10 exam-style questions with answers and explanations, straight from our 1,030-question bank. Tap an answer to check yourself. When you're ready, take the scored version in the free practice test.
These 10 free CB questions are organized by exam domain, so you can see how each part of the Certified Bookkeeper (CB) blueprint is tested. Reveal the answer and explanation under each question.
Natural cocoa supplies the acid in a chocolate cake leavened with baking soda. After a weight-for-weight switch to Dutch-process cocoa, the cake has less volume and an alkaline aftertaste. Nothing else in the formula or process changed. Which effect of the substitution explains both results?
Correct answer: B - Less acid was available to react with the baking soda.
Bread that normally slices cleanly develops a sticky, gummy crumb. The loaves reached the usual baking endpoint and were fully cooled before slicing. A purchasing review finds that diastatic malt replaced nondiastatic malt at the same inclusion rate; flour, hydration, and proofing were unchanged. The substitution most likely caused:
Correct answer: B - Excessive starch breakdown by active malt enzymes.
'The loaf is still moist, but the crumb has become firm.' Testing confirms this complaint about sandwich bread stored in a sealed bag under refrigeration; there is no microbial spoilage. Which process chiefly accounts for the change?
Correct answer: C - Retrogradation
A bread formula uses 1.60 kg of a flour-and-water levain at 60% hydration, plus 4.00 kg of flour in the final mix. The target overall hydration is 68%. How much water must be added in the final mix?
Correct answer: C - 2.80 kg
A fruit glaze containing sucrose, glucose syrup, fruit acids, and pectin gives a reading of 64°Brix on a calibrated refractometer. What does this result tell the baker?
Correct answer: C - An estimate of soluble-solids content
A bakery follows the FDA Food Code's conventional two-stage cooling requirements, with no approved alternative. Pastry cream reaches 135°F at 10:00 a.m., 68°F at 11:30 a.m., and 54°F at 2:00 p.m. The refrigerator air is 38°F. At the 2:00 p.m. check, which instruction is appropriate?
Correct answer: A - Continue rapid chilling; verify 41°F or below by 4:00 p.m.
During the first turn of croissant dough, the dough stretches readily but the enclosed butter breaks into hard, separate plates. There is no oily smearing. What adjustment should the baker make before the next pass?
Correct answer: A - Let the butter soften until it rolls with the dough.
An éclair batch expands well in the oven but collapses soon after removal. The shells are pale, their sidewalls bend easily, and their interiors are still wet. The paste was properly cooked and the eggs were added to the specified consistency. For the next batch, the most useful correction is to:
Correct answer: D - Extend the bake to set the walls and dry the interiors.
A prepackaged cookie label subject to FDA requirements lists tahini without identifying it as sesame. Its separate statement reads 'Contains: Wheat, Egg.' Sesame is the only major allergen omitted. Which revision meets the allergen-declaration requirement?
Correct answer: C - Replace the statement with 'Contains: Wheat, Egg, Sesame.'
A batch costs $126 in ingredients and produces 48 individual tarts. Six fail the sale specification and have no salvage value. The full ingredient cost must be recovered through the saleable tarts. What selling price per tart makes ingredients 30% of the selling price, before tax?
Correct answer: D - $10.00
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