Basic Pastry Making-Sugar

Seems like sugar is such a bad word these days. And honestly, I will not be the one to tell you that sugar is good for you. In the quantities we consume sugar, it is not good for you. Sugar does, however, have some amazing properties that make it vital in the bakeshop. Just remember--everything in moderation.

Sugar does a number of things in a baked good. It inhibits gluten development, so it adds tenderness. It is hygroscopic (it draws water to it), so it helps keep things moist and fresh. Since sugar caramelizes at 330 degrees, F, it aids in browning. Sugar also makes bakery goodies taste sweet which makes us want to eat them. (Moderation, people).

I will now tell you a Little Story: a friend of mine decided to see what would happen if she tried to make coffee cake without the sugar. Friends, she ended up with a pale, crumbly biscuit which she promptly fed to the birds.

So, what did she learn? Her normally moist and springy cake was pale and hard. The cinnamon flavor wasn't as pronounced because it had no sugar to amplify it. And, here was the biggest surprise--the thing barely rose, even with baking powder.

Here's the "why" on the no-rising: Sugar is one of the two main components in the creaming method, the other being fat. When you cream ingredients, the crystalline structure of the sugar makes thousands of small tears in the cool fat. The tears form little air pockets in the fat. The more you cream (as long as the fat remains cool) the more bubbles you get. More bubbles=more air to expand when heated in the oven (especially when added to the carbon dioxide emitted by the baking powder). More air/carbon dioxide=better rise. No sugar for the creaming step=no tears=no air pocket=dense final product. Don't let this happen to you.

Incidentally, this is why it's hard to find a good substitute for sugar in baking and still have a decent rise.

Source: Notes & picture from Google