In baking, you will find that there are many different kinds of mixtures that can be used to create amazing cakes, cookies, pies, and other pastries. There are batters and there are doughs. This post, we will discuss the many kinds of doughs used in baking.
You may not be aware of this but apart from the many different kinds of dough, there are also sub-types for each dough type. We will go into those sub types in the coming weeks. First, let us talk about the basic types that we encounter regularly in baking.
Bread Dough – this is the dough that you use to bake different kinds of bread with. Doughs that are used to create breads with use yeast as a leavening agent. Bread doughs need to have quite a lot of gluten in them to keep them from being too soft. These also use what is called a “hard type” of flour, which is bread flour, although some people tend to use all-purpose flour in bread making to create softer breads. Heartier breads often use wheat flour and other similar flour types, like multi-grain and rye.
Pastry Dough – this kind of dough is used to create flaky and soft baked goodies, like pies, tarts, and the like. Gluten production in the dough used for pastries should be kept at a minimum, so it is advised that there be as little kneading and working of the dough as possible before baking. Flour used in the creation of pastry dough can range from cake flour to all-purpose flour, with the leavening agents being baking soda and baking powder, and with butter or shortening often added to the mix.
Biscuit Dough – somewhat similar in texture to pastry dough, but a bit more substantial and less flaky, biscuit dough uses almost the same kinds of ingredients as pastry dough. The difference between the two is the amount of gluten produced in each, with biscuit dough being worked or kneaded to produce more gluten to get the right kind of texture for the finished product.
Cookie Dough – this is usually softer than biscuit dough, and comes in a few different forms. Some of these are rolled out for the creation of shaped cookies while a few of these are dropped onto cookie sheets and are called drop cookies. These are made in a similar manner as cakes, with butter and sugar being creamed in a bowl before dry ingredients are added. With cookie dough however, you add more flour to get the doughy consistency that you need as compared with cakes that are more fluid and batter-like in consistency.
