Questions for Review

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top 1000How Baking Works
How Baking Works

By Paula Figoni

Published 2003

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  1. What are the three main ways that heat is transferred?
  2. How far below the surface does radiated heat penetrate into foods?
  3. Why is radiation considered a form of indirect heat?
  4. What is the primary means of heat transfer in conventional ovens?
  5. How far below the surface does radiated microwave energy typically penetrate into foods?
  6. Which bake faster and why: shiny new aluminum sheet pans or dark, dull used ones?
  7. Explain how heat conduction works.
  8. Which—aluminum or stainless steel—is a better conductor of heat?
  9. Which should be used when cooking pastry cream: a stainless steel or an aluminum pot? Why?
  10. What are the two main features of cookware that affect how quickly heat is conducted through it?
  11. Using the example of two teams passing a ball, explain why heat conduction is slower than radiation.
  12. Which—aluminum or air—is a better conductor of heat?
  13. What is the definition of a heat insulator? Provide two examples of good insulators.
  14. Why might cookies be baked on a double layer of sheet pans?
  15. What is the main way that heat energy travels to the interior of solid food? In what two ways does it travel to the interior of a liquid?
  16. Provide an example of when it is desirable to slow down heat transfer. Explain one way (besides reducing the heat!) that it can be slowed.
  17. What is the main difference between a convection oven and a conventional one?
  18. Name an oven that increases convection currents by moving product through the air (rather than by moving the air around the product).
  19. Which requires lower baking temperatures and shorter bake times: a conventional or a convection oven? Explain why.
  20. Explain how induction cooking works. What are its advantages over cooking with gas or electric coils?