On Food and Cooking

We call a mixture of flour and water either
a dough or a batter, depending on the relative
proportions of the two major ingredients.
Generally, doughs contain more flour than
water and are stiff enough to be manipulated
by hand. All the water is bound to the gluten
proteins and to the surfaces of the starch
granules, which are embedded in the
semisolid gluten-water matrix. Batters, on the
other hand, contain more water than flour and
are loose enough to pour. Much of the water is
free liquid, and both gluten proteins and
starch granules are dispersed in it.
The structure of a dough or batter is
temporary. When it’s cooked, the starch
granules absorb water, swell, and create a
permanent solid structure from the original,
semisolid or liquid one. In the case of breads
and cakes, that solid structure is a sponge-like
network of starch and protein filled with
millions of tiny air pockets. Bakers use the
term crumb for this network, which