Baking Tips

When all is said and done, baking comes down to a science. When you cook up a meal from scratch you can free hand all you want and still end up with a decent meal. When it comes to baking, precision is key. Adding the wrong ingredient or adding too much of something can offset the whole end product. Following recipes and guidelines is key in churning out a good end product. Below we will highlight some important general baking tips.

Read and follow recipes religiously

Often times you come across a cool picture of a cake or a cookie or some fancy dessert and you get amped to try it yourself before reading through the full recipe. Or worst, you start adding or removing key ingredients as you go along and then are left unsatisfied with the final product. It’s so important to read through the full recipe and follow measurements that have been tested out for you. If a recipe calls for room temperature eggs, make sure the eggs are at room temperature! Eggs are an emulsifying element in the baking process. When eggs are brought to room temperature, they emulsify a lot better into your batter, thus allowing for a much smoother texture in the end product.

Prep before beginning

Prepping your work station and ingredients before actually beginning can make the baking process so much smoother and enjoyable. When you have everything you need lined up in front of you, baking become therapeutic. Throw on your favourite music and baking can become blissful feeling.

Measure and weigh everything

It’s so important to measure out all your ingredients on a scale. Ingredients like flour should be measured. A gram is always a gram but one cup isn’t always one cup. Investing in a small kitchen scale ($15.00-$25.00) will go a long way in ensuring you are weighing out ingredients with precision.

Brown your butter

For chocolatey cookies, browning butter will accentuate flavour tremendously. Simply place the specified amount of butter into a pan and melt over medium heat. Slowly raise the heat as the butter begins to bubble. Keep a close eye as the browning can go to burning really quick. Your nose is your friend when browning butter. You are looking for a nutty aroma. Once you see the butter begin to brown and a nutty aroma begin to produce, take it off the heat and let completely cool before adding to your batter. Browning butter brings out that beautiful nutty, caramelized flavour!

Do not open the oven

It’s natural to want to check on your masterpiece as it bakes in the oven. However, do not open the oven to check until you are approaching the finishing time. Instead use the light inside the oven to peek through the glass. Oven temperate is crucial in ensuring an evenly uniformed product. By simply opening the oven you risk letting out heat which can greatly alter your end product.

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