What to do to make the cake rise. The biscuit settles after baking

They did not calculate the number of delicacies ordered, and food delivery brought you more than you could eat? Or perhaps custom birthday cakes have already turned out to be unnecessary? Or perhaps you baked pies yourself and now you don’t know how to keep them fresh?

We will try to tell you how to make sure that the pies do not go stale for a long time and at the same time retain their freshness and rich taste.

The time it takes for baked goods to go stale directly depends on the recipe of the dough itself. You might have noticed for yourself that buy baked goods which you can buy in any store will remain soft much longer than homemade pies. It's all about the right recipe and some tricks, which, by the way, you can resort to.

When preparing the dough, add a little vegetable oil to it and then your baked goods will remain soft longer. Potato starch is also added to the dough for the same purposes. Another trick will also help keep the pies airy - let the dough rise several times, as soon as it rises, remember it and let it sit again. This way the dough will be saturated with air and will not quickly become stale after baking.

When kneading pies, add a little sour cream to it, it will soften the baked goods. But you can put fewer eggs: the protein in the egg gives the baked goods rigidity. But the surface of the baked goods can be greased with egg, so it will acquire a beautiful color.

When baking, do not add heat, as this will immediately make the baked goods dry. Also, after your pies are cooked, grease them with a small amount of margarine and cover them with a plastic bag, and place a towel on top until they cool completely. Moreover, it is worth making sure that the bag does not become too wet, then it is better to replace it with a dry one.

If it's hard for you baked goods, buy which is much simpler, we advise you to turn to the bakery chain for delicious fresh and soft pies " Pekarushka", official website which will open before you a large selection of baked goods for every taste.

If you want to store baked goods that you have already prepared or bought, then no matter how trivial it may sound, it is best to preserve its softness in a plastic bag. It will keep baked goods soft for a long time. There is another way to keep the cake fresh - store it in a clay dish, covered with a napkin or towel. This method is much more effective than the package. Firstly, earthenware retains heat perfectly and therefore it will not only prevent your baked goods from going stale, but will also keep them fresh and warm. And covered with a napkin or towel, pies or puff pastries, or pies, will not become damp, as, for example, this can happen with a bag. The towel allows a little air to pass through and absorbs moisture perfectly. Warm baked goods will not have time to cool down and will remain just as tasty.

But, as practice shows , pies delivery Omsk from “Pekarushka” I have never known a case when pies to order, bought in our bakeries, would remain on the tables. No matter how many pies you order, by the end of your holiday, they will all be eaten.

Store your pies in a clay dish, covered with a napkin or towel, and they will not go stale for a long time.

Creating culinary dishes is always magical. First, you send the raw dough into the oven, so that you can then take out a ruddy pie or crispy fluffy buns. But, unfortunately, sometimes baked goods fall off during the cooking process, or immediately after they are taken out of the oven. Why is this happening? What is this connected with? Let's try to figure it out together.

The main reasons for falling baked goods:

During the cooking process, the dough was accidentally shaken, for example, by sharply slamming the door;
early opening of the oven (according to the rules, no earlier than 10-20 minutes);
The oven is not warm enough;
the dough was beaten with a mixer for a long time;
violation of proportions, for example, too much liquid or flour;
After baking there was a sharp temperature change. The dish should remain in the oven for at least 10 minutes after turning off;
there is a large amount of filling, under its weight the pie often settles (it should be remembered that partial collapse is considered normal for cottage cheese baking; in order for the dish to retain its attractive appearance, put a little more cottage cheese in the central part).

How to prevent baked goods from sinking?

Here is some advice on this matter from experienced housewives:

Be sure to sift the flour several times before kneading. The dough becomes more airy.
The yeast propagation liquid must have an optimal temperature (36°C). If it is colder, this will lead to a slow increase in the volume of the dough, and if it is hot, it can generally ruin the yeast.
If you need to beat the egg whites separately for the cake, make sure that the mixing bowl is completely dry. It is very important to carefully separate the whites from the yolks.
Follow cooking instructions strictly. Sometimes it is necessary to adjust the temperature during baking.
The soda must be extinguished in the dough itself, otherwise some of the gases will evaporate and the desired fluffiness will not be achieved.
Before putting the pie in the oven, let it rise for 15-20 minutes and brush it with egg before baking.
Shortcrust pastry pies should be removed from the molds when cooled.
The baked pies are allowed to cool in the same room where they were baked.
To keep the cake soft and fluffy, while it is still hot, cover it with a thick cloth.

