Welcome back to “the science of baking” series, I’m your host Joanna and today we’re talkin FATS… hmm I think I’ve been watching too many 70’s game shows. Anyway..

Let’s get to it!

FATS

So, what is a baking fat anyway?? I’m glad you asked! There are two forms of baking fats: (1) in the form of SOLIDS (2) in the form of LIQUIDS.

(1) SOLID FATS: things like butter or shortening (sold fats, of course can be liquefied, but when cooled they remain in the solid form therefore being referred to as solid fats)

(2) LIQUID FATS: vegetable oil or olive oil

Before we get into the different types of fats, let talk about the magical powers fat has.

FAT = MAGIC

Why is it magic you ask?!?

Well, the fat is what gives your scrumptious baked yummyness all its flavor and moisture. Here’s some science: in baking, butter coats the flour and creates a barrier between the water and proteins, slowing down the gluten process and shortens the gluten strands which creates a more tender baked good. In addition, fat acts as a leavening agent. When you whip the fat and sugar together, air enters the mixture which lifts and leavens the baked good.

Solid Fats

There are three major types of solid fats: butter, vegetable shortening, and lard. We will also touch on coconut oil because of it’s gaining popularity.

BUTTER

A baking standard. Some consider it the queen of baking fats. Butter adds tenderness and flavor in many ways: it helps create the fluffiness of cakes and cookies and the flakiness of crusts and pastries.

How does it do this you ask??

Let’s start by understanding what butter is exactly. Butter is created by churning cream, the process of separating the solid butterfat from the buttermilk. During this process, the cream naturally sours as the bacteria converts milk sugars into lactic acid. Do you ever see butter in the store labeled sweet cream butter? This just means the butter was churned from cream that has been heated to kill bacteria (AKA pasteurized). Sweet cream butter has a shelf life of a few months while raw cream butter only lasts about ten days.

The majority of butter is from a cow, but butter can also come from goats, sheep, or even buffalo! All categories of butter can come in salted or unsalted. Salt in butter not only adds flavor, but also acts as a preservative. Another important factor to butter is the amount of butterfat. In the U.S., the amount of butter fat is around 81%. This percentage will effect the amount of texture and flavor in your end product. The higher the percentage, the less rise you will get for your cakes and less flaky and fluffiness for your pastries.

Okay, okay enough of the facts already! But let me hit you with one more type of butter, then we’ll move on- swear.

Clarified butter: almost all the water and milk fats are removed, leaving almost pure butterfat. Taking this process a tad bit further will get ghee. Continue cooking the butter even further and it begins to brown; this creates a more nutty flavor. Browned butter can be used in recipes, but remember that this butter has lost a lot of moisture that needs to be replaced with milk or water.

VEGETABLE SHORTENING

Think Crisco.

Shortening is pure 100% FAT, containing no water in it, and typically made from palm, cottonseed, or soybean oil. The fat factor is going to create even more tenderness in your end product. The caramelizing of butter doesn’t occur either, making things like a chocolate chip cookie softer.

This type of fat works well in pie crusts because shortening helps prevent shrinkage due to the higher melting temperature. This allows for the baked good to set before the fats are released. So, your pie won’t shrink as much, and your cookies will spread less.

Vegetable shortening is fairly neutral in flavor. Because of this, shortening is not suggested for use in cakes or cookies. Stick to short dough (used for tarts) or pie crusts.

LARD

What is lard? Simple: fat from a pig.

Lard was just as popular as butter until vegetable shortening came into view in the Mid 20th Century. Like shortening, it also contains 100% fat. By the end of the 20th century, lard was considered to be less healthy than vegetable oils because of the high content of saturated fatty acids and cholesterol.

Leaf lard is more typical in baking because it doesn’t have a porky flavor. Similar to vegetable shortening, leaf lard has a higher melting point and creates more tender products, working very well in crusts.

COCONUT OIL

Coconut oil is growing in popularity all over the cooking and baking world. This solid fat has an extremely low melting temperature. You could take coconut oil, rub it between your hands and it would become a liquid. This makes it somewhere in between the solid and liquid category, but because it solidifies we’re listing it under a solid fat.

Fun facts about baking with Coconut oil: It can be substituted 1:1 with other fats. At it’s solid form, it can be substituted for butter. When baking with solid coconut oil, all other ingredients should be at room temperature. It can also be used to grease pans. Depending on the type of coconut oil, you can have varying strengths of coconut flavor.

Liquid Fats

These are your oils. For baking, you want to stick with the neutral flavored oils like canola oil or vegetable oil. Extra virgin olive oil has a very distinct flavor and is not typically recommended unless it is called for in a recipe.

Vegetable oils act more as flavor carriers and do not create or hold air when creamed, like butter and sugar do. Because liquid fats don’t become solids, they do not help in the leavening process.

The main function of the 100% fat is to add tenderness and richness, differently than solid fats. When cooled, liquid fats do not solidify creating an end product that is much more tender.

I hope that helped answer some of your questions regarding baking fats! Feel free to leave comments or questions below- I’d love to hear from you!

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