Baked Goods

The loaf is a form made on the assumption that it will be cut. Its rectangular section gives every slice the same face; there is no difference in size between the first slice and the last. Round cake…

How a slice of cake looks on the plate is usually decided by its section rather than by what is placed on top. A single-colour slice needs fruit, sauce or cream beside it, while a slice with its own …

The muffin is one of the few bakery products sold together with its tin. The paper case is not only a baking vessel but the packaging and the handle; the product goes into the display exactly as it l…

The classic problem with fruit cakes is weight. Pieces of fruit are denser than the batter, and as the batter loosens in the oven they migrate downward; by the end of baking most of the fruit has gat…

In a tahini bun the tahini is not mixed into the dough; it is spread as a thin layer over the rolled-out dough, which is then rolled up with it. During rolling the tahini folds over itself layer by l…

Adding pizza to a menu is harder than it looks. A dough bench, sauce preparation, a topping fridge, slicing and portion control all mean separate investment and separate staff work. That is why small…

What defines a Black Sea pide is its edges. The two long sides of the dough are folded inward and raised, leaving a boat-shaped hollow in the middle where the filling goes. The form is functional, no…

On an open pide the filling sits on top and service requires a plate, knife and fork; it cannot be eaten without sitting down. Country pide is a closed form — the dough is folded over the filling and…

A canteen or campus menu cannot work at a single price point. A student's daily spend is limited and there must always be a more affordable option; otherwise sales stay confined to one budget group. …

On a Turkish table set for guests the tea plate is usually built around sweet things; the word cookie brings sugar to mind. Yet at that same table there is always a group who do not want something sw…

Water is a carefully managed component in cookie dough. Too much develops gluten and the product hardens; too little produces a texture that falls apart after baking and reads dry in the mouth. The r…

The appeal of a cookie tray comes from variety. A tray of hundreds of identical shapes looks industrial, while one holding different forms reads as hand-made and invites the customer to choose. The c…