baker’s rack [bey-kers rak] noun

Also called a speed rack. Vertical metal racks, often on wheels, designed to hold full-size sheet pans so that the pans are slightly separated from one another.

Bakepedia Tips

Baker’s racks are found in almost every professional kitchen, be it a bakery or regular commercial kitchen. They can hold hot trays coming out of the oven or store chilled items in a walk-in refrigerator. The racks can also be built into delivery trucks and pantries and can be stationary or mobile on wheels. These are a truly multi-purpose piece of kitchen equipment.

baker’s peel [bey-kers peel] noun

A very thin, flat tool – like an oversized spatula – used to move breads or pizza in and out of an oven when the baked good needs to be deposited directly on the oven floor. The baker’s peel is made of metal or wood and offers a sturdy, broad surface for the bread/pizza. It also has a long handle to protect the baker from the oven’s heat. The baker places the peel in the oven with the bread on its broad surface and with a quick forward-and-back motion, the baked good is propelled into the oven while the peel is drawn backwards towards the baker.

Baker’s Joy [bey-kers joi] noun

A commercial aerosol spray that combines oil and flour. Baker’s Joy Cake Pan Spray is used to coat baking pans when a recipe calls for greasing and flouring.

Bakepedia Tips

While Baker’s Joy works very well and has many fans in the baking realm, we find that it can leave a film on baked goods after unmolding them, thus we advise to use this spray sparingly.

baker’s dozen [bey-kers duhz–uhn] noun

Thirteen items, not the typical 12, makes up a baker’s dozen. It is believed the phrase harkens back to medieval England where bakers would be penalized if they sold a dozen loaves of bread that did not weigh the recommended amount. The practice of giving an extra loaf may have originated even further back. In 1266, Henry III revived an older rule that regulated the price of bread according to the price of wheat. Bakers or brewers who shorted their customers could be fined or even flogged.

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The term Baker’s Dozen also refers to a group of San Francisco area bakers founded in 1989 by cookbook author and teacher Marion Cunningham and then-bakery-owner Amy Pressman. In 2001, The Baker’s Dozen Cookbook was published, produced by some of the most respected bakers in the Bay Area: Flo Braker, John Phillip Carroll, Julia B. Cookenboo, Marion Cunningham, Carol Field, Fran Gage, David Lebovitz, Alice Medrich, Robert Morocco, Peter Reinhart, Lindsey Remolif Shere, Kathleen Stewart and Carolyn Beth Weil.

baked Alaska [beyked uh–las-kuh]] noun

Also referred to as Norwegian omelette, omelette á la norvégienne, omelette surprise, and glace au four. A retro dessert made up of layers of cake and ice cream covered with meringue, which is browned under a broiler or with a torch. Sometimes a singular showstopper, other times small individual desserts, baked Alaska looks quite impressive. Flavors can vary for the cake and ice cream components, although the meringue is typically plain or flavored simply with vanilla extract.

bake blind [beyk blahynd]  verb

Also blind bake, baking blind, blind baking or par baked. A term that usually refers to a tart or piecrust that is baked without filling. This is done to give the crust a head start on baking so that it is fully cooked and not soggy in the final dessert.

Bakepedia Tips

Always follow specific instructions. Sometimes to bake blind, it is recommended that you prick the crust and bake, pressing down any bubbles if they appear. Another common technique is to line the crust with foil and weigh it down with an even layer of dried beans, dry rice, pennies or commercially sold pie weights. These weights are usually small, heavy, metal pieces the size of peas that you scatter on top of the foil. Some companies make strands of weights (think of a heavy necklace) that make it easy to place in and remove from the tart shell. All of these are re-usable. If you use beans or rice, cool and store them in an airtight container for next time; do not cook them to eat.

bake [beyk] verb

The act of cooking with dry heat in an oven.

bain-marie [beyn-muh–ree; French ban-ma-ree] noun

The French term for water bath or double-boiler. Some companies make a bain-marie set featuring a bottom pot, where water is placed, and a top pot that fits snugly into the base. The bottom of the top pot extends down into the bottom pot. These sets usually include a lid as well.

Bakepedia Tips

For extremely gentle cooking, place the food in the top of the bain-marie over simmering water. It is often recommended for recipes such as pastry creams and lemon curd, among others. Many professional chefs and home cooks create their own bain-marie by using a heatproof bowl that fits down into a pot.

baba au rhum [bah-buh oh ruhm; French ba-ba oh rawm] noun

Also called baba. A sweet, yeast-risen cake soaked in rum syrup after baking. It is formed in small, cylindrical baba molds, which are typically metal (or sometimes now found in silicone) and often measure 2 inches x 2 1/8 inches, sides sloping gently outwards. Once baked and unmolded, the pastry’s shape resembles a chef’s toque, a champagne cork, or just a cylindrical plug, depending on how high the dough has risen and whether it creates a “poof” over the top of the mold.

