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Baking
Baking
is a method of preparing food that uses dry heat, typically in an oven,
but can also be done in hot ashes, or on hot stones. The most common
baked item is bread, but many other types of foods can be baked.[1] Heat
is gradually transferred "from the surface of cakes, cookies, and pieces
of bread to their center, typically conducted at elevated temperatures
surpassing 300°F. Dry heat cooking imparts a distinctive richness to
foods through the processes of caramelization and surface browning. As
heat travels through, it transforms batters and doughs into baked goods
and more with a firm dry crust and a softer center.[2] Baking can be
combined with grilling to produce a hybrid barbecue variant by using
both methods simultaneously, or one after the other. Baking is related
to barbecuing because the concept of the masonry oven is similar to that
of a smoke pit. Baking has traditionally been performed at home for
day-to-day meals and in bakeries and restaurants for local consumption.
When production was industrialized, baking was automated by machines in
large factories. The art of baking remains a fundamental skill and is
important for nutrition, as baked goods, especially bread, are a common
and important food, both from an economic and cultural point of view. A
person who prepares baked goods as a profession is called a baker.
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