This webpage has a collection of links to ingredients for baking bread,
muffins, cakes, cookies, etc. I list manufacturers in both Germany and
the USA.
The following links are provided only as a convenience to readers of this webpage.
I receive neither income nor other consideration
as a result of referrals or providing links to any entity.
I make neither representations nor warranties about
the contents of the websites at the following links.
The links to american manufacturers include products that I use in cooking,
as well as to other major manufacturers that I have not used.
deutsche Zutaten für Back
deutsches Mehl und Backhefe
In Germany, there are three common kinds of flour:
Weizenmehl, wheat flour. (Typ 405 = pastry flour, Typ 812 = bread flour, Typ 1050 = bagels)
Dinkelmehl, spelt flour, an ancient kind of wheat now obsolete in the USA
Baking powder is an american invention.
German baking powder from Dr. Oetker in Germany
contains sodium acid pyrophosphate, sodium bicarbonate and cornstarch —
which makes it heat activated (i.e., slow acting). American baking powders
are double acting and are not interchangeable with slow-acting powders.
Cocoa in Europe is processed with alkali, the so-called Dutch process.
USA
Mailing 5 pounds (2.3 kg) per U.S. Post Office "Priority Mail"
from the USA to Germany costs US$ 47 in Sep 2012.
Many american companies will not send to foreign nations.
However, the following websites have information and
recipes that may be helpful to people in Europe.
A. American Flour
The flours most commonly used in american homes are made by either
Gold Medal or
Pillsbury
and are typically bleached to make it look white.
Bread made with this flour is unsatisfying to me,
because it is flavorless and soft.
For that reason, I purchase flour, seeds, and grains from the following:
The most commonly available brand of yeast in grocery stores in the USA is
Fleischmann's. Nearly all yeast sold to home bakers
in the USA is active dry yeast. The cake yeast, which must be refrigerated, is
no longer available in most grocery stores in the USA.
Amoretti natural fruit syrup, no artificial colors, made in California
Monin fruit syrup, some have artificial colors, some have artifical flavors, made in Florida
B. 2. Fruit
dried:
Cherry Bay Orchards:
bottles of concentrated Michigan cherry juice (i.e., cherry syrup),
also dried cherries, dried blueberries, etc. Also sold on amazon.com
Wyman's blueberries: frozen, canned,
or bottled juice
Oregon canned fruit:
blueberries, cherries, grapes, raspberries, etc.
B. 3. Fruit Juice
Fruit juice in the USA in the 1950s through 1990s was normally sold as a
frozen concentrate, from which most of the water had been removed.
The user added 1100 ml water to 340 ml of concentrated juice
to make 100% juice.
In the 1980s and continuing through the mid-1990s, one company in Florida
froze freshly squeezed orange juice, and sold it in bottles
containing 1 liter of frozen juice.
This frozen juice was expensive, but delicious.
This frozen juice is no longer available in the USA.
Since the mid-1990s, "not from concentrate" pasteurized 100% juice
has been sold in grocery stores in the USA. While tastier than orange juice
from concentrate, the pasteurization adversely affects the flavor.
Dole pineapple juice in cans and
frozen concentrate
Trappist Preserves,
30 flavors made by monks. Flavors include cranberry conserve and lemon marmalade.
B. 5. Cocoa in the USA
Most cocoa in the USA is acidic and reacts with sodium bicarbonate to
release CO2 gas, as leavening in cooking.
In contrast, many cocoas in Europe are treated with alkali (so-called
"Dutch process") to neutralize the acid. The alkali cocoas have a milder flavor.
The two types of cocoa are not interchangeable in recipes.
Hershey's is the major american manufacturer of chocolate.
Hershey's common "natural" cocoa is acidic.
Hershey's "special dark"
cocoa is Dutch-process.
Ghirardelli.
Despite the Italian name, this is an american company in San Francisco, California, USA.
Fast-acting baking powder releases bubbles of CO2 in the wet batter
at room temperature,
while slow-acting baking powder releases the gas while the batter is in the hot oven.
Double-acting baking powder combines both fast- and slow-acting.