Why does the cake fall?

The cake can fall a lot:

Due to a sharp change in temperature, when shaken, they abruptly took it out of the oven and slammed the door, especially if it was slightly underbaked. Therefore, it is better to leave the baked cake in the oven for a while so that it cools a little and take it out of the oven warm.
If it is a sponge cake, then it is better to leave it in the oven until it cools completely. It is better to cut it on the 2nd day - it is much tastier this way, especially if it was prepared with additives (for example, a sponge cake with apples).
The cake should not be baked at a very high temperature, as it will immediately “set” (harden) on top but will remain raw inside. And, naturally, it will fall off.
The ideal temperature that is suitable for baking most biscuits is 180°C, shortbread cakes - 160-180°C (for yeast dough - from 170-175°C to 240°C (and even higher) - depending on the size and type baked product, in addition, the behavior of the yeast dough is influenced by the recipe and cooking mode).

4 common mistakes when baking

Eggs not beaten well enough. Perhaps this is the most common mistake and the main reason for the sudden subsidence of the sponge cake. Biscuit dough is approximately 50% air. Such a large amount of air can only be retained due to protein molecules, which, when whipped, are able to unfold, attach to air bubbles and fold again together with the air, maintaining such a structure for some time. So, if the egg whites are not beaten well enough, the protein molecules are not able to maintain a strong structure for a long time. You will see that when heated, the protein will activate and rise, but its structure will not be strong enough to retain air when the temperature drops sharply. Therefore, after the sponge cake on under-beaten egg whites comes from the oven to room temperature, it immediately settles.

How to determine whether eggs are beaten enough? Well-beaten eggs should increase significantly in volume and turn into a white fluffy foam. You need to beat the eggs for the biscuit for 5-10 minutes, depending on the power of your mixer. If your mixer is powerful enough, beat at the penultimate speed for 5 minutes, and if weaker, then at the highest speed for 10 minutes. Sugar can be added from the very beginning and gradually.

Mixing too intense. After the eggs are well beaten, we need to stir in the flour mixture. If we stir the dough too actively and carelessly, the air will instantly “dissipate.” And the dough will fall before it even gets into the oven. Then in the oven, under the influence of temperature, it will rise a little, but after baking the biscuit will certainly settle. Proper mixing of the dough is 50% of success. Sift the flour or flour mixture with starch into the beaten eggs and, using a slotted spoon (preferred) or a silicone spatula, gently mix with folding movements from the bottom up and from the edges to the center. You don’t need to mix for a long time, but you need to do it quickly so that there are no unmixed parts left. That is, so that the flour is completely mixed into the egg mixture.
Baking temperature too high. If your oven is too hot, even with proper beating and stirring, your cake will collapse after baking. Do not set the temperature to 180º. Allow the protein molecules to firmly attach to the air. The biscuit should be baked at 150º for 35 minutes. But this, of course, is not an absolute indicator. Baking time will directly depend on the size of your sponge cake.
Too long downtime. Another very popular mistake of inexperienced housewives. If you leave already beaten eggs to stand, even for a short time, the air formed during beating will simply “dissipate” and the sponge cake will lose its main property - airiness. Make sure in advance that your oven is preheated at the time of baking, and that the desired pan is greased and covered with parchment. Prepare all the necessary tools and weigh all the ingredients before you even start beating the eggs. The less time the dough rests, the more air you will retain in it.

What if?..

Dough doesn't rise

If the dough does not rise, there can only be two reasons for this: either the kitchen is too cold - the temperature is less than 22 degrees, or you did not heat the milk before mixing it with the yeast. The temperature of the liquid mixed with yeast should be approximately equal to body temperature, that is, 36 degrees.

The finished curd cake settles

Ready-made curd cakes always decrease in volume, especially in the center. Therefore, you need to put a little more dough in the center than on the edges. When the baking time is up, leave the cheesecake in the oven with the door closed until the temperature drops.

