5 Baking Basics That You Need to Know

With each recipe published by FoodNama, it aims at making you a better chef and a better baker. If you are baking something for the first time, the process does not have to be difficult or daunting. So, let’s making cooking and baking fun again.

I have made several mistakes while baking and here are some tricks and tips I have all along:

1. Room Temperature

Several recipes ask for room temperature dairy products such as yogurt, milk, or even eggs. Make sure you follow the recipe correctly. Recipes don’t ask for room temperature ingredients for fun, they make baking easier by making the batter easy to mix and for creating a smooth and uniform texture. Think about butter. Think of hard, cold, frozen butter. You can hardly make anything with this type of butter. Now think about eggs. When eggs are at room temperature, they add 50% more volume to the baked goods.

2. Read Recipe beforehand

I can’t believe that I am typing this but this is one of the most useful baking tips. You have no idea about how disastrous recipes can be if you aren’t aware of the next step. Reading the recipe helps you understand what, why, how, and when a certain step should be taken. It might only take you a few minutes but it will free you from the hassle of wasting your time and money.

3. Prepped Ingredients

Do you know what’s smart? Measuring your ingredients before starting the recipe. You can always read through the recipe and then prep them beforehand. This way, you leave little room for mistakes. This is because you aren’t rushing through the entire recipe this way. Another tip: Try to follow the recipe without making any substitutions for the ingredients. Remember, more than art, baking is chemistry. So, try to follow the original recipe. With time, you can make changes and if you are confident enough, you can make substitutions as well.

4. Keep Oven’s door closed

The oven’s temperature has a lot to do with ruining a perfectly fine recipe. Sometimes even when the temperature is okay, you can ruin the recipe by constantly open the oven door to look inside. I get it. Sometimes excitement gets to you when you want to have a peek inside to see your cupcakes puffing up, cake rising, and cookies baking. But when you do this, you allow air inside the oven that can ruin your entire recipe. It’s better that you rely on the light feature of the oven.

5. Invest in the right equipment

You have to trust me when I tell you that the right equipment will not only get the recipe right but will also make the preparation 10x easier. E.g., silicone spatulas. Guys, these spatulas have made our lives a lot easier. From mixing the batter uniformly to transferring it easily to the tin, these spatulas are nothing but a dream come true. Silicone spatulas are also used widely to fold the ingredients.