FGI – your essential baking ingredients supplier

As a baker, you will always start for essential baking ingredients that you need in the kitchen. Apart from flour, leaveners, sugar, salt, fats and spices; here are more essential ingredients to complete your baked products:

DAIRY

• Butter – to have richer flavor of cakes, pastries and cookies; butter (unsalted, unless specified in your recipe as salted) is highly recommended. The high fat content of butter gives the baked goods quality in texture. You will use butter in frostings and icings as well for rich texture and flavors that makes your baking perfectly appealing.
• Milk – whole milk gives a richer flavor than low-fat milk. It contributes to the moisture and flavor of your bakes and it gives quality and adds nutrition to your baked products. The protein content, fat, sugar and overall creaminess of whole milk is ideal for creating delicious baked goods and treats. Whole milk is generally 3.25% milk fat (or fat in milk).
• For the next level of Dairy Products – if you want to make pancakes and biscuits; buttermilk reacts with leaveners to make it fluffier and tender.

FLAVORINGS  

• Flavors are used for all baking applications such as for cookies, cakes, brownies, frostings and others. Vanilla, being the most preferred flavor; it gives baked goods a warm, spicy aroma and flavor but it does not affect the structure of baked goods.
• Almond, Lemon, Mint , Rum, Brandy Flavoring and other Flavors – there are pure extracts and flavorings that you can find in any parts of the world that you can use to explore your baked products. Flavoring oils and extracts can be easily substituted for one another in most recipes. Bakers can always add to their collections any flavorings and extracts to expand their baking horizons.

OTHER BAKING ADD-INS

• Chocolates in its many forms. It can be unsweetened cocoa powder, bar chocolate and chocolate chips that the bakers should always have on hand for their cakes, cookies, frostings and glazes.

          Here are some information for bakers; which chocolates they can use:

          Baking Chocolate. Also called bitter or unsweetened chocolate. This solid chocolate liquor contains 50-58%                            cocoa butter and no added sugar. Best for baking and cooking.

          Bittersweet Chocolate. Darkest of all eating chocolates. Has the strongest chocolate flavor and contains at                              least 35% chocolate liquor. Some premium brands contain 70% or more cocoa butter and cocoa solids. Best                              for baking, cooking and eating.

          Semisweet. Often used in place of bittersweet, but has more added sugar. Contains at least 35% chocolate                              liquor. Best for baking, cooking and eating.

          Sweet Chocolate. Has more added sugar than semisweet, and contains at least 15% chocolate liquor. Best                              for baking, cooking and eating.

          White Chocolate. Not really a “true” chocolate because it does not contain chocolate solids. Contains at least                            20% cocoa butter. Foodie Fact: When the cocoa butter is replaced with other, less expensive fats, it can no                              longer be labeled as white chocolate; it’s sold as almond bark or confectioners’ coating. Best for baking,                                      cooking and eating.

          Cocoa Powder. Can be sweet or bitter. Made by drying and grinding chocolate liquor and removing most of                              the cocoa butter, but must still retain 10-22% cocoa butter. Best for baking and drinking.

          Couverture. Favored by candy-making pros. Contains at least 32% cocoa butter, which makes it very glossy                            and allows it to flow more easily when it’s melted and tempered. Comes in bars or coins called pistoles. Best                              for baking and melting.

          Cocoa Nibs. Made by roasting and breaking up cocoa beans. Adds crunch to cookies and dessert garnishes.                            Best for baking.

          Milk Chocolate. Contains at least 10% chocolate liquor and at least 12% milk solids to give it a sweet and                                creamy taste. Best for eating.

• Fresh Fruits, Frozen Fruits and Dried Fruits such as pineapple, strawberry, mango, raisins, cranberries and more for cakes, cookies, breads and pies.
• Jams, Jellies and Fruit Preserves for cakes and cookies.
• Food Flavors and Coloring to make the baked goods colorful, more attractive and tastier.
• Matcha Powder to add green tea goodness for baked products.
• Coconut, shredded or flaked for other add-ins.

To see our range of ingredients suitable for baking, please click here.

 

Resources:

https://www.allrecipes.com/article/essential-baking-ingredients/

https://www.seriouseats.com/2018/10/basic-essential-baking-ingredients.html