Bread falls off

Let's look at the common reasons that lead to the top crust of homemade bread falling off:

Excess water in the dough, causing it to become sticky and “weak.” The result is a sagging (failed) top crust of the finished bread, large pores and an unbaked crumb. Next time when kneading the dough, reduce the amount of water by 10-20 ml. (When kneading, pay attention to the bun - there should be no liquid mass trailing behind the spatula.)
You have added a lot of yeast. Follow the recipe strictly, because both excess and lack of yeast have a bad effect on the final result.
You have used the wrong bread program. For wheat, wheat-rye bread, the “Basic” program (“Standard”, “Basic”) is best suited; for rye-wheat – “Rye bread”; for sweet, rich bread, Easter cake - “Sweet bread” (“Butter”, “Dessert”). The programs listed have different kneading, rising and baking times to suit specific types of bread.
Did you open the lid of the bread machine while the dough was rising or baking?

Baking is rightfully considered the pinnacle of culinary art. It, like any skill, begins with a very simple thing - a test. But, unfortunately, it does not always rise, bake and behave as we plan. Irina Chadeeva shared her secrets with us, knowing which you will never be disappointed, because you will always get delicious pies, cakes and buns.

Physics lesson, or why dough rises and falls

I don’t want to write any theory, but there is an important question that occupies all novice confectioners:

- WHY DIDN’T MY PIE RISE?

It is known from a school physics course that at constant pressure (according to Gay-Lussac's law), the ratio of the volume of a gas to its temperature is unchanged. That is, as the temperature increases, the volume of the gas also increases. As soon as we put the pie in a hot oven, the gas begins to heat up, expand, and the pie begins to rise.

By the way, gas can be completely different, for example:

In biscuit dough, this is air added with a whisk while beating;

In yeast doughs, this is carbon dioxide produced by the yeast;

In dough with baking powder or soda, there is also carbon dioxide, which is released when soda reacts with acid (if it is included in the dough) and when heated;

In wet and buttery doughs, this is water vapor (which, for example, tears the crust on a muffin, creating cracks).

So, to make the cake fluffy, observe the following conditions:

Firstly, the test should have enough gas. For example, eggs for biscuit dough must be beaten well, and the dough itself must be mixed very carefully; puff pastry - roll out and cook in the cold so that the butter does not melt and lose moisture (although the butter contains only about 20% water, it is this that, turning into steam, raises the real puff pastry).

Secondly, you need to ensure good heating so that the gas expands quickly enough. That is why most lush products are baked at high (about 200°C) temperatures.

And thirdly, in parallel with expansion and heating, the structure of the dough must be formed and fixed (baked). If the structure is weak (such as in a batter or dough with little flour), the cake will sag as soon as you take it out of the oven (but in some cases it should!).

HERE ARE SEVERAL RULES THAT WILL HELP YOU CANDLE BAKING OF ANY COMPLEXITY:

1. Beat well and mix the beaten dough very carefully.

2. Bake the products at the temperature specified in the recipe.

3. Do not open the oven wide or for a long time until the dough is baked.

4. Start checking the readiness of the products when the dough has risen evenly, without a dent in the middle - this means that all the air in the dough has warmed up well (this does not apply, for example, to chocolate pies, which ideally should remain slightly underbaked).

5. Check readiness by sticking a splinter into the middle of the pie - there the dough always bakes slower than on the edge.

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Who among us doesn't love baking? This delicacy is eaten by adults and children when they are in a bad mood and during a holiday. The most delicious pies and buns are the ones you make yourself. But sometimes it happens that they don’t “arrive” and turn out raw inside. However, this is a fixable problem. Below we will tell you what can be done if the cake is not baked and why does this happen?

Why isn't the inside of the pie baked in the oven?

Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon when you cut a product and the inside is raw. There are different reasons:

Failure to comply with the proportions specified in the recipe. If you deviated from the recommendations and added more flour or sugar, thus violating the consistency, this incident could occur. It’s not just that a certain number of components were selected;
Another reason could be an incorrectly set heating time or temperature. You cannot put baked goods in a very hot oven when it is already 220 degrees. The optimal option is 160 degrees. If the recipe specifies a higher temperature, it is better to place the pie at 160, then it will gradually heat up along with the oven. The average time is 30 minutes, it can be increased, it all depends on the size of the dish.

