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Top Tips for Successful Baking
I am a baker at heart…I love it and all that it entails. The necessary precision in ingredients and quantities and the early morning hours….I love it all. Recently I started making bread…sourdough to be exact…and I have fallen in love with baking all over again. I’ve used the word love three times already…so you get the point!
I wanted to share some tips with you I have gained from my experience over the years, and that I hope you will find useful. If you’re an experienced baker then they may not be new to you. But if you’re a beginner please read on as it will save you a lot of heartache! We can certainly learn from making mistakes…but perhaps you can learn from mine.
Read through the recipe
By reading through the recipe before starting you will be able to find out if any preparation needs to be made in advance, how long it will take, and any missing ingredients you need to buy. Sometimes an ingredient must be at room temperature, other times they must be cold or even frozen. Some ingredients may not have to be soaked in advance, and others you may think you have but they might have expired or the amount you have is less than you need.
Store all baking ingredients together
It’s much easier when you don’t need to go from cupboard or drawer to reach the ingredients you use most often in baking. I have all my flours, sugars, leaving agents, flavorings in 1 place, or close enough to allow me to just reach for it while in the same place.
Mise En Place
The French term used in the culinary world which means “setting in place” and is the act of assembling, prepping and measuring in advance all that you will use for a specific recipe. This helps to keep you organized and avoid any mistakes during the baking process.
Measuring Tools
If you plan to bake regularly, purchasing in a set of measuring cups, measuring spoons and scales is vital. Baking is a science and your measurement needs to be precise. Using a scale is the most reliable and consistent method to measure ingredients for a recipe or formula. For liquids, it’s essential to use a glass measuring cup.
Always whisk dry ingredients to aerate (especially if using cups)
This is especially important if you are using cups as opposed to scales to measure your ingredients.
The technique—called “whisk, dip, and level”—is a very reliable way to measure dry ingredients and prepare them for use by aerating them in the process. Start first by whisking the dry ingredients in their containers to aerate them. Dry ingredients, such as flour, cocoa powder, and even sugar, compact during storage so whisking helps lighten and aerate them before measuring. Using the dip, overfill, and level method, measure out the dry ingredient. To get the most accurate measurement, dip the dry ingredient out of its container, overfill the measuring cup and then use a straight edge, such as a dinner knife, to level off the top (info from Rouxbe.com Essential Vegan Desserts Course)
Get to know your oven
I know my oven runs about 50F lower than it should. So when a recipe calls for 350F then I set it at 400F. However since it’s a gas oven, the temperature is even throughout. Electric ovens sometimes have a “Hot Spot” where your baked goods may burn from one side if you don’t make a point of moving your cake pans around.
Using the correct size baking dish or pan
Try your best to use the baking dish type and size specified in a recipe for the best results. However, if you don’t have the exact same size, then make adjustments to the baking time, the thicker the cake is the longer it will take to bake, and the opposite is true. Another method is to make an “extra mini” if the pan you have is smaller than what’s stipulated. So I would make a cake plus 3 cupcakes for example.
Always use a baking sheet
For most baked good, don’t place the baking pan directly on the oven rack as you risk the good baking fully from the borrow and still being underbred from the top. By using a baking sheet, your cake or other desserts will bake more evenly.
Avoid dark baking sheets and pans
Dark baking sheets absorb heat much faster and your baked goods might bake faster from the outside and still be raw on the inside. Even with cookies, they may burn at the base without having any color on the top. Try your best to buy lighter pans and sheets.
Silicone Mats
I still use parchment paper to line my cake pans, however for my baking sheets, when making cookies or granola, for example, I use my silicone mats. They are more economical in the long-run and environmentally friendly. In Kuwait, you can find them at Tavola in Tilal Centre Shuwaik, or Williams Sanoma in the Avenues Mall.
Double pan method for granola
This tip is for all you chunky granola lovers out there! Thanks to Food52.com for this tip. Spread out your granola on a baking sheet, making sure the sides are a little higher than the center, then lay over it a sheet or parchment paper or a silicone mat, then another baking sheet on top. Bake it like that for the best granola clusters.
Best way to make tart or pie crust
Several tips in 1 here! But I find tart or pie crust a bit daunting for some people. Here’s how to make it more simple and foolproof.
- Make sure all your ingredients are very cold.
- Measure out the butter or coconut oil and place it in the fridge or even the freezer.
- Use a food processor and not your hands, your hands are too warm and may start the melting process. We want it to start in the oven and not before.
- Once your dough starts to come together, transfer it all to a large plastic bag (the Ziploc type) and bring it together, and form it into a disc shape while it’s in the bag. It’s much easier and again less contact with your warm hands.
After your dough is wrapped and placed in the fridge, rolling and baking should be “as easy as pie”.
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Faisal | 7th Sep 20
اريد وصفات صحية وانا مربض بالتهاب القولون
Arwa | 7th Sep 20
الله يشافيك
يفضل التعامل مع اخصائي تغذية لانه امراض القولون متعددة والوصفات المناسبة تختلف من حالة الى أخرى
وايضا الحالة النفسية لها علاقة قوية في امراض القولون، فحاول قدر المتطاع تخفيف الضغوطات والنوم جيدآ
هبة | 10th Sep 20
السلام عليكم اخت اروى استفسار هل الشوفان عالي الكاربوهيدرات؟؟؟؟؟
Arwa | 10th Sep 20
وعليكم السلام
اي نعم لكن ايضا عالي بالالياف
وكل الناس يختلفون بتأثير الكاربوهيدرات عليهم
في ناس جسمهم يحرق الكاربوهيدرات بسهولة