Brioche requires molds to achieve its classic form.
In the culinary arts, the discipline of baking relies on accuracy, timing and precision. Baking recipes are more than sets of instructions -- they denote complex chemical reactions that use time and temperature variables to create a compound product. The equipment used by bakers and pastry chefs reflects this; these professionals commonly use ovens with precise humidity control, scales accurate to within 1/100 of a gram and bakeware designed to make only specific, regional items. Add this to my Recipe Box.
Ovens
Professional kitchens and bakeries use combi-ovens or convection ovens. Combi-ovens have three operating modes: steam, convection and combination. Convection mode uses dry, fan-circulated air, which promotes faster and more-uniform baking than conventional ovens. Steam mode essentially turns the oven into a large steamer, which has few applications in baking. However, combination mode allows the baker to maintain an oven humidity between zero and 100 percent -- useful when baking items such as croissants. Also, the baker can inject a controlled portion of steam into the oven at any time using a keypad. The home baker can replicate this moist-heat environment, albeit less accurately, by placing a container of water in the oven with her baked goods and replenishing as necessary.
Mixers
Stationary mixers, also referred to as stand mixers, save time and labor for home and professional chefs alike. Stand mixers for home use typically have a four- to five-quart capacity, whereas commercial mixers have capacities of 80 quarts and above, depending on the type of food-service operation. The versatility of stand mixers lies in their wide array of attachments, which include wire whisks, dough arms and paddle-style beaters. Other attachments include meat grinders, pasta makers and juicers.
Bakeware
Form usually follows function with bakeware. Unlike savory cooking, where single pieces of cookware facilitate several preparations, numerous bakeware items have specialty applications, such as brioche pans for French brioche, Madeleine molds for the small, shell-shaped French cakes and Kugelhopf forms for German marble cakes. Standard bakeware items include muffin tins, sheet pans, spring-form pans, baking stones and cake pans.
Scales
Successful baking relies on accurate ingredient measurements. For instance, one gram of baking soda over what an American biscuit recipe prescribes will cause the biscuits to flake and fall apart, or expand to as much as three times their intended size. Traditional and purist bakers rely on triple-beam scales -- they provide accuracy and work on a strictly mechanical-basis. However, triple-beam scales tend to prove cumbersome and slow in professional kitchens, and bulky and obtrusive in home kitchens. An alternative to the triple-beam scale is the digital scale. Digital scales are usually smaller and less-intrusive than triple-beam scales. They also offer readouts in either metric or avoirdupois units, with accuracy to within 0.001 grams or ounces.
Tags: triple-beam scales, bakeware items, baking relies, stand mixers