Have you recently become interested in baking? Recipes only tell you so much, but some of the best cooking skills you learn come from trial and error. Here are a few tips to get you started on elevating your baking skills:
Not Every Oven is the Same
The recipe says to cook at 400 degrees for 15 minutes but your cake still comes out runny or it’s burnt to a crisp, what’s going on? When you set your oven to 400 degrees, there is a high chance that the number is off because some ovens are hotter and some ovens are cooler than others. It is important to know exactly how your oven works. You may need to spend a day just making a log of oven temperatures. You can do this by purchasing a thermometer and getting your oven to a certain degree then checking the actual temperature with a thermometer. Make sure to write all these numbers down so you don’t forget!
Don’t Cook With Cold Eggs
Baking with room-temperature ingredients makes your baking process easier and more efficient. When the ingredients are at room temperature, they are so much easier to combine and mix saving you the arm fatigue. The best way to heat up your eggs before baking is to place them in a bowl of warm water. Make sure the water is not too hot because then they will begin to cook!
Clean as You Cook
Cleaning your kitchen as you cook will save you so much time and stress after you are finished. Who wants to wait to eat their perfect, freshly baked cookies because they have to clean their kitchen? Cleaning as you go doesn’t mean you have to be slaving over dishes. Simply putting away your ingredients and placing used dishes in the sink or dishwasher will make the cleaning process so much faster and easier.
Read the Recipe Entirely
Another tip is to make sure you read through the entire recipe before you start baking. This is important because you can start preheating your oven and ensure that you have all the ingredients and dishes ready to get your masterpiece started. This will also prevent you from scrambling around the kitchen to look for materials!
Be Confident in Yourself
The key to being a great baker is to believe that you are! No one is going to be a professional when they first start and even people on popular baking shows who have decades of practice still make mistakes! Go easy on yourself and be confident in your cooking.
Don’t have time to bake? Find someone who can make all your delicious bakery dreams come true!