# Baking

By [john0w3](https://paragraph.com/@john0w3) · 2021-10-29

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**Baking** is a method of preparing food that uses dry heat, typically in an [oven](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oven), but can also be done in hot [ashes](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash), or on hot [stones](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_\(geology\)). The most common baked item is [bread](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bread) but many other types of foods are baked.[\[1\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baking#cite_note-1) Heat is gradually transferred "from the surface of cakes, cookies, and breads to their center. As heat travels through, it transforms batters and doughs into baked goods and more with a firm dry crust and a softer center".[\[2\]](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baking#cite_note-Figoni-2) Baking can be combined with [grilling](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grilling) to produce a hybrid [barbecue](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbecue) variant by using both methods simultaneously, or one after the other. Baking is related to barbecuing because the concept of the [masonry oven](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masonry_oven) is similar to that of a [smoke pit](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smoking_\(cooking\)).

Because of historical social and familial roles, baking has traditionally been performed at home by women for day-to-day meals and by men in bakeries and restaurants for local consumption. When production was industrialized, baking was automated by machines in large factories. The [art](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_\(skill\)) of baking remains a fundamental skill and is important for nutrition, as baked goods, especially breads, are a common and important food, both from an economic and cultural point of view. A person who prepares baked goods as a profession is called a [baker](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baker). On a related note, a pastry chef is someone who is trained in the art of making pastries, desserts, bread and other baked goods.

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*Originally published on [john0w3](https://paragraph.com/@john0w3/baking)*