baking

The word “baking” means the activity of cooking food, especially bread, cakes, or pastries, using dry heat in an oven. In plain terms, making food in an oven, or (informally) describing very hot weather.

“Baking” is pronounced BAY-kihng (/ˈbeɪkɪŋ(ɡ)/ in IPA).

Here is “baking” used in a sentence: “Baking is her favourite way to relax after a stressful week.”

Depending on how it is used, “baking” can be a noun and an adjective.

The word “baking” comes from Middle English. From Middle English bakynge, formed from bake plus the suffix -ing.

“Baking” is a fairly common word in modern English.

“Baking” has 2 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: the activity of cooking food, especially bread, cakes, or pastries, using dry heat in an oven.

'Cooking' is the general term for preparing food with heat by any method. 'Baking' is one specific method, using the dry heat of an oven, and is used especially for breads, cakes, and pastries.

Both use the dry heat of an oven. 'Roasting' typically means cooking meats or vegetables at higher temperatures to brown them, while 'baking' is generally used for doughs, batters, and dishes cooked at gentler temperatures.

Both are leavening agents that help baked goods rise. Baking soda is pure sodium bicarbonate and needs an acidic ingredient to activate it, while baking powder already contains baking soda plus a dry acid, so it activates with just moisture and heat.