<P> Baking is a method of cooking food that uses prolonged dry heat, normally in an oven, but also in hot ashes, or on hot stones . The most common baked item is bread but many other types of foods are baked . Heat is gradually transferred "from the surface of cakes, cookies, and breads to their centre . As heat travels through it transforms batters and doughs into baked goods with a firm dry crust and a softer centre". Baking can be combined with grilling to produce a hybrid barbecue variant by using both methods simultaneously, or one after the other . Baking is related to barbecuing because the concept of the masonry oven is similar to that of a smoke pit . </P> <P> Because of historical social and familial roles, baking has traditionally been performed at home by women for domestic consumption and by men in bakeries and restaurants for local consumption . When production was industrialized, baking was automated by machines in large factories . The art of baking remains a fundamental skill and is important for nutrition, as baked goods, especially breads, are a common and important food, both from an economic and cultural point of view . A person who prepares baked goods as a profession is called a baker . </P>

What method of cookery is used to cook cakes and scones