Baking 101

6 tips to ensure success in the kitchen
By Tara Verna

Holidays? Close at hand. Family/friends gathering? High probability. Baking skills, hmmm… does a store-bought pie sprinkled with a bit of flour to make it look homemade count?! If you’d like to raise the bar this year, we’ve got your back. Here are six baking guidelines to help elicit a few oohs and ahhs, or maybe just a surprised “Hey, this isn’t half bad!”

1 Digest your recipes before diving in
Read them several times through and continue to reread while baking. If you don’t have the ingredients or the amounts specified, things won’t end well. And please read to the end — sometimes you can save time by melting butter while you are chopping nuts. Don’t be lazy and skip steps — if it says to chill the dough, there is a reason! If you’re finding your recipes online, they will often be rated and reviewed. Skim through both in order to learn from the mistakes and successes of others.

2 Avoid subs the first time through
It’s always best to avoid making substitutions during the first go-round unless you are a seasoned baker. If you must consider a substitution due to an allergy, check out foodsubs.com. Switching up ingredients sometimes requires a change in baking time, adding more liquid, etc.

3 Mind the order of ingredients
Typically, you’ll see dry ingredients mixed in one bowl, wet in another and then combined. Following the directions and list of ingredients in order will save you from having your mixture clump, curdle and generally misbehave.

4 Measure ingredients accurately
Consider purchasing a food scale and weighing your ingredients in grams/ounces to be most accurate. But as a beginner (and since most recipes are written using measuring cups and spoons), start by stirring flour or any dry ingredient in its container, and use a large spoon to fill the measuring cup, leveling it off with a knife at the top. For liquid ingredients, use a liquid measuring cup on a level surface.

5 Maintain oven temperature
Baking is about precision, and recipe directions are based on using a set temperature. Preheat your oven or there’s a good chance your dish will be underbaked. Avoid opening the oven during baking if at all possible. And do not crowd the oven with too many dishes.

6 Consider baking times as suggestions
All ovens differ in heat output so you’re smart to check on your dish at least 10 minutes before the minimum baking time listed. If it looks like it needs more time, but the top is browning quickly, put a piece of aluminum foil on top to deter burning. Not done? Leave it in a few more minutes.

Quick tips

Start with an empty sink and dishwasher — you’re welcome!
Use room temperature ingredients unless the recipe specifies otherwise.
Cool down ingredients such as melted butter before incorporating them.
Cream butter and sugar for the full 3–4 minutes. Aerating the batter will make a big fluffy difference in the end.
Avoid overmixing cookie and cake batter or you’ll end up with a tough product.
Grease your pan, even if it’s nonstick. Rubbing a coat of butter and putting parchment in the bottom works well.
Portion desserts equally for the same time in the oven.
Bake on the middle shelf of the oven if unspecified.
Wait until cakes or cookies cool off before frosting them.
Butter: Always use unsalted unless it says otherwise.
Flour: Always use all-purpose unless it says otherwise
Sugar: Always use granulated sugar unless it says otherwise.