Always check for doneness by inserting a wooden object, toothpick or match into the pulp. If the dough sticks, the dish is not ready, we need to hold it some more.

Do you have new household appliances in your home?

A common cause is a new stove or other baking-capable appliance. You haven’t gotten used to it yet and don’t know her “character.” Oddly enough, you will have to get used to the device; sometimes they cook differently and you need to know their whims.

To do this, experiment. Place the pie at the very bottom first and see what happens, then up. On the lower level, the dish is baked better on the outside, and it cooks better on the upper level. You may have to rearrange it several times during one cooking.

And again, it all depends on the capabilities of the technology. For the first time, you can buy a special mold with a hole in the middle. It will help bring the dish to the desired condition.

Individual approach to the test

Each type has its own mode. Don’t believe it if some cookbook says that any baked goods are cooked at 180 - 200 degrees. This is not true, we need individual recommendations for time and temperature. Otherwise, the pie will turn out underbaked or burnt.

To prevent this from happening, learn the rules for working with different types of dough:

To cook well sand mass, the ingredients must be used chilled. The temperature in the oven should be in the range from 220 to 240 degrees;
Biscuit the dough is the most capricious. To prevent it from turning out raw, it must be made fluffy. To do this, separate the whites from the yolks and Fine beat them up. Then straightaway Place the mold in the oven, heated to 200˚. But after 10 minutes the temperature is reduced to 170˚. AND do not open the oven during the cooking process, otherwise the mass will sink and there will be a damp layer inside;
Yeast the main thing is mix well, otherwise the mass will turn out heavy and dense, which means it will not cook completely. Then you need to put it in a warm place so that it rises and becomes fluffy. Set the stove setting to 200˚.

The difference in preparation, as you can see, is significant, so be sure to focus on the type of dough to get delicious baked goods.

How to finish baking a pie if it is not baked?

What to do in such a situation? It’s a shame to throw it away; sometimes you don’t have enough time to make a new one. We'll have to revive this one.

Eat several ways:

First of all, you need to turn down the heat;
Now place a frying pan with water on the bottom of the oven. Grease the surface of the pie with butter and milk and give it more time to steam;
Or cover it with foil and finish baking at a lower temperature;
If you are baking in a miracle oven and the bottom turns out to be raw, move the oven to the stove and finish frying the yummy food;
If you have a capricious technique, the best option would be to buy a mold with a hole, which we wrote about above. Then everything will definitely work out and you won’t have to start all over again.

The most important - follow the recipe technology. If the technique is to blame, you will soon get used to it, but you will have to experiment a little.

What to do when you cook baked goods in a slow cooker and it turns out raw?

Today many people use this device, it is really convenient. I threw in the ingredients, chose a mode and went about my business. But often the dough remains unbaked. Can this be fixed in a slow cooker?

Here's what experienced housewives advise:

You need to put the dish back, switch to the “multi-cook” mode, lower the temperature and add 20 minutes;
Some chefs advise turning the baked goods 20 minutes before the end of the program;
If you are making cupcakes, be sure to add baking powder. It will make it airy and allow it to cook properly.

And there is one more secret. If you did not take the recipe from the special book that came with the multicooker, it may not fit your model. Different models have different power, and this increases or decreases the cooking time. The greater the power of the device, the fewer minutes you need to set. Perhaps the recipe was taken from the Internet and the model is not indicated. Then you'll have to experiment.

It's a shame when your favorite buns and pies turn out raw. So much effort and time is spent on making them. But there is a way out, and if your pie is not baked, you should not get upset and throw away the workpiece. You need to finish it using the tips above.

Video: what to do if the fruit pie is raw inside?

In this video, Alla Kovaleva will tell you how to cook a fruit pie if, after removing it from the oven, it turns out that it is raw:

But bad luck! Often, as a result of considerable effort, the appearance of the sponge cake resembles a burnt and scorched pancake. Isn’t it a shame that after more than one hour of cooking you have to throw away an unsuccessful dessert or hide it away from the eyes of your loved ones or friends? Obviously, the cooking process has some peculiarities or even secrets. If you familiarize yourself with them, then after baking the biscuit will not lose its shape and will not settle.

