function of fat

[janeR]

Please help with my daughters homework!!What is the function of fat in baked products and which types of fat are not suitable for baking?

[secretspirit]

I think the main function of fat e.g. butter in things like cakes is for moisture because otherwise they would be very dry. I think most types of fat are suitable e.g. lard in pastry, although low fat spreads are often no good purely because they are low fat and that is what you need! Sorry that's not very helpful probably but I saw there were no answers and thought I'd get the ball rolling.

[RevShirls]

Agree with secretspirit. Fat helps to blend and bake the ingredients. It contains less water than low-fat substitutes so it is much better for baking. For more information it might be better to do a google search (www.google.com) and key in words such as "role of fat", baking etc

[zgma]

There's a chapter about the role of fats in cooking, in the book How to Read a French Fry by Russ Parsons. I'll try to summarize: -Oil transfers heat really quickly as well as sealing in water, so the food cooks faster and more evenly, and stays moister. -Oils and fats mainly vary in the amount of hydrogen they have in them. Fats more saturated with hydrogen are more solid (animal fats, coconut oil, etc.) They are also worse for you than less saturated fats (they increase your cholesterol). They also make a crisper crust, etc - they perform better as fats in cooking. There's lots more, but these are the main points. The rest is dedicated to specifics about frying.

[zgma]

Forgot to mention - oils and fats are the same, except that oils are usually liquid (from lower hydrogen saturation).

[zgma]

From another angle, re: the function of fat in baked products... I like to bake and eat my baked products. Hence I have become more fat. I suppose that is actually the function of baked products in fat, though, not the other way around.

[woofgang]

Fat in baked products assists with making them durable (hence the higher fat content of "long life" bread)It also can make mixtures more controllable and less crumbly. The high fat content in flakey pastry enables the "leaves" to be created and steam from the water content separates those leaves. Fat assists with browning and crisping of baked goods. Baking with fat also stores the fat without need for refridgeration (you need to keep the butter cool in summer to keep it solid, but don't need to when it is baked into a fruit cake. Fat has fat soluble vitamins in it, so baking with some fat enriches our diet. In days long gone by, adding fat to baking also added much needed calories in a palatable way...most of us don't need this now!!!, but some people who can only ingest small amounts of food eg those in terminal care can be given quite a high fat diet to get enough calories into their body. Hope this helps

[janeR]

Thanks very much guys n girls!I'm sure homework never used to be so tricky!!!!