Parbaking is a
cooking
Cooking, cookery, or culinary arts is the art, science and craft of using heat to Outline of food preparation, prepare food for consumption. Cooking techniques and ingredients vary widely, from grilling food over an open fire to using electric ...
technique in which a
bread
Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made f ...
or
dough
Dough is a thick, malleable, sometimes elastic paste made from grains or from leguminous or chestnut crops. Dough is typically made by mixing flour with a small amount of water or other liquid and sometimes includes yeast or other leavening ag ...
product is partially baked and then rapidly frozen for storage.
The raw dough is baked normally, but halted at about 80% of the normal cooking time, when it is rapidly cooled and frozen. The partial cooking kills the
yeast
Yeasts are eukaryotic, single-celled microorganisms classified as members of the fungus kingdom. The first yeast originated hundreds of millions of years ago, and at least 1,500 species are currently recognized. They are estimated to constitut ...
in the bread mixture, and sets the internal structure of the
protein
Proteins are large biomolecules and macromolecules that comprise one or more long chains of amino acid residues. Proteins perform a vast array of functions within organisms, including catalysing metabolic reactions, DNA replication, respo ...
s and
starch
Starch or amylum is a polymeric carbohydrate consisting of numerous glucose units joined by glycosidic bonds. This polysaccharide is produced by most green plants for energy storage. Worldwide, it is the most common carbohydrate in human diets ...
es (the spongy texture of the bread), so that the inside is sterile and stable, but the loaf has not generated "crust" or other externally desirable qualities that are difficult to preserve once fully cooked.
A parbaked loaf of semi-cooked bread is in a form that is relatively stable against going stale. It can be transported easily, and stored until needed. Parbaked loaves are kept in sealed containers that prevent moisture loss. They are also usually frozen. A parbaked loaf appears as a risen loaf of bread, with much of the firmness of a finished loaf, but without a browned or golden crust (in the case of a normally light colored bread). It does not age or become stale like a fully baked loaf of bread.
When the final bread product is desired, a parbaked loaf is "finished off" by baking it at normal temperatures for an additional 10 to 15 minutes. The exact time must be determined by testing, and varies by the product. The final bread is then often similar to freshly baked bread.
See also
*
Parboiling
Parboiling (or leaching) is the partial or semi boiling of food as the first step in cooking. The word is from the Old French 'parboillir' (to boil thoroughly) but by mistaken association with 'part' it has acquired its current meaning.
The wo ...
*
Parcooking
Parcooking refers to the technique of partially cooking foods so that they can be finished later. This technique allows foods to be prepared ahead of time, and quickly heated prior to serving. Since the second reheat finishes the cooking process, ...
References
External links
"Baking Business" discussion on the economics and techniques of parbaking
''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
''
''Indy Week'', "Shooting at Par"
{{Cooking techniques
Baking
Cooking techniques
Culinary terminology