PEK Academy
Practical and technical guidance on doughs, bread, cakes, creams, pastries and baking processes, with emphasis on structure, temperature, moisture, time and reliable results.
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Core guide
A stable layer cake works when every layer can carry the load above it, moist inserts do not create a slippery or overly wet plane, cake layers are level, and the whole cross-section stabilises evenly before slicing.
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In vegan cupcakes, chia mainly binds water and raises batter viscosity; it does not replace every function of egg.
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If egg whites will not foam or stiffen, first check for yolk or grease on the whites, bowl and beaters.
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Bake bread as a sequence of phases rather than at one fixed temperature: preheat thoroughly, use strong initial heat and short early steam for oven spring, then vent moisture and reduce the heat so the crumb…
A gluten-free flour blend is not a single substitute for wheat flour. Reliable structure comes from a balance of fine flour, starch, an appropriate binder, enough water and sufficient hydration time.
If an egg-foam sponge stays flat, first determine when the batter lost air. Thin batter immediately after whipping points to the foam; good volume that disappears after flour or fat points to incorporation.
Do not automatically replace wheat flour with almond flour 1:1. First identify whether you have full-fat finely ground almonds or defatted almond flour made after oil extraction.
At 10 cm edible height, PEK’s volume model gives about 20–25 small event servings from a 20 cm round cake, 30–36 from 24 cm, 35–42 from 26 cm and 41–49 from 28 cm when serving volume is kept constant.
To estimate servings you need cake diameter, finished height and serving volume. Table #206 shows the mathematical yield of 12–30 cm round cakes at 5, 7.5 and 10 cm heights using 125 or 180 cm³ servings.
Dessert structure is the system that holds air, water and fat in a usable form. In sponge cake, the porous crumb sets during baking mainly through starch gelatinization and protein setting; in creams, support…
Bread dough is ready for the next stage when four signals agree: it has visibly increased in volume, shows active gas production, still retains mechanical strength when moved or folded, and the elapsed time…
A stable cream does not have to be hard. First define its job, then identify what actually carries the structure: an aerated foam, an emulsion, starch or egg proteins, a gel, or a fat/chocolate structure.
In gluten-free baking, a single naturally gluten-free flour is rarely a reliable 1:1 replacement for wheat flour.
Fully preheat the waffle iron, mix the batter only until combined, fold in whipped whites gently, weigh the portion, and cool finished waffles on a rack instead of stacking them.
To keep roughly the same batter depth, compare the base areas: round = π × r² and square = side². Recipe factor = new pan area ÷ original pan area.
For two round pans when you want the same approximate batter depth, use: scaling factor = (new diameter ÷ original diameter)². Multiply the main ingredients by that factor.
Cold fermentation is fermentation slowed by refrigeration. Dough can be chilled during bulk fermentation or after shaping; the right point depends on the formula, dough temperature, yeast or starter level, and…