Why does the dough for a pastry taste sweeter than the pastry itself?

Question

Why does the dough for a pastry taste sweeter than the pastry itself?

In: Chemistry

Answer 1

When any dough is baked, it’s exposed to high heat and undergoes browning and caramelization. This converts sugars to a variety of other compounds that don’t taste as sweet. Consider what happens when you overdo this – the dough burns and becomes extremely bitter. Compared to cake, which goes into the oven dense, wet, and protected, pastry is designed to flake, brown, and essentially get fried in the butter distributed throughout the dough.