What does “unterheben” mean in German?

In German baking, “unterheben” means to fold something in — usually flour or beaten egg whites — rather than stir it. You lift the batter gently over the addition, again and again, so the air you worked in stays trapped. “Wir heben dann das Mehl so in 2 bis 3 Portionen vorsichtig unter” — in 2 or 3 batches, carefully. Stir too hard and the sponge falls flat.

“Wir heben dann das Mehl so in 2 bis 3 Portionen vorsichtig unter.” — “We then fold the flour in carefully, in 2 to 3 batches.” You will hear it again in the same clip once the flour is in: “Auch wieder schön vorsichtig unterheben” — “Again, fold it in nice and carefully.” And after: “nachdem alles schön untergehoben ist” — “once everything is folded in nicely.” “Eiweiß unter den Teig heben” — fold the beaten egg whites into the batter. A few notes. “Unterheben” almost always shows up in baking and cooking, where keeping air in the mix matters. The two parts can split apart in a sentence: heben … unter. The past form is “untergehoben” (folded in), which you hear twice here.