Bakery and Confectionary: Faults and remedies (2024)

Faults and remedies

• Dough is too sticky to roll if it has too little flour.Cover and chill dough.
• Dough becomes too dry if it contains too much flour. Dribble in water until the dough reaches desired consistency.
• Cookies crumble and become too dry and hardif the dough is excessively mixed. Stop mixing when the dough is just mixed. Do not overdo it.
• Excessive liquids and salt make cookies hard. Use suitable measuring cup or spoons for measuring ingredients and follow accurately. Level the dry ingredients with a flat edged knife or scale.
• Too less fat results in hard cookies. Over baking also makes cookies hard
• Over mixing of the dough, over baking, too much water or a lack of fat or excess of dry fruits/coconut. Excessive salt can also cause your cookies to be hard.
• When dry fruits are to be used, soak them in little water for few minutes to prevent moisture pick up from the formula.
• Cookies stick to baking pans if they are still hot from the oven. Let the cookies cool on the pans for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks.
• Use cookie or parchment paper to line pans. Light grease application can also be followed but cookies spread more on greased sheets and therefore some people prefer parchment paper.
• Cookies break if removed still when hot. Allow the cookies to cool on the pans for a few minutes before transferring to wire racks.
• Cookies bake unevenly if dough is not rolled or portioned to a consistent thickness or size.
• Cookie dispensers are useful in maintaining the size of cookies besides giving attractive shapes.
• Cookies appear oily if not enough flour or too much fat is used.Do not substitute shortening, or margarine for vegetable oil.
• Cookies become too flat, spread and thin out while baking: Use shortening instead of butter. Make smaller cookies, they’ll puff better.
• Chill dough, form cookies and then chill on pans before baking.
• Bake cookies a few minutes longer than suggested and immediately remove them to wire racks to cool to make crispier cookies. Use more white sugar than brown to give more crispiness. Use a little bit more liquid in the batter, that will help cookies to spread more, and thus be thinner and crispier.