Bakepedia Tips

Often served with a dollop of whipped cream, baba au rhum cake is golden in color, spongy, and light yet rich. The experience is as much eating cake as having a shot of alcohol – an adult dessert. Some versions contain raisins. (Savarin is a related dessert using the same dough, but formed in a shallow, smooth-sided ring mold – and never with raisins.) After baking, the babas are soaked in sweetened rum syrup and then brushed with apricot glaze to add sheen, impart a bit of flavor and to help hold in the alcohol. It is typical to see them in pastry shops nestled in fluted paper cups.

Their origin may hail from 17^th-century Lorraine, France, where the exiled Polish King Leszcsynski doused his dry kugelhopf with rum. He enjoyed his new recipe so much that he named it after Ali Baba, the fairytale hero. Sometimes the pastries are unadorned; other times they are embellished with bits of candied cherries and/or angelica.

See Baba au Rhum.

baguette pan [ba-get pan] noun

Also called a baguette form or French bread pan. A baking pan, usually metal and sometimes perforated, that holds and helps form baguette dough while baking.

baguette [ba-get] noun

The classic French bread. Usually about two feet long and, in France, very narrow, sometimes not more than 2 inches across. The dough is slashed diagonally on the surface right before baking to help create the baguette’s classic look and texture. The crust is crackly, crusty, chewy and a rich golden-brown color; the interior is light and open in texture, with a chew as well.

Bakepedia Tips

Some say you can only find a true baguette in France. While that might have been true years ago, the interest in truly fine bread baking during the ‘90s onward has brought worthy baguettes to other areas of the world. One difference, however, is that American versions are quite broad, side-to-side, sometimes up to 3 inches. French baguettes are much thinner and more elegant-looking. The French also have a shorter, squatter version called a bâtard and a longer, thinner version called ficelle. Baguette length can reach up to 3 feet, although if you are using a baguette pan, they will most likely be about 14 inches in length.

bagel [bey-guhl] noun

A ring-shaped, chewy, yeast-risen bread, usually 3 to 4 inches across. Bagel varieties range from plain to poppy seed, pumpernickel to “everything” (combining garlic, onion, poppy seeds, sesame seeds and salt), and even cinnamon-raisin and blueberry. Classicists will dismiss this last one as blasphemy along with flavors like sun-dried tomato.

Bakepedia Tips

The dough is a simple combination of flour, water, yeast and salt, so water is a key ingredient. (Sometimes sugar or barley malt is added). New York City varieties are considered to be the best by many and some say it is the water that makes the difference. A true bagel is proofed, always hand-formed and then boiled before baking; this gives them their signature chew, which is the hallmark of a great bagel. Montreal is known for bagels as well. Montreal’s are much sweeter and do not have the same hearty, chewy texture as New York’s. It is curious that bagels, which share their shape with doughnuts, also share another exceedingly important quality. Both of these baked goods are best eaten very soon after baking, as they lose their best qualities within hours. If you are buying bagels in a bag from the supermarket or from the freezer section, you are missing out on the true experience.

babka [bahb-kuh] noun

A Polish coffee-cake-style sweet yeast bread, often baked in a loaf pan or a deep-ring mold. The most common flavors of babka found in commercial bakeries are chocolate and cinnamon-raisin. You will find many different recipes labeled “babka,” but what is consistent is that they are made from a yeast-based dough that has some sort of filling swirled throughout. The filling can be dried fruit, such as raisins, or even preserves, chocolate or nuts. The top can be crowned with streusel, a glaze, confectioners’ sugar or a combination of these.

Bakepedia Tips

In the famous “Dinner Party” episode of Seinfeld, an entire storyline is built around getting the last chocolate babka at the bakery for a hostess gift on the way to a party. The person ahead of Jerry and Elaine gets the last chocolate babka. Faced with having to settle for the cinnamon, Elaine declares, “We’ll be going in with a lesser babka.” The duo is challenged with not being able to buy the chocolate version, which they believed was the only suitable gift for their friends. Jerry exclaims, “What are we going to do now? If we can’t get the babka the whole thing’s useless.” Not every baked good is immortalized with such fervor.

bagatelle [bag-uh-tel] noun

A fancy French torte usually prepared commercially and not at home. Its most striking feature is its exposed sides where you can clearly see its components, layered bottom to top: slice of génoise, thick layer of Diplomat cream or Crème Mousseline (see entries), often at least 2 inches high in which strawberries are nestled. The berries are cut lengthwise and their cut edges face out towards the edge of the cake. Another layer of génoise crowns the cream/berry layer and the whole is topped with a layer of marzipan, often tinted a pale green.

Bakepedia Tips

Recipes for the home baker do exist and it is possible to make a bakery-worthy bagatelle. The key is exactitude; attention to detail. Our recipe is forthcoming.