The Basics of Baking
Hey, hi, hello there!
This blog began more as a research project than anything else. I wanted to reeealllyyy understand how baking works. Most of my knowledge is from reading books and growing up baking with my Yiayia (for more on my story, start here). Baking involves simple ingredients: flour, sugar, eggs, milk, butter, and flavoring. With these, you can create many many many different baked goods, from breads to pastries to cakes. Although these are simple ingredients, baking is a science.
I won’t bore you with all the details, but I thought “hey… if I am asking all these questions, someone out there in the world is too”. My goal here is to help you navigate through some confusing stuff about baking and help you bake more confidently. So, lets get started… with THE BASICS.
Below you will find a list on the top 10 things beginner bakers should know to help you get started on creations of your own!
01 Read the Recipe ALL the way through
Maybe even twice… but this is a super important part to the baking process. The last thing you want is to begin a recipe only to realize that you’ve been using the wrong ingredients. I know I have, and it is not fun having to start all over again.
02 Room Temperature is Important
I delve deeper into this in a The Science of Baking 04: What’s the Deal with Room Temperature Ingredients. I will tell you that there have been times when I realize that I need something in a hurry and it is not room temperature. I’m sure we’ve all been there: short on time and thinking aw man I gotta get this in the oven! BUT the not fun part is when you scare your warm butter by pouring cold milk over it. Not a good look for baking.
03 Prep Ingredients
Now this step isn’t mandatory, BUT it is super helpful so you aren’t running around the kitchen like a chicken with its head chopped off, leading to incorrect measurements or other mistakes with the recipe. You’ve read the recipe, you have all the ingredients measured and ready…. off you go little baking bee!
04 Measure Ingredients Correctly
I go into measuring in much more detail, because there is a reason behind shifting ingredients. You can find all the dirty details here. The short of it? Scooping flour out of the bag or not leveling off our dry ingredients will be an improper measurement… aka waayyy too much flour. Remember, baking is a science and you don’t want to dry out your ingredients!
05 Keep the Oven Door CLOSED
I know, I know… I’ve been there too! You just want to see how your little creation is developing, but let me tell you… the last thing you want to do is let the cold air in. The last thing you want is to interrupt the rising process or prevent the cooking process. So, let those little guys bake for the time the recipe says, and if you need to check if your cake is done use a toothpick and do it quick!
06 Chilling the Cookie Dough
Don’t skip this step! Rolling warm dough is sticky and will cause breakage or spreading. Chilling the dough also helps to concentrate the flavor, all the ingredients are given time to meet each other and become a little sweeter. Letting the dough chill changed the consistency of the dough, making is more chewy and crisp than soft and doughy.
Now, BEES, get off here and start BAKING!!!!