FALSE. In terms of baking ingredients, sugar is considered a tenderizer and moistener. When mixed with flour proteins, sugar prevents them from joining together to make gluten. Sugar is also a substitute for fat in reduced-fat baked goods. Too much sugar in a cake or cookies will cause it them to spread and prevent them from setting.
2. Water always boils at 212 degrees.
FALSE. If you live anywhere outside the United States where Fahrenheit is not the standard unit of measure, water boils at 100o Celsius.
3. Frangipane is made from hazelnuts.
FALSE. Frangipane is made from almonds. NOUGATINE is made from hazelnuts.
4. In baker's percentages, flour is always 100%.
TRUE. Baker's percentages are used to indicate the proportion of various ingredients in a recipe. All ingredients are compared to the amount of flour (or flours) in the recipe.
5. A high-ratio cake refers to the high percentage of flour compared to the percentage of shortening.
FALSE. A high-ratio cake refers to the high percentage of sugar and water compared to the percentage of flour.
6. Buttercream is used to coat classic French petit fours.
FALSE. Poured fondant is used to coat classic French petit fours.
7. All flours produce gluten.
FALSE. Corn, oats, barley, rice and other grains can be ground into flour, but only wheat flour contains enough of the two proteins glutenin and gliadin to make good sheets of gluten. Other flours such as rye produce gluten in significantly smaller amounts. A yeast bread made without enough gluten will not rise as the gluten is necessary to contain the yeast gasses.
8. Genuine couverture chocolate contains cocoa butter and no other fat.
TRUE. Any genuine or true chocolate contains a maximum of six ingredients: cacao, sugar, cocoa butter, milk or milk solids (if milk chocolate), soya lecithin (an emulsifier for smoothness) and vanilla. Genuine chocolate does NOT contain other fats such as other vegetable or animal fats.
9. Sugar stabilizes meringues.
TRUE. Sugar stabilizes meringue by slowing the aggregation of protein molecules and preventing over-whipping. As it dissolves, it coats the proteins and helps prevent them from collapsing.
10. The biscuit method uses liquid fat.
FALSE. In the biscuit method of mixing, the fat is cut into the flour mixture until the mixture has a coarse texture. In the muffin method, the melted fat is added to the liquid ingredients.