Why the prepared biscuit settles: possible reasons

The reasons for the settling of the biscuit lie in mistakes made during its preparation:

Egg whites are not beaten well enough. Experts consider this oversight to be the most common mistake and the main reason for the sponge cake to settle. Everything is explained simply. The dough is almost half air. Protein molecules are able to hold it, because when whipped, they combine with oxygen and coagulate with it. They can maintain this structure for a long time. If you add an insufficiently whipped ingredient to the dough, then when heated it will certainly become active and rise. But the protein structure is not strong enough to retain air after a sharp drop in temperature. Therefore, a sponge cake containing under-whipped whites quickly collapses when moved from a hot oven to the kitchen table.
Mixing ingredients too vigorously. Whipped whites and yolks must be mixed very carefully and portionwise with the dry ingredients of the dough (flour, starch, sugar, baking powder). If you do this too vigorously, the air will evaporate from the dough, and it may fall before being placed in the oven.
Incorrect temperature setting. Do not put the dough into an oven that is too hot. Even proper beating and stirring will not save the sponge cake from settling if you bake it at a temperature exceeding 180 degrees. This “inferno” will not allow protein molecules to firmly connect with the air and retain it when moving the biscuit from the oven.
Availability of intervals during the cooking process. You should not be distracted by a phone call or watching some part of the program, while leaving already beaten egg whites, prepared dough or a preheated oven in standby mode. Such pauses can ruin the work already done.
Untimely opening of the oven door. This harmless movement will instantly reduce all efforts to nothing. The temperature difference will do its bad work, and the sponge cake will look more like a pancake rather than a cake.

How to bake a fluffy sponge cake

There are several secrets (or simply rules) for preparing a sponge cake that does not lose its fluffiness after being taken out of the oven:

Pay due attention to preparing the baking dish. This procedure should be done like this:
- grease the bottom of the mold with butter;
- place parchment on top;
- also cover the paper with a thin layer of butter;
- place the form in the refrigerator for 15–20 minutes;
- pour the prepared dough onto the chilled dish and place it in the oven.
To preserve the fluffy shape of the dessert, starch is added to the biscuit dough (a teaspoon per glass of flour). It is mixed with all the other dry ingredients.
It is important to beat the whites to the desired state - a strong and stable foam. To achieve this you need:
- make sure the quality of eggs and use only fresh ones;
- choose larger eggs, since they contain more protein;
- very carefully separate the whites from the yolks;
- Use completely dry and clean mixing bowls. The presence of residues of fat or other products on the walls will result in wasted labor;
- Be sure to cool the whites before beating. The whipping time is from 5 to 10 minutes. This depends on the power of the kitchen assistant (mixer).
It is important to add ready-made proteins to the dough gradually - 3-4 spoons at a time. They mix very carefully with the flour when the mixer is turned off. Use a wooden or silicone spatula.
It is advisable to mix the whites, yolks and dry ingredients not in a circular motion, but from top to bottom. This technique will keep air bubbles inside the dough and prevent the finished biscuit from settling.
Bake the biscuit for the first 15 minutes at 180 degrees, and then reduce to 150.
Under no circumstances should the oven door be opened for 15–20 minutes after loading the pan. It’s even better not to touch it until the process is complete. But this can be done when all the oven’s capabilities have been fully studied and the baking time has been tested in practice.
To prevent metamorphosis from happening to the biscuit at the very last moment, you need to properly check its readiness. You cannot do this with a wooden skewer or toothpick. Through the small hole left by such devices, the air will quickly fly out, and the biscuit will settle instantly. Therefore, you need to take a spatula and lightly press the surface of the biscuit. If it springs, the fragrant product is ready.
It is advisable to place the mold with the finished biscuit on a damp towel for 3-5 minutes - the baked goods will easily separate from the walls and will not be damaged.
There is no time to waste and wait for it to cool completely. To prevent the biscuit from falling off and losing its shape, it must be transferred to a plate hot.
To prepare the biscuit, only dry flour is used. You can check its status like this:
- sprinkle some flour onto your palm;
- make a fist;
- open your palm. If the flour remains in a loose state, it is dry. When lumps appear on your hand, the ingredient is not suitable for making a biscuit.

And you shouldn’t be distracted during the cooking process. It is necessary to organize your work so that the oven is heated on time, and the prepared dough does not lose oxygen while the baking dish is greased and covered with parchment paper.