Is there a difference between "batter" and "dough"?
Accordin to the Oxford English Dictionary, batter means "a mixture of flour, egg, and milk or water, used for making pancakes or coating food before frying." And dough is "a thick mixture of flour and liquid, for baking into bread or pastry". So I understand that a batter is probably more liquid than a dough... But then, a colleague said "batter" when talking about a cake preparation.
So, do natives make a clear distinction between those two words?
Thanks
Penn ar Bed
The end of the land
Le commencement d'un monde
My understanding is as your descriptions though I admit that I didn't consider batter as somethig for making pancakes. However, it makes sense when you think about it, as it's the same type of cooking process, i.e. placing a liquid into hot oil to solidify it.
Concerning "batter" for a cake preparation, the real issue I suppose is the cooking process. What sort of cake is it? How do you cook it?
Of course, it could also be a regional variation ...
I don't know about the cake. Actually my French colleague wanted to translate "pâte". So she asked a friend, an English teacher from Burma. She explained the process : "you mix flour, eggs, sugar, etc... in order to bake a cake. How is it called?" And the English teacher answered "batter". Today my colleage asked me the same question, and I answered "dough". That's why I'm trying to figure it out now
Penn ar Bed
The end of the land
Le commencement d'un monde
Maïwenn,
Yes, we do make a distinction and batter is more more liquid than dough. Batter can be poured, while dough is thick enough to shape and knead. If you have a cake made with dough, it would probably be called a pastry or bread here, even if it is very sweet.
-Katya
Maïwenn wrote:Is there a difference between "batter" and "dough"?
Accordin to the Oxford English Dictionary, batter means "a mixture of flour, egg, and milk or water, used for making pancakes or coating food before frying." And dough is "a thick mixture of flour and liquid, for baking into bread or pastry". So I understand that a batter is probably more liquid than a dough... But then, a colleague said "batter" when talking about a cake preparation.
So, do natives make a clear distinction between those two words?
Thanks
I would say that batter is something that can be whipped together while dough needs kneading or at least forming, so some cakes are made from cakedough too, but I suppose that the difference is a floating one :-)
You were right and Katya nailed it. Batter is mixed and poured while dough is worked by hand. That is always the distinction for anything made using one of these processes.
Actually my French colleague wanted to translate "pâte". So she asked a friend, an English teacher from Burma. She explained the process : "you mix flour, eggs, sugar, etc... in order to bake a cake. How is it called?" And the English teacher answered "batter". Today my colleage asked me the same question, and I answered "dough". That's why I'm trying to figure it out now 
