Since school started back, isn’t it time we, too, got educated as bakers? One of the most common questions I am asked is, “What’s the difference between baking and roasting?” This is not an uncommon question. You can take one ingredient and cook it both ways. Baked potato, anyone? No? How about roasted potatoes?
The Reluctant Gourmet says it best:
“Your recipe for roast loin of pork says to roast in a 350 degree F. oven. Your recipe for yellow butter cake says to bake in a 350 degree F. oven. For either recipe, you open the oven and put your food in. So, is there a difference between baking and roasting?”
Well, if we look at it that with that comparison, no, there really isn’t a difference.
Wikipedia defines roasting as a cooking method that uses dry heat, whether an open flame, oven or other heat source.
Roasting
- Usually causes caramelization on the surface of the food
- Is almost always done in an open pan
- Uses more indirect, diffused heat (as in an oven)
- Suitable for slower cooking of meat in a larger, whole piece
What can be roasted?
- Meats
- Potatoes
- Zucchini
- Pumpkin
- Turnips
- Parsnips
- Cauliflower
- Asparagus
- Squash
- Peppers
- Chestnuts
Also defined by Wikipedia, baking is the technique of prolonged cooking of food by dry heat acting by convection. What is convection, you ask? Convection is the movement of molecules within fluids. It cannot take place in solids, since neither bulk current flows nor significant diffusion can take place in solids.
Baking
- Is normally done in an oven, but can be done in hot ashes or on hot stones (think clam bake)
- Primarily used for the preparation of bread, cakes, pastries, pies, tarts, quiches, cookies, and crackers.
Also, baking can be used for the preparation of
- Baked potatoes
- Baked apples
- Baked beans
- Casseroles
- Pasta dishes (like lasagna)
- Random foods (like the pretzel)
- Smaller cuts of meat
- Meatloaf
- Whole meats that contain stuffing or have a coating (i.e. breadcrumbs)
So, the short answer is that there isn’t a huge difference between what we roast and what we bake.
They both require dry heat, which is their common ground.
Baking needs to be enclosed and tends to involve foods that are in liquid form cooking them to a solid, with a few exceptions. We bake bread and pizza in the oven. (Dough is a solid.)
Roasting can occur in an enclosed oven or over an open flame, but often starts at a higher temperature and then gets lowered. For example, the roast chicken you plan to cook for Sunday’s lunch may start at a temperature of 450 degrees F for 20 minutes and then be lowered to 280 degrees F for 15 minutes per pound.
What will you be baking and roasting this weekend? I’d love to hear from you.
The Educated Baker will be a regularly recurring post here on Examiner every Tuesday. Got a baking question that you are curious about? Drop a line and let us know: sanmateobaking@gmail.com. Better yet, subscribe to this column, and you won’t miss a thing.
