Application: Pies, cookies, cakes, buns.
• Chemical composition: Triglycerides are molecules consisting of fatty acids and glycerol.
• Chemical role: Butter and other fats wrap around flour particles, preventing gluten from forming. This makes dough more crumbly and soft. Fats also help improve the taste and texture of baked goods, giving the crust a delicious golden color and aroma.

10 Eggs

• Purpose: Eggs bind ingredients, give structure and elasticity to dough, and also add flavor and help create a golden crust. Yolks add fat and make baked goods softer, whites add structure and lightness.
• Application: Muffins, biscuits, buns.
• Chemical composition: Proteins (albumin) and fats (mainly triglycerides).
• Chemical role: Eggs help bind ingredients together with their proteins and fat. The proteins coagulate when heated, giving the dough density and structure. The fats in the yolks make the dough softer and moister, improving texture. Eggs also help form a golden crust.

11. Fermented milk products (sour cream, yogurt, kefir)

• Purpose: Fermented milk products add moisture, improve the texture and flavor of dough, and impart a slight sourness. They can also help activate leavening agents such as baking soda.
• Application: Muffins, biscuits, cupcakes.
• Chemical composition: Milk proteins, carbohydrates, lactic acid.
• Chemical role: Fermented milk products can activate soda or baking powder due to their acidity. They also add softness and moisture to the dough, improving its texture. Lactic acid helps improve the structure of gluten and helps retain moisture in the finished product.

12. Starch

• Purpose: Used to improve the texture of dough. Starch can make baked goods more tender and airy, and also absorb excess moisture.
• Application: Cookies, pies, gluten free baked goods.
• Chemical composition: Polysaccharide consisting of glucose.
• Chemical role: Starch helps retain moisture in dough, making baked goods moister and softer. During baking, starch partially breaks down into sugar, which can impart a sweet taste and improve texture to baked goods.

13. Cocoa powder

• Purpose: Gives chocolate flavor and color to baked goods. Cocoa also affects the texture of the dough, adding density and aroma.
• Application: Chocolate cakes, muffins, brownies.

14. Honey or syrups (eg maple, glucose)

• Purpose: These ingredients add sweetness and moisture to dough and can affect texture, making baked goods softer and moister.
• Application: Cookies, cakes, bread.

15. Fruits and berries (fresh or dried)

• Purpose: Fruits and berries add flavor, moisture, and texture, and can also impart natural sweetness to baked goods.
• Application: Pies, muffins, cupcakes, bread.

16. Nuts and seeds

• Purpose: Add texture, flavor, and nutrients. Nuts and seeds can add a nice crunchy texture to baked goods.
• Application: Bread, cookies, pies.

17. Spices and flavorings

• Purpose: Vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, lemon zest and other spices and flavors add flavor accents and enhance the aroma of baked goods.
• Application: Cakes, cookies, pies.

18. Chocolate or chocolate chips

• Purpose: Adds rich chocolate flavor and texture to baked goods.
• Application: Muffins, cookies, cupcakes, cakes.

19. Milk powder

• Purpose: Adds proteins, improves the taste and texture of baked goods, can give a more golden crust.
• Application: Bread, buns, muffins.

20. Alcohol

• Purpose: Sometimes added to enhance flavor and texture. The alcohol evaporates during baking, leaving only the flavor.
• Application: Cakes, pies, desserts.

21. dry milk

1. Adding Milky Flavor: Milk powder adds a rich, milky flavor to baked goods without the need for liquid milk.
2. Moisturizing: Milk powder contains milk sugar (lactose), which helps retain moisture in the dough, improving its softness and increasing shelf life.
3. Improving Texture: Milk powder helps create a softer, lighter texture, especially in breads, rolls and other baked goods.
4. Golden crust: Baked goods made with milk powder often produce a more golden, appetizing crust due to the sugar in the milk.

Each of these ingredients may be added depending on the type of baking and the desired end result.

All of these ingredients work together to create a balance of flavor, texture, and volume in baked goods.

Each ingredient in baking dough performs a specific chemical function that allows the dough to rise, become soft and tasty, and the baked goods to have the desired texture and flavor. Chemical reactions such as fermentation, coagulation, caramelization, and acid-base interactions are the basis of the processes that occur in the dough during kneading and baking. If you have any other knowledge or found an inaccuracy, then write about it in the comments below.