Baking

Baking is a method of prolonged cooking of food using dry heat. Food is usually cooked in an oven. Foods normally cooked by baking are pies, cakes, pastries, quiches, and cookies. It is also used for other foods such as baked potatoes and baked apples, and some main dishes such as lasagna.

Most ovens come with two types of heating elements: one for baking and one for broiling.

You do not add fat to foods that you bake so it is a healthier option than deep frying.

Baking changes the structure of the starches in food so that it browns on the outside and seals much of the moisture of the food inside. The browner the food is, the harder the outside of it. The browning of the outside of baked goods can be softened by putting a dish of water in the oven with them when baking.