The traditional american baking powder contained an aluminum salt
(e.g., sodium aluminum sulfate or sodium aluminum phosphate).
Because aluminum is a toxic metal, it is preferable to avoid eating
aluminum compounds.
The following american baking powders are claimed to be free of aluminum:
The traditional american lipid for cooking was butter.
In an attempt to obtain less saturated fat, people switched to
vegetable oil made from soybeans.
All cooking oils contain 14 g fat per 15 ml of oil.
Since the 1970s, health-conscious americans have mostly used either
safflower oil or canola oil.
Both safflower and canola oil have only 1 g/15 ml of saturated fat,
compared with at least
2 g/15 ml of saturated fat for other vegetable oils.
For people trying to maximize their monounsaturated fat, safflower oil is the best
with 11 g/15 ml of monounsaturated fat,
followed by canola oil with 8 or 9 g/15 ml of monounsaturated fat.
Crisco, the major manufacturer of shortening
in the USA, also manufactures oils made from soybeans, corn, peanuts, olives,
and canola.
Hollywood makes safflower
and canola oils. This is the major source for safflower oil for home
cooking in the USA.
Mazola traditionally made corn oil,
but now also makes olive oil and canola oil.
Wesson makes oils from soybeans,
corn, and canola.
F. American Milk
Milk from cows is much more common in the USA than in Germany.
Most milk sold in the USA:
is pasteurized (exposed to brief heat to kill most bacteria) and
will remain useful for at least 14 days when refrigerated at
temperatures no higher than 4 celsius.
is homogenized, to prevent separation of the cream from the milk.
has vitamin D added, to aid in absorption of calcium. Some dairies also
add vitamin A to milk.
Types of milk:
"Whole milk" sold in the USA contains 3.3% fat (8 g/240 ml).
Milk from cows contains between 3.6% and 5.2% fat, and this raw milk
is commonly adjusted to the minimum legal fat content by dairies,
with the cream sold separately.
Low-fat milk is available in 2% and 1% fat.
Fat-free milk (formerly called "skim milk") contains no fat.
Buttermilk is cultured with Streptococcus lactis bacteria.
Buttermilk is a common ingredient in pancakes and biscuits in the USA,
I also use it in making chocolate cake.
When used in cooking, the lactic acid from the bacteria reacts with
sodium bicarbonate to provide leavening.
The lactic acid gives buttermilk a sour taste.
Nearly all milk in the USA comes from a local dairy, there are no national brands.
The following links are to a few large dairies in the USA:
People in the USA still use old units of measurement that are derived from
the British Empire in the 1700s.
Personally, I have used the metric system exclusively since 1970,
partly because of my early career as a scientist and engineer,
and partly because of my belief in harmonization with international standards.
The conversions below are from customary U.S. measurements to metric.
The British (i.e., Imperial) volume units — from teaspoons to quarts —
are different from the american unit with the same name.
A handy list of american to metric conversion factors, rounded to two digits,
is at the U.S. National Institute of
Standards
and Technology.
I remember the old British rhyme: "A pint is a pound, the world around."
This means a pint of beer water has a mass of
approximately one pound avoirdupois.
I remember that a pound avoirdupois is approximately 454 grams,
and a gram of water has a volume of approximately 1 ml,
which makes a pint approximately 454 ml (too small by about 4%).
A cup is a half-pint, and a quart is two pints,
which makes a cup approximately 227 ml and a quart approximately 900 ml.
A better approximation for a cup is 240 ml.
There are 16 fluid ounces in a pint, and 16 ounces avoirdupois in a pound.
baking websites
I prefer websites by scientists who understand why their recipes
produce good results, and who use metric units exclusively.
Steve B., who was educated as an organic chemist, posted a
website about making bread at home, from
June 2008 until November 2010.
Stefanie Herberth in Germany has posted
Hefe und Mehr, a website
about baking bread, with english translation.
Harold McGee writes Curious Cook,
blog created in August 2006.
For recipes, see also the websites by manufacturers of
King Arthur flour and
Hershey's chocolate.
King Arthur has a wealth of information, including its
professional webpages
of formulas and references.
this document is at http://www.rbs0.com/Kueche.htm