7 Useful Baking Tips

Let’s dive into Part 3 of the Basic’s of Baking Series: Useful Baking Tips! In this post I share with you 7 Useful Baking Tips to help you gain confidence and become the best baker you can be!

If you haven’t read the first two parts of the Basic’s of Baking Series I recommend you read them first as they have the foundational information before you start baking. Essential Kitchen Equipment and What Every Home Baker Must Do Before Baking are the first two blog posts in the series so be sure to give them a quick read too.

Useful Baking Tips

1. Put Away Ingredients as you Bake

If you read What Every Home Baker Must Do Before Baking, one of the tips was to take out all the ingredients you need before you start baking. To follow up on that I also recommend putting away the ingredients as you bake. For example if you are making cookies, place the sugar back in he pantry as soon as you’re done adding it your recipe. That way if you have anything left on your counter you can ask yourself “did I forget to add this ingredient?” Nothing is worse than baking something and realizing you forgot a crucial ingredient!

Another great reason for this tip is that it makes clean up a lot easier when you’re done. And, you feel less cluttered as you’re baking, so its a win win all around.

2. Measure Ingredients Properly

Believe it or not measuring your ingredients properly has a big impact on the results of your baking. When measuring liquids you want to always use liquid measuring cups. And, when measuring dry ingredients, you want to use dry measuring cups The reason for this is there is actually a small difference in the amounts from liquid and dry measuring cups and the smallest difference can sometimes make the biggest impact on your baking.

Furthermore, use correct baking tablespoons and teaspoons rather than tableware because the measurements can also be off on your tableware.

In addition to using the right measuring equipment, here are a few helpful tidbits on measuring them correctly.

For liquids, make sure you measure at eye level to see the correct amount.

For dry ingredients be sure to level off the tops of the measuring cups with the flat side of a butterknife. Also, for most recipes you will need to pack the brown sugar first in the measuring cup. However, do not pack ingredients like flour, just lightly scoop up the flour and level it with a butter knife as mentioned above.

3. Follow the Recipe Directions

It is important to follow the recipe exactly as is written or it may not turn out as it intended to be. Baking is a lot more finicky than cooking. With cooking you can play around more with recipes but because baking is more of a science it is important to follow the recipe directions.

4. Be Wary of Substitutions

Again, because baking is more of a science, you need to be wary of substitutions because not everything will be easily replaced and still turn out as good as it should. Do your research before you start substituting ingredients. Google is a great place to start, but you could also ask the author of the recipe if it is from a website.

5. Be Wary of Doubling Recipes

Most recipes should be fine to double, however there are some that just won’t turn out the same. Most cookies, quick breads, and muffin recipes turn out fine when doubled. However, food like jam probably won’t set if doubled. So again, do your research before you start doubling a recipe.

6. Cool Properly with Wire Racks

Many people glaze over the cooling process but it is also another important part of the baking process. To be sure your baking cools properly place your hot out of the oven pans directly onto cooling racks This will allow the food to cool down and stop the baking process.

Also, read the recipe for proper cooling directions. For example, for most quick breads I recommend cooling in the pan on a wire rack until completely cool before turning out of the pan. For cookies however, you need to remove them from the pan about 5-10 minutes after cooling. Then place on your wire rack to finish cooling or they can overbake by staying on the hot pan.

Another tidbit: makes sure the food cools completely to room temperature before properly storing…which leads me to my next tip.

7. Properly Store your Baking

Once your baking has completely cooled you can store the food. How you store will depend on when you plan to eat it and what the food is. For most foods you can place in a ziplock bag, or sealed container. Make sure that whatever you use to store the food that it is sealed because anything less can dry out your baking. For layered cakes, a cake stand will be needed. For some cakes like sheet cakes for example you can leave in the pan and place a lid or plastic wrap on top. For quick breads, use ziplock bags or saved used bread bags from the store also works great.

If you plan on freezing the baking, you will need freezer safe containers or bags to properly store. For Pies and cake layers you can use large freezer safe ziplock bags or wrap in plastic wrap and then with a layer of aluminum foil.

Tidbit: don’t forget to label your food with the date. For most baked goods, store at room temperature up to 3 days, in the refrigerator up to one week, and in the freezer up to 3 months.

I hope these 7 Useful Baking Tips will help you become a more confident baker. Remember these tips on your next baking adventure and have fun while you’re at it 🙂

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What Every Baker Must Do Before Baking

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