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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Separate three conditions first: overly fatty dough leaves an oily film and tears short; overly wet dough flows without useful tension; under-rested dough noticeably firms after 15–20 minutes.
A reliable gluten-free cake is not made by swapping wheat flour for one gluten-free flour. Balance flour and starch with liquid, protein or eggs, and a small amount of binder when needed.
Starch builds the main baked crumb framework as it heats, but raw starch alone retains gas poorly. More fibre or binder usually requires more liquid; do not change either in isolation.
The biggest mistake is treating yeast quantity separately from time and temperature.
Too little liquid, incomplete hydration, or too much buckwheat flour. Add water 2–3 g at a time, bring the dough together and rest at least 10 minutes.
Vegan baking is most reliable when you replace an ingredient's function rather than the ingredient alone.
A sourdough starter is ready for a first loaf when it repeatedly rises predictably after feeding and roughly doubles within several hours in a warm environment; for a common beginner routine, about 6–8 hours is…
Bulk fermentation builds much of the gas and internal structure; final proof continues fermentation after shaping. For an open crumb, do not judge either stage by the clock or one fixed rise percentage alone.
For a lean wheat loaf, start in a thoroughly preheated oven at about 230–250°C (446–482°F), then reduce to roughly 200–220°C (392–428°F) after the initial oven spring and vent or remove steam.
To reduce foam, keep an immersion blender head below the surface or limit the vortex in a countertop blender.
For evenly crisp vegan cookies, limit excess water, use a fat that suits the recipe, weigh portions, and shape them to the same thickness.
Kneading is only one route to gluten development. Short-fermented doughs often need more strength built during mixing, while long-fermented doughs continue developing through rest and folds.
Steam at the start of the bake keeps the dough surface moist and flexible, giving the loaf more room to expand, helping scores open, and preventing the crust from limiting oven spring too early.
Control crust color in phases: steam keeps the surface flexible early in the bake; after oven spring, bread needs a drier finishing phase.