fraction of the bubbles, and to avoid
developing gluten. (For folding as a mixing
technique, see p. 112.) Mixing the dry flour
and fat together also prevents the gluten
proteins from bonding strongly to each other.
Preleavened shortening and electric mixers
have helped to turn cake making into a far less
onerous task than it once was, but the mixing
stage can still take 15 minutes or more.
Bakers often modify or combine elements
of these techniques. In the “pastry-blend”
method, the flour, sometimes with the sugar,
is creamed with the fat, then the liquid
ingredients are added and mixed long enough
to augment the initial aeration.
Another alternative is a combination of the
fat and egg aerations: some of the sugar is
used to aerate the fat, some the eggs, and the
two foams are then combined.
Baking Cakes Cake baking can be divided
into three stages: expansion, setting, and