Five Baking Tips For A Beginner
Baking is a great way to pass the time and it’s a wonderful opportunity to bond with children who also enjoy baking and being in the kitchen. If you’re looking to expand your knowledge and experience of baking, then here are five baking tips that are helpful to know.
Measure properly
When it comes to baking, the success is within the early stages when baking. While prepping ingredients, make sure you measure out everything properly and accurately. For example, it might be said that the flour is sifted before adding to the mix so it’s important that you’re measuring out the correct amount sifted.
Measuring out the ingredients properly will ensure everything bakes properly and that there aren’t any big differences in the end result from what is shown. Baking is a science and after a while, you will have a feel for it. In the beginning, however, measuring as directed is the best way to go.
Have all the ingredients
Do you have all the ingredients in your cupboard, ready to go? Often enough there’s a desire to bake but you might not have all of the ingredients required to create the bake, in your cupboards.
Do a quick checkover of the ingredients list before you start baking. The last thing you want is to get everything prepped or to start baking, only to find that you’re missing a key ingredient or one that’s going to influence the end result of the bake.
Some ingredients I like to keep on hand are: flour, baking soda, baking powder, dry active yeast, instant yeast, cane sugar, icing sugar, brown sugar, raisins, cinnamon, sprinkles, and vital wheat gluten for baking bread.
Invest in good baking equipment and utensils
Investing in good baking equipment is a must and something you want to spend your money on if you are looking to spend more time baking this year. You can always pick things up at thrift stores or garage sales for things like whisks, measuring cups, bench scrapers, and other baking essentials.
Whether it’s a homemade sugar cookie recipe or a Victoria sponge cake, you’ll want to invest in good baking equipment and utensils. Check what you have currently and what you might be missing. Chances are there’s something that you’ll need to make your bakes more successful.
Don’t be tempted to cut corners
It’s easy to be tempted to cut corners when it comes to baking, especially if you’re the type of person to get impatient, I’m speaking from experience!
While it’s easy to do so, you want to avoid cutting corners because you’ll end up scuppering your efforts. Don’t replace ingredients unless you’re an experienced baker, as this will only likely result in a failed bake. Cutting corners isn’t going to do your baking efforts any good. Baking is a skill. It is far different than cooking. There is a science to it all; learning how gluten forms and how fats react takes time.
Try, try, and try again
Finally, make sure to try, try, and try again when it comes to baking as a beginner. You won’t get it right the first time or perhaps even the fifth time. However, if you persist, you will get better at baking with practice.
Find where you went wrong the first time and try to perfect that problem the next time you attempt the bake. It’s something that will eventually get easier and become second nature.
Baking is a wonderful activity to enjoy and is something that you’ll want to do more of, the more successful you get at it. Use these tips to make the most out of baking and to enjoy baking as a beginner in 2024.
