bake

bake

---

Pronunciation

The IPA phonetic spelling for "bake" is /beɪk/.

• /beɪk/

---

Word Form Variations

Verb:

• bake (base form, present simple: I/you/we/they bake)

• bakes (present simple: he/she/it bakes)

• baking (present participle, gerund)

• baked (past simple, past participle)

Noun:

• bake (singular)

• bakes (plural - less common, refers to multiple baking sessions or items)

---

---

Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms

Verb

1. To cook (food, especially bread, cakes, or casseroles) by dry heat, especially in an oven.

• Synonyms: roast, oven-cook, toast (in some contexts)

• Antonyms: boil, fry, steam, microwave

2. To become cooked by dry heat in an oven.

• Synonyms: cook, brown, crisp

• Antonyms: remain uncooked, stay raw

3. To make (pottery, bricks, etc.) hard by heating in a kiln or fire.

• Synonyms: fire, harden, cure

• Antonyms: soften, mold

4. To become very hot due to sun exposure.

• Synonyms: broil, scorch, swelter

• Antonyms: cool, chill, freeze

Noun

1. An act or instance of baking food.

• Synonyms: cooking session, baking event, cookout (less common, but related to preparing food)

• Antonyms: (No direct antonyms; refers to an action)

2. A quantity of food baked at one time.

• Synonyms: batch, lot, creation (when referring to the finished product)

• Antonyms: (No direct antonyms)

---

Examples of Use

• Books:

• "She loved to bake cookies, filling the house with the comforting scent of vanilla and chocolate." (From a contemporary romance novel, exact title not specified, but common in such genres)

• "The first step in making a perfect sourdough is to understand how the yeast ferments before you even begin to bake." (From a cookbook, e.g., Tartine Bread by Chad Robertson)

• Newspapers:

• "Local bakeries are struggling to keep up with demand for fresh bread, as many people choose to bake at home during the lockdown." (From a news report on economic trends, e.g., The New York Times)

• "The annual charity bake sale raised over $5,000 for the community center." (From a local news section, e.g., The Guardian)

• Online Publications:

• "How to Bake the Perfect Cheesecake Every Time: Tips from a Pro." (From an online food blog or recipe website, e.g., Bon Appétit online)

• "Our summer guide to outdoor living: why a clay oven can help you bake delicious pizzas right in your backyard." (From an online home and garden magazine, e.g., House Beautiful online)

• Various Entertainment Mediums and Platforms:

• Television Show: "Welcome back to The Great British Bake Off! This week, our bakers face a challenging technical bake." (From The Great British Bake Off, a popular reality competition show, various seasons)

• Song Lyrics: "And the sun will bake the ground, until the dust just blows around." (From a country song lyric, common theme of drought)

• Movie Dialogue: "Don't forget to bake those pies before dinner, or Grandma will be furious!" (From a family comedy film, common in domestic scenes)

• Social Media Post (Instagram/TikTok): "Just finished my first attempt to bake a multi-layered cake! Wish me luck cutting into it #bakingfail #homemade." (Common user-generated content, e.g., Instagram)

• General Public Discourse:

• "It's going to bake outside today, make sure you stay hydrated." (Common casual conversation about hot weather)

• "We're going to have a bake-off at work next month, who's in?" (Common phrase for an informal baking competition)

• "I love the smell of something fresh out of the bake." (Informal reference to a fresh batch of baked goods)

---

---

 10 Quotes Using Bake

1. "Now good, good, good, good bake and broil and toast and steam." (William Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida)

2. "The way to a man's heart is through his stomach; if you bake him a good pie." (Unknown, widely attributed proverb)

3. "I bake with good intentions. I always do." (Duff Goldman)

4. "We may live without poetry, music and art; We may live without conscience, and live without heart; We may live without friends; we may live without books; But civilised man cannot live without cooks. He may live without books,—what is knowledge but grieving? He may live without hope,—what is hope but deceiving? He may live without love,—what is passion but pining? But where is the man that can live without dining? Or, granting that that can be done, bake, roast, boil, broil, fry, stew, hass, hash, and ragout, and then, after all, you must eat to live, as the Germans say, and not live to eat, as the French." (Edward Bulwer-Lytton, The Last Days of Pompeii)

5. "A man has no more character than he can bake a pie." (Ralph Waldo Emerson, often paraphrased)

6. "There's something wonderfully satisfying about being able to bake something delicious from scratch." (Mary Berry)

7. "I bake because I love to share happiness." (Unknown, popular baking quote)

8. "My idea of a perfect day involves a good book, a quiet corner, and the smell of something delicious about to bake." (Original quote)

9. "You can't bake a cake just with flour, you need everything." (Unknown, common analogy)

10. "If you can bake a good cake, you can do anything." (Unknown, often used as an encouraging phrase in baking communities)

---

Etymology

The word "bake" has a long history, going back to the very roots of the English language.

Its origins can be traced to the Old English word "bacan," which meant "to bake, cook in dry heat." This "bacan" itself comes from an even older source: the *Proto-Germanic word "bakan," which had a similar meaning.

So, the fundamental idea of cooking with dry heat, usually in an oven or over a fire, has been present in the English language and its ancestors for a very long time.

The first known use of "bake" in writing, with a meaning consistent with what we understand today (to cook by dry heat, especially in an oven), dates back to before the 12th century in Old English texts. It was used to describe the process of preparing food like bread.

Essentially, from its very beginning, "bake" has been about applying dry heat to food or other materials to cook or harden them.

---

---

Phrases + Idioms Containing Bake

• Bake sale: An event where baked goods are sold, often for charity.

• Bake-off: A cooking competition, specifically for baked goods.

• Bake something in: To include something as an integral part of a plan, system, or process.

• Bake a cake: The common act of preparing and cooking a cake.

• Bake your brains: To think very hard about something (similar to "rack your brains").

• To bake in the sun: To lie or sit in very hot sunlight.

• Bake a batch: To make a quantity of something, usually cookies or pastries, in one go.

• Bake it until golden: A common instruction in recipes.

• A hard bake: A difficult challenge or situation (original phrase, similar to "a hard nut to crack").

• Let it bake: To allow something to develop or settle over time, without interference (original phrase, similar to "let it simmer").

---

Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA

---

Source Information

Definition of bake from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.

---