Kent Tramell gives a primer of different types of baking in Blender.
“Baking” is a term frequently used in computer graphics (CG) in regards to game development and traditional, non-realtime rendering (Cycles or Blender Render). But “baking” brings with it certain real-world connotations that could make it confusing. With this article, my goal is to reconcile this term and clarify what